What is our hope?

March 30, 2010

Maria Colossians, Hope, Romans Leave a comment

Hope is one of those equivocal words; it has more than one meaning.  One hopes that it doesn’t rain or that Mom doesn’t fix hamburger helper again or that one’s lottery ticket will bring in the jackpot.  None of these events are guaranteed or within one’s control.

But Christian hope is different and we need to be mindful of using that word around non-Christians.  Most people are likely to think of the weak, wishful thinking version of the word.  The Greek word for hope is ‘elpis’ and it carries with it the sense of assurance, something solidly guaranteed. You can take Christian hope to the bank.

So what is our assurance, our elpis?  Paul mentions in his letter to the Colossians that because of their hope, they were well-known for their unordinary and supernatural faith & love that was being talked about by many.  Colossians 1: 15 commends their deeds and praises them for “ – the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel that has come to you”.  It is this hope that has motivated them to unselfishly reach out to others and share their material & spiritual resources.

My husband and I were thinking about how we would talk or act if we had a rich uncle who had promised us an inheritance.  In our scenario, this uncle had even put the large sum of money irrevocably in our names and we had the account # and our signatures were properly recorded at the bank.  We just couldn’t use the funds until he died.  But the inheritance was a fact, an asset waiting for us, an accounts receivable line entry.  We wouldn’t refer to this sure money as the inheritance that we ‘hope’ we get, but the inheritance that we ‘know’ we will get. For it would just be a matter of time.

Our treasure in heaven is even MORE valuable and MORE assured than our hypothetical uncle’s inheritance.  Nothing will change our status; no circumstance such as theft, or earthquake or bank error or computer failure will rob us of what is laid up for us.  What awaits us is a life of favor in the presence of Jesus where we will do what we like best: make much of God.  I know that it is hard to imagine what that will be like, but I am assured by God’s word that it is what we are made to do best.

So how should we act?  All I know is that if I REALLY believe what Jesus has said and what Paul expands upon, then I will be a lot more joyful and peaceful, no matter present circumstances.  As Paul asserts in Romans 8: 38-29, “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord”.  Now I call that hope worth having!

What are you going to fantasize about?

March 22, 2010

Maria Colossians, Reflections 2 Comments

Set your hearts on things above…….set your minds on things above – Colossians 3: 1b, 2a

God has given us the gift of imagination.  We can feed it and grow it into something that draws us closer to God, or we can feed it and grow it into something that becomes an idol.

I was listening to a recent ‘Focus on the Family’ discussion about the impact Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series has had on women of all ages. World-wide, 85 million copies have been sold since 2005. Apparently young girls are not the only ones feeding on this rich fantasy. There are married women, too, who are being drawn into an exciting fictional life.  Similar to the Harry Potter craze that made many children want to attend Hogwarts, Bella and Edward’s romance is being lived out vicariously by numerous women.  The guests on the show were saying that the attraction is akin to the lure men fall spell to when they indulge in porn.  They fantasize about something ‘better’ than real life.  The danger, however, is the disengagement from real life and the ensuing disappointment when one compares the two.

Thinking about the ease with which these readers can craft an imaginary world made me think about our God who is not imaginary.  Yes, He is invisible.  But He is real.  We, too, have a book, but what sets it apart is that is empowered by an actual living Holy Spirit.  What if we read our Bibles with the same intensity and devotion that girls are gobbling up the Twilight series?  Numerous girls, disappointed when they come to the end of the 4th novel, have read the series several times, even though they know the outcome.  Their reaction reminds me of the milestone set in Italy when James Cameron’s Titanic came out.  NPR interviewed one Italian teen who had been to the theaters 55 times to see the film.

If young women are so drawn to a secular series that isn’t even real OR healthy, shouldn’t we look at God’s word with at least AS MUCH interest?  After all, it is Truth. It’s about an exciting life that is here and not just in the future.

I’ve heard people complain that it is difficult to love God because He’s not flesh and blood, not tangible, like one’s husband or child.  Now I realize that is just an excuse.  Looking at the Twilight phenomenon is proof that we can use our imaginations.  It is a matter of feeding our mind, of re-reading our Book, of meditating.  Actually, we should be encouraged to know, that we, too, can have a ‘magnificent obsession’.  And when we encounter a fan of this vampire series, let us take advantage of the opening and share what a REAL lover is like, one who will never disappoint us or harm us, unlike Edward.

Gushing about God

March 16, 2010

Maria Colossians, Praise Leave a comment

Ever since the day we heard about you, we have been praying that …..you would ….joyfully give thanks to the Father…….So then, just as you received Christ Jesus, continue to live in Him……overflowing with thankfulness. Colossians 1: 9, 12

Joyful and overflowing thankfulness?  What does that look like? I picture an unceasing, bubbling fountain, abundantly gushing.  Now apply that image to a state of human thankfulness.  My everyday attitude doesn’t even come close.  The problem is that if we are not in the practice of overflowing with thankfulness, then we can’t just rev up overnight our thankfulness quotient from 0 to 60.  If it’s not yet a habit, it’s going to take time to build up speed.  When we do have days free from pain and sorrow, we ought to thank God intentionally.  A good place to begin is when we rise in the morning.  If we don’t start on a ‘good day’, the days of sorrow will overtake us with no preparation for praise.   So beginning on the problem-free days will give us opportunity to build up this habit.  Practicing thankfulness in the mornings will hopefully spill over throughout the day.

I started a small notebook where I now jot down my thanksgivings.  I write down 3 or 4 obvious ones:  Wes and his buddies made it safely to Florida.  My friend’s marriage is growing stronger.  My husband found his blackberry. But I also try to include one that has lasting value and connected to the Gospel, for instance a) the hope stored up for me in heaven is sure and secure or b)  I have access to all the grace I need.

I was challenged the other day, reading some Spurgeon.  He offers some practical help in making thankfulness a habit.  He suggests we use our memory to recall and then rehearse God’s mercies.  When we share with others God’s blessings to us, our memory grows stronger.  We need to ‘abundantly utter’ God’s favor to us.  He goes on to say, “Do not imitate some people, who, if they are prospering, make a point of not owning to it.  They will say, ‘Oh, I am doing pretty well, or…it is a fair crop.’  What robbery of God.   We talk as if we were to be pitied for living; as if we were little better off than toads under a plow or snails in a tub of salt.  We whine as if our lives were martyrdoms and every breath a woe.”

Wow!  Does that convict me!  “How are you doing, Maria” – I am likely to answer, “okay or fine”.  According to Spurgeon, we should be rehearsing and talking about God’s lovingkindness, ( ‘chesed’ in the Hebrew).  Only if we practice recounting the specifics of how His lovingkindness blesses us, will it flow out of our mouth.  This is how we are to bubble over with thankfulness.  We need to repeat and remind ourselves OUT LOUD, just like we would be working on lines of a play or preparing for a test.

Spurgeon encourages us to be perpetually cheerful, not because of our circumstances, but because of God’s innumerable mercies.   That takes care of times when circumstances ARE negative and one is feeling depressed.  Spurgeon counsels Christians NOT to show when they are down.  He quotes Matt 6:18 ‘Don’t let men know when you are fasting’.  When we pretend that showing sadness or seriousness indicates sanctity, he calls that hypocrisy!  “To conceal one’s own grief for the sake of cheering others implies a self-denying sympathy that is the highest kind of Christianity.”

However, in defense of being real, I once read about a woman dying of cancer.  When friends and family would visit and ask about her condition, she would share for one minute because they truly were interested.  Then she would shift the conversation to them, her visitors.  I think we can combine both.  If life is currently harsh, admit that, but be sure to add how God is showing His mercies, strength or wisdom.   This truly is the ‘sacrifice of praise’ as opposed to the ‘indulgence of pity’.   And I do believe we have to prepare to gush a bit regarding God’s loving kindness.  Gush?  Isn’t that too stong a verb?  Not really.  It’s only because we’re not used to gushing over God.   I don’t think it comes naturally, but we should practice it!  And think how much our neighbors will benefit if we talk abundantly of God’s goodness.  It’s not bragging on us, but on God.  And they will be correct to think, ‘If God has been merciful to my neighbor Maria, then maybe He’ll help me!’

Sola Fide – what exactly IS faith?

March 9, 2010

Maria Ephesians, Faith Leave a comment

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. Ephesians 2:8-9

I’ve been listening to RC Sproul talk about what Sola Fide means.  I finally ‘got it’ – that FAITH is the instrument by which we are saved.  It’s this FAITH itself that is a gift of God.  I’m thinking that there must be two kinds of faith.  We all have natural faith that is borne out of experience.  I usually trust my car to start in the morning.  That sort of faith is an ‘expectation’ that is backed up by weeks of reliable service.  But faith to take God at His Word, trust that all our guilt has been shifted onto Christ, that His righteous deeds have been credited to our account, that kind of faith is nothing for which we have any experience.  So God GIVES that faith to us, by making us wake up to true reality (as He defines it).  We learn that the stakes are ENORMOUS and way beyond our ability to ‘decide for Christ’ or ‘live a life good enough to get into heaven’.

Without God opening our eyes, we will never understand or appreciate the gravity of the spiritual war roaring and swirling around us.  Yes, we can all see that He exists by looking at the world.  No one is off the hook for not knowing about God and His nature.  But more is at stake than just knowing that God is real.  The demons know that!  Our very eternal souls are at stake.  It’s Satan or God who is our Father and laying a claim to us.  Those whose names are written in God’s book before the universe was created receive this supernatural faith to believe.

This is actually very good news for those of us who might be inclined to fear that our faith is weak.  It might be weak, but Jesus assures us, that if it exists at all, it is sufficient.  Not the size or quantity of the faith, but the one who gives it and anchors it matters.  After all, a small bit of nuclear energy is sufficient to create a huge explosion.  Either we have received this supernatural faith or we haven’t.  What comforts me is that we don’t have to muster it ourselves.

Nonetheless, like raw talent or muscles one is born with, faith will grow stronger as it is used.  This is a life principle.  We feed our faith and gain ultimate true peace by growing in the knowledge of the Lord.  The more we know about God and his character, the more we trust what He says.

So go ahead and thank God for the gift of faith.  And exercise it!

Assumptions about the Gospel

March 4, 2010

Maria Colossians, Gospel Leave a comment

‘But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation – If you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel.’  Col 1: 22-23

  • Everyone in the Church needs to hear the Gospel every day.
  • I, Maria, need to hear the Gospel every day.
  • Unbelievers need to hear the Gospel.

I was listening to an interview with the eldest daughter of Martyn Lloyd-Jones.  He was the pastor of Westminster Chapel in London for 30 years.  In her talk with Mark Dever (Capitol Hill Baptist Church) she said that her dad was raised in a good Christian, chapel-going Welsh home where everyone assumed that people knew the Gospel.  In other words, the Gospel was not explicitly expounded in Lloyd-Jones’ boy-hood church.  He came to a saving faith gradually as an adult as he heard bits and pieces of the Gospel message and God put it together for him.  As counter-intuitive as it might be, we cannot assume that people in our churches have heard the Gospel.

But hearing it once is not enough.  Each day I wake up as though I have forgotten the news.  I NEED to hear the facts, the actual content of my faith, repeated daily. The Gospel is not just the story of what Jesus did for us so that we wouldn’t be condemned for our sins.  The good news of the Gospel is the power to transform our thinking so that we feel and act differently.  Soaking in Gospel truth, drop by daily drop, will change us.

A guest preacher for Matt Chandler’s church in Dallas was talking about how every one of us will stand before God at the Day of Judgment.  We will either be condemned for our sins, each and every one of them (thought, word and deed) or we will be commended in Christ.  But this commendation will have nothing to do with us, personally, as if we DID something.  (‘yes, I saw the light and was wise enough to choose Jesus’) No, Scripture is very clear that nothing we have done is worthy of commendation.  After all, our best deeds are described as dirty, greasy, rags fit for a motor pit-stop (Isaiah 64:6)

How freeing to meditate on the fact that God chose me before I was born and that I have value and worth because of his sovereign, electing love.  He purposefully planned for my life and my future inheritance.   I don’t have to earn his love.  I already have it.  That is the Gospel message I need to hear each day.

Understanding this radical news will aid me in halting my incessant seeking of worth via my ‘sophisticated and subtle’ boasts to fellow humans.  The impulse to impress others is always there.  I realized today that even in my French classes, I crave the students’ approval for my methods and techniques.  If I can cleverly engage them so they seem fascinated by French, then I am worth something as teacher.

But the Gospel message tells me I have only 2 choices – Do I want to stand and face God on my own record or on Jesus’ merit?

(But Lord, I want some credit for working hard and being a clever and gifted French teacher.  I want some strokes for that!)  Here is what would be freeing, to get it down deep inside of me, that I am totally accepted and O-K-A-Y, because of Christ (my ‘okay-ness’ is outside of me as Ray Ortlund puts it).  Then I would be free to focus on the kids and use French that is comprehensible to talk about them.  Freed up knowing that I’m totally loved, I could love on them.  No pressure.  Is it possible?

See what I mean that we need to hear the Gospel message every day?

And if WE, already loved and accepted as Christ’s brothers and sisters, need to hear it every day, then how much more  do our non-believing friends and neighbors?

So, here is my new question that I want to ask everyone I encounter, a question designed to keep my focus on God and encourage my heart, but also bless my fellow man:  “Hey, can I ask you my favorite question?  How has God blessed you recently?”

Asking that question and hopefully engaging someone on that level will keep the focus off me and will give me glimpses into glory which will encourage MY heart.

Pray that:   1) I can remember the question and 2) remember that I have nothing to lose by asking it.  I am already loved and accepted by Him who matters most in this world.