Devotionals @ The Mount Church

I do not understand what to do.  For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.  And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good.  As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me.  I know what nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature.  For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.  For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do-this I keep on doing.  Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is not longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.

Romans 7:15-20

I remember the first time I read those verses.  I could not believe they were actually in the bible!  Here was someone writing words that described exactly how I felt-but this was a holy bible-guy!  It was not some regular person that struggles with wanting to do the right thing, but ends up doing the wrong thing because of sin and temptation in his life.  This was Paul-like the super-hero of the New Testament (second to Jesus, of course).  When I read this, I felt almost relieved that someone else knew how I felt.  My heart was so willing to do what is right, so ready to live for the Lord.  But my flesh was so weak, and constantly failed and disappointed.  If Paul had the same problems as I did, there had to have been an answer.  I quickly read on!

So I find this law at work:  When I want to do good, evil is right there with me.  For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members.  What a wretched man I am!  Who will rescue me from this body of death?  Thanks be to God–through Jesus Christ our Lord!  So, then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.

Romans 7:21-25

I knew it had to have something to do with Jesus.  I knew that his death on the cross to pay the penalty for  my sins was somehow the answer.  But what did this look like in my everyday life?  How did I get out of this pattern of swinging from mountain top experiences to valleys of frustration?  How could I break the power that my sinful nature seemed to hold over my great intentions?  There had to be more answers.  I read on.

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.  For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering.  And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.

Romans 8:1-4

According to the spirit…that had to be the answer.  But what did that exactly mean?  I wish I could say that I figured it out myself.  But I didn’t.  Someone explained it to me.  It simply means that we are walking by faith, and trusting in the Holy Spirit within us to live the Christian life through us day by day.  In fact, it is more like moment by moment, as we choose to allow him to direct and empower us to live for God.  It is a choice we make to say “no” to sin, and to follow his direction.  He gives us the power to do it…all we have to do is choose it.  It sounds like a magic formula, but it is simply a process of trusting that he will provide all we need to depend on him every hour of every day.  I read further, and he said more.

What then shall we say in response to this?  If God is for us, who can be against us?  He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all-how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?  No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

Romans 8:31,32,37

More than conquerors.  Isn’t that just like God to give us more than we need?  He graciously gives us all things in addition to giving us his own son!  We can rest assured that he will give us the power to live this victorious life because he gives us more than we need for it.  So what it our part?  We have three things that we are responsible for.  One is that we confess our sins so that nothing stands in the way of our fellowship with God (1 John 1:9).  Secondly, we ask God to empower us with his Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18).  And thirdly we ask him to change those areas in our lives that are displeasing to him (Galatians 5:16-25).  Then we trust that he is leading and directing our lives and we walk in obedience to him.  He supplies the power, we supply the obedience.  And he will make us more than conquerors.  Isn’t that just like God?

prayer

Holy Father, thank you that you have made us so frail and dependent on you.  We want our lives to bring you glory as we allow you to live through us.  Help us to remember that you supply the power, even for this job of living for you.  Use your Holy Spirit in our lives to direct and guide us, and help us to please you in everything we do.  We love you.  Amen

So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

John 8:36

Jesus spoke these words to a group of Jews who had followed him.  They were confused about just what they were being set free from, since none of them had ever been slaves to another person.  (The entire account can be found in John 8:31-59.)  Even though slavery was a common part of that culture, these men had not experienced it first hand, and therefore were unfamiliar with it.  I think that our culture is in an even greater disadvantage when speaking of slavery and freedom.  Very few in our culture have ever experienced being a slave to another person.  Slavery as a practice has not existed in our culture for over one hundred years, and freedom in America is taken for granted.  We look at other countries that have oppressive governments and feel sympathy for their citizens, but we cannot feel empathy.  We have enjoyed freedom for so long that we do not value it for what it is.  We may in words, but in experience it is the “everyday” experience.  So, these verses can cause us more problems than they did the Jews who had never tasted slavery.  In order to grasp what these verses are trying to convey, we first have to consider a few elementary questions.

free from…what?

What exactly was it that Christ was setting men free from?  If they were not earthly slaves, what did they need liberation from?  The answer lies in that same passage of John 8.  Verses 34-37 say “Jesus replied, ‘I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.  Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever.  So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.’”  We must remember that Jesus was addressing men who were looking to the Law for their salvation and forgiveness from sin.  They did not understand that Jesus was going to be the perfect sacrifice for their sin, once and for all.  If we have entered into a personal relationship with Christ, we are already part of this freedom.  We are no longer slaves to sin.

Maybe you are like me and came to Christ at an early age.  You may not feel like you were ever a “slave” to sin.  But you were.  I was, too.  I may not have been into “big time” sins at the tender age of 7, but I was fully under the control of my sinful nature.  I did not choose others over myself.  I thought of what I wanted more than those around me.  I got in terrific fights with my sister, disobeyed my parents, and even stole from my friends at times.  And I did it all because I was a slave to sin.  So it is imperative that we understand that no matter how “good” we think we were before knowing Christ, we were slaves to sin, filled with unrighteousness, and bound for hell.  That is what he freed us from!

free to do…what?

Ironically, now that Christ has set us free from sin, we are “new” slaves to something else!  Romans 6:16-18 says “Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey–whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?  But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you whole-heartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted.  You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.”  Slaves to obedience.  Slaves to righteousness.  Now those are a very different kind of master.  Further in that same passage, Paul tells the Romans that this new slavery will lead to holiness. What a wonderful side-effect, since we are commanded to be holy, as Jesus is holy!

So, we now have a new master, and following him will lead us to holiness.  What are we to do with this freedom we have found?  Galatians 5:13-15 gives us the answer.  It says “You, my brothers, were called to be free.  But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.  The entire law is summed up in a single command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out for you will be destroyed by each other.”  Free to become holy.  Free to server one another.  This is what he wants from us.  But don’t miss the last sentence in those verses.  It is an ominous warning that we face as Christians–that we could be destroyed by one another.  You see, this new freedom in Christ is a choice.  We much choose to obey Christ and his commands.  We must choose to shake off the shackles of our old master sin, and walk in the free light of God’s grace.  Satan would like nothing more to have us eat each other up.  We need to be wise to his plan and armed with our obedience response.

Let’s not be like the Israelites, who begged to return to slavery after being set free because the new freedom required faith, perseverance, and patience.  Keep your eyes on the end result: holiness in our lives, love for our neighbors as ourselves, and service offered to and received from our fellow freedom-walking brothers and sisters in Christ.  This is why Christ set us free!

make it real

1. Have you been freed from the control of sin in your life?  Are you confident in your relationship with Christ?
2. Is there any area of sin that you have not declared your independence from?  Are you still living in voluntary slavery?
3. Does your life reflect your new “master” of obedience and righteousness?  Are you asking God to love your neighbor as yourself through you?

prayer

Great God, we praise you for setting us free from the sin that so easily entangles us.  Thank you that it is no longer our master.  Help us to cherish this freedom we have in you, and to submit our lives to you to live obedient, righteous lives.  Open our eyes to areas that we are still enslaved to, and break the chains that keep us there.  And teach us to love each other with a love that only comes from you.  May our words and actions toward each other be loving, respectful, and honoring to you.  We love you,  Amen.

“Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.  Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit.”

Psalm 32:1,2

These words were written by King David as he experienced the joy that comes when you finally confess your sin to the Lord.  His sin was with Bathsheba, wherein he committed adultery with her and arranged for her husband to be put on the front lines of battle, ensuring his death.  He had tried to hide his sin.  Psalm 51 records the consequences of hiding that sin and the freedom he felt when he repented. David rejoiced that his sins were forgiven and that fellowship with God had been restored.  But did sin have a lasting effect on him?  Was that confession enough?

By now I sure that another writer will cover the definition of “hope”.  But just in case they don’t, or by way of reminder, let me tell you that the word for “hope” in the bible does not mean the same as it does in our culture.  We think of hope as a type of wish or dream.  It is not a confident term as we commonly use it.  It carries with it the connotation that if all goes right, the “hope” may happen.  But the word used in the New Testament can be translated as meaning “anxious expectation”.  It is not a wishy-washy word.  It is one of confidence and assurance.  The one who hopes anxiously awaits something definite to happen.  It is a sure thing.  And this sure hope is what we have in Christ when it comes to our sin.  We do not have to “wish” that we will be forgiven and that our sins will not count against us.  We anxiously await for that certainty to occur in our lives.  We go with the truths in God’s word, and build our lives on it.

While I am not a scholar when it comes to what Greek or Hebrew words mean, I have recently sat under someone who is, and I learned a few things about this verse that I would like to share with you.  First of all, the word “transgression” refers to willful, rebellious sin that is a premeditated crossing of the line of God’s law.  You do transgressions on purpose.  It is specific, and you know you did it.  The word “sin” in Psalm 32:1 refers to general sin-the falling short of God’s perfection that we all encounter day to day.  It may be an attitude or action that we are not even aware of-until God uses his word or his Spirit to convict us of it.

Both of these types of sin are covered in 1 John 1:9, when it says that we will be forgiven of confessed sin, and cleansed from all unrighteousness.  Jesus’ blood was enough to cover all iniquities in our lives, both the general and the intentional.  It is enough to wash us clean and create in us a new heart.  But at the end of time, will there be some sort of review of this sin?  Will we have to re-live it before the Lord when we stand in front of his judgment seat?

Again, I will let you in on the insight I learned recently.  The words in Psalm 32:2 hold the answer.  “Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him…”  The words “does not count” contain a double negative in them, emphasizing that truth.  So, it might be read “Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never, no not ever count against him…”  I think that makes it pretty clear.  When our sins are placed beneath the blood of Christ, they are completely forgiven and will never, not ever count against us.  We do not face them in this life or in the one to come.  What freedom that gives us!  What a grateful heart that produces!  This is the greatest hope of all-that in Christ we are forgiven now and forever.  He replaces our filthy sin with his perfect righteousness.  There is no better news.

make it real

1. Do you live like this truth is real in your life?
2. Are you confessing your sins, both intentional and general, so that you can experience his forgiveness?
3. Have you thanked God for the complete forgiveness he offers you?
4. What are you placing your hope in?

prayer

Lord Jesus, my heart is overwhelmed in the facts of your love.  Thank you that your death and shed blood were enough for all my sins.  Thank you that this is a confident expectation, and not a wishful dream.  Allow me to see my sin, confess my sin, and enjoy fellowship with you. Lavish your love on me.  Amen.

This is love:  not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

1 John 4:10

How great is that love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!  And that is what we are!

1 John 3:1

Remember back when you were in elementary school and you could always tell who was the teacher’s pet?  Maybe YOU were the teacher’s pet!  But if you weren’t I am sure you can remember how unfair that it seemed that the teacher seemed to like that one student best.  Why should he or she receive all the favor from the teacher when the whole class wanted it?  That was not the way it was supposed to be… so aren’t we all glad that that is not the way it is with God?

Most of us have heard about God’s love since we were very young.  We can quote John 3:16 by heart, but unfortunately that can make the meaning of the verse become common or lost.  We need to look into God’s word again with fresh eyes and grasp anew the full meaning of his love for us.  We all are the recipients of his favor.  We all are his “pets”.  If we have responded to his love and entered into a personal relationship with him, we have been given adoption into his family and blessings too great to number.  We need to look again at just what his favor means in our lives.

who we were

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.  All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts.  Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.

Ephesians 2:1-3

Maybe you think that you have not lived such a bad life.  Maybe you think that you have been good and kind to people and you do not commit the “big” sins listed in the ten commandments.  But the truth is that any righteous deed you have done is like a filthy rag.  The truth is that apart from Christ you were spiritually dead, and bound for Hell.  The bible says that we were enemies of God.  It was into this dead, dirty, hostile situation that God stepped in with his love.

what he did

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!  In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade…

1 Peter 1:3,4

Jesus took our punishment.  He rescued us from eternal separation from him, and gave us the right to be called his children.  He paved a way to a Holy God that we could never reach on our own.  We were hopeless without him, but he has given us a living hope that can never be taken away.  Words can never express what he did for us.  Our hearts can hardly hold it all.  Yet, he lovingly enters into our lives and blesses us with the gift of himself.

what we should do

Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.  As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance.  But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”

1 Peter 1:13-16

No, this verse does not mean that we have to live a perfect life.  But what it does mean is that we are to be obedient to God and his word, and depend on the Holy Spirit within us to enable us to live a life pleasing to God.  Our part is to love the good and reject the bad.  Our part is to spend time in his word and in his presence for guidance.  Our part is to obey him when he leads us to speak for him, love for him, or live for him.  His part is to provide the power to do all that he calls us to do.

make it real

Spend a few minutes thinking about your life as it is was before you became a Christian.  Or if you became a Christian at a young age, try to imagine what your life would have been like if you had not met him.  Think about what your tendencies and weaknesses are.  Try to imagine just how different you would have been apart from his mercy.  Now think of all the changes in your life that have come about as a result of knowing Christ.  Think of the blessings that you enjoy because you know him.  And experience what you have been saved from and redeemed to.  Give him thanks for all he has done!

prayer

Lord Jesus, I thank you that you have included me in your unmerited favor.  I know that I do not deserve it and could never earn it.  Thank you for the grace in my life that allows me to come into your presence.  Never let me loose sight of what you have done for me.  Instead, empower me to live a life worthy of your calling.  Help me live only for you.  In your name, Amen.

Consider it pure joy, by brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds…

James 1:2

There is a children’s book that tells of a boy that has a “terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad day”.  It would be silly to ask if you have ever had one, because we all have.  Life is full of days like that, where it seems that everything imaginable could go wrong.  When you are in the midst of those days, sometimes it seems like the very best you can do is simply to make it through that time.  It is something altogether different to think about experiencing pure joy during that time!  But God says we can.  And his word tells us why.

…because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.  Perseverance must finish the work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

James 1:3,4

Perseverance is defined as “persisting in an undertaking in spite of counter influences, opposition, or discouragement”.  What counter influences are you facing right now?  Is discouragement whispering in your ear that it is time to give up?  We must realize that Satan would like nothing more than for all of us to check out of this walk with Christ because it is simply too hard.  Things just don’t go right, and it seems to require more effort than we thought it would, or we are willing to give.  Wouldn’t it just be easier to give it up, join with the world in pursuing things that would make us happy, and be done with this struggle?  That is exactly what our adversary would want us to do…but we need to remember why we have struggles and hard times in our lives.

These come so that your faith-of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire-may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

1 Peter 1:7

In these verses in James and 1Peter, we see God’s purpose for the trials we face in our lives.  James says that it makes us mature and complete.  That does not mean that we are perfect.  But it means that we are “grown up” in our faith.  We are able to know and apply God’s word to our situations and recognize the purposes of God.  We are able to walk in the power of his Holy Spirit and experience his peace despite our circumstances.  And Peter says that trials prove our faith genuine.  Trials show if we have the “real thing” in our lives.  And when it is real, it is only refined by the hard times we endure.  It is strengthened and made pure.  And the very best effect of our hard times is that when we go through them dependent on God and trusting him to change us as a result, it produces praise and glory and honor to Jesus Christ.  Isn’t that the goal of our lives?  Isn’t that why we are here on earth to begin with?  It is all part of God’s plan to show himself to the world. He sustains us in the midst of trials, and we reflect his image to all those around us.  He strengthens our faith through suffering, and we are able to trust him with even more, demonstrating his love in our lives to everyone we come in contact with.

So, struggles will come in life.  God can get us through them all when we depend on him.  And this process reveals God to a lost world that He loves.  Our personal benefit is maturity in our Christian lives, stronger faith in God, and eternal rewards in Heaven as a result of it.  Trials may be hard, but the benefits and results are all worth it.  If they are inevitable in life, shouldn’t we deal with them in a way that produces a positive result?  If we walk with Jesus through them, it will.

make it real

1. Identify the trials and struggles that you are in right now.
2. Are you walking through them in your own power, or are you relying on God to see you through?
3. Can you point to positive results of these hard times in our own faith?
4. Can you see how God is being glorified to those who do not know him through the way you are handling these struggles?
5. Ask God to give you his perspective of trials in your life.

prayer

Heavenly Father, I submit myself to you and acknowledge that you are the one that is in control of all things.  I want my life to reflect your greatness to this world, and I know that you often will use the hard times in my life to do that.  Help me to keep my eyes on you in the midst of it all, and use these times to bring honor and glory to your name.  Strengthen my faith so that I can trust you more, and show me your love and plan for it all.  I will walk with you.  Amen.