belief
Faith in the Word
By Linda Rex
March 9, 2025, 1st Sunday in Preparation for Easter or Lent—Often our daily tasks arise out of a simple faith and trust that things are the way they are supposed to be, that people have done what they are supposed to do. Think about how often we do things in our everyday lives which involve faith in others or faith in things that others or ourselves have made. That daily dose of vitamins—who made it? Is it really safe for me to take? Does it really have the nutritional value it says it does?
Last time we talked about Jesus’ transfiguration, and the hidden glory we have as those who are made in God’s image and redeemed by our Lord Jesus. In spite of our best human efforts to live in the truth of who we are in Christ, we so often fail. We cannot trust in ourselves, for we are untrustworthy and undependable when it comes to our walk of faith.
On Ash Wednesday, which in 2025 is celebrated on March 5th, we begin the season of preparation for Easter. As we look forward to the events of Holy Week, we contemplate the reality of our need for Jesus’ redemptive work. In this season, we do not need to grovel or lament our wickedness, but rather, assume a clearheaded, frank assessment of how far we have fallen from all that God meant us to be as those who were created to be image-bearers of the Triune God. At the same time, we rest in Jesus’ redemptive work, which we look forward to celebrating during Holy Week. And we seek to open ourselves more fully to the Spirit’s work in us and our world.
Our New Testament passage for the first Sunday in this season is Romans 10:8–13. In the book of Romans, the apostle Paul examines the human condition and sums this up by saying that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. We all, no matter our religious or cultural background, need salvation and redemption. We all need transformed, healed, and made whole. This is why Jesus came, to live our human life, die our human death, and rise again. And this is why Jesus sent the Spirit from the Father. The Spirit gives us all the graces of Jesus, the perfect human, so that we may live in right relationship with God and one another.
When we look at the human experience since the beginning of time through God’s eyes, we see that he has been reaching out to us and speaking to us in everyway possible. He has sought to tell us about and to show us his love. The divine Father, Son, and Spirit have spoken of their love and grace to us in many ways, including the glory of a double rainbow, spectacular sunsets, and the majesty of star-studded nebulae. But it is hard as humans to hear the voice of our God, for he doesn’t seem to speak our language.
In Hebrews 1:1–3, the author points out that God finally spoke to all of us through his Son, the One who is the exact representation of his nature—his true self. Jesus Christ is God’s final word to all of us as human beings. The apostle John uses the term “the Word” to describe Jesus in his divinity, long before he ever took on our humanity (John 1:1). Jesus, the Word of God, the wisdom of God—how profound is the realization that God would step into our world in the person of Jesus Christ to join us in our darkness, in order to bring us up into his divine light! Does this resonate in our soul? Do we hear God’s divine Word to us within? The Spirit resonates with our spirit, as the life of Christ within us, and enables us to hear the Word of our heavenly Father’s love and respond with Jesus’ own “Abba, Father.”
It is possible to read the Bible, hear the gospel stories, and memorize a zillion scriptures and still struggle to put our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. We may say that we believe in God, some sort of God—but do we believe this God cares enough about you and me and this crazy old world that he would actually join us in our broken sinful flesh, becoming sin for us, so that we may become like him in his righteousness? Have we woken up to the spiritual reality of the indwelling Holy Spirit, who is the presence of the living Word, Jesus Christ, who lives in us?
When the Word of God, Jesus Christ, reveals himself to us by his Holy Spirit, we are never the same again. God’s Word to us about who we are, as the beloved children of our heavenly Father, and his Word to us about how we are to live, is written in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. Faith, then becomes real, substantial, and life-changing, as we respond to and trust in this living Word, the Lord Jesus Christ, who lives in us by the Spirit. As we hear and respond to the inner direction of the Spirit, that living Word who dwells within, we are transformed and healed. And as we allow that living Word to move, guide, and direct us, our world is changed for the better.
Heavenly Father, Jesus, Spirit, thank you for all you have done to bring us up into life with you in the Spirit. Forgive us for refusing to believe or trust in you, for closing our hearts to your Spirit. Please remove our deafness and enable us to hear your Word, and to respond to your love and grace with faithful obedience in Jesus’ name. Amen.
“But what does it say? ‘The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart’—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, ‘whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.’ For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; for ‘whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ ” Romans 10:8–13 NASB
“Faith-righteousness announces that every definition of distance in time, space, or hostility has been cancelled. Faith says, ‘The Word is near you. It is as close to you as your voice and the conviction of your heart.” We publicly announce this message. Now your salvation is realized! Your own words echo God’s voice. The unveiling of the masterful act of Jesus forms the words in your mouth, inspired by the conviction in your heart that God indeed raised him from the dead. Heart-faith confirms the fact of mankind’s righteousness and ignites the kind of conversation consistent with salvation. Scripture declares that whosoever believes in Christ will not be ashamed to announce it. Nothing distinguishes the Jew from the Greek when it comes to the generosity of God. He responds with equal benevolence to everyone who sees themselves identified in him. Salvation is to understand that every person’s true identity is revealed in Christ.” Romans 10:8–13 Mirror Bible
[Printable copy: https://lifeinthetrinity.blog/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/olitfaith-in-the-word.pdf ]
[More devotionals may be found at https://lifeinthetrinity.blog ]
[Subscribe to Our Life in the Trinity YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/@ourlifeinthetrinity ]
Hold Fast and Stand
By Linda Rex
February 9, 2025, 5th Sunday in Epiphany—What do you believe about the Lord Jesus Christ? Why do you believe what you believe? What impact does this belief regarding Jesus have on your life, if any?
The apostle Paul, in our New Testament reading for this Sunday, 1 Corinthians 15:1–11, challenges the Christians in Corinth with the basics of their faith. In his letter to them, he addresses quite a few issues which were occurring within that church, which brought into question the seriousness of their faith in Jesus Christ. If they truly believed that Jesus Christ was the Messiah, who lived, died, and rose again, appearing to many people after his resurrection, then why wasn’t their behavior demonstrating this? They were acting more like the culture they lived in than they were acting like Jesus Christ and his kingdom culture. This was a grave concern for the apostle.
In this passage, Paul rehearses an early statement of faith which was probably recited by the believers of his day. He reminds his readers of how Jesus Christ, in his life, death, and resurrection, fulfilled the prophetic Word, which predicted his life’s events. Going on beyond that, Paul points out the many eyewitness accounts of encounters with the resurrected Jesus, who after his bodily resurrection interacted with, and ate and drank with many people, before he ascended back to heaven.
Today we do not have the benefit of being able to have a face-to-face conversation with those who knew Jesus Christ personally and witnessed his life, death, and resurrection. But we do have the written testimony of the New Testament scriptures, and the witness of the Holy Spirit, who enables us to understand and believe what we read about Jesus. Because of the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, we are able to come to faith in Jesus, realizing that he is still alive and active today in our world and in us, and in our lives.
It’s important, though, to remember that Jesus Christ is not just this person who lived many millennia ago. He is so much more than a human being who lives and dies and ends up forgotten or memorialized in a book somewhere. What makes Jesus so significant is that he is not just human, but is God in human flesh. This means that his life here on earth is of eternal significance, and what he did for all of us as humans is profound. In and through him, we have new life. Our human existence, our personhood, has been transformed, brought up to a new level within which we live and participate by faith in Jesus Christ.
What difference does it make that we trust in Jesus as our Lord and Savior? Faith in Jesus Christ, in his life, death, resurrection, and ascension, means that our human existence is grounded in something beyond our transient, temporal existence. Our culture is constantly changing and morphing into something new. Its trends and expectations are always being replaced by new ones, which are grounded in changing human opinions, preferences, and passions. Instead of the solidity of our Maker’s design and redemptive work, we are beset by a kaleidoscope of possibilities and impossibilities, which are ever in flux.
But Jesus, as the perfected human, who brings us into right relationship with his Father in the Spirit, stands as our Rock amid this constantly changing scene. Jesus provides us with a foundation which is solid, and on which we can take our stand, no matter what may come our way. As Paul addresses the issues in the church at Corinth, he brings the believers back to the basis of their faith—Jesus Christ, who lived, died, and rose again, as their Messiah. He was their unity, in spite of their many differences. He was their wisdom, right relationship with God and one another, and their redemption. It was Jesus they were growing up into by the Spirit, and who gave them all the Spirit’s gifts and blessings for the benefit of the entire Body. The true evidence of life in the Spirit was when they were actually living in such a way that they resembled Jesus Christ. Today, as we gather in Jesus’ name, we want to be sure that we heed the apostle Paul’s words by living in truth of who we are in Jesus. Jesus is our life. May our lives, words, and deeds be a true reflection of him in every way, for this is our true humanity.
Heavenly Father, thank you for loving us so much that you gave your Son and your Spirit so that we could share in your love and life. Enable us to trust in Jesus, and by your Spirit, to live out our faith in a way that is a true reflection of your kingdom glory. Amen.
“Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; then He appeared to 1ames, then to all the apostles; and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also. For I am the least of the apostles, and not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me. Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.” 1 Corinthians 15:1–11 NASB
“… When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, ‘Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.’ Simon answered and said, ‘Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing, but I will do as You say and let down the nets.’ When they had done this, they enclosed a great quantity of fish, and their nets began to break; so they signaled to their partners in the other boat for them to come and help them. And they came and filled both of the boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw that, he fell down at Jesus’ feet, saying, ‘Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man!’ … When they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed Him.” Luke 5:1–11 NASB
“In the year of King Uzziah’s death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called out to another and said, ‘Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory.’ And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke. Then I said, ‘Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.’ Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs. He touched my mouth with it and said, ‘Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away and your sin is forgiven.’ Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?’ Then I said, ‘Here am I. Send me!’ ” Isaiah 6:1–8 NASB
[Printable copy: https://lifeinthetrinity.blog/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/olithold-fast-and-stand.pdf ]
[More devotionals may be found at https://lifeinthetrinity.blog ]
[Subscribe to Our Life in the Trinity YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/@ourlifeinthetrinity ]
Faith in Action
By Linda Rex
September 8, 2024, Proper 18 | After Pentecost—In my personal faith tradition years ago, having the right theology or correct belief system was essential. In the extreme form of this belief and practice, exclusion of any group or person that did not agree with our faith tradition was the norm. Sadly, this meant that we were blind to how God was working with every person in this world and within other faith traditions.
Over the years, I began to see that there were huge flaws in what I believed and practiced in the name of obeying God and following what the Bible taught. Much of this was due to a desperate need for the Spirit to give me a new framework through which to view God and the Bible, a framework given to us by God himself. He gave us his Son, Jesus Christ, as the sole true interpreter and revealer of God and his will and his ways. When I began to see through the lens of Jesus Christ, everything changed, thanks to the Spirit’s gracious work.
When James addresses the issue of Christian faith and practice, he does so through the lens of Jesus Christ and all that Jesus is for us in his life, death, resurrection, and ascension, and in the gift of the Spirit. In order to read the book of James properly, we need to find the indicatives which undergird each of the imperatives or commands which the apostle gives us to follow. For example, in our New Testament reading for this Sunday, James 2:1–10, 14–17, the apostle James tells us that we are not to treat some people better than others when they join us in Christian fellowship. And he says that we need to be aware that our faith is empty or dead if it is not accompanied by actions which affirm its reality. These are the imperatives or commands James is encouraging us to put into practice.
But notice the indicatives or underlying spiritual realities behind these imperatives. He asks, “did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?” The royal law expressed in Jesus Christ—the lens through which we view all things—is that God in Christ was willing to lay down his life for us so that we could be with him forever. This is the God, the Lord Jesus, who while on this earth spent much of his time with the everyday people of his land, ministering to the poor, needy, and afflicted, both Jew and non-Jew. James tells us that, because of Jesus Christ and because of his own law of love written on our hearts by the Spirit, we treat every human being with dignity, respect, and kindness. The person may be different than us, they may be struggling, but they are our equals—as the apostle Paul says, we are all one in Christ Jesus.
In the Gospel passage, Mark 7:24–37, Mark tells two stories within the context of Jesus’ harassment by the leaders of his people. One is about a woman who was “a Gentile [a non-Jew], of the Syrophoenician race”—someone who the Jewish leaders would have avoided having anything to do with, even though she needed their help in freeing her daughter from demon possession. And, even though Jesus reminds her that his immediate focus is currently on his own Jewish people, she counters his initial refusal with a humble, yet bold remark about how even the pet dogs get the crumbs off the table. Touched by her faith, Jesus heals her daughter.
The other story is about a man who is deaf and mute that some people brought to Jesus to heal. Jesus shows the man what he’s going to do and then says, “Be opened.” In that moment, the man’s ears are opened and he is once again able to speak. Jesus tells the people who brought him not to say anything about his healing, since it would complicate Jesus’ ability to continue to do ministry in that area. But they become more and more vocal about it. And Jesus knows that this will only increase his persecution by the leaders of his people. And Jesus knows that the Jewish leaders of that day needed a new lens through which to view the people with whom God had given them the responsibility to lead and care for. They needed to get out of their religious box and begin simply practicing the law they knew by heart, to truly love their neighbor as themselves. Their faith in their loving God needed to be evidenced in the actions they took day by day as they encountered the different people in their lives, no matter their background, history, circumstances, religious affiliation, or race.
So, going back to our passage in James, we see that the people James writes to have the same issues that Jesus was up against during his time here on earth. The human tendency to put some people lower and some people higher is at work in this fellowship, and James calls them back to the spiritual realities of their faith in Christ. In the Triune oneness of Father, Son, and Spirit, there’s unique personhood, yet equality and unity. In the same way, this group of believers needed to start acting like the children of God they were, treating one another as unique equals who were sharing in the oneness which is ours in Christ by the Spirit. And when someone came into their gathering who did not fit any human category of value and worth, they were to still treat them as a beloved child of God, for in Christ, that is what they are. And here we find the impetus to live this out ourselves today, as God’s beloved children, who God, in Christ, stooped down to include in his own life and love, both now and forever. Who might God want us to include who we have previously excluded?
Thank you, Father, for going to such extent to include us in your life and love through your Son Jesus in the Spirit. Thank you for raising us up out of our poverty of evil, sin, and death, and for giving us the dignity and worth of being called your very own adopted children. Grant us the grace to value others with the same grace and worth with which you value us, through Jesus our Lord. Amen.
“My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism. For if a man comes into your assembly with a gold ring and dressed in fine clothes, and there also comes in a poor man in dirty clothes, and you pay special attention to the one who is wearing the fine clothes, and say, ‘You sit here in a good place,’ and you say to the poor man, ‘You stand over there, or sit down by my footstool,’ have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil motives? Listen, my beloved brethren: did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? But you have dishonored the poor man. Is it not the rich who oppress you and personally drag you into court? Do they not blaspheme the fair name by which you have been called? If, however, you are fulfilling the royal law according to the Scripture, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself,’ you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all. … What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,’ and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.” James 2:1–10, 14–17 NASB
[Printable copy: https://lifeinthetrinity.blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/olitfaith-in-action-v2.pdf ]
[More devotionals may be found at https://lifeinthetrinity.blog ]
[Subscribe to Our Life in the Trinity YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/@ourlifeinthetrinity ]
Compelled by the Gospel
By Linda Rex
February 4, 2024, 5th Sunday in Epiphany—I’ve always been fascinated by the story of the apostle Paul. I’ve often wondered how often he heard Jesus preach and whether he was one of the people who tried to trap Jesus with questions and sought to have him killed before his crucifixion. The profound change which occurred in Paul’s life when he encountered the risen Lord years later is remarkable and seems almost impossible. And still, it is beautiful to witness such a tremendous change in a person’s life when it does happen.
Paul’s experience of the living, resurrected Jesus was so life-altering that he began to preach the gospel he formerly had rejected. And he joined himself gladly to the group he formerly had persecuted and put in prison. He felt no shame in declaring that Jesus Christ was Lord of all, and that it was necessary to repent and be baptized in his name.
In fact, in the passage for this Sunday, 1 Corinthians 9:16–23, we find the apostle Paul declaring that he felt compelled to preach this gospel. The Mirror Bible has Paul saying, “this Gospel has my arm twisted and locked behind my back!” He could not be silent about what had so dramatically changed the direction of his life. And he got great satisfaction in preaching this good news at no cost to the people he served. Rather, he made himself a servant to them, adjusting himself to the needs and preferences of those around him, within the limits of his Christ-life, so that he could win new converts to Christ.
I find this passage to be challenging at times, for I wonder how well I myself have responded to the calling God has given me to share the good news of Jesus Christ. Paul calls this good news we have been given a stewardship—a responsibility for the sake of the one to whom this good news belongs. In other words, do I recall daily that my focus needs to be serving Jesus Christ and sharing his good news with others? This isn’t just because I happen to have a master’s degree in pastoral studies, but because I have been given God’s grace and am made a participant in Christ by grace through faith. Every one of us has been given this gift—but do we share it with others?
Every one of us who has come to faith in Christ has been given the blessing and gift of the good news of Jesus. So, in that sense, we each have a stewardship of the gospel. We are made stewards of the good news of Jesus Christ, and Paul encourages us by his example to do whatever is necessary so that we can share this good news with others in such a way that they are able to understand it, experience it, and believe it. This is done through both word and deed, and as Paul demonstrates, involves meeting people where they are to bring them along with us into the embrace of the Father through Jesus in the Spirit.
I’m learning that it is easy to get wrapped up in my personal preferences when it comes to living out the gospel as I understand it. It is easy to get so locked into a particular belief system that I don’t make room for someone who is struggling, or who has been wounded, or who simply needs to experience the love of God in Christ through my words and actions.
Historically, I was taught as a child to not be involved with people who weren’t a part of my fellowship. In fact, I was taught to see them with suspicion and to hold them at arm’s length. I find that today I have to pray fervently for God to tear down these walls and do the necessary work to bring me into relationship with people so that I can share the good news with them and show them God’s love. Thankfully, God is always faithful to enable us to reach out with his love and grace when we seek his empowerment and guidance. He goes ahead of us and provides divine appointments in which to do this. I truly appreciated Dan Roger’s recent sermon on this topic—I encourage you to watch it (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YOWpITjaRo).
Our challenge in this new year as those who follow Christ is to participate with Jesus in what he is doing today to share the good news with every person in the world. What is Jesus up to and how can we join in? Perhaps this is something we can begin to make a part of our everyday prayer life, as we listen to the Lord and seek to follow the lead of his Spirit. I would be interested in hearing from you about ways in which the Lord enabled you personally to participate in his ongoing ministry of sharing the good news with others.
Heavenly Father, thank you for including us in your life and love, through your Son Jesus Christ and in the Spirit. Lord Jesus, who would you like me to share this good news with today? How would you have me love and serve this person, these people, you have brought me into relationship with? Grant me the grace to love courageously, serve humbly, and speak boldly the words of life, in your name, empowered by your Spirit. Amen.
“For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for I am under compulsion; for woe is me if I do not preach the gospel. For if I do this voluntarily, I have a reward; but if against my will, I have a stewardship entrusted to me. What then is my reward? That, when I preach the gospel, I may offer the gospel without charge, so as not to make full use of my right in the gospel. For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I may win more. To the Jews I became as a Jew, so that I might win Jews; to those who are under the Law, as under the Law though not being myself under the Law, so that I might win those who are under the Law; to those who are without law, as without law, though not being without the law of God but under the law of Christ, so that I might win those who are without law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak; I have become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some. I do all things for the sake of the gospel, so that I may become a fellow partaker of it.” 1 Corinthians 9:16–23 NASB
“I live to preach; it consumes my total being. Your money is not going to make any difference since this Gospel has my arm twisted and locked behind my back! In fact, my life would be reduced to utter misery if it were not possible for me to preach the good news! If this was a mere career choice, then surely you could hire or fire me! But I am not for sale; I am employed by the economy of persuasion! So what’s in it for me, you may ask? The pleasure of declaring the Gospel of Christ at no expense is priceless! No, I am not cheating anyone or myself by foregoing the rights I might have as a preacher. So in a sense I am free from everyone’s expectation or management; yet I have voluntarily enslaved myself to all people. This beats any other motivation to influence people. I am like a Jew to the Jew to win them; I am disguised as a legalist to win those stuck under the law! To the Gentiles who have no regard for Jewish sentiment, I became like one without any obligation to Jewish laws to win them! Don’t get me wrong; I am not sinning to identify with the sinners! I am in the law of Christ! I am so persuaded about every person’s inclusion in Christ that I desire to be everything I need to be in order to win everyone’s understanding of their union with Christ. I do not present myself as super strong to the weak, but rather expose myself to their weakness in order to win them. I do not distance myself from anyone. My mission is to be exactly what is required of me in every possible situation to bring salvation to every kind of person, whoever they are! The gospel explains my lifestyle; it is so much more than a pulpit ministry to me. My life is inseparably joined to you in the fellowship of the good news!” 1 Corinthians 9:16–23 Mirror Bible
“In the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and was praying there. Simon and his companions searched for Him; they found Him, and said to Him, ‘Everyone is looking for You.’ He said to them, ‘Let us go somewhere else to the towns nearby, so that I may preach there also; for that is what I came for.’ And He went into their synagogues throughout all Galilee, preaching and casting out the demons.” Mark 1:35–39 NASB
[Printable copy: https://lifeinthetrinity.blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/olitcompelled-by-the-gospel.pdf ]
[More devotionals may be found at https://lifeinthetrinity.blog ]
[Subscribe to Our Life in the Trinity YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/@ourlifeinthetrinity ]
Beyond Knowledge
By Linda Rex
January 28, 2024, 4th Sunday | Epiphany—One of the things I had to learn early on as a fledgling pastor was the difference between head knowledge and heart knowledge. What I mean is, when speaking to the congregation, my purpose was not to inform them about a topic so much as it was to inspire them to follow Christ with greater depth and faithfulness. Fresh from my seminary classes, I was bubbling over with a lot of great information, but what was needed was not simply more theological information, but the living Word of God speaking a word through me that would touch the heart, that the Spirit could use to convict and transform the inner being of those who were listening.
In my family, as we grew up, one of the values that was important was knowing things or being well-informed on about every subject. This may be why I’ve always been fascinated by the newest discoveries in science, especially since reading Thomas F. Torrance’s books on the interrelation between science and theology. Science and theology, I once heard Dr. McKenna say, are intended to inform one another, to work together in unity for the betterment of humankind. Often, sad to say, this is not what happens.
Today, our scientific knowledge is constantly reaching new heights. I’m inevitably amazed by the new things we are finding out about our cosmos. Lately my interest has been in quantum theory—of which I know very little, but from what I can see, seems to echo the divine three-in-oneness of the Trinity. All this new science is fascinating and challenging, but from what I have seen historically, every advancement in science needs to be tempered by other-centered, self-giving love, or it presents the possibility for destruction and catastrophe.
This brings me to the passage for this Sunday, 1 Corinthians 8:1–13, in which the apostle Paul addresses some questions regarding whether believers should eat food offered to idols. Even though some believers knew and understood that idols had no real life in themselves, and meat offered to idols really was just, in the end, meat that could be eaten, there were believers who had, for many years, sacrificed meat to idols. Even though they had abandoned paganism and its practices when they came to faith in Christ, their conscience and understanding were not yet at the place where eating meat offered to idols was clearly okay. They still had questions and concerns, and were vulnerable to falling back into their old belief systems and practices.
So, the apostle Paul reminded believers that more important than the believers’ knowledge about meat offered to idols was their love and concern for their brothers and sisters. In other words, love trumps knowledge. Being knowledgeable can become a source of pride to us, and when we are not careful with it and insist on being able to do what we have a right to do or the freedom to do, we can severely injure others. Instead of trying to prove how knowledgeable we are or how free we are, Paul writes, we need to being concerned for the welfare of others, and do our best not to cause unnecessary harm.
Looking back over my brief years as a pastor, I see times when I was more interested in proving how much I knew and how right I was than I was concerned for the wellbeing of those I was ministering to. I was caught up in expressing my freedom in Christ—which is a good thing—but it was not always beneficial to those around me. If there are any who were wounded by this, I sincerely ask forgiveness, for I realize now that what I was doing was not always for the wellbeing of others.
Recently on Our Life in the Trinity, I talked about our sacred oneness, and my focus was on our human body, and the covenant relationship we have with God, and with our spouse. Our sacred oneness also involves our participation in the Body of Christ, the Church, for we are bound together by the Spirit to be of one mind and heart, for the sake of others. As brothers and sisters in Christ, united to God and one another by the Spirit, we are meant to live together, serve others, and testify to the love and grace of God in Christ, in sacred oneness.
Whatever the cost to ourselves today in caring for one another within and without the Body of Christ, it is nothing compared with the self-offering of our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us that we may live. When any one of us insists upon our rights at the expense of others, or expressing our freedom in Christ in spite of its affect on others, we violate the sacred oneness of the Body of Christ. In fact, we violate Christ himself. We’re all on this journey together, growing up in Christ, but some of us are at different places along the journey. Rather than hindering one another’s progress, we want to be careful to edify or build up one another instead. Because, when all is said and done, what will last on into eternity won’t be “knowledge”, but other-centered, self-giving, serving love (1 Cor. 13).
Heavenly Father, you are the one from whom are all things and for whom we exist. Lord Jesus, you are the one by whom are all things and through whom we exist. Grant us the grace to always be careful not to injure or wound the conscience of others by our freedom in Christ. Fill us, by your Spirit, with other-centered self-giving love, and let it ever flow through us to others for their well-being, through Jesus our Lord. Amen.
“Now concerning things sacrificed to idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge makes arrogant, but love edifies. If anyone supposes that he knows anything, he has not yet known as he ought to know; but if anyone loves God, he is known by Him. Therefore concerning the eating of things sacrificed to idols, we know that there is no such thing as an idol in the world, and that there is no God but one. For even if there are so-called gods whether in heaven or on earth, as indeed there are many gods and many lords, yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him. However not all men have this knowledge; but some, being accustomed to the idol until now, eat food as if it were sacrificed to an idol; and their conscience being weak is defiled. But food will not commend us to God; we are neither the worse if we do not eat, nor the better if we do eat. But take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. For if someone sees you, who have knowledge, dining in an idol’s temple, will not his conscience, if he is weak, be strengthened to eat things sacrificed to idols? For through your knowledge he who is weak is ruined, the brother for whose sake Christ died. And so, by sinning against the brethren and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if food causes my brother to stumble, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause my brother to stumble.” 1 Corinthians 8:1–13 NASB
[Printable copy: https://lifeinthetrinity.blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/olitbeyond-knowledge.pdf ]
[More devotionals may be found at https://lifeinthetrinity.blog ]
[Subscribe to Our Life in the Trinity YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/@ourlifeinthetrinity ]
O God, Restore Us!
By Linda Rex
December 19, 2021, ADVENT | Love— As I put out my nativity set in my living room each year, I hide the baby Jesus away for the miracle of Christmas morning. The shepherd watches from a safe distance, and the wise men with their camel are hidden back on a shelf temporarily until closer to that day. On that sacred evening we celebrate on Christmas Eve, I bring out the baby Jesus and pause with wonder at the miracle of this special event. The shepherd draws near to worship and the wise men on their journey come closer, seeking this chosen One.
Lately I have been thinking a lot about what it means to be in relationship with this God who would go to such incredible effort to draw every human being to himself in the miracle of the incarnation. I personally know the anguish and struggle that go with giving birth to a firstborn son, and the incredible joy and wonder which result when holding him in my arms for the first time. How could this marvelous bundle of possibilities have ended up in my arms? What does God have in mind for his life? How much more amazing must it have been for Mary to consider the wonder of being chosen to bear the Messiah!
But there is an undercurrent to this marvelous story which I believe is important to understand, and it goes along with this theme of being in relationship with God. And it is this: Jesus came because it was the will of God that he do so. He came because it is the nature of God to love and care for those he has created and brought into relationship with himself. The divine Son came willingly, and obediently, as an expression of God’s covenant love and faithfulness. The Son of God knew the Father in the Spirit, and trusted fully in his love—so he freely offered himself in obedience to the will of his Father.
My heart is heavy right now with all I see going on in my world. We are experiencing the consequences of our continual choices to do things our own way—to decide for ourselves how we will live and how we will treat one another and this world we all live on. I am broken by the way we live and the consequences of our choices. And it breaks my heart to think about what our children and grandchildren will be having to deal with when my generation has passed from the scene. What a price we pay for doing things our own way!
I often hear this time of year that the reason Jesus came was to die on the cross. In one way, I agree with this, but in another, I feel as though it truncates what Jesus actually came to do. The author of Hebrews wrote, “Therefore, when He comes into the world, He says, ‘Sacrifice and offering you have not desired, but a body you have prepared for me; in whole burnt offerings and’ sacrifices ‘for sin you have taken no pleasure. Then I said, “Behold, I have come (in the scroll of the book it is written of me) to do your will, O God.” ’ … By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” (Hebrews 10:5–7, 10 NASB)
I believe the Scriptures teach us that Jesus came to bring us into right relationship with God and subsequently with one another. Doing so required so much more than simply dying on the cross. It also involved being conceived in the womb of a woman, being a babe in her arms, growing up as a child into adulthood, and learning a trade at the feet of his father. Jesus experienced all of the everyday activities of our human life in a human body, being tempted in every point, but without sin. The forging of our true humanity occurred throughout his life, from birth even to death and on into the resurrection and ascension. In his human existence on this earth, Jesus “learned obedience from the things which He suffered. And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation, … (Heb. 5:8–9 NASB).”
The song “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” comes to mind as I am writing this. In this hymn which expresses our deep longing for our redemption and salvation, I hear echoed our longing for this transformation of our human existence:
O come, O come, Emmanuel
And ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear
O come, thou Dayspring, come and cheer
Our spirits by thine advent here
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night
And death’s dark shadows put to flight
O come, Thou Wisdom from on high
And order all things, far and nigh
To us the path of knowledge show
And cause us in her ways to go
O come, Desire of nations bind
All peoples in one heart and mind
Bid envy, strife, and quarrels cease
Fill the whole world with heaven’s peace
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel
(Latin Hymn, Translated by John M. Neale and Henry S. Coffin; Adapted from Plainsong by Thomas Helmore)
We also need to attend to the reality that there was a substantial difference between the responses of the two representative females in God’s story: Eve did not believe God, and ate of the tree she was told not to eat of, while Mary believed God’s word to her through the angel Gabriel and told God to do with her as he wished. In Eve, disbelief resulted in disobedience and all of the subsequent result of that as sin and death entered our human existence. In Mary’s belief and obedience, we find the life-giving God enters into our death- and sin-bound human existence in the person of Jesus Christ and restores our true humanity in his life, death, resurrection and ascension—making possible our right relationship with the Triune God now and forever in the gift of his Son and his heavenly Spirit.
What if we willingly surrendered our independence, our preferences, and our expectations to the God who came to us to bring us into right relationship with himself? What if we, like Mary, believed that God was good and loving, that he was faithful and trustworthy, and that he sought what was best for us? What if we actually said to God each day and in each moment, “Do with me as you wish”? What if we indeed brought every thought captive to the will of God in Christ (2 Cor. 10:5)?
The good news is that this is the very reason Jesus came. Jesus took our stubborn willfulness and turned us back toward obedience to the Father—even to the point of death on the cross. Jesus bore the suffering and agony of our rejection and resistance to God upon himself, took it to the grave, and emerged offering us new life in himself. As the apostle Paul wrote, “Therefore from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer. Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come (2 Cor. 5:16–17 NASB).”
What a lovely reason for the season! All that is left for us is to respond to Christ’s gift in faith, being filled with the Spirit and pouring out our gratitude in praise like Elizabeth, Mary, and Zacharias—all participants in this miraculous event. What we could not and would not do, Jesus did in our place and on our behalf. Such great love expressed to us by God above! We humbly receive with open hands and hearts, and respond with gratitude, saying, “Lord, let it be to me according to your word.” Your life, Jesus, for my life. Thank you, Lord!
“O God of hosts, restore us and cause Your face to shine upon us, and we will be saved.” Psalm 80:7 NASB
“Now at this time Mary arose and went in a hurry to the hill country, to a city of Judah, and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. And she cried out with a loud voice and said, ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And how has it happened to me, that the mother of my Lord would come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her by the Lord.’” Luke 1:39–45 NASB
Keeper of the Anointed One
By Linda Rex
December 29, 2019, HOLY FAMILY—In recent years, specifically here in America but in other areas as well, there has been a lot of effort expended in an effort to lift women to a place of dignity and worth not previously experienced in society. Although I have been immensely blessed by the results of this effort and am very grateful for the efforts of those who have gone before me, I have been saddened to see that when we seek to rectify one problem, as is typical with us as humans, we tend to create another.
I’ve noticed that with the rise of the worth and dignity of women has come a demeaning and disrespect of men. Too often we have criticized and condemned as a whole this portion of the human race in our efforts to correct what has failed to be encouraged and supported in the other. I feel we have fallen into the trap of either/or thinking rather than understanding that God did not mean worth and dignity to be given to one in place of the other. He meant it to be given to both. Every human being is made in the image of God, and so is worthy of dignity and respect.
In the light of this, the reading for this Sunday tells us about events which happened after the birth of Jesus Christ. Christmas is a twelve-day celebration which begins on December 25th, and included in this celebration is the Sunday we celebrate the Holy Family. The role that Joseph and Mary have to play in Jesus’ story is significant, and I believe there is much we can learn about how to be a man of God from the little bit we read in the gospels about Joseph, Jesus’ stepfather.
First, we need to understand that Joseph was living in a very patriarchal society. He was a Jew and he was bound by the requirements of the law as taught by his rabbis in the synagogue and the other Jewish leaders. He was a man of character and sought to live rightly before God. When he was betrothed to Mary and she told him she was expecting a child, his immediate thought was to put her away privately. This would have gone against the traditions of the elders, but he did not want to hurt or shame her unnecessarily. This showed a heart of grace and humility, and compassion.
When an angel spoke to Joseph in a dream, telling him to take Mary as his wife and that the child to be born to her was conceived by the Spirit and was to be called Jesus, Joseph had an important decision to make. This decision required an immense amount of faith—was this really a message from God? Did he believe that this is really what he should do? Apparently, he believed, and then acted on that belief.
How many men today take seriously the dreams they have? Would a man I met on the street, or even within the doors of my church, recognize when they had an angel of God speak to them? How many actually listen to and obey the voice of the Spirit? And how would they respond if they were asked to do something which would require this kind of humility, grace, and lifelong commitment? I have gotten to know some men over the years who I believe would, but I have also met and known many who would not.
What about when Joseph had a dream which told him to pick up his family and travel to Egypt on a moment’s notice because the king was searching for his child in order to kill him? If Joseph had not believed and obeyed this dream, they would have stayed at the house, and Jesus would have been killed. The faith and trust of Joseph, his willingness to listen to and be attentive to the voice of God, was critical in the survival of the Christ child.
In the same way today, we need men who are willing to slow down long enough to listen to and hear the voice of God. God’s Spirit speaks all the time, but often we are too busy or preoccupied to hear his voice. We are often too invested in the things of our flesh or in our daily occupations to do what the Spirit asks us to do. Women and children often long for the men in their lives to take the lead spiritually. They yearn to be able to rest in the knowledge that their spouse or parent is listening to God’s voice and following the lead of the Spirit. One of the best gifts a man can give the people in his life is a willingness and effort to listen to and follow the Holy Spirit.
I’m personally grateful for the many men I know who have a passion for the word of God and prayer, who are strong men of faith, who are humble and have servant hearts. They are compassionate and understanding, yet they diligently oppose anything which may harm others or create distress for those who cannot defend themselves. These men radiate a quiet, steady strength, and an ability to lead others merely by following the Spirit themselves.
We must not underestimate the power that a man has to impact the society around him simply by how he listens to and follows the voice of the Spirit. His capacity to humbly listen to and submit himself to the voice of the Spirit and to the needs of his family is critical. The admonition in Ephesians for a man to lay down his life as Jesus laid down his, if it were followed, would transform this society and our families today (Eph. 5:25-29).
Joseph had to care for his family, but uprooting them on a moment’s notice to move to an entirely different nation must have been a very difficult undertaking. And then, after a few years, he heard that voice again, telling him to return to his native land—King Herod, the one who wanted to kill Jesus, had died. Joseph was still concerned about the well-being of his family, so he took them to Nazareth to live. And this was where Jesus grew up.
We don’t read much about Joseph after this. We find him taking his family to Jerusalem for the holy days about the time of Jesus’ bar mitzvah. But after that, not much is said of him. But what we do know is that he fulfilled the calling God gave him, to be the keeper of the Anointed One, watching over him and protecting him as he grew up, and providing for him and his family.
What man today isn’t called to this same role? Maybe it’s not quite the same, since Jesus is not here on earth in his flesh right now. But the Holy Spirit was sent to dwell in human hearts, and we as human beings were meant to be the dwelling place of God himself. Jesus lives in each person as they trust him in faith. Just as he worked through Joseph, God calls men today to be keepers of the Anointed One, leading others in their lives by listening to and following the lead of the Spirit. God means for men to be image-bearers of the Divine One, caring for those in and with whom he has come to dwell.
Thank you, Abba, for giving us men of faith to lead us and watch over us. Continue to call to yourself the men in our lives, giving them a heart and will to listen to and obey your Spirit, to lead us by following you, through Jesus our Lord. Amen.
“After the wise men were gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. ‘Get up! Flee to Egypt with the child and his mother,’ the angel said. ‘Stay there until I tell you to return, because Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.’ That night Joseph left for Egypt with the child and Mary, his mother, and they stayed there until Herod’s death. … When Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt. ‘Get up!’ the angel said. ‘Take the child and his mother back to the land of Israel, because those who were trying to kill the child are dead.’ So Joseph got up and returned to the land of Israel with Jesus and his mother. … So the family went and lived in a town called Nazareth. This fulfilled what the prophets had said: ‘He will be called a Nazarene.’” Matthew 2:13–15a, 19–21, 23 NASB
Changing Our Inner Lens
By Linda Rex
September 15, 2019, Proper 19—The parable about the lost coin nearly always brings to my mind the many times when I have lost something important and have searched all over in my attempts to find it. As I get older, I’m discovering that it’s getting easier for me to lose things and harder for me to find them. I confess that on occasion I have had to use my landline phone to call my cellphone because I could not find it anywhere.
My daughter dreads hearing me say that I can’t find my glasses because she knows they could be just about anywhere. She immediately checks to make sure they are not on my head—sometimes things are not as badly lost as we think they are. Sometimes we just need to change our viewpoint or our perspective, or what we believe to be true.
This parable of the lost coin shows the heart of our loving Abba, who is willing to go to great lengths to ensure that each of his children has a place at his table. It’s bad enough that we believe he’s looking for reasons to exclude us, but then we also often believe that he is indifferent as to whether or not we’re even present in his life. Neither are true.
The coin the woman searched for was a drachma, worth about a day’s wages. Back when I was an hourly employee earning minimum wage, losing a day’s wages was equivalent to not having any water that month or not being able to put gas in the car. When I lost a day’s wages or lost a valuable check, I was concerned. I needed every penny I earned. I had bills to pay and kids to feed and care for.
The diligence with which the house got searched increased with the value of the item lost. The urgency with which this woman searched her house was a reflection of the value she placed upon that lost coin. It is a reflection of the passion with which our Abba searches for his lost ones. Finding those who are his lost ones and bringing them home to be with him was very important to Abba—so important that the Word of God, his Son, came into our cosmos, shared in our humanity and our suffering, and brought us home to be with Abba forever.
There is no person today who is completely and totally lost, who is not found in Christ. On God’s side, he has searched out and found each and every one of us—including us in the humanity of our risen Lord. Our lostness is a matter of unbelief, not of spiritual reality. What we believe about God, about ourselves, and about who Jesus is and what he did, is critical. If we believe we are lost, forsaken, and abandoned, we will live as though that is true. But if we believe Christ has come and brought us home to his Father (which he has), then we will live as though that is true, and live in the joy, peace, and hope of God as we participate in Christ’s perfect relationship with his Father in the Spirit.
Now sometimes we can be so sure of our own goodness and righteousness that we don’t realize we have wandered away from the God who loves us. This was what Jesus faced when the scribes and Pharisees began to criticize him for eating with sinners. When we begin to delineate between righteous people and sinners, including ourselves in the righteous group, we are in a dangerous place. We are declaring ourselves as having no need for Jesus and for what he did for us. We are denying reality.
Jesus emphasized our need to see ourselves accurately—as sinners in need of grace. As long as we believe we are righteous and do not need to be saved, we have no need of Jesus. We can live in this place of denial all our lives, but there will come a point where we will need to face the reality that apart from Jesus, we are lost. Apart from his finished work in his life, death, resurrection and ascension, we don’t have life today or hope for the future. We need to accept the truth that our eternity, and our present, are wrapped up in Jesus—he is our life. He is our right relationship with God and others.
There is great joy in heaven, Jesus said, when someone throws away the blinders and begins to see themselves with clear vision. Confessing the truth about ourselves paves the way for us to begin to live and walk in truth, in the spiritual realities in which we were included when Jesus came in our place on our behalf. And living in the reality that we are sinners saved by grace, beloved adopted children of the Father, changes how we treat those around us.
Instead of focusing on the failures, faults, and weaknesses of those around us, we focus on Christ—on him being at work in each person and in their lives by the Spirit, helping them come to see and believe that they too have been found and brought home to the Father. Rather than offering ridicule, criticism or condemnation, we offer encouragement, comfort, and understanding. Rather than rejecting or belittling them, we pray for them and offer them appropriate support.
It is in these ways that we participate with Jesus in searching for the lost and bringing them home to the Father. God has already done the hard part in the finished work of Christ and the gift of the Spirit. Now we get to join in as we follow Christ and the lead of the Spirit as God works in each person’s life to bring them to faith. We pray for them and share the good news with them. We share the love of God, extending the grace and mercy of Jesus, and trust God to finish what he already has begun in each person’s life.
So, today, how do we need to reconsider the way we look ourselves and the people around us? Are we using a clear and accurate lens? Do we see things through the lens of Jesus Christ? We may need to ask Abba for new glasses—or maybe we just need to clean the grime off of them so we can see things the way they really are. Either way, we may just discover that what we believe is lost has already been found.
Dear Abba, thank you for so diligently searching for us, finding us, and bringing us home to you. Give us clear vision, the lens of your Son Jesus Christ. Fill us anew with the Spirit of truth so we not only see the spiritual realities, but also the truth about those you have placed in our lives. Enable us to love them as you have loved us, through Jesus our Lord and by your Spirit. Amen.
“Both the Pharisees and the scribes began to grumble, saying, ‘This man receives sinners and eats with them.’… I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance….In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.’” Luke 15:2, 7, 10 NASB
Guarded by Faith
By Linda Rex
August 11th, PROPER 14—A while back, my son was telling me about a group of people who believe the world is flat. They have their own website where they seek to convince others that this is the reality of the earth we live on. Because they believe what they do, they have come up with many arguments to explain away what someone like myself would consider sound, logical proof the world is round.
Because of how I was raised, I find it difficult to even entertain the possibility that the earth is flat. My beliefs have been formed around the scientific information I’ve studied and things I was taught in school. I have learned new things about my world and my physical body as I have grown older, but in all these years I have never had any reason to change my belief about the world being round. I am still convinced that I live on a lovely orb set as a jewel in the heavens, held in the loving hands of our Abba.
Indeed, what we believe directly affects how we see our world and ourselves. We often believe things about ourselves which are inaccurate, but which guide how we interact with our environment and with one another. For example, if we are convinced that we know what is the best thing to do in a situation, we will act in accordance with that belief, doing our best to convince others that our ideas and preferences are the ones which should be heeded and that any other person’s opinion or preference is to be disregarded or ignored.
The sad thing is that we often do not make the effort to get to know who we really are. Many of us do not realize how we impact the people around us. For some of us, our behavior, words, and attitudes are an affliction on those around us because we work out of an inner paradigm of conceit, arrogance and pride. Or we may believe we are only worthy of rejection and abandonment, and are so filled with self-loathing that we believe we have nothing to offer this world or the people in our lives. Our inner belief may create discomfort and frustration in the people around us, causing them to avoid or reject us.
These beliefs about ourselves impact how we interact at home, at work, and in the marketplace. If we are in Christian ministry, these beliefs affect how we care for the people God places in our lives—we influence others by the way we view ourselves, the world we live in, and God himself. Our false beliefs about God, ourselves and everything else provide the evil one with plenty of ammunition in his efforts to kill, destroy, and to create division. As the father of lies, he’s really good at convincing us of lies about God, ourselves and others.
Have you ever considered the possibility that what you believe about someone might be wrong? That you might be seeing God through the wrong lense? Have you ever thought that maybe the inner voice you listen to all the time may be lying to you? We need to be willing to step out of the box and try new ways of looking at ourselves, God, and the world around us. We may discover what we have believed all these years was wrong.
In the book of Genesis, God came to Abram in a vision and told him that he would have an heir. Since he and his wife were beyond childbearing years, this was a jaw-dropping proposition. Then God also promised Abram that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the heavens. In spite of how astonishing this news was, Abram believed.
How that belief was worked out during his life took many turns, some of which seemed unfathomable to Abram. Years passed and he had no child of his own—it seemed as though God had forgotten his promise. Abram agreed to have a child by a custom of the day, through Sarai’s handmaid. The complications which arose then, and have arisen ever since because of the issue of unbelief, are innumerable. What if Abram had believed God so completely that he had told Sarai no? How would his life have been different? How would it have affected the nation of Israel centuries later?
However limited Abram’s faith was, God still counted it as righteousness. It is a comfort to you and to me that what we believe about God, limited though it may be, is still valuable. God comes to us, reveals himself to us in Christ by the Spirit, and we believe—and our lives are never the same again. However fragile our faith may be, God still honors it.
The reason God embraces our limited faith is because the Word of God came into our human flesh, trusted his Abba completely even to the point of death on a cross and placed himself into his Father’s hands as he prepared to die. Jesus’ faith was perfect, complete, and unbreakable, even in death. We find now, that you and I participate in his faith—our fragile, imperfect faith is completed and upheld in his perfect faith.
The apostle Paul called for us to put on the shield of faith. He told us to take “up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.” We need to have Jesus reform our view of God and ourselves—understanding the depths of Abba’s love for us and how we are beloved, chosen, and accepted by God. Satan will use any means necessary to get us to believe lies about God, ourselves, and others, but Jesus stands in our stead, on our behalf, as the truth of our existence and the truth of our heavenly Abba. He gives us his faith by the Spirit in our inner being, enabling us to believe when everything around and in us is telling us not to.
We don’t need to drum up a deeper faith. All we need is Jesus’ faith. And by the Spirit we have it, as we receive what Jesus has done in his life, death, resurrection, and ascension, trusting that he stands in our stead and on our behalf. Jesus’ faith becomes our shield, freeing us from Satan’s lies about God, ourselves, and others. We participate in Jesus’ faith as we put on more and more of Christ, growing in our relationship with him, worshiping and praising him, and learning more about him and his ways. As we come to know him more deeply, we stop believing the lies we have embraced and begin to live and walk in truth, shielded by the faith of Christ, our living Lord.
Dear Abba, thank you for including us in your perfect relationship with your Son Jesus in the Spirit. Renew our faith. Free us from false beliefs about ourselves, you, and others. Enable us to live and walk in truth, through Jesus the living Truth and by your Spirit. Amen.
“After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not fear, Abram, I am a shield to you; Your reward shall be very great….Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.” Genesis 15:1, 6 NASB
Our Life in the Trinity 