forgiveness
Making His List, Checking it Twice…
by Linda Rex
Have you ever been through the experience of having someone count out your faults? One by one, they pointed out everything you ever did wrong, and you weren’t sure you could really defend yourself against their accusations? Do you remember how it made you feel?
Luke tells a story in his Gospel about a woman who had an experience like this. A Pharisee had repeatedly requested that Jesus be his guest at a banquet, so Jesus agreed to attend. As was customary, they reclined on couches around the table, and anyone from the community was welcome to listen in on the conversation or to stand quietly next to the wall and observe the festivities.
What is interesting about this story is that even though it was customary in that day to have your guests’ feet washed, and their head anointed, and to greet them with a kiss, the Pharisee Simon had done none of these things for Jesus, even though he was his guest. As they were dining, a woman came, poured out an expensive jar of perfume on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. For a woman to do any of these things was considered inappropriate and culturally defined her as a woman of loose morals.
Being a man who was quite proud of his meticulous obedience to God, Simon thought to himself, “If this man were a genuine prophet, the predicted Prophet to come, he would know what sort of person this woman was that was touching him. He would know she was a sinner.”
Jesus knew what he was thinking, so he began to tell him a story about two men who owed a moneylender some money. One owed him a lot and the other owed him a little. The moneylender forgave both their debts. Jesus asked Simon, “Which one of these debtors loved the moneylender the most?” The obvious answer was the one who was forgiven the most.
So Jesus brought up the elephant in the room—the lady who was anointing his feet with perfume and kisses. He pointed out that Simon had not shown him any customary courtesies when he came, and yet, this woman was showering him with kindness and love. For that reason, she was forgiven, not Simon, who did not even know or admit that he was wrong in any way, nor did he show Jesus any kindness and respect.
Then Jesus turned to the woman and said to her, “Your sins have been forgiven.” Then he told her that her faith had saved her, that she should go in peace. Nowhere in this conversation do we see Jesus pointing out all the things the woman had done wrong in her life. Simon had definitely gone through the list in his mind. But Jesus merely acknowledged her contrition and sent her away forgiven, with a new life ahead of her.
So what kind of people are we really? It seems it is better to acknowledge the reality of our need for forgiveness and our appreciation of God’s grace than it is to deny Jesus Christ our devotion and respect. If we are so busy looking at the faults of others, we may miss the important thing and that is our own poverty-stricken soul that is full of evil. Perhaps we are so sure of our spiritual insight and wealth that we don’t realize we are really poor, blind and naked in God’s sight.
But Jesus’ response to all of us is the same. “You are forgiven. Therefore, go and sin no more.” We are invited to live life in the fullness of God’s love, for we are welcomed home with open arms. Let’s run home to our Daddy-God who loves us so completely that he forgives us even before we ask.
Dear Lord, Father of us all, forgive us for our blindness and cold-hearted devotion to ourselves and not to you and to others. Refresh us in your love and forgiveness, and give us each a new heart and mind so that we might truly know and love you, our Father, Jesus, Spirit of truth. Amen.
“’For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little.’ Then He said to her, ‘Your sins have been forgiven.’” Luke 7:47–48
Ode to List-makers
by Linda Rex
Have you ever seen a List-maker,
Their conscience all aglow
With the wonders of their goodness
And the horrific sins of those they know?
Too bad they miss the point,
It’s their own sin they cannot see,
Otherwise they’d welcome sinners
And forgive them like God forgave me.
Reversals
by Linda Rex
I still recall an argument I had many years ago in high school with a classmate who was a member of another faith. We argued about the rightness and wrongness of what we believed. I was sure that he was not a true believer because he did not keep the Sabbath and holy days, or all the other Old Covenant laws that I kept. I was pretty proud of the fact that I did all these things. He was so sure I was an unbeliever because I did not worship in the temple as he did, observe the rituals and worship days he believed were right, and sing the songs he sang. He was, of course, so absolutely wrong, I thought. It was a stupid argument between two people who didn’t understand the truth about who we are in the light of who Jesus Christ is for us in the incarnation.
The ironic thing is that years later God has helped me to see and grieve the reality that indeed I was very much a member of what was more or less a cult. And though this person, and many others, did not observe what I had believed at that time was necessary for salvation, it did not automatically follow that they were not believers. How often I mocked what I now understand to be true! God has taught me true humility in this regard.
It is only more evidence that God gives us the gift of himself in “jars of clay.” It is a testimony to his greatness, his mercy and his patience that he did not ignore me or reject me, but instead, turned my entire belief system and manner of life on its head and turned me completely around. What I never would have dreamed of doing before, God is now doing in my life, not for my exaltation but for his glory. In this, there is no glory for me—only glory and praise for God, and a life committed to serving and worshiping him.
But this is the way God works in human lives. Just yesterday I was reminded of the way God takes someone who is caught in a lifestyle of addiction and transforms their life completely, so that in the end they are free to reach out to others with the Word of life and freedom in Christ. This is the magnificent work of Christ in the world through the Spirit. It is so beautiful and inspiring to see God at work in someone’s life in this way!
So, the question is: Where is God at work in us and in our lives today? What is he doing in the lives of those around us? Where is he taking us? What does he have for us to do today? God is at work each and every moment, working out his will that all people would come to know him and to understand the wonder of the love he has for them as demonstrated in the life, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ. God holds us in the midst of his life and love each and every moment, and wants to us share every part of our lives with him each and every day. All he asks is that we believe it, and then share it.
Thank you, God, for the infinite love you show us each and every day. Thank you, that mercifully you raise us up out of our blindness, ignorance and hostility toward you, and transform us by your Holy Spirit. Work that miracle in each of us again today. Show your glory in these “jars of clay”. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
“I was still unknown by sight to the churches of Judea which were in Christ; but only, they kept hearing, ‘He who once persecuted us is now preaching the faith which he once tried to destroy.’ And they were glorifying God because of me.” –Galatians 1:22-24 (NASB)
Taking the First Step
by Linda Rex
Nothing can be more maddening than to find out that the business you trusted to take care of your car has taken advantage of you instead. I recall that sinking feel well and really don’t wish to repeat the experience.
I picked the company because I had been informed that they were good at what they did. Well, that was a true statement, but I’m not sure that what they were good at was fixing cars. I think that maybe what they were good at was something else entirely.
The unfortunate thing about such experiences is that they cause a person to question the motives and values of everyone they encounter. They destroy a person’s faith in others and in their good will. We find that we cannot take anyone at their word. We begin not to trust anyone.
It is hard to trust someone who you do not know. Until you have spent enough time with them to really get to know them well, you have no way of knowing whether they are a person of integrity or are just real good at putting on a façade. Sometimes building a relationship with someone requires us to take a step of faith.
If you do not have a relationship with Jesus Christ and you’re not sure whether he is even real, it is extremely difficult to even want to get to know him. What is the point? How can you trust someone when you know nothing about him? Why should you even try?
Perhaps some people associated with the name of Jesus Christ have been hurtful and insensitive to you. Maybe they seem to only be critical and condemning, or perhaps they are just really good at being hypocritical. Perhaps the only followers of Jesus that you know are people you’d rather not have anything to do with. I’m sorry if that is the case. Like the people at the repair shop who ruined my opinion of all auto mechanics, they give all Christians a bad name by their conduct.
I invite you to look beyond your negative experiences to see Jesus Christ himself. Might I encourage you to get to know him yourself by reading about him in the Bible? You might start in the Gospel of John. And if that is too much of a stretch, how about just talking to him? “Jesus, if you are real, show yourself to me. I want to get to know you.” Take the beginning steps of relationship with him—he will meet you there.
Jesus isn’t just a myth or a story in a book. He isn’t just a religion or a wise teacher. He is a real person who is alive today and is seeking a real relationship with you and each person on this planet. Nobody is unworthy to come to him—his arms are open to all of us. He invites us to trust him and to take that first step. It may take some effort, some courage and even some perseverance, but it will be worth every effort.
Lord Jesus, open our eyes, our mind and heart, to see you and to know you today. Show us that you are real, you are alive, and are expectantly awaiting the opportunity to spend time with us and to share life with us. Take away our fears and doubts and grant us the courage and faith to reach out to you. In your name, Jesus, we pray. Amen.
“Now Jesus started on His way with them; and when He was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to Him, ‘Lord, do not trouble Yourself further, for I am not worthy for You to come under my roof; for this reason I did not even consider myself worthy to come to You, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed.’” Luke 7:6-7
Helping the Healing
By Linda Rex
As I closed the book, I reflected on the many stories I had read recently that told of the power of relationships to bring healing into the lives of the suffering. Each author told of how a person found healing from trauma, abuse or even physical ailments within the context of a friendship or pastoral relationship.
In a technological world that communicates through cell phones, computers and other media rather than through face-to-face encounters, it is getting harder to find people who understand and practice the skill of healthy relationship-building. Many have grown up in relationships that lacked healthy boundaries or in which one or both parents were missing or were no longer a part of their home life.
One of the keys to healthy life and being is living in relationship with others in healthy ways. If those relationships are missing in our lives, we ought to begin the process of looking for positive relationships to be a part of. This can be difficult, if not even painful, as we struggle to relate to others who may or may not respect our boundaries and know how to love us in healthy ways.
The first and most important relationship we can begin to build and strengthen is our relationship with the One who made us and called us into relationship with himself. The thought of having a relationship with God can be intimidating, so a way to start is to find someone who does have a strong relationship with a loving, relational God. They can be recognized by how they relate to the people in their lives.
Sadly, there are those who say they believe in God but their relationships are in chaos and are destructive because the God they worship is not the relational Lord of the Bible, but the God of their own passions, traditions and/or imaginations.
The Triune God of love and grace, who lives in an eternal relationship of mutual submission, service, and unity, is the God to seek a relationship with. When he is worshiped and adored, when he is the center of a person’s life, their relationships will reflect his love, compassion and unity.
Their families and friendships will be relationships in which each person seeks not their own self-interest, but that of others, while at the same time being responsible for their own needs. When there is hurt or unhealthy ways of living and relating, they will courageously speak the truth and offer help, forgiveness and reconciliation. They will be real people who are flawed, and yet in whom there is that unique quality of inner love and peace that cannot be explained but can be felt by others they are around.
If you are a person who is living in relationship with this God of love and grace, it may be time to ask yourself whether you are an effective reflection of him. Keeping in mind that all relationships require much grace, much room for faults and failures, it may be that you are the person who could offer relationship to someone who has not had the blessing of healthy relationships to learn from. Could you be the person someone is seeking to find, to teach them what it means to be respected, loved and cared for? Could it be that you are the one they need to hear the truth from in the context of trust and compassion?
Perhaps it is time for all believers of Jesus Christ, who have the inner light of God’s love filling them and leading them in his ways of truth and light, to step up and provide leadership in relationship building. Perhaps it is time to leave behind our isolationist thinking and behavior and begin to relate to others for Christ’s sake alone—because that is what we were created by God to be and do. Perhaps? No, it is time. The need is there. Let’s meet it. Let’s participate in God’s gift of healing to others through relationship. And let’s do it now.
Holy Triune God, We are so often alone. You never meant for us to be so. Grant us those relationships we need to fully be all that you created us to be. Thank you for being the One who calls us into relationship with yourself so that we never need to be alone. We trust you to provide the other relationships we need in our lives to help us heal and grow into all you have in mind for us. Lord, forgive us when we refuse to share the gift of love and grace you have given us in Christ by not living in healthy relationships with others. Grant us the grace to always give as well as receive your love as you intend us to. In the name of the Father, Son and Spirit. Amen.
“I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me.” John 17:23
Living in a Culture of Fear
By Linda Rex
Recently I was glancing through an online news channel and came across an article about Beate Zschaepe. Ms. Zschaepe is a neo-Nazi, a terrorist who is on trial for the murder of eight people as well as for several bombings and bank robberies. The article went on to say that members of such ultra-right wing groups are actively working to “normalize” their groups in such a way that they are able to recruit children and youths, indoctrinating them at an early age into their political views and tactics.
It seems that everywhere I turn I am bombarded with one reason after another as to why I should be afraid of something or someone. On Facebook I read about the dangers of consuming aspartame and genetically modified foods. I hear on the radio about someone with a new scheme for stealing people’s personal data that I need to watch out for. I read about a new form of meth that’s being sold or some other reason why I don’t want my teenager in public school. I’m told by a friend about how their mother and father were tricked into losing their pension by a scam artist. The list goes on and on.
We live in a culture of fear. It seems that everywhere we turn there are more things to be afraid of or watch out for. We are busy striving to make sure we meet our obligations, handle our relationships well, and cut out some time to take care of ourselves. But it is never enough. It is no wonder many people end up with high blood pressure or stress-related diseases! We exist in a culture that can cause us to live constantly in a state of “fight or flight.” We’re always on the alert for something that could disrupt or ruin our life.
It seems to me that there is a mythology that goes along with this fear culture. It is the belief that somehow if we worked hard enough, were clever enough and used enough ingenuity, we could prevent all this bad stuff from happening, or at least could keep it from harming us and those we love. There seems to be an underlying belief that if we just had enough information, put out enough effort, we could keep ourselves safe and prevent all this craziness from touching us or those close to us. But then reality hits and we find we are just as vulnerable as the next person.
I am learning that living in a culture of fear requires that we be people of faith. Not faith in things or in people or in institutions or religions, but faith in that which is certain, dependable and trustworthy. We need someone or something bigger than we are that we can turn to in every situation and circumstance of our lives. Someday we will find ourselves in a place where there is no one to turn to but ourselves and we will find then that we are not enough. It is in that place that we come up against the truth about our humanness—that we are not divine, but fragile and temporal though we may indeed be valiant and brave.
We can face this truth of our need for something beyond ourselves in many ways, including despair and denial or rage. But at some point we will come face to face with the Divine, with that underlying, wise, loving Person in whom we “live and move and have our being.” (Acts 17:28) At that point we can continue to live in fear of him or come to see him as he truly is—our loving, compassionate Daddy-God who wants nothing more than to live in a close, intimate relationship with us and to have us share in his life and love as Father, Son and Spirit.
Sadly, throughout the centuries, we as human beings have chosen our own path, to determine for ourselves what is right and what is wrong, and to live independently of him as though he didn’t exist at all. Yet God has been doing everything possible to provide for us, to give our lives value and purpose, so we can live in a happy, meaningful relationship with him.
In fact, he came into our universe, bore a human body just like you and me, lived, suffered and died and rose again, so that we could live without fear, in a relationship of peace and trust and joy in him. As the person Jesus Christ, God the Word took upon himself our lives with all that we experience day by day—the fear, the suffering, the struggles as well as the joys and triumphs. He brought us into a relationship with God in himself that is like that of a beloved child with his parents. He demonstrated his great love for each of us in this way.
It is this great love which God expresses to us in Jesus Christ that takes away our fear. When we know and live in relationship with a living Lord who is involved in every detail of our lives each and every day, we no longer need to live in fear. When we see, hear or feel the fearful, negative things around begin to bombard us, we can allow them to overwhelm us. Or we can turn to our heavenly Father who through our loving Lord brought us into relationship with himself by the Holy Spirit. God is personally interested in everything about us and passionately seeks to protect us from or help us through everything that seeks to harm or destroy us.
God is real. His servants, who are ministering spirits, are also real. You are deeply loved and cared for. If and when bad things happen, God does not love you any less. In fact, in Christ, he experiences your pain, your struggle, or sorrow, and he goes through it with you because his Spirit is with you and in you.
It is a matter of faith. What, or who, do you trust in? Where do you turn when the world around you gets scary? All that you need is present in Jesus Christ—will you believe? If you find you can’t—feel free to ask him for the faith you need to believe. He has plenty of it to go around and some of it he meant for you to have so you could trust in him. Choose faith over fear. And begin to see the world through new eyes.
Thank you, Loving Father, that there is no reason for us to live in fear. Thank you for putting your angels around us, for leading and guiding us each and every day, even when we forget to ask or turn to you. Grant us faith to believe that you are ever with us and that you love us so deeply that we can live without fear each and every day. You are our trustworthy God. In Jesus Christ, we choose to trust you. Amen.
“When I am afraid, I will put my trust in You. In God, whose word I praise, In God I have put my trust ; I shall not be afraid. What can mere man do to me?” —Psalm 56:3-4 (NASB)
Sorry, Wrong Answer!
by Linda Rex
Have you ever had one of those occasions when your mouth gets the best of you even though you are trying real hard to bite your tongue? I had one of those the other day.
A very nice lady called me up to talk to me about a form I had filled out. She had some valid questions and comments to make. And I tried to listen and answer her in the best way that I could. But as we talked, I understood less and less what she was talking about and became more and more confused and frustrated, even though I was trying very hard to understand and respond appropriately.
Eventually I found myself talking out of my frustration instead of out of the love of Christ. I realize now that I was so busy being upset about what she was saying and that I might have made a mistake that I really didn’t hear what she was saying. If I had just heard her out and took a few minutes to think, I would not have responded as I did. The phone conversation would have taken half as long. And she would not have had to put up with my inconsiderate speech.
As we closed the call, I apologized to her for my poor phone manners. I was truly sorry I had been such a sore heel about such a simple matter. She was very gracious, considering the fact that I was guilty of “shooting the messenger.” I’m grateful that she was patient and willing to forgive.
So often we can find ourselves in the place where we are so busy defending ourselves from a supposed wrong that we don’t realize that the other person isn’t there to criticize but to help. We can become guilty of attacking the very person who is there to help us out and is trying to do us a favor.
I believe this happens when we lose sight of the reality that at the cross we all stand at the same place. We are all made worthy of the same love of God in Christ. We need to see each person we meet as a “messenger” of God in that he or she is also made in God’s image for his glory. We are all sinners, every one, cleansed and perfected by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and brought into the love and life of Father, Son, and Spirit.
In the light of that truth about ourselves and others, we can face up to our failures with humility and grace. And because we are deeply aware of our need for God’s grace and love and are living and walking in the Spirit, we can be gracious and loving to others, even when we are feeling frustrated or confused. And when we fall short, as I did the day I “shot the messenger”, we can receive the same grace we offer to others when they too fail to act and speak in love. This is the way in which God meant for us to live and walk in love, in the light of Jesus, the Word of Life. This is what makes us family.
Holy Father, thank you for always being gracious with us when we do not guard our tongues or our attitudes and behaviors as we ought. Too often we are governed by our tongues rather than bringing them under submission to your will and your love. Lord, please fill our hearts and minds with your love and life. Let us daily live and speak in love as we dwell in heavenly places with you in Christ Jesus. May your love, as Father, Son, and Spirit, dwell in our hearts by faith and continue to transform us in such a way that our speech and conduct always reflect your glory. In Jesus’ Name, we pray. Amen.
“A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” –Proverbs 15:1
The Power of Presence
by Linda Rex
I recall many years ago when I would sit down at the piano for a few quiet moments with the music, I was never able to finish more than a song or two before I was interrupted. A tiny hand would begin tapping on my knee and one of my children would begin to snuggle up next to me and try to crawl into my lap.
I would try to talk with them while I was playing and avoid the lapful, but soon I would feel both their hands reaching up to clasp my face and to turn it towards theirs. They wanted all of mommy, not just her voice. They wanted my full attention!
This reminds me of a song that I heard again recently—“From a Distance.” It is a beautiful song with lyrics that remind us of the importance of keeping our perspective when looking at ourselves and our lives here on earth. However, there is one phrase from the song that really bothers me: “God is watching us, from a distance.”
Perhaps the reason it bothers me so much is that I feel it contradicts the very nature of God in his relationship with humanity. From the beginning we see God walking in the garden with Adam and Eve, talking with them and building a relationship with them. The Scriptures show God interacting with human beings throughout their history here on earth in a real, personal way.
In Psalm 139, the psalmist reminds us that wherever we go, wherever we are, God is already there. He knows us before we are born and what we will be when we grow up. He knows when we rise and when we lay down, and knows what we are going to say before we say it. In fact, we cannot go anywhere, where God isn’t because God is everywhere. He is omnipresent. It is God’s nature, in the Spirit, to be everywhere in his creation all at the same time, as well as being fully present in his Triune relations of Father, Son and Spirit.
God did not intend to deal with humanity “from a distance.” In coming himself in the person of the Word and taking on human flesh in the person of Jesus, Christ became one of us. Being God “from a distance” was not something he wanted to do. Instead, he wanted to share in our humanity and he took on all that was and is ours, transforming it by his very presence and power into a new humanity in himself. The God who was wholly other than us and who made us became one of us, forever joining himself to us, becoming something he had not been before.
Why would this God do such a thing? His love for all of the humans he created was so great that he did not want to live in eternity without us. He did not want us to return to the nothingness out of which he created us, even though in Adam that was our choice. No, he was willing to do everything he could to prevent it. In this case it meant his very presence in our world, in our humanity. God gave us his full attention! He gave us his one, unique Son, so that we might have eternal life in him.
Recently we celebrated Resurrection Day, commonly called Easter. This day remembers the miracle of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ from the grave after his crucifixion and death. The death of Christ was a horrific experience that so profoundly affected his disciples that they locked themselves away in fear of the Jews. Closed away, they had great difficulty believing the story of the women who came to tell them of the resurrection. Even when they saw the empty grave themselves, they still closeted themselves away in fear.
One of the first things Jesus did after his resurrection was to appear in the locked room where the disciples were gathered and to greet them with the customary greeting, “Shalom.” “Peace be with you,” he said to his fearful followers. He graced them with the reassurance of his presence and ensured that they would have his presence within them in the person and presence of the Holy Spirit, the “other Helper.” He had promised his disciples that he would never leave or forsake them but would always be present with them, and he kept that promise.
We can be comforted in the knowledge that the promise of God’s constant presence continues for each of us today. God continues to be for us, with us, and in us, as we believe and trust in him to work his saving grace in us and our lives. We may hear the music of God singing over us as we go about our work and play, and at any time we can reach out to him, and we will have his full attention. God is fully present in every way at all times, whether we realize it or not. What a precious and perfect gift from the Father of lights!
Holy God, thank you for your complete and perfect love for each and every one of us. Thank you for your gift of your personal presence in us and in our lives. Thank you for your precious Spirit who is always present in every possible way, and that we have Jesus as well. For you, God, as Father, Son and Spirit are ever omnipresent, always in us, with us and for us, and so you are more than worthy of our praise. Amen.
“So when it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” And when He had said this, He showed them both His hands and His side. The disciples then rejoiced when they saw the Lord.” John 20:19-20
Beyond the Now of Suffering
by Linda Rex
I sat with a friend one day as she told me the sad story of her husband’s tragic accident. He lingered for several agonizing days and then passed on. It was heartbreaking. I was sorry to lose his friendship as well as to watch her grieve the loss of her dearest friend. In the midst of this horrific event, how could we rejoice?
The only joy we can find in such times is in our knowledge that we may look forward to spending eternity with this dear one because of what Jesus Christ did for us. We look forward to a wonderful future spent in the presence of the Triune God, enveloped in and included in the triune life and love of Father, Son and Spirit. Next to this eternity of joy, peace, and heartwarming meaningful occupation in God’s presence, our time of struggle becomes extremely brief and almost insignificant. It’s all a matter of perspective.
This is why Paul repeatedly calls us to keep our minds and hearts on heavenly things rather than on earthly things. It is our focus on the heavenly things that gives our struggles and trials meaning.
It is a given that we will struggle in this life and may even have to suffer extreme trials. It is a given that at some point we will have to experience grief and sorrow. It is the nature of the human condition.
But our human condition is the reason why Christ came. God saw us in our pain and suffering, and in the person of the Word, he came and joined us. He became human in the person of Jesus Christ, living like us, grieving with us and dying our death for us. The answer to human suffering is found in God’s choice, made in his divine freedom, to take on and transform human flesh by living as a human being, dying, rising and ascending to heaven, taking our transformed humanity with him into the love and life of himself.
God, who is love, revealed himself to us in the person of Jesus Christ. God taught us, in Jesus Christ, that true love is forgiving, self-offering, and self-sacrificing, humble and serving in nature. Jesus, in rising from the grave, transformed our humanity, making us new in him and drawing us into the very presence of the triune God for all eternity. There is no suffering, grief or sorrow we experience in this life he will not share in. He feels it keenly himself.
So in the transient suffering of this life we are not alone. We can rejoice that Jesus Christ shares in it with us and that by his Spirit he strengthens us and carries us through these dark times. And in the end the whole purpose of all that we have suffered and gone through will be revealed in him when we are transformed into his likeness as glorified human beings and spend eternity in joyful unity with the triune God, sharing in his love and life forever.
Dear God, thank you that we are not alone in our suffering and trials. Thank you for being with us, in us and for us through them all in Christ by your Spirit. Thank you for giving us an eternal, living hope to carry us beyond them to a glorious future with you. Grant us the grace to endure and to be transformed by your gracious efforts in our trials and suffering into your glorious and radiant sons and daughters who will love and serve you faithfully forever. We pray in your name, Father, Son and Spirit. Amen.
“In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials,…” 1 Peter 1:6 (NASB)
Trusting Fully
by Linda Rex
In this verse for today, Peter admonished his readers to have a mind that is prepared for action. This means we are alert and aware of what is happening or may happen, what God is doing in the world and our role in it, what we are doing and saying as we live and walk in this world in his presence. We cannot predict what may happen, but we can be prepared and ready to deal with it when we are walking in the Spirit. The Spirit will prompt us and give us an alertness when we are listening and living in tune with him.
Peter said we are to be self-controlled. Being self-controlled is a humanly impossible task. The human will and spirit often insists on being in control and going its own way. As we are governed by the Holy Spirit, we find the strength, wisdom and ability to be self-controlled.
If we depend on our own ability to be alert and self-controlled, we will be sorely disappointed. The human condition is such that at some point we will falter and fail. This is why Peter added the following thought: “Set your hope fully on the grace to be given you…” There is no way we will be fully and completely alert or self-controlled at all times. There will be moments when we aren’t alert, and moments when we are not self-controlled.
That is why we must fully trust in the hope we have in Jesus. In him, we will not fail but receive fully God’s grace for ourselves, our circumstances, our life, our growth and our salvation. Nothing will be left out as we stand in Christ when he is revealed. We will remain while all sin and evil will dissolve away. There is nothing that God’s grace cannot and will not cover. We can fully trust in God’s grace.
“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.” –1 Peter 1:13
Lord, it is easy to get caught up in trusting in myself and my own ability to be self-controlled and alert. I agree that I am limited in every area and must fully trust in you. I ask you for the grace to trust fully in your grace so that I may stand firm and remain when all else is extinguished in the furnace of your presence in glory. Thank you for making me what I am and for ensuring that I may have a relationship with you for all eternity. I praise and worship you for your generous, loving nature and goodness towards me. In your name, I pray. Amen.
When Angels Marveled
by Linda Rex
Sometimes I wonder what angels think about and talk about. Just imagine the conversations that went on in heaven when the Word announced that he would be joined with an embryo in a baby here on earth! No doubt the reverence and awe of the angels was tinged a bit by amazement and incredulity. The apostle Paul tells the believers of his day that the working out of God’s mystery hidden through the ages was for the edification of the angels. How fascinating!
The prophets over the millennia sought to know and understand what God was doing and would do to save his people by sending a messiah. Yet even with their best efforts, the people of Jesus’ day did not recognize him for who he was as God in the flesh, the Messiah, who would suffer and die and then be glorified, uniting himself with humanity forever.
No doubt this is why Jesus took such pains to explain the fulfillment of scriptures and prophecy to his disciples, especially after his resurrection. This awesome miracle of the incarnation and the subsequent work of Christ for us is a marvelous mystery that was unveiled at the perfect time in history and in the perfect way. Praise God for his faithfulness in keeping his Word to us and also for faithfully revealing his Word to all his creation when the time and situation were just right.
We are to faithfully search these things out, but the Holy Spirit gives us revelation and understanding. We seek not to gain more information but to deepen a relationship with the living God as revealed in Jesus Christ. We need to grab hold of this privilege of knowing what so many sought to know and seek out these marvelous mysteries of the kingdom that are revealed in Jesus Christ. He is the revelation of all that the prophets and angels sought to understand and know. As we come to know him more fully and completely, we will come to know God and ourselves more fully and completely, for in Jesus Christ, the perfect God/man, they are each revealed.
Lord, thank you for revealing to us the mystery of the ages which is Christ in us the hope of glory. Thank you for not hiding yourself from us, but by your Spirit, revealing yourself in Jesus Christ in your perfect time and in your perfect way. Please grant us the desire and ability know you more fully and more perfectly each and every day. For this is eternal life, to know you and to be known by you. Thank you for this precious gift given to us in Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen.
“It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even the angels long to look into these things.” –1 Peter 1:12
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Our Life in the Trinity 