Not-So-Fast Friday

“God shows his own love for us in this:  While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8

It’s Friday…but Sunday’s coming!  But don’t rush to get there.  The delirious delight of the empty tomb can tempt us to skip past Calvary with only brief (though sincere) acknowledgement and heartfelt (but not heartbroken) gratitude.  So don’t let today go by so fast.  Granted, stopping at the cross is never comfortable.  The brutal reality that another is suffering because of us is hard to swallow. The truth that we are so bad that such a price must be paid is humbling.  But don’t hurry away.  Psalm 107:43 says, “Whoever is wise, let him heed these things and consider the great love of the Lord,” and at no time in history or eternity is God’s love so obvious as during those six hours that Friday.  “God shows his own love for us in this:  While we were still sinners, Christ died for us”(Rom 5:8).

The first time I remember observing Good Friday I was in third grade.  I was excited because I volunteered to read Matthew’s account of the crucifixion to my class and was quite sure I could correctly pronounce Jesus’ cry of “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?”  I am rather certain I did not, and I am not convinced I get it right now, but the translation of the question is clear—“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

The answer is clear as well—us.  We are the reason for the ripped flesh, dripping blood, anguished breath, searing pain, desolate darkness, and ultimate agony as the Father turned away from the Son. Our sin and separation from God was the cause of His severed soul.  And He hung there because He wanted to.

Last night during practice for our Good Friday service, the choir rehearsed the hymn “Blessed Redeemer,” and from my spot on the side of the stage I started to sing along—but the words I knew by heart could hardly make it out of my mouth, so I mumbled them in a reverent whisper.

Up Calvary’s mountain one dreadful morn
Walked Christ my Savior, weary and worn,
Facing for sinners death on the cross
That He might save them from endless loss.

Blessed Redeemer, precious Redeemer,
Seems now I see Him on Calvary’s tree,
Wounded and bleeding, for sinners pleading,
Blind and unheeding, dying for me.

The scene of the cross is at the same time revolting and riveting, so take the time to stop and see.  And then in a reverent whisper, say thanks.

It Is Well

“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”  R0mans 5:1

Yesterday’s prayer requests were hard and heavy.  I sat in the worship service and thought, “Wow!” as numerous needs were listed and lifted up.  Unexpected illnesses, untimely deaths, struggles that had not ceased, and problems not yet resolved.  As ripples of concern spread through the congregation, those not affected then could only wonder, “When?”  But after the service, as I talked with some who bore those burdens and saw other afflicted friends grouped in confident prayer, the question shifted to, “How?” 

How can you close a casket and not crumble?  How can you hear a diagnosis and not fall apart?  How can you stand at a ship’s rail, stare into the deadly depths, and still sing, “It is well,”?  That’s what Horatio Spafford did.  You’ve probably heard the story, but it never ceases to inspire. Spafford was a wealthy Chicago lawyer with lots real estate, a lovely wife, and four beautiful daughters.  Then Mrs. O’Leary’s cow kicked over the lantern, and Spafford lost many of his land holdings in the devastating fire.  Sensing that his wife’s health was failing as they aided others during the recovery, he arranged for a family vacation to Europe with plans to join evangelists Dwight L. Moody and Ira Sankey in a British crusade, but a last minute business deal caused his family to sail without him.  En route to Europe, their ship was struck by another vessel and quickly sank.  Mrs. Spafford survived, but all four daughters drowned. While traveling to be with his grieving wife, Spafford stared into the sea which had swallowed his daughters, then picked up a pen and proclaimed, “When peace like a river attendeth my way, when sorrows like sea billows roll, whatever my lot Thou hast taught me to say, ‘It is well; it is well with my soul.’”

How can one sing in such sorrow?  How can one stand in such loss?  Only by knowing that no matter what storms rage on the outside, you are at peace with God on the inside—and always will be.  “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ”(R0mans 5:1).  When we are God’s, He is not against us but for us.  When we are His, we are assured that the One who wanted us to be at peace with Him and who loved us so much that gave His life to make our peace with Him will not allow anything to come our way that He hasn’t planned for His purpose.  Christ Himself is our peace (Eph 2:14), and through the tragedies and trials of life, He Himself will “give us peace at all times and in every way”(2 Thess 3:16).

There will come a day when the prayer requests will all be praise reports, but until then we can face the sorrows and struggles of life with peace knowing that no matter what, “Our sin, O the bliss of this glorious though, our sin, not in part but the whole, has been nailed to the cross and we bear it no more!  Praise the Lord!  Praise the Lord, O my soul!”

It is well.

Fully Persuaded Faith

“Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”  Romans 4:3

Abraham believed God.  To do so seemed irrational, illogical, and, from the look of things, rather irresponsible, but the faith of one man changed not only his own future but that of the entire world.

“Go,” God said.  “Move away from the relatives and relocate to an I’ll-let-you-know-later destination.  From your descendants I will build a great nation, and through your life I will bless the whole earth.”  This divine command and the promise it carried would have sounded exciting had Abraham been forty years old with four sons, but, by this time, he was seventy-five, his wife was eligible for full Social Security benefits, and the never-used nursery had been converted to an office decades earlier.  But because Abraham believed God, he packed his stuff, took Sarah’s hand, and headed south.

“That’s crazy!” some will say, but Abraham’s crazy faith was “credited to him as righteousness”(Rom 4:3).  Since he was certain that God would do what seemed impossible, his sin was no longer counted against him and the holy goodness of God—procured for him and for us by Jesus on the cross—was added to the ledger of his life.

“Face the facts!” some will say, but faith looks beyond earth’s dead ends to the One who made the way in heaven.  “Without weakening in his faith, Abraham faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead…yet he did not waver through unbelief…being fully persuaded that God had the power to do what he had promised”(Rom 4:19-21).  Our faith for salvation and for all of God’s promises is not in the outcome but in the all-powerful God who determines the outcome.  Abraham did not merely believe that he would become a dad when he was old; “Abraham believed God”—the God who had the power to make the promise a reality.   And because Abraham believed God, he was blessed and we are blessed.

Our faith ought to be a bit easier than Abraham’s.  God asked him to believe something which was yet to happen.  He asks us to believe something that has already occurred—that “Jesus was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification”(Rom 4:25).  And, this God “who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were”(Rom 4:17 ) can surely be trusted not just for life eternal but for all we need during life on earth.

Have a fully persuaded faith.  God’s power to keep His promise can never be diminished, defeated, or destroyed.

Above all else, beyond all else, in spite of all else, believe God.

Bad News, Good News, Great News

“This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.”  Romans 3:22

For the past several days I’ve struggled for words to expound upon the profound truths of Romans 3, and I’ve decided that since I can’t say them better, I’ll say them shorter.  So, in summary, here’s what we need to know.

The Bad News—No one is good but God. “Jews and non-Jews alike are all under sin…As it is written ‘There is none righteous, not even one’”(Rom 3:9-10.) Jesus had plainly stated this fact a few years earlier when dialoguing with a sincere but not-quite-surrendered rich, young ruler.  “No one is good—except God alone,” Jesus said, swiftly and surely eliminating the possibility that any of us could “be declared righteous in God’s sight by observing the Law”(Rom 3:20).  So much for the erroneous idea that if we have more positives than negatives at the end, all will be well in the end.  Not so, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”(Rom 3:23). Plainly put, we’re all bad—hopelessly bad, and we can never make ourselves good.

The Good News—Being right with God is not a result of what we do but what God does.  Lots of people try to earn their way to eternal life, but since such endeavors can’t come close to divine perfection, they are doomed.  But do not dismay! “A righteousness from God, apart from the law, has been made known.  This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe”(Rom 3:21-22). Note that twice in these short phrases we’re told where righteousness comes from—God Himself. We “are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus(Rom 3:25).

God’s list of rules and regulations (called the law) weren’t intended to save us but to show us who He is and who we are.  Knowing that we could never make ourselves right by trying to do right, God Himself made us right by being right, paying the penalty for our wrongness, and freely giving us His rightness in Jesus.  “God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood”(Rom 3:25).  Such grace leaves no room for pride—only praise.

If I had to guess, I would say that nothing you’ve just read—the bad news or the good news—is new news.  It was most likely, at best, a review of stuff you’ve heard and had in your heart for years.  If this is so, pause and praise God that you are not one of the several billion people who have never heard these simple truths of salvation.  Thank Him that you are not a member of the multitudes who wake each day with only an unfounded wishful hope and never a certainty of heaven. Always remember that the gospel you sometimes take for granted has been shared with you and believed and received by you only because of the astounding grace of a sovereign God. 

Regardless of how often we read, review, or are reminded of the truths of Romans 3—that no one is good but God and that being right with God is not a result of what we do but what He does—we should never deem these statements as dull dogma but as delightful doctrine which we cherish and carry throughout each day as the very essence of our certain hope and secure standing in Christ.  

And no matter how many times they’re repeated, the truth of God’s grace is always great news!

My Talk With Me

“Praise the Lord, I tell myself, praise his holy name.”  Psalm 103:1

A few days ago, I called myself—twice in one morning!  The explanation is too long and dull to recount, so suffice it to say that the first was an accidental call from my cell phone to my land line, and the second was me dialing my own number thinking I was calling back the person I thought had just called me!  Hearing a recording of my own voice caused me to pause, look more closely at my phone, and realize that I was the one doing all the dialing!  I had to laugh, (what else does one do when questioning her own sanity??), but I also wondered—“What would I tell myself if I could really call myself?”

Most likely my conversation with me would be filled with reminders of things I need to do or want to do, and, actually, such dialogue would be quite Biblical.  Repeatedly in the book of Psalms, the writer talks to himself about things necessary and needed, and the discussion always includes the words, “O my soul”—a rather poetic way of saying, “I tell myself.”  So what does the psalmist keep telling himself?  To praise the Lord, to remember His grace, and to rest in God alone.

“Praise the Lord, I tell myself, praise his holy name.  Praise the Lord, I tell myself, and don’t forget the benefits of being his—he forgives your sins, heals your sickness, redeems your life from the pit, crowns you with love and compassion, and fulfills your desires with things that are good (Ps 103:1-2).  That’s great stuff for you to tell you—and for me to tell me—over and over.  We know that our amazing God deserves constant adoration for who He is and what He does, but the pressing matters and petty distractions of each day often push worship down or off our priority list.   And so we need to repeatedly say, “Praise the Lord, I tell myself, praise his holy name.”

We also need to regularly remind ourselves that our contentment, significance, and fulfillment are found in God alone.  Our hang-wringing fretting and heart-gripping worry will greatly diminish when we take our own advice to “find rest, I tell myself, in God alone.  Your hope comes from him”(Ps 62:5), and to “be at rest once more, I tell myself, for the Lord has been good to you(Ps 116:7).  The peace that passes understanding will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus when we place our requests before God and trust in Him to bring about His best(Phil 4:6), but since we are easily stressed, we need to tell ourselves often to rest.

Praise the Lord, remember His grace, and rest in God alone. 

It’s good to tell those things to others.  It’s even better to tell them to yourself.

 

Practice What You Preach

“You who brag about the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law?”  Romans 2:23

King David wrote Psalm 69.  He wrote it to be sung.  He even chose a lovely tune called “Lilies” to go with the lyrics, but verse six always makes me stop singing and start thinking.  “May those who hope in you not be disgraced because of me, O Lord, the Lord Almighty; may those who seek you not be put to shame because of me, O God of Israel”(Ps 69:6). Or, to say it another way, “May nothing in my life make other Christians cringe.”

You know what it’s like to be sharing with someone about Jesus and have that person immediately start listing the sinful actions of Christians they know or know about. You’ve experienced the awkwardness of explaining that Christ-followers aren’t perfect, just forgiven, while, at the same time, trying not to sound like you’re defending or excusing another’s wrong.  Since none of us like to be in that spot, all of us should try to keep ourselves and others out of it, and the best way to do so is by practicing what we preach.

The Apostle Paul hits home hard with this one.  Seems that some Jewish believers in Rome were quoting the Old Testament law with pride but not piety, and Paul reminds them that their works should match their words.  “You, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself?  You who preach against stealing, do you steal?  You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery?  You who brag about the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law?”(Romans 2:21-23).  If we’re talking the talk but not walking the walk, all we’re doing is making God sound bad.  “As is it written, ‘God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you’”(Romans 2:24). God’s infinite glory can never be diminished, but its reflection in our lives is marred and dulled when we speak God’s truth but fail to show it. 

That was King David’s big fear and the Apostle Paul’s big fuss.  Both knew it was easier to instruct than obey, but both realized the importance of practicing what we preach.  Might not be a bad idea to stop singing sometimes and start thinking. "Do I show what I say?" and "What in my life makes others Christians cringe?"

Don’t just ask yourself the answers.  Ask God.  And let Him help your walk equal your talk.

Set or See?

“My eyes are fixed on you, O Sovereign Lord.”  Psalm 141:8

 I faced a dilemma last Sunday during communion.  Our family sits close to the front (very close, my girls would say!), so after retrieving my little cup from the tray, I had a long time to wait until I drank it.  Sadly, never at loss for sins to confess and, gladly, never lacking blessings for which to be grateful, I decided to pass the time in prayer but quickly discovered that if I closed my eyes, I wobbled my juice.  So I just sat there looking at it.  Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed my husband setting his down in the handy-dandy holder attached to the adjacent pew, leaving his hands free from wobble and worry.  When it came to the cup, I soon realized I had two options to avoid a spill:   stare at it or set it down.

In truth, that choice confronts us daily, not just the first Sunday of the month.  We continuously face various circumstances where we must decide to either keep the cross as our focus or find what we consider a more comfortable or convenient solution.  Though there is surely nothing wrong with setting down your cup during communion, setting aside the sacrifice which it symbolizes, even for a moment, brings devastation, difficulty, and lost opportunity. 

Set aside the cross when you’re frustrated, and your angry words will wound someone’s spirit.  Set aside the cross when you’re mistreated, and your “getting even” gets ugly.  Set aside the cross when you’re tempted, and your desire quickly escalates to doing.  Set aside the cross when you’re busy, and your schedule becomes more important than God’s agenda.  Set aside the cross when you’re grieving, and your heart will have no hope.

Only by keeping our eyes on Jesus can we avoid the spills in our lives which make big messes.  Focusing on our mighty God and His amazing grace never means that nothing bad will happen, but a continued concentration on Christ causes us to know and trust God’s character more fully.  We realize that He sovereignly works all things—even tough things— together for our good, whether on earth or in eternity.

We might think that taking a hands-off approach to the cross leaves us worry and wobble free, but, in truth, keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus is the only way to live stable and sure.

Don’t set down what you should always see.

Even for a moment.