Colin S. Smith's Blog, page 6

Christmas Through Simeon’s Eyes

What follows is an excerpt from Christmas Stories, a collection of first-person narratives that will help you recapture the wonder of Christmas.



I wasn't in Bethlehem. I didn’t see the angels. And I didn’t visit the inn. But I did hold Jesus in my arms eight days after he was born.

I was just an ordinary person living in Jerusalem, except for one thing. Some years earlier, God had revealed to me that I would see the Messiah before I died.

Don’t ask me to explain that. All I can tell you is that after it was revealed to me, I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that I would not die until I had seen the deliverer for whom the whole world had been waiting.

By the way, it is an interesting experience knowing that you will live to see a future event. There were times when I was quite ill and people wondered if I would recover. But I was never in doubt. God had promised that I would see His Christ. So I was immortal until He came!
I sometimes wondered how I would know Him when I saw Him, but somehow deep down inside, I just knew that I would.
The Day It Happened
Well now, let me tell you about the day it happened. It seemed like my whole life was a preparation for that day.

The strange thing is that it was a day like any other.

I was going about my usual business, when I felt this inner compulsion to go to the temple. God did not usually speak to me this way, but it was like a voice in my head saying to me, “Simeon, go to the temple.”

My first thought was: I’ll go on my way home after work, but I knew that would be disobedience. All I can say is that I knew that I had to leave what I was doing and go to the temple right away. And I’m so glad I did!

The temple court was a constant hive of activity – traders selling animals, priests offering sacrifices, people confessing their sins, and parents presenting their firstborn sons to the Lord.
When I arrived, a young couple was standing before the priest with their baby. The priest had no idea who He was. But as I watched, I knew that He was the One.

Don’t ask me how I knew it. I cannot tell you except to say that the Holy Spirit of God revealed this to me. I was never more sure of anything in all my life. This child was the one the whole world had been waiting for.

Nobody worked it out on their own. Angels told the shepherds, the wise men were led by a star, and the Holy Spirit revealed it to me.

The evidence that Jesus is the Christ is there for all who seek Him, but it is God who opens your eyes to the truth.
The Words that Were Given to Me
I walked up to the family and stood with the little crowd that had gathered around to watch what was going on.

And that was when it happened. I knew God was giving me words that had to be spoken at that moment. So I tapped Joseph on the arm. I told him that God had given me something to say, and asked if I could hold the child.

He seemed rather surprised, me a stranger and not even a priest, but he agreed, and I found myself holding the child in my arms.

Then the words came. I was speaking but I knew that the words I spoke were given to me. I can only say that I spoke from God as I was carried along by the Holy Spirit.

Holding the child in my arms, I declared “Sovereign Lord, my eyes have seen your salvation which you prepared in the sight of all people. A light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.”

I was about to hand the baby back to Mary, but then more words came to me. Like a wind blowing into your body, these words forced their weight upon me, and I had to speak them out: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel.” The words seemed strange to me. I could understand “rising” but why “falling”?

The words kept coming. “He will be a sign that is spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed.” I could hardly believe the words I was speaking. How could this promised child be spoken against?

I looked at Mary. There was a beauty in her eyes that radiated from the depth of her soul. And as I looked at her, I heard myself say, “And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”
We all stood rooted to the spot. What could this possibly mean?
The Words that Were Given to Anna
Just then, an old lady arrived. Her name was Anna, and she was known to be a woman of prayer. She gave herself to worship and fasting, and people who went to the temple regularly knew that you could count on finding her there!

I had just spoken about the pain that would come to Mary’s soul, when Anna walked up, and began praising God. It was the strangest thing. I was still trying to take in how Jesus could be spoken against, and how Mary’s soul would be torn in two, and right then God gave Anna words of praise and thanksgiving that came pouring out of her.

If the child would be spoken against, and Mary’s soul would be pierced, why was God giving Anna words of thanksgiving?

I think she had grasped what I now understand. Jesus would deliver us at the cost of indescribable pain. “He was wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities, and the punishment that brought us peace was upon him.”
You Won't Have to Wait
That reminds me of the last thing I wanted to tell you: When I held him in my arms, I knew that I could die in peace.

People had all kinds of hopes and dreams about what the Lord’s Christ would do, but there was no doubt in my mind which was the biggest.
Prayer
Father, thank you that Jesus delivered us from our sins through his suffering on the cross. You sent him into the world for the falling or rising of every person. Help us to take hold of him by faith and be lifted up!

 





This is an excerpt of the book Christmas Stories. Read the Christmas stories from the perspective of 5 different biblical characters, including the angel Gabriel, Mary, Joseph, Simeon, and even Herod! Taken together, these first-person narratives will help draw you and your loved ones into the story of our Savior’s birth.

Get your copy today for a gift of any amount.

What Does It Mean to Enter into Temptation?

Everybody is tempted. As long as you’re in the body, temptation can reach you. The impulse to sin has a landing place in your life.

Jesus doesn’t say, “Watch and pray, so you won’t be tempted.” There is no way you can get into a place in the Christian life where you are no longer tempted. He says, “Watch and pray, so that you will not fall into temptation.” Literally it says, “so that you will not enter into temptation.”

John Owen is helpful here. Entering into temptation, Owen says, has two distinctive features:

First, “Satan becomes more earnest than usual.” There are times when he intensifies his assaults against you. Not every day in the Christian life is the same. There seem to be days and seasons of life when all hell breaks loose. Paul refers to this, “put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes…” (Ephesians 6:13).

Second, “the heart… is unable to escape the trap of temptation.”[1] Often you will be able to brush off temptations without serious difficulty. But there will also be times when a particular temptation will gain power and vigor within you. You will find yourself divided, wanting to reject the temptation, but at the same time unable to free yourself from it.
An Illustration
Imagine a salesman knocking at your door. You open the door, and he tells you what he is selling. At that point, if you’re not interested, it’s not hard to say, “Sorry, I’m not interested. Try the nice folks next door.” But suppose you invite this person into your home.

Now he sits down in your living room and makes his presentation. He shows you the product. He talks to you about how much you need this and how much better your life will be if you have it. Some relationship begins to be formed and your mind and your heart become engaged. Now it’s harder to say “No.”

This is what it means to “enter into” temptation.

You’re engaged with it, connected to it. You let it inside and its sitting in your living room. The temptation that landed in your flesh has found a place in your affections. Temptation grows in power as it builds a position in your soul.

It's helpful to use an analogy of football. The game is about moving the ball forward and backward, trying to gain yardage. You are building a position. It’s the same in chess. The chess master builds a position on the board. Gradually he moves his pieces into commanding positions on the board, until your king suddenly gets knocked over.

It’s the same in business when there is a hostile takeover of a company. Gradually, over time, a position is built with the shares and with seats on the Board, and eventually their position becomes overwhelming and the takeover is irresistible.

It’s the same in warfare. The great military conflicts of history were won or lost by where the generals positioned their troops, the strategic pieces of high ground that they took and so on. This is true on the football field, in the boardroom and on the battlefield.

On the night when our Lord was betrayed, Satan was building a position. He’d entered into the heart of Judas, the betrayer. He was unleashing his entire arsenal, so our Lord Jesus comes to the disciples and says, “Watch and pray so that you will not enter into temptation. What Satan is doing here is going to trap you. Don’t get into a place where sin traps you.”

This is a word for us. Temptations will come to you this week, and Jesus says, “Watch and pray, so that what will come to you will not enter into you and trap you.”

 

[1] John Owen, “Triumph Over Temptation,” p. 144-145, David C. Cook, 2004

 



 

The battle against temptation is vitally important for every Christian and is uniquely important for the Christian leader. That's why we've included an entire session called "Battling Temptation" in the Open the Bible for Leaders course called Watch Your Life. You can watch that session below.

What does “the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective” mean?

The book of James says, "The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working" (5:16b ESV). Other translations say, "the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective" (NIV) or "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much" (KJV). This verse motivates us to cry out to God because He uses our prayers to change the world.

But what exactly does this phrase from James mean? Does it mean that we will receive everything we pray for, or that holiness strengthens our prayers? Before answering these questions and pointing out the characteristics of effective prayer, let's look at the verse in its context.
The Context
The book of James ends with a call to prayer:

Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray... Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him… And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. (James 5:13–16a)

In other words, if prayer can help a brother who is sick, battling sin, or suffering for any other reason, pray! God listens to the cries of His children. Then in verse 16b, James reiterates the power of prayer: "The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working."
Characteristics of Effective Prayer
Elsewhere in Scripture we see characteristics of effective prayer:
1) Effective prayer is done in faith.
James mentions "the prayer of faith" twice, once in James 1:5-8 and again in James 5:15. Faith is necessary for effective prayer because, as Hebrews 11:6 says, "without faith it is impossible to please God."

Some people try to manipulate God on this point, claiming that they will receive their requests because their requests were (supposedly) made in faith. But the prayer of faith is not about the results of our prayers. Rather, it has to do with the simple belief that God exists, listens to us, and that every outcome of prayer is in His sovereign and merciful hands.
2) Effective prayer has the right motives.
James mentions another obstacle to effective prayer: false motives. James 4:3 says, "You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions." Impure motives can disqualify our prayers.
3) Effective prayer comes from the lips of “the righteous.”
James does not promise that everyone's prayer can obtain everything asked for, he specifically mentions "the prayer of the righteous person" (emphasis mine). We must be careful at this point, because no one is perfect and God ultimately listens to us because of Christ's righteousness, not ours. However, our holy living does matter in prayer, as James asserts.

The psalmist acknowledges, "If I see iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me" (Psalm 66:18). Other passages mention that our sin against others can be a hindrance to prayer (see 1 Peter 3:7; Matthew 5:23-24; Mark 11:25; 1 Timothy 2:8).

Our motivation in living righteously should be first to please God, not to receive what we want. (Don't forget that our motives matter!) God is the One who decides how and when to answer.

The example of King Hezekiah in Isaiah 38 is worth mentioning. After hearing that he was going to die (verse 1), Hezekiah cried out for mercy, and undergirded his plea by reminding God of his righteousness, "Please, O Lord, remember how I have walked before you in faithfulness and with a whole heart, and have done what is good in your sight” (verse 3). God answered, "I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Behold, I will add fifteen years to your life" (verse 5).
4) Effective prayer has the posture of “Your will be done.”
Wrong thinking about prayer teaches that it will always result in getting what we want, sometimes with a "name it and claim it" mentality. But God's answers are not always according to our desires or our timetable. Even our Lord Jesus Christ, the pinnacle of righteousness, prayed "not as I will, but as you will" (Matthew 26:39). Our confidence before God is that “if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us” (1 John 5:14).

There is more I could mention, but it is worth recommending what I consider to be the most helpful practice for prayer: praying the Bible. It shouldn't surprise us that allowing God's Word to shape our prayers is powerful, because it produces what we need to pray effectively: faith, holy lives and motives, and an understanding of God's revealed will (see Romans 10:17; John 17:17).

Go deeper on this topic in the free Open the Bible for Leaders course Pray the Bible. 
What are the results of effective prayer?
The answer is simple: the results that our almighty God wants. Consider the example James shares:

Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit. (James 5:17-18)

According to this example from 1 Kings 17–18, effective prayer can stop rain for more than three years! So, there are no limits to the way God can answer our prayers that are according to His sovereign will.

The Apostle Paul wrote, "He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things" (Romans 8:32). If we are children of God and "more than conquerors" in His sight (Romans 8:37), why would He not answer us if we pray according to His will?
Effective Prayer Changes the World
I like the story that Dr. Phil Ryken tells[1]. As a member of a church in Scotland, Ryken observed that fellow church members thanked God for answering their prayers to help Eastern European countries escape Communism and the Soviet empire. They really thought that their prayers helped in these global events.

Ryken commented that he was about to tell some the situation was more complicated than they thought. After all, there were issues of the global economy, the complex relationships between nations, the threat of nuclear weapons, and the serious faults of communism. He was going to tell them that their prayers alone were not enough to bring down the Berlin Wall. But he didn't. He knew that such thinking was not correct and that God does use the prayers of His children to change the world.

Is it not true that "God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise" (1 Corinthians 1:27)? Let's not forget that God commands us to pray "for kings and all who are in high positions" (1 Timothy 2:2). Why would He command this if he had no plans to use our prayers for world leaders to change the world?

Effective prayer has greater results than we can imagine. God is "able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think" (Ephesians 3:20). Do you pray as if this were true? No, as I've mentioned God isn't always going to answer us in the way or timing we want. But when we pray in faith, everything is possible, not because we are so wise or powerful, but because our sovereign God is.

 



 

We all face obstacles in prayer. Some are theological; we forget why prayer matters or don’t feel heard by God. Other obstacles are practical; we don't know what to say or we simply can't focus for prayer. Kevin Halloran believes that if we pray the Bible, we can bypass many of our struggles and go straight to fruitful prayer and deeper communion with God.

The free course Pray the Bible will introduce you to the benefits of praying the Bible as well as several tools for doing so. Watch the trailer below.



[1] Dr. Phil Ryken shares this story in the 9Marks article "Praying as a Church for the World and Your City."

What the Bible Says to the Jaded and Discouraged

Christmas season is the season of joy, but it is also a time when the cumulative weight of all that has happened in the course of the year catches up with you. Moving into the last month of the year often causes a sense of being worn out, discouraged, or stretched thin. Someone described it to me as a “collective weariness.”  

What is the answer to collective weariness? Where would we look in the Bible for help when we feel jaded, discouraged, and generally worn out? 

My mind goes to Isaiah 40: “They who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength” (Isaiah 40:31). That speaks to me. That’s what I need, but how do I get there? How do I get to Isaiah 40:31? The first 30 verses of this chapter might have something to do with it! 

Isaiah 40 is full of anticipations of the birth of Christ, but I want to use this article to show the promise of renewed strength God gives to all those who are discouraged at the end of the chapter. 
Lean into The Truth You Know about God 

Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. (Isaiah 40:28) 

God reminds his people of what they already know, what they have often heard, because faith is strengthened, not by learning something new, but by coming back to what we have heard and known. 

Faith is strengthened, not by learning something new, but by coming back to what we have heard and known: Christ crucified and risen for us. What is it that every believer knows and has heard about God that we need to lean into in these times of weariness? 

[caption id="attachment_141141" align="alignright" width="332"] Get your copy of the advent book Waiting for the Lord this month for a gift of any mount.[/caption]
God is your Creator

The Lord is…the Creator of the ends of the earth. (Isaiah 40:28)  

God formed you in your mother’s womb. He gave you life with the purpose of redeeming you. He purchased you at the cost of his own Son. And, he infused a new life into you, recreating you in Jesus Christ. 
God does not grow weary

He does not faint or grow weary. (Isaiah 40:28) 

God sustains all that he has made. He never runs out of resources. He never tires of you. There is never a time when God looks at you and says, “Where do we go from here?” 
God works on an everlasting timescale

The Lord is the everlasting God. (Isaiah 40:28) 

Time is at his disposal. None of us knows what God will do in the coming year, let alone in 10 years or in 50 years, or what God will do in the lives of our children or grandchildren. The granddaughter of your rebel son may turn out to have a ministry beyond anything you can imagine. 
No one can fathom his understanding

His understanding is unsearchable. (Isaiah 40:28) 

None of us will ever fathom the mind of God, or gain a full picture of what he is doing. So why even try? His understanding is unsearchable! 
Lean into The Truth That You Know About Yourself 

He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted. (Isaiah 40:29-30) 

Notice the words that are used here: “faint,” “no might,” “weary,” “fall exhausted.” That’s us! And notice that this is us at our best: “even youths shall be faint and weary.” 

Then God says “Young men shall fall exhausted.” The phrase “young men” literally means “picked men.” This is like athletes who are in peak condition, the ones who catch the eye of the Olympic selection committee. 

At the end of the marathon, even athletes in peak condition are weary. Some fall exhausted. Others look faint. Why? Because their bodies have been through a test of endurance that has pushed them to the limits. 

There are limits to all human endurance. Paul describes our bodies as tents (2 Corinthians 5), not palaces made of stone and held up by marble pillars, but tents made of canvas and held up by ropes that stretch, sag, and fray. So, no Christian should be surprised at this experience of weariness. God has placed his treasure in jars of clay. We live in this earthly tent that one day will be torn down. 

Here’s what you know about yourself: You are not God. You're a created being with limits to your own strength and endurance. You will become weary. You will know what it is to feel spent and exhausted. Feeling worn out should not take you by surprise. Lean into the truth that you know. But that’s only half the answer. 
Lay Hold of the Hope That You Have 
Laying hold of the hope that you have is the natural result of leaning into the truth that you know. When you lean into what you know about God (that God is the everlasting Creator and that he does not grow weary), you will look to him and, as you do, he will give you strength:  

He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. (Isaiah 40:29)  

Notice the word “gives.” This is an action of God in relation to his own people at times when we feel our strength is depleted, and our faith is burning low. He “gives power” and he “increases strength!” 

How does God do this? God does not faint or grow weary (Isaiah 40:28). The way he gives strength to the weary is that he gives himself to you.  This is not some zapping with power that moves an exhausted Christian into bionic overdrive. The effect of this strength is that God’s people keep pressing on. They keep running. They keep walking. 

Christ gives his Spirit to those who hope in him so that something of his divine power may touch us in our human weakness. Strength comes as we ascend by faith into the presence of the Lord and commune with our living Savior. Here’s what will come from that: You will keep running. You will keep walking. You will keep pressing on. 
Go to Jesus 
Some of you do not yet have a living faith in Jesus Christ. I ask you today: Do you not know your own Creator? Have you not heard that strength and hope can be yours through Jesus Christ? This Savior says to you who are worn out, and to all of us, today, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). 

 
Get your copy of the advent book Waiting for the Lord this month for a gift of any mount.

Bible Q & A: What Does the Bible Say About Cremation?

Question: Could you please give Biblical advice concerning cremation?

There are, generally speaking, two kinds of moral questions for Christians:

First, questions in which God has given us a specific command (or commands) that we should follow, and second, questions in which God has not spoken directly about what we should do.

In cases where God has spoken, of course, it is important for us to affirm it, and as Christians, we want to obey positive commands because this is pleasing to God (love your neighbor as yourself), and we want to refrain from doing negative commands (do not murder) because this also is pleasing to Him.

But in cases where God has not spoken (there is no command), then sometimes we can infer from other passages that God may judge a course of action either to be pleasing to God or to be displeasing to God. But where we cannot make a clear inference, then it is best to consider it a “gray area” or what the Bible sometimes calls a “disputable matter.”

We can most often “agree to disagree” on differing viewpoints regarding a disputable matter. This is sometimes called “Christian freedom.” Where God has not spoken about a matter, we have freedom, in Christ, to decide.

A good question to ask when someone says, “You must do this!” about a disputable matter is: “Can you show me where the Bible says that?” Often times, what you are dealing with is a Christian tradition, rather than a command of God.

In the case of cremation, there is no specific command that indicates we are to either avoid cremation, or that burial is preferred. However, here are some considerations:

Burial was considered the norm during the time and place of the writing of both the Old and New Testaments and it has been the practice of the majority of Christians throughout history.
We are created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27), which means that we were created to reflect something of the goodness and glory of God. But God is spirit (John 4:24). That means He is invisible and doesn’t have a physical body.
However, when the Son of God came to earth, He took on human flesh (John 1:1, 14). Why is this important? When God wanted to reveal Himself to us, He didn’t come as a dog, or a grasshopper, or a Martian, He came as a person.
There is some indication in Scripture of continuity between our physical bodies and our resurrection bodies. For example, when Jesus was raised from the dead and appeared to his disciples, they had to be kept from recognizing Him (Luke 24:16), presumably because the physical characteristics of His resurrection body were similar to His physical body.
There is no indication in the Bible that God won’t be able to resurrect bodies unless they are buried.  For example, Jesus said, “Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment” (John 5:28-29).

On that day, many of these bodies will have been lying in tombs for centuries, and the bodies will be completely decayed. And other bodies will be recovered from places other than tombs. Some will have died at sea. Others will have been in terrible accidents in which their bodies were dismembered or burned and were unrecoverable. But all of them will be resurrected.

So, if you were to ask various Christians their views on this, you would probably get at least 3 responses:

It’s ok to be cremated.
It’s wrong to be cremated.
It doesn’t really matter if you get cremated.

In this case, I believe there is Christian freedom. In other words, God has not spoken about the matter. You are free to choose.

Romans 14 lays out this principle in detail, using the example of a person who eats meat, and another who is a vegetarian. In this example, one person feels that eating meat is wrong (even though there is no command from God against doing this), while the other person feels the freedom to eat meat.

So, what should the Christian who feels the freedom to eat meat do? Well, he or she could cave in and not eat meat, because the other Christian feels that it is wrong. That would be going against his own conscience. Or he or she could defiantly eat meat in front of the vegetarian in order to prove his point. That would be unloving. Or the meat eater and the vegetarian could agree to disagree, and perhaps freely choose to not eat meat in front of the other.

In matters where God has not spoken, what matters is that we do what we do to the glory of God, and for the good of others. In other words, we are to choose what to do out of a love for God and others.

I hope and pray that this will be helpful to you as you decide,

Pastor Tim

 

PS: You may enjoy this related article: What Happens When a Christian Dies.

Bible Q & A: Why Does Repentance Seem Impossible for Me?

Question: Will God give up on me? If I keep praying for Him to open my eyes, to lead me to repentance, will it happen? The Bible says God has mercy on whom He chooses, so what if He just chooses to be done with me and leave me in my self-righteousness?

Answer: Your questions about repentance are common ones. Many people struggle with how to take this first step into Christian faith. You are right to see repentance and faith as the entryway into genuine Christian faith. There are a number of ways people can get tripped up. Having a helpful definition of repentance is a good starting place. Theologian J. I. Packer’s definition is a helpful one:

Repentance is turning…
from as much as you know of your own sin,
with as much as you know of yourself,
to as much as you know of God.

Let’s think about this together in four parts.

1. Repentance is turning.

Repentance involves an act of the will. That means you must come to the conclusion that you would be happier if you turned away from your sin to follow Jesus Christ. This is where all repentance begins. Reread the story of the Prodigal Son (see Luke 15:11-32) and you will see how he concluded that his father’s servants had it better than he did. Do you believe the servants of Jesus are in a better place than you are right now?

2. Repentance is turning from as much as you know of your own sin.

Notice, you cannot turn from a sin that you are unaware of. In God’s kindness, He doesn’t show us all of our sin at once. He shows it to us over time. Think of it like God turning the flashlight of the Holy Spirit on some area of your life. He doesn’t use a floodlight. That would completely overwhelm you. This means that over time your repentance will deepen as God shows you more sin in your life.

3. Repentance is turning with as much as you know of yourself.

This is also progressive. In other words, it deepens over time. You were created in the image of God, so that means you will get to know yourself better as you get to know God better.

4. Repentance is turn to as much as you know of God.

If you are married, you will know that you found out a lot more about your spouse after you got married than before. The same is true of God. If you’ve yet to repent and place your faith in Christ, then you do not yet know Him. Once you repent and commit yourself to Him, you will come to know Him much better, but this happens over time. As you walk with Christ, you will know Him better, including what is pleasing to Him, and what is not.

Your repentance will never be perfect in this life. But the Christian life begins with this single, imperfect step. Take it and see how Jesus welcomes you to Himself, with all your imperfections and flaws. I too am a sinner, and He received me with open arms.

I want you to think about Jesus’ words: “All that the Father gives me will come to me…” (John 6:37). Now, I suspect your first question will be: What if the Father doesn’t give me?

Listen to how Jesus finishes this sentence: “…and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.” Jesus says, “whoever comes to me…” That could be you today. If you come to Him, then the Father has given you to Him. That’s how you know who is given. So, go ahead and come to Christ today. These words from Jesus are your invitation to come.

Notice who Jesus is addressing. “Whoever” includes anyone and everyone. You’re invited! So, don’t hesitate. Don’t delay. Just come to Him now in repentance and faith, and Jesus Himself has said, “I will never cast you out.” Take Him at His word. Believe and trust in Him today.

Warmly in Christ,

Pastor Tim

15 Bible Verses on Godliness

Godliness is an essential pursuit for every Christian. God has wonderful plans to make us more like Christ, but we have work to do as well: "Train yourself for godliness" (1 Timothy 4:7).

Use this list of Bible verses on godliness from the New Testament to motivate you to be God's man or God's woman, growing in the fear of God, love for God, and desire for God. (And no, "cleanliness is next to godliness" is not a verse from the Bible!)
Bible Verses on Godliness in the Pastoral Letters
1) 1 Timothy 2:10 – …but with what is proper for women who profess godliness—with good works.

2) 1 Timothy 3:16 – Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.

3–4) 1 Timothy 4:7, 8 – Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.

5) 1 Timothy 5:4 – But if a widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn to show godliness to their own household and to make some return to their parents, for this is pleasing in the sight of God.

6) 1 Timothy 6:3 – If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness...

7) 1 Timothy 6:5 – …and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain.

8) 1 Timothy 6:6 – But godliness with contentment is great gain.

9) 1 Timothy 6:11 – But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness.

10) 2 Timothy 3:5 – having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.

11) Titus 1:1 – Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God's elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness .

12) Titus 2:12 – training us to renounce un godliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age.
Bible Verses on Godliness in 2 Peter
1) 2 Peter 1:3 – His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence...

2) 2 Peter 1:5-7 – For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.

3) 2 Peter 3:10-11 – The day of the Lord will come like a thief,
and then the heavens will pass away with a roar…
Since all these things are thus to be dissolved,
what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness,
waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God…



 

Fifteen references to godliness in the New Testament, and twelve of them are in the three short letters of Paul to Timothy and Titus. Why is that important?

These are letters to Christian leaders. While godliness is the calling of all believers, it is of special importance in those who lead. If you are going to lead effectively, you have to walk with God.

If you'd like to learn more about growing in godliness as a Christian, enroll in the free Christian leadership program called Open the Bible for Leaders. You can sample the first session of Watch Your Life called "Growing in Godliness" below.

Why You Can Confess Your Sins to God: A Look at 1 John 1:9

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9

1 John 1:9 is one of the first Bible verses I memorized as a young Christian.

It’s a verse with a challenge (If we confess our sins) and great comfort (He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness).

Maybe you feel stuck with God. You’d like to put some sins behind you and have a fresh start, but don’t feel like you’re getting anywhere. 1 John 1:9 will help you.
The Context
John saw Jesus with his own eyes. He touched Jesus. He listened to Jesus’ teaching, witnessed Jesus’ miracles, crucifixion, and resurrection. He also wrote 1 John to tell us what authentic faith looks like. John writes,

This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. (1 John 1:5–7)

John makes a contrast here between two ways of living: The first way is “walking in darkness” which is not real fellowship with God. The second way, which he calls “walking in the light”, is true fellowship with God. 

John is telling us that you cannot walk in darkness and have true fellowship with God. If you’re a Christian, your sin will bother you and you will want to come back into the light.

Non-Christians are often content to remain in the dark and may have a mentality that says, “If I didn’t get caught, then I didn’t do anything wrong.” If you’re trying to hide your sin, you’re acting like an unbeliever.
No Condemnation
Does this mean you need to confess every single sin you’ve ever committed for God to forgive it? No, it does not.

When you came to faith, at the beginning of your Christian life, you were justified. That means all your sins were forgiven—past, present, and future. This is the logic of Romans 8:1, which says, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” He doesn’t say “there is therefore now some condemnation” depending on if you confessed all your sins or not.

When John says, “if we confess our sins”, he is talking about our fellowship with God, not our salvation. If you knowingly sin and just hope it will go away, you will remain at a distance from God. Your conscience is troubled. You feel distant from your heavenly Father.

All of us who have walked with God for any amount of time have experienced something like this. It’s no fun. It’s like saying something mean to a friend or family member and then trying to ignore it. What do you need to do? You need to take responsibility for what you said or did, and that begins the process of reconciliation. You need to say, “I’m sorry.”

The same is true with God. The person who walks with God has a regular practice of confessing his or her sin to God.  
Trust in the Character of God
Two questions inevitably come up in talking about confessing our sins to God:

How do I know if/when God has forgiven me? Will I feel forgiven?


Have I done enough to deserve God’s forgiveness? Am I sorry enough? Just tell me what to do!

Let’s go back to 1 John 1:9:

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

We find the answer to both questions, not in us and what we are doing, but in the character of God.

First, God is faithful to forgive your sins.

In other words, God keeps His promises, and He will restore fellowship with you when you confess your sin to Him. God will do what God said He will do.

1 John 1:9 is not simply John’s opinion about God. John, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, was writing down God’s very words for us. In other words, God is saying,

If you confess your sins, I am faithful… to forgive your sins and to cleanse you from all unrighteousness. I will do it!

Second, He is just to forgive your sins.

If a judge lets a lawbreaker go free, we call him or her corrupt. How can a holy God restore fellowship with sinners like us? Doesn’t He have to essentially sweep our sins under the rug?

Absolutely not. God is committed to perfect justice. Every sin ever committed in the history of the world will be paid for. And God will see to it Himself.

Nothing we do in confessing our sins to God will make us more worthy of being brought back into fellowship with God. Jesus did all that was necessary to bring you into fellowship with God and to restore your fellowship with God.

You can ask God for mercy. You can ask God to restore you. And you can do it with confidence. Why? Because payment has been made and God is just. There is nothing further for you to do.

Bible Q&A: How Can We Trust the Bible When It Contains Inconsistencies?

Question: I am finding inconsistencies in the Gospels that really bother me. But if it contains contradictory accounts, how can we trust what the Bible says?

Answer: I suspect that you are bothered by these things because you believe that the Bible is God’s Word, and therefore, it is true in all that it says, but you also see details, especially here in the Gospels that don’t seem to line up (at best), and sound contradictory (at worst). It is important to keep in mind that the Gospels are essentially eye-witness accounts of the events surrounding the birth, life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

Matthew was one of Jesus’ disciples and served as an eyewitness of most, if not all that he wrote.Mark traveled with Peter for a time, and is believed to have written his Gospel based on Peter’s account.Luke traveled with Paul for a time, and attempted to put together an orderly account from various sources.John was also a disciple of Jesus and would serve as an eyewitness of most, if not all that he wrote.

Now, if we were to treat these 4 accounts simply as witnesses to the life and death of Jesus, we would expect each of them to convey many of the same things, but also that they might emphasize different details about what happened. This does not necessarily mean that the witnesses are wrong. For example, if 4 people witness a car accident, they will each give different details. Because of each one’s unique point of view, they likely saw some of the same things, and also some different things that were unique to their vantage point. But, where we run into problems is when the witnesses give contradictory testimony.

Let’s look at one apparent contradiction in the Gospel accounts, and see how it is possible to reconcile it. All 4 Gospels record the charge brought against Jesus that was fixed to the cross above Jesus’ head.

Matthew 27:37 says, “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.” (NIV)Mark 15:26 says, “The King of the Jews.” (NIV)Luke 23:38 says, “This is the King of the Jews.” (NIV)John 19:19 says, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” (NIV)

Now, these are clearly 4 different versions, if you will, of what Pilate had written and placed on the cross. How can we reconcile these differences? John 19:20 says, “Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin, and Greek.” So, now we have more information! The sign was not written in 1 language, it was written in 3. And so, now we have the likelihood that the translations contained slight variations, and that our eyewitness reports are, in all likelihood, accurate.

God is the only eyewitness that sees every detail. The rest of us are limited by our point of view. We believe the Bible was written by inspiration of the Holy Spirit: “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17, ESV). If the words of the Bible were breathed out by God, then they are true.

The New Testament was written almost 2,000 years ago. Since that time, people have been trying to resolve apparent contradictions in the Bible and between the 4 Gospel writers. You can have confidence that any apparent contradictions you find have already been discovered and that they can somehow be resolved—if not by a careful evaluation of the various accounts, then perhaps by a scholarly examination in the original languages. There is nothing new under the sun.

Now, you or I may not be able to answer every apparent contradiction we can find, but there are helpful books out there that address these sorts of things. One that has helped me is Gleason Archer’s Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties. I’m praying that this discussion will help strengthen your confidence in the accuracy and truthfulness of God’s Word.

Warmly in Christ,

Pastor Tim

Meeting God in His Ordinances

“God’s felt friendship in Christ.” It’s a lovely little phrase from the 17th-century Scottish preacher, David Dickson. His point is not simply that Christ makes us His friends, but that this friendship is something that can be felt. Dickson writes: “There is a rock of refuge for safety and comfort to the exiled and perplexed saint, which is able to supply all wants, and to sweeten all sorrows; and this is the rock of God’s felt friendship in Christ.”[1]

Christianity is not simply an intellectual worldview. It’s a living relationship with the living God. That means it is something that can be “felt.” Of course, our experience of God will be on another level in glory. But even now it is a felt friendship. Elsewhere Dickson talks about “felt presence”: “There is more joy in God’s felt presence,” he says, “than grief in felt trouble.”[2]
Experiencing the Presence
“Great,” you might be thinking, “but what does that look like? How do I experience this felt presence of God?” Perhaps our minds go to the mystic encountering God in the silence of contemplation or the charismatic preacher promising a power encounter in a time of ministry. Neither is a route advocated by the Puritans. Again and again in their writings they bring us back to the simple means of grace – the preaching of God’s word and the administration of the sacraments. These are God’s gifts to us that we might feel afresh the power of His promises and the consolation of His love. Dickson speaks of the “public ordinances,” the means of grace ordained by Christ in the gathering of the church: preaching, singing, prayer, communion. All very ordinary. And yet not ordinary at all – supernatural, God-infused activities through which God reassures the fragile, battered hearts of His people.

At one point Dickson writes: “When a man who loveth the public ordinances is debarred from them, and maketh use of private exercises of religion, God can and will supply unto him what he wanteth, and be a little sanctuary unto him.”[3] It’s a wonderful encouragement to private prayer and a delightful picture of God himself being the sanctuary in which we meet him. But can you spot Dickson’s underlying assumption? The private sanctuary is second best. It’s the alternative when someone cannot access “the public ordinances.” Of course, Dickson is not making us choose between them. It’s not an either/or. But it’s clear which comes first; which has the greatest potency to supply our spiritual needs.

Dickson is commenting on Psalm 63 where David is in exile, probably after being deposed by his son, Absalom. It’s part of a set of three psalms that appear to have been written during this period of enforced exile. Commenting on Psalm 61, Dickson says: “When the godly are driven … from exercise of public ordinances, no wonder they fall into perplexity of spirit.”[4] In Psalm 61:4 David longs to “dwell in your tent forever.” It’s a reference to the tabernacle. David longs for the means of grace. For David, under the old covenant, that meant the worship of the tabernacle. For us today it means the gospel communicated verbally in the preaching of God’s word and communicated physically in bread and wine. These means of grace are God’s kind gift to convey a sense of His promises and presence.

The same idea is expressed by the Puritan Thomas Manton:

God is to be sought in his ordinances, such as the word and prayer. Christ walks in the midst of the golden candlesticks. If you would find a man, notice where he usually walks. If you want to find Christ, look for him in the assemblies of his people.[5]

Manton adds, “It is not enough to make Christ the object of the ordinances, to worship him. We must also make him the end or goal of them.” In other words, it is not enough simply to talk about Christ when we meet together as His people – important as that is. What we really want is to meet Christ – to talk to him and hear from him. “It is not enough to make use of ordinances,” says Manton, “we must see if we can find God there … To be pleased with ourselves because we have been in the courts of God, even though we have not met with the living God, is very sad.”[6] So we must come to the ordinances with expectation.
Missing the Opportunity
Yes, there is a danger of chasing experiences. But most of us suffer the opposite threat: an intellectual approach to our Christian life in which service becomes mere duty rather than being energized by experience of Christ.

Part of our problem may be that we have a narrow notion of what an experience of God involves. Ironically, I suspect it’s a notion shaped by the excesses of the charismatic movement. We fear dramatic gatherings full of manipulation or unrealistic promises that leave people disillusioned. In the process we can miss the opportunity to celebrate the simple ways God meets us in His word and sacraments – comforting those feeling battered by life, challenging others in our complacency, reassuring those burdened by guilt.
Preparing to Meet with God
One way of putting this into practice is to follow another Puritan practice – that of preparing for the meeting of God’s people. The Puritans encouraged people to spend some time, perhaps on a Saturday evening or Sunday morning, examining their hearts and committing the upcoming church service to God in prayer. Puritan prayer manuals gave people model prayers for this, including this one from Lewis Bayly:

When I shall, with the rest of the holy assembly,
appear before your presence in your house,
speak to me through the preaching of your word.
Let not my sins stand as a cloud
to stop my prayers from ascending to you,
or to keep back your grace from descending
by your word into my soul.
May I feel today in my heart
the beginning of that eternal Sabbath,
which, in unspeakable joy and glory,
I shall celebrate with saints and angels
to your praise and worship for evermore.[7]

 

 

[1] David Dickson, A Commentary on the Psalms (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1959), Volume 1, pp. 361-362.

[2] David Dickson, A Commentary on the Psalms (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1959), Volume 1, p. 324.

[3] David Dickson, A Commentary on the Psalms (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1959), Volume 1, p. 372.

[4] David Dickson, A Commentary on the Psalms (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1959), Volume 1, p. 361.

[5] Adapted from Thomas Manton, “Sermons on Psalms 119,” The Complete Works of Thomas Manton (James Nisbet, 1872), Volume 6, p. 23.

[6] Adapted from Thomas Manton, “Sermons on Psalms 119,” The Complete Works of Thomas Manton (James Nisbet, 1872), Volume 6, p. 23.

[7] From Lewis Bayly, “A Sabbath-Day Prayer,” Into His Presence: Praying the with the Puritan, ed. Tim Chester (London: The Good Book Company, 2022), pp. 128-129.