Faith or Experience?

. . . the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me —Galatians 2:20

We should battle through our moods, feelings, and emotions into absolute devotion to the Lord Jesus. We must break out of our own little world of experience into abandoned devotion to Him. Think who the New Testament says Jesus Christ is, and then think of the despicable meagerness of the miserable faith we exhibit by saying, “I haven’t had this experience or that experience”! Think what faith in Jesus Christ claims and provides— He can present us faultless before the throne of God, inexpressibly pure, absolutely righteous, and profoundly justified. Stand in absolute adoring faith “in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God— and righteousness and sanctification and redemption . . .” (1 Corinthians 1:30). How dare we talk of making a sacrifice for the Son of God! We are saved from hell and total destruction, and then we talk about making sacrifices!

We must continually focus and firmly place our faith in Jesus Christ— not a “prayer meeting” Jesus Christ, or a “book” Jesus Christ, but the New Testament Jesus Christ, who is God Incarnate, and who ought to strike us dead at His feet. Our faith must be in the One from whom our salvation springs. Jesus Christ wants our absolute, unrestrained devotion to Himself. We can never experience Jesus Christ, or selfishly bind Him in the confines of our own hearts. Our faith must be built on strong determined confidence in Him.

It is because of our trusting in experience that we see the steadfast impatience of the Holy Spirit against unbelief. All of our fears are sinful, and we create our own fears by refusing to nourish ourselves in our faith. How can anyone who is identified with Jesus Christ suffer from doubt or fear! Our lives should be an absolute hymn of praise resulting from perfect, irrepressible, triumphant belief.

http://utmost.org/faith-or-experience/

Colossians 2:6 So walk ye in Him.

If we have received Christ Himself in our inmost hearts, our new life will manifest its intimate acquaintance with Him by a walk of faith in Him. Walking implies action. Our religion is not to be confined to our closet; we must carry out into practical effect that which we believe. If a man walks in Christ, then he so acts as Christ would act; for Christ being in him, his hope, his love, his joy, his life, he is the reflex of the image of Jesus; and men say of that man, “He is like his Master; he lives like Jesus Christ.” Walking signifies progress. “So walk ye in Him”; proceed from grace to grace, run forward until you reach the uttermost degree of knowledge that a man can attain concerning our Beloved. Walking implies continuance. There must be a perpetual abiding in Christ. How many Christians think that in the morning and evening they ought to come into the company of Jesus, and may then give their hearts to the world all the day: but this is poor living; we should always be with Him, treading in His steps and doing His will. Walking also implies habit. When we speak of a man’s walk and conversation, we mean his habits, the constant tenour of his life. Now, if we sometimes enjoy Christ, and then forget Him; sometimes call Him ours, and anon lose our hold, that is not a habit; we do not walk in Him. We must keep to Him, cling to Him, never let Him go, but live and have our being in Him. “As ye have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him”; persevere in the same way in which ye have begun, and, as at the first Christ Jesus was the trust of your faith, the source of your life, the principle of your action, and the joy of your spirit, so let Him be the same till life’s end; the same when you walk through the valley of the shadow of death, and enter into the joy and the rest which remain for the people of God. O Holy Spirit, enable us to obey this heavenly precept.

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Savor The Flavor

“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Galatians 3:28

America has often been called “a melting pot.” But obviously that is not the case. Politicians tend to fuel sensitivity to class and color divisions for their own gain. Gender tensions abound. Generational differences are more marked than ever. In fact, cultural observers are starting to say that the “melting pot” metaphor is outdated—that the goal should be a cultural “stew” in which the distinct taste of each ingredient is enhanced by the contribution of the other ingredients.

In a world where pride and prejudice abound, Jesus offers us the joy of unity across all the lines that so easily divide us. In His church, the unique flavors of our diverse backgrounds can complement each other, united “through faith in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:26) and empowered by His Spirit and our submission to His principles. In Him our diversity doesn’t divide but rather unites and enriches us as we recognize that we all have Jesus, His Word, and His ways in common. As we embrace Him together, our differences become secondary and our mutual love for Him drives us to love each other as He has loved us.

Jesus is the master mixer! In His kingdom, pride and prejudice are out, and love and mutual acceptance are the order of the day.

Within the church of Jesus Christ The joys of unity abound When love accepts diversity And prejudice cannot be found. —Sper

Christ’s love creates unity in the midst of diversity.

http://getmorestrength.org/daily/savor-the-flavor/

No One Does Good? Really? by Mark D. Roberts

Psalm 14:1-7

But no, all have turned away;      all have become corrupt. No one does good,      not a single one!

Psalm 14:3

I remember when I first resolved to read through the whole Bible. I was in high school and it seemed like the godly thing to do. But, as I began making my way through Scripture, I kept stumbling upon verses that were unsettling to me. Sometimes what a verse described seemed abhorrent to me. Other verses just seemed wrong. I believed that the Bible was God‘s Word and was always true. But what was I to do with verses that seemed to be, well, false?

Psalm 14:3 was such a verse. I encountered this verse as it was quoted in Romans 3:12, where it says, “All have turned away; all have become useless. No one does good, not a single one.” As I read this, I thought to myself: “Wait! How is this possible? Somebody does good. I have seen people be generous to the poor. I have watched people love difficult people. And I have even done a few truly good things in my life. So how can the Bible say that no one does good, not a single one?”

Some people, when they come to verses like Psalm 14:3, quickly conclude that the Bible gets it wrong. But, whether they believe in biblical authority or not, they are not reading Scripture with the kind of attentiveness that all serious literature deserves. All responsible reading pays attention to the genre of the material and its context. So, when we approach the Psalms, we must remember that they are poetry. Psalm 14:3 isn’t a piece of prosaic legal material. Rather, it is a poetic, indeed, hyperbolic expression of the pervasive sinfulness of humanity. Poetry says, “No one does good, not a single one.” Philosophical discourse might say, “All people do wrong, but some people do what’s right some of the time.”

Psalm 14:3 appears in a poem that laments the sinfulness of all human beings. In the end, the good that we do cannot erase our sinful behavior. Thus, Psalm 14 ends by asking a paramount question: “Who will come from Mount Zion to rescue us?” (14:7). Who is able to save us? Only the Lord (14:7). He alone is able to restore his people and, ultimately, the whole world.

In Romans 3, Paul quotes Psalm 14:3 in order to set up the need for a savior. Yes, no one does good. Both Jews and Gentiles fall short of God’s righteousness: “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard” (Rom. 3:23). This is the bad news that prepares the way for the good news: “Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins” (Rom. 3:24). Truly, everyone does what is wrong. No one does good and good alone…except for Jesus Christ, our Savior, through whose goodness we are righteous in God’s sight.

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER REFLECTION: When you read a verse like Psalm 14:3, a verse that somehow seems wrong to you, what do you do? Do you ever believe that you can be good enough to earn God’s favor? How does the reality of your sinfulness impact your relationship with God?

PRAYER: O Lord, as you know, there are many passages of Scripture that are disconcerting to us, things we don’t understand, or things we understand but don’t like. At times your Word is crystal clear and compelling. But then there are other times…

Help us, Lord, to understand your Word correctly. By your Spirit, may we pay close attention to the text and its context. Help us to be accurate readers.

And when we come upon things that we don’t like, help us not to reject your Word as something less than true. Rather, teach us to dig deeply, to think, to pray, to converse with others, to wrestle with Scripture so that we might be changed by it.

Finally, gracious God, thank you for your salvation, for reaching out to us even when we were sinners. Thank you for your grace poured out through Jesus Christ. Amen.

http://www.thehighcalling.org/reflection/no-one-does-good-really-0?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheHighCallingDailyReflections+%28Daily+Reflection+%26+Prayer%29

A Reflection for All Saints Day by Mark D. Roberts

Ephesians 1:1

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To God’s holy people in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 1:1

Today is All Saints Day, a holy day recognized by the Catholic Church and, in various ways, by various Protestant denominations. Eastern Orthodox Christians celebrate the Sunday of All Saints on the week after Pentecost.

Some Christian traditions focus on remembering special Christians on All Saints Day or bringing to mind believers who have died and gone to be with the Lord. This day offers a fine opportunity to thank God for those whose lives have honored him and made a difference to us. Yet, it’s important to remember that the biblical sense of “saint” includes all of God’s people, not just those who have excelled in discipleship. I thought it might be helpful for us to review what we learned about saints from Ephesians 1:1.

In the opening verse of this letter, Paul addresses the letter’s recipients as “God’s holy people.” Traditionally, the Greek word hagioi, translated here as “God’s holy people,” is rendered “saints.” Thus, the King James version reads, “To the saints which are at Ephesus.” In fact, the English word “saint” comes from the Latin sanctus, which means “holy.” So, saints are holy people, by definition.

But what does it mean to be a holy person, a saint? From a biblical perspective, something is holy when it is set apart for God and God’s purposes. So, an animal to be sacrificed to the Lord is holy because it is designated for this special function. In Exodus 19, God set apart the Israelites as his own “treasured possession” (19:5). They would be a “holy nation” (19:6) through which God would make himself known to the world. In the New Testament, believers in Jesus Christ are referred to as “saints” or “holy people” because they have inherited Israel’s divinely conferred status as people set apart by God for him and for his saving purposes.

If you have put your faith in Jesus Christ, you are a saint. You are a holy person. This does not necessarily say anything about your worthiness to receive this title or your exemplary lifestyle, however. I wouldn’t recommend that you go around putting “Saint” in front of your name. Rather, you are a saint because God has chosen you to belong to him and his people. He has set you apart so that you might participate in his redeeming work in the world.

Remember, you are not a solo saint. There is no such thing from a biblical perspective. Rather, as a saint, you have been joined to the family of all saints, including those who live around the world and those who have gone to be with the Lord. Therefore, on All Saints Day, it is a perfect time to remember that God has made you special for him and his purposes, and that he has joined you into the eternal, worldwide fellowship of all his saints. Moreover, it’s a good day to take seriously the fact that God wants to make himself known in this world through you as a member of the family of all saints.

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER REFLECTION: When you hear the word “saint” or “holy person,” what do you envision? Do you believe that God has set you apart for himself and for his mission in the world? Who are some of the “saints” who have encouraged you in your faith? Why not thank God for them today?

PRAYER: Holy God, it is amazing to think that you have set me apart for you and for your mission. Thank you for choosing me to enter into a relationship with and to serve you in the world.

Help me, dear Lord, to live out who I am as a saint. May I see my whole life in light of the fact that you have set me apart for you. May I live distinctively, reflecting your presence and values in all that I do. And may I do so as part of your family of saints.

Thank you, gracious God, for those saints who have meant so much to my discipleship. I thank you for those I have never met, like the Apostle Paul, or J. S. Bach, or C. S. Lewis. And I thank you for those who have nurtured me in a personal way, for my parents and grandparents, for my Sunday School teachers and youth leaders, for my pastors and mentors. Thank you, dear Lord, for these wonderful saints! Amen.

http://www.thehighcalling.org/reflection/reflection-all-saints-day

Justification by Faith

If when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life —Romans 5:10

I am not saved by believing— I simply realize I am saved by believing. And it is not repentance that saves me— repentance is only the sign that I realize what God has done through Christ Jesus. The danger here is putting the emphasis on the effect, instead of on the cause. Is it my obedience, consecration, and dedication that make me right with God? It is never that! I am made right with God because, prior to all of that, Christ died. When I turn to God and by belief accept what God reveals, the miraculous atonement by the Cross of Christ instantly places me into a right relationship with God. And as a result of the supernatural miracle of God’s grace I stand justified, not because I am sorry for my sin, or because I have repented, but because of what Jesus has done. The Spirit of God brings justification with a shattering, radiant light, and I know that I am saved, even though I don’t know how it was accomplished.

The salvation that comes from God is not based on human logic, but on the sacrificial death of Jesus. We can be born again solely because of the atonement of our Lord. Sinful men and women can be changed into new creations, not through their repentance or their belief, but through the wonderful work of God in Christ Jesus which preceded all of our experience (see 2 Corinthians 5:17-19). The unconquerable safety of justification and sanctification is God Himself. We do not have to accomplish these things ourselves— they have been accomplished through the atonement of the Cross of Christ. The supernatural becomes natural to us through the miracle of God, and there is the realization of what Jesus Christ has already done— “It is finished!” (John 19:30).

http://utmost.org/justification-by-faith/

Overcoming Our Carnal Nature

“The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus.”                                     Ro 8:2

Paul addresses the daily battle that’s waged between our old nature and our new one: “The power of sin within me keeps sabotaging my best intentions…I can will it, but I can’t do it. I decide to do good, but I don’t really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway…Something…within me…gets the better of me every time. It happens so regularly that it’s predictable. The moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up. I truly delight in God’s commands, but it’s pretty obvious that not all of me joins in that delight. Parts of me covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take charge. I’ve tried everything and nothing helps. I’m at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me?” (Ro 7:18-24 TM). If that sounds like a description of your life, read on: “The Spirit of life in Christ, like a strong wind, has…cleared the air, freeing you from a…lifetime of…tyranny at the hands of sin and death” (Ro 8:2 TM). When you fly in an airplane the law of aerodynamics overcomes the law of gravity by lifting you above it. And Jesus does that for us. The “law of sin” can rule only if your flesh is alive. So the answer is—die to self! That’s the tough part, for just when you think you’re dead your old nature rises up again. Thank God, a new power is in operation, and the closer you live to Jesus the more that power will work in your life.

http://theencouragingword.wordpress.com/2012/10/28/overcoming-our-carnal-nature/

John 15:19 I have chosen you out of the world.

Here is distinguishing grace and discriminating regard; for some are made the special objects of divine affection. Do not be afraid to dwell upon this high doctrine of election. When your mind is most heavy and depressed, you will find it to be a bottle of richest cordial. Those who doubt the doctrines of grace, or who cast them into the shade, miss the richest clusters of Eshcol; they lose the wines on the lees well refined, the fat things full of marrow. There is no balm in Gilead comparable to it. If the honey in Jonathan’s wood when but touched enlightened the eyes, this is honey which will enlighten your heart to love and learn the mysteries of the kingdom of God. Eat, and fear not a surfeit; live upon this choice dainty, and fear not that it will be too delicate a diet. Meat from the King’s table will hurt none of His courtiers. Desire to have your mind enlarged, that you may comprehend more and more the eternal, everlasting, discriminating love of God. When you have mounted as high as election, tarry on its sister mount, the covenant of grace. Covenant engagements are the munitions of stupendous rock behind which we lie entrenched; covenant engagements with the surety, Christ Jesus, are the quiet resting-places of trembling spirits.

“His oath, His covenant, His blood,

Support me in the raging flood;

When every earthly prop gives way,

This still is all my strength and stay.”

If Jesus undertook to bring me to glory, and if the Father promised that He would give me to the Son to be a part of the infinite reward of the travail of His soul; then, my soul, till God Himself shall be unfaithful, till Jesus shall cease to be the truth, thou art safe. When David danced before the ark, he told Michal that election made him do so. Come, my soul, exult before the God of grace and leap for joy of heart.

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2 Timothy 2:11 It is a faithful saying.

Paul has four of these “faithful sayings.” The first occurs in 1 Timothy 1:15, “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.” The next is in 1 Timothy 4:6, “Godliness is profitable unto all things, having the promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come. This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation.” The third is in 2 Timothy 2:12, “It is a faithful saying-If we suffer with Him we shall also reign with Him”; and the fourth is in Titus 3:3, “This is a faithful saying, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works.” We may trace a connection between these faithful sayings. The first one lays the foundation of our eternal salvation in the free grace of God, as shown to us in the mission of the great Redeemer. The next affirms the double blessedness which we obtain through this salvation-the blessings of the upper and nether springs-of time and of eternity. The third shows one of the dut ies to which the chosen people are called; we are ordained to suffer for Christ with the promise that “if we suffer, we shall also reign with Him.” The last sets forth the active form of Christian service, bidding us diligently to maintain good works. Thus we have the root of salvation in free grace; next, the privileges of that salvation in the life which now is, and in that which is to come; and we have also the two great branches of suffering with Christ and serving with Christ, loaded with the fruits of the Spirit. Treasure up these faithful sayings. Let them be the guides of our life, our comfort, and our instruction. The apostle of the Gentiles proved them to be faithful, they are faithful still, not one word shall fall to the ground; they are worthy of all acceptation, let us accept them now, and prove their faithfulness. Let these four faithful sayings be written on the four corners of My house.

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Psalm 104:16 The trees of the Lord are full of sap.

Without sap the tree cannot flourish or even exist. Vitality is essential to a Christian. There must be life–a vital principle infused into us by God the Holy Ghost, or we cannot be trees of the Lord. The mere name of being a Christian is but a dead thing, we must be filled with the spirit of divine life. This life is mysterious. We do not understand the circulation of the sap, by what force it rises, and by what power it descends again. So the life within us is a sacred mystery. Regeneration is wrought by the Holy Ghost entering into man and becoming man’s life; and this divine life in a believer afterwards feeds upon the flesh and blood of Christ and is thus sustained by divine food, but whence it cometh and whither it goeth who shall explain to us? What a secret thing the sap is! The roots go searching through the soil with their little spongioles, but we cannot see them suck out the various gases, or transmute the mineral into the vegetable; this work is done down in the dark. Our root is Christ Jesus, an d our life is hid in Him; this is the secret of the Lord. The radix of the Christian life is as secret as the life itself. How permanently active is the sap in the cedar! In the Christian the divine life is always full of energy-not always in fruit-bearing, but in inward operations. The believer’s graces, are not every one of them in constant motion? but his life never ceases to palpitate within. He is not always working for God, but his heart is always living upon Him. As the sap manifests itself in producing the foliage and fruit of the tree, so with a truly healthy Christian, his grace is externally manifested in his walk and conversation. If you talk with him, he cannot help speaking about Jesus. If you notice his actions you will see that he has been with Jesus. He has so much sap within, that it must fill his conduct and conversation with life.

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