#jesus

“You are not worthy.” “You failed again.” “How could God ever love you?” “How could God ever use you?” “You might as well give up. You will never be anything but a second-rate Christian—if you are a Christian at all….” Where do those voices come from?

We are in a battle, but not with other people. Our struggles with people and circumstances are real-life events and cause real-life problems. However, hiding behind every circumstance, there is a conspirator. Hiding behind every deception, there is a deceiver. Hiding behind every hurt, there is a hunter. Hiding behind every lie, there is the father of lies. Our clash is not with “flesh and blood.” We are in a spiritual battle.

One comedian has quipped. “I don’t fear death. I just don’t want to be there when it happens.” Most of us would agree there is some truth to that statement. The mystery of “the other side” causes anxiety, if not downright fear. So, let’s confront the fear of death by considering what awaits us on the other side.

The great promises of God are found throughout Scripture from the Old Testament to the New. And…so many of the promises are found in the beautiful poetry of the psalms. Today’s psalm promises that we are friends with God.

The message of the gospel is a message of grace, hope, and transformation. The power of the gospel stops a person in their tracks, causes them to realize their sin, and turns them to God. The gospel is not about being born into a Christian home, going through catechism, attending church, or being a good moral person. It is about life transformation.

How do you live a life that holds others up? What does it mean to submit to one another? Let’s start with a passage and then consider a real-life example that demonstrates how we are to place others above ourselves. Our passage is from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians.

Jesus was the substitute. He died in our place for our sins. In yesterday’s passage, we considered how Jesus provided a great example for us to follow regarding suffering. In this next verse, Peter quickly adds that Christ’s work on the cross was much more than a great man leaving a great example. Peter explains what is known in theology as “the substitutionary atonement.”

One of the amazing things about grace is that God chose us before “the foundation of the world.” He did not look down through the tunnel of time to see what kind of person we would be and then pick us for his team based on our future performance. God did not choose us because, in his omniscience, he knew that we would choose him. Fallen man does not seek God. This divine selection was based solely on God’s grace. And his choosing was for a purpose.

The power went out at about 10:30 PM. Lori and I were right in the middle of watching a movie. The movie was one someone had loaned to us and said we needed to watch it. To be honest, we didn’t mind missing the rest of the movie! But we did mind the darkness and cold. Our thirty hours without power made it feel like we were back in the pioneer days, out on the prairie living by candlelight and warming up by the fireplace. We own about ten flashlights, but only one worked, and it was a needed companion. Light cuts through the darkness.