Once Means Done

ALL – Psalm 108:1-13
ALL – Proverbs 27:12
OT – Ezekiel 21:1-22:31
NT – Hebrews 10:1-17

Interesting passage for the day: But just the opposite happened: those yearly sacrifices reminded them of their disobedience and guilt instead of relieving their minds. – Hebrews 10:3, The Living Bible

Thought: Christians sometimes use Jesus’ death as a reason to beat themselves up. “It’s my fault. He died in my place. What a jerk I am.”… which may be true, but still. That’s not really the point. Jesus didn’t need to die on the cross to prove what jerks we are. Yes, His death was the only way to take care of the massive debt our sins had piled up. But the Law was enough to prove that we’re sinful. Jesus didn’t need to die on the cross to prove that, or even to get us to mourn our sinfulness. People had already been doing that. Hating and mourning our sin is part of what the sacrificial system was all about.

And the problem was that the mourning under the sacrificial system was perpetual. It wouldn’t stop. It was day in and day out, week in and week out, year in and year out. The mourning wouldn’t stop because the sin was never fully dealt with. The sacrifices were always necessary. The job was never done. The people could never stop worrying about their sinful condition before God. They were never free of their guilt.

Until Jesus came. And died. Once. Just once. That was all it took. The job was done. The sins were atoned for. The debt was paid. We would never be able to out-sin the atonement that Jesus’ death supplied (not that we’re encouraged to make a run at it).

When we look at Jesus’ death, we’re not supposed to beat ourselves up anymore. Because Jesus only died once. And ever since the third day after His death, there’s been no reason to worry that sin might ultimately win the day in our lives. Jesus lives, and by His life we have life. Our sins can’t undo His work. “It is finished.” He has won. And because He has won, we have won. The end.

That’s why it’s important to realize that Jesus only died once. And that’s why Jesus’ death isn’t a reason for us to mourn. It’s a reason for us to celebrate the victory He gained and never to waste time wallowing in our sinfulness again. Jesus didn’t have to die for you or me. He could have let us die for ourselves, and we would have mourned our sin while we paid its penalty. Jesus went to the cross because He and His Father loved us and chose the cross—not to make us feel more guilty, but so that our guilt would finally be taken completely away.

Question: What keeps you from enjoying and living in the freedom that Jesus bought for you at the cross?

To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.

Weekly Sermons in Swanton: Push Back the Darkness

The message, preached on October 31st, 2010, covered Romans 15:20-22, and it can be heard via streaming audio at http://www.swantonalliance.org. Our ambition to push back the darkness calls us to lay new foundations, talk to strangers, and make tough choices. Note: Past sermons can be accessed through the resources page.

The Guide, The Spirit

ALL – Psalm 64:1-10
ALL – Proverbs 23:23
OT – Isaiah 33:13-36:22
NT – Galatians 5:13-26

Interesting passage for the day: I advise you to obey only the Holy Spirit’s instructions. He will tell you where to go and what to do, and then you won’t always be doing the wrong things your evil nature wants you to do. – Galatians 5:16, The Living Bible

Thought: We need the Scriptures because they help us to learn to recognize God’s voice, and they correct us when we think we heard God’s voice and later find out otherwise.

But I’m growing more and more impressed with how often the New Testament writers urge us to listen to the Holy Spirit’s voice as we make our daily choices. We believers have the Holy Spirit living in us! He whispers to our hearts and minds what His desires are for us in every situation. And we are called to listen and obey.

This certainly involves challenges. We have to learn to distinguish between our own desires and the Holy Spirit’s. We need enough humility to admit that we sometimes claim we’re hearing His voice when we really aren’t. We still need to discipline ourselves to return to the Scriptures, even though some people might deny this is a necessity since the Holy Spirit is guiding them (but then, wouldn’t the Holy Spirit’s desire for us include time in God’s Word?).

But we should be able to walk through life a lot more confidently than we often do. We should be confident that we can make good choices consistently—GODLY choices—not because we have perfectly read, studied, memorized, systematized and analyzed the Bible, but because we walk with the Holy Spirit every moment.

Question: What decisions are you thinking through today? What direction do you hear the Spirit leading you to take? Share it here and share your impressions with believing friends. You’re free to follow wherever He leads.

To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.

Weekly Sermons in Swanton: God and Marriage

The message, preached on September 5th, 2010, covered 1 Corinthians 7, and it can be heard via streaming audio at http://www.swantonalliance.org. Following Jesus involves being ourselves—but redeemed, maximizing our service, and being wholly His. Even making the decision about whether to marry or not, and how to live as a married person or a single, needs to be submitted to Jesus Christ. Note: Past sermons can be accessed through the resources page.

He Did It!...Or Did He?

ALL – Psalm 68:1-18
ALL – Proverbs 11:28
OT – Deuteronomy 4:1-49
NT – Luke 6:39-7:10

I find that adults really haven’t grown up all that much. Not just a few of us. All of us.

Think about it. Watch some kids. See what happens when someone—anyone—tries to confront them about doing something wrong.

“I didn’t do it.”

“Michael did it.”

“Emma did it”

Or, if they’re at least willing to admit that they hit, or screamed at, or pulled another kid’s hair: “Emma made me.” “Michael made me.” “It wasn’t my fault.”

Adults do the same thing. We still seek to justify ourselves. We either seek to deny that we did anything wrong, or if we did something wrong, we STILL try to show people that it wasn’t our fault, that we have good hearts. Something happened, and we had to make the best of a bad situation. Someone else made us angry, and we responded wrongly. She seduced us and led us into adultery. We couldn’t help it!

It’s always someone else’s fault, someone else’s responsibility, someone else’s problem. Even if we admit our sin, in some way someone else’s sin or some outside situation is the real problem. Not us. Not our hearts. Not our choices.

Jesus puts that myth to rest:

A good man produces good deeds from a good heart. And an evil man produces evil deeds from his hidden wickedness. Whatever is in the heart overflows into speech. – Luke 6:45, The Living Bible

Whatever is in the heart overflows. Into speech, yes, but into deeds, too. This verse talks about both. Our hearts are the real problem. Yes, we may face terrible circumstances. We may even face terrible opponents. But the way we respond to them is not their decision. It’s ours. And the choice we make is, in each circumstance, the choice we most wanted to make. Of course we wouldn’t have chosen to commit our particular sin in a more comfortable setting! But in a painful, frustrating, or even scary setting, we acted the way we most wanted to act. And it revealed our hearts.

God is God not just when times are good. But when they’re bad. Do you think He gave us His Word to guide us only through the easy times of life? Of course not! As much as we need His guidance during the easy days, it’s the tough days where we really have to lean on His wisdom, His grace, His faithfulness, His righteousness. It’s the tough days—and the tough people—who help to reveal our hearts. But it’s not their fault our hearts are the way they are.

Let’s ask God to help us confess our sins, confess our wrong thoughts, confess our wrong desires, and confess our need for Him.

To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.

When New Wine is Better

ALL – Psalm 66:1-20
ALL – Proverbs 11:24-26
OT – Numbers 36:1-Deuteronomy 1:46
NT – Luke 5:29-6:11

I don’t know much about wine. But I know enough to say that those who love wines tend to prefer the old ones. The best ones have aged for decades, according to connoisseurs.

Jesus knew that people develop a taste for the old. And, comparing Himself and His ministry to new wine, Jesus noted:

But no one after drinking the old wine seems to want the fresh and the new. “The old ways are best,” they say. – Luke 5:39, The Living Bible

Jesus is still new to many people. Many people reject Him because they prefer their old ways. But in Jesus’ case, there is simply no better “wine” than Him. No other attempt to approach God realizes that mankind depends on God’s intervention; no other approach points to humanity’s sinfulness and God’s righteousness so clearly; no other religions demonstrate God’s justice so fully, nor can they demonstrate such grace; no other view offers such hope; no other view can promise such transformation; no other approach can set men’s hearts at rest like this; no other God stepped into history as a man, determined to re-create His broken creation to be like Himself.

Won’t you drink the new wine and set aside whatever old wine you’ve been contenting yourself with?

To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.

On the Other Hand, I Don’t Want to Be Denied.

ALL – Psalm 13:1-6
ALL – Proverbs 3:16-18
OT – Genesis 31:17-32:12
NT – Matthew 10:24-11:6

Yesterday I contemplated Jesus’ warning that loyalty to Him means we should expect hatred from various people in my life. The good side was that, if we endure their hatred, we’ll gain His salvation.

Today’s more about what happens if we don’t endure the world’s hatred. What happens if we cave in to people’s pressure? How loyal does Jesus want us to be. Is Jesus ok with us loving Him, but not really letting anyone know it? Here’s what He says:

If anyone publicly acknowledges me as his friend, I will openly acknowledge him as my friend before my Father in heaven. But if anyone publicly denies me, I will openly deny him before my Father in heaven. – Matthew 10:32-33

So yesterday we were struggling with whether we were ready to endure other people’s hatred. Today the question is whether we want Jesus to deny us before His Father. I’m not sure I’m ready for that, either, you know?

Those who read the Bible find themselves caught between a rock and a hard place. Because the Bible is honest—Jesus Christ is honest. He lets us know what to expect, no matter which way we turn (unlike advertisers, who tell us only the benefits of following their advice and never the downfalls). We have two choices: on the one hand, we can follow Jesus and be hated by at least some of the people who don’t follow Him; on the other, we can deny Jesus and find that He denies us before His Father in heaven. In other words, there’s no escaping some sort of pain. If we follow Jesus, we’ll experience the pain of people’s rejection. If we deny Jesus, we’ll experience the pain of God’s rejection.

Some people take these words as if Jesus is threatening us. I don’t. I take these words as a loving warning and as wise advice. Jesus wants our good. In yesterday’s reading, he promised salvation to those who endure people’s hatred to follow Him (Matt. 10:22). In today’s, Jesus promises to let God know that we’re His friends if we publicly acknowledge Him as our friend throughout our lives (Matt. 10:32). In terms of pain, we’re caught between a rock and a hard place, and there’s going to be some kind of pain in our lives no matter what we choose. But Jesus lets us know that life isn’t ALL pain and rejection. He has good things in store for us, things the people around us simply can’t offer.

So yesterday we struggled with whether we were ready to be hated by other people, and today we find out that the alternative is to be denied by Jesus Christ. The question isn’t really whether we’re ready for either. One of them is coming our way, whether we’re ready or not. The question is really whether we trust Jesus to give us the salvation and friendship He promises if we’re faithful to Him. If we trust Him, we can make our decision.

I pray that you join me in trusting Jesus. He’s faithful and good.

In what ways do you struggle with trusting Jesus? Have you trusted Him anyway? What have you learned?

To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.