Page 6 of 6

Posted on

If the Holy Spirit Raised Jesus, You’re No Challenge for Him!

You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. (Romans 8:9-11 ESV)

Your body is dead—that old thing that caused you the sin problem is dead! Why are you serving a dead body? Why are you enslaved to a lifeless existence? Romans 8:5-8 is a description of your life before Christ. Look at it!

For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. (Romans 8:5-8 ESV)

Did you know that Jesus did not even raise Himself from the grave! The Holy Spirit raised Christ from the grave! If Jesus depended on the Holy Spirit to raise Him from the grave, then you and I must depend on the Holy Spirit to raise us up to live an entirely new life!

Chuck Swindoll states,

We have been sold a bill of goods. The enemy has made us as a body, so conscious of sin that we are inoperative as a body of believers righteous before God, ready and equipped to move on.

We focus way too much on our lives before Christ–rather than focusing on the fact that we have been raised with Him. We need to live under the awesome power of God! The  result of that kind of living: So then brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh to live according to the flesh. We have an obligation, not to the flesh, but to the Spirit. We choose moment by moment whether or not we will respond to the Spirit or to the flesh.

Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. (Romans 6:13 ESV)

Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. (Colossians 3:5 ESV)

And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. (Galatians 5:24 ESV)

Your response to the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is to put to death the sinful deeds of the body. It is a relationship of incredible balance—where the Holy Spirit constantly works to rid us of sin in our lives. Through His work, we are empowered to say “No” when sin presents itself. Notice also the outcome. You will either live or die. You cannot ride the fence, here. You will either live according to your old desires before you came to Christ–and die. Or you will live by the power of the Spirit who indwells you–and live.

Posted on

Stop Pushing and Get in the Car!

You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. (Romans 8:9-11 ESV)

A young man named Sinner once received from his Father a beautiful, bright-red convertible. He named it Salvation—sparkling, new, clean, modern, powerful. It delighted the young man 1986_00005_02so much, especially because it was a gift. He could never have afforded it. So delighted, the boy even changed his name from Sinner to Saved. He polished his car every week. Took pictures of it. Sent it to friends. Looked it over—front, back, under, top, bottom, inside out. Never—never tired of telling others about the gift. “My Father gave it to me. It was free!”

Some days later Saved was seen out on the highway, pushing Salvation. An individual named Helper walked up and introduced himself and asked if he could assist.

“Oh, no thanks. Just out enjoying my new car,” as he wiped the sweat off his face. “Just had a little trouble because my bumper kept cutting my hands, especially on these hills. But then a nice man helped me. Showed me how to mount little rubber cushions right here, underneath the bumper, and now I can push this thing for hours without a blister. Also, I’ve been trying something new lately. They use it over in England. You put your back against the car, lift, and it works like a charm, especially on muddy roads.”

Helper asked, “Have you pushed the car very far?”

“Well, about 200 miles altogether. It’s been hard, but since it was a gift from my Father, that’s the least I can do in return to thank him.” Helper opened the door on the right side and said, “Get in.” After hesitation, he decided it was worth a try and he slid in on the passenger side and rested for the first time since he’d been given the car. Helper walked around, opened the door, slid behind the wheel, and started the car.

“What’s all that noise?” he said. Moments later they were moving down the highway quietly, at fifty, sixty miles an hour. He was taken aback. It all seemed to fall into place. It was even exciting! He knew he needed this Salvation Car to be admitted through the gate at the end of the highway. But somehow he felt that getting there was his responsibility.

From Tale of the Tardy Oxcart, Swindoll, 1998

Posted on

A Done Deal and a Daily Walk

There is therefore now no condemnation for those Finish Linewho are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. (Romans 8:1-4 ESV)

Freedom is a done deal and a daily walk. Don’t miss the tenses of the verbs…

  • “the law of the Spirit of life has set you free”—vs. 2
  • “what the law could not do, God did”
  • “sending His own son”
  • “He condemned sin in the flesh”
  • “so that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us”

Our freedom was granted through Jesus’ once-for-all sacrifice on the cross. Did you know that all your sins have been forgiven–sins past, present and future. David Jeremiah once said that most people don’t struggle with the sins they committed before coming to Christ. They know that God has forgiven them. However, they struggle with the sins they committed after coming to Christ. I love his response. “I can illustrate that all your sins have been forgiven. How is that? Because Jesus took all your sins on the cross. And every sin you have ever committed was committed after Jesus died on the cross.”

You only need accept that forgiveness. That’s what coming to Christ is all about. Will you accept the forgiveness available through Christ? And for those of you who already know Christ, will you accept His forgiveness for the wrong you did this week. Freedom is a done deal. You are free.

Freedom is also a daily walk. Remember, freedom is an inside job that works out in our lives.   Notice Paul’s next phrase (vs. 4b) “who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.” Walk is simply defined as “to move over a surface by taking steps with the feet at a pace slower than a run.”

Freedom is a walk. We take one step toward freedom and then another…and another. Walking is a one-step-at-a-time experience. And one step leads to another, and another, and another. Aren’t you glad God said, “walk” instead of running. Be patient with yourselves.

Here’s where the rub comes. We have a choice. Who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. The flesh will always be the flesh. The question is, “Will we walk as free people, bound no longer by our sin nature?” That is the question of the daily walk. I am not talking about having a quiet time, although that is very valuable. I’m speaking of a daily walk according to God’s Spirit.

How do we do this? I am convinced, first of all, that it isn’t easy. To walk by the Spirit is a moment-by-moment attitude of surrender. It is living your life, not for yourself, but for God. What are the fruits of the life of one who walks by the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control.

If freedom had not been a desperate need, Jesus would not have died.

If the regiment of the law had worked, Jesus would not have come as God in human flesh.

If life had been intended to be miserable, Jesus would not have undergone the misery of your sin in your place.

If freedom were not a daily walk, Jesus never would have said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Posted on

How to Pray When You’ve Blown It

The steps of a man are established by the LORD, when he delights in his way; though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the LORD upholds his hand. (Psalm 37:23-24 ESV)

What happens when you stumble? How do you pray when you’ve blown it? This prayer from The Valley of Vision shows us how to approach a holy God when we’ve not been so holy:

O Eternal God,

Yours is surpassing greatness, unspeakable goodness, super-abundant grace; I can as soon count the sands of ocean’s ‘lip’ as number your favors towards me; I know but a part, but that part exceeds all praise.

I thank you for personal mercies, a measure of health, preservation of body, comforts of house and home, sufficiency of food and clothing, continuance of mental powers, my family, their mutual help and support, the delights of domestic harmony and peace, the seats now filled that might have been vacant, my country, church, Bible, faith.

But, O, how I mourn my sin, ingratitude, vileness, the days that add to my guilt, the scenes that witness my offending tongue.

All things in heaven, earth, around, within, without, condemn me–the sun which sees my misdeeds, the darkness which is light to you, the cruel accuser who justly charges me, the good angels who have been provoked to leave me, your countenance which scans my secret sins, your righteous law, your holy Word, my sin-soiled conscience, my private and public life, my neighbors, myself–all write dark things against me.

I deny them not, frame no excuse, but confess, ‘Father, I have sinned’; yet still I live, and fly repenting to your outstretched arms; you will not cast me off, for Jesus brings me near, you will not condemn me, for he died in my stead, you will not mark my mountains of sin, for he leveled all, and his beauty covers my deformities.

O my God, I bid farewell to sin by clinging to his cross, hiding in his wounds, and sheltering in his side.

Posted on

When God Proves You Wrong

He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age, for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.” (Ruth 4:15 ESV)

“He shall be to you” are words of hope. Naomi came back to Bethlehem looking in the rearview mirror. And all she saw was heartache, disappointment and a judgmental God. Don’t forget Naomi’s words to the women when she came back to Bethlehem:

So the two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem. And when they came to Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them. And the women said, “Is this Naomi?” She said to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I went away full, and the LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi, when the LORD has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?” (Ruth 1:19-21 ESV)

This “angry God” never gave up on Naomi. Don’t miss that. Sometimes you and I are prone to give up on the untouchables, the unreachables, the incorrigibles. God doesn’t. He had a plan for Naomi’s life and it included a boy who would love her and tend her land…who would nourish her in her old age.

Oscar Wilde, Irish writer and poet once said,

The only difference between the saint and the sinner is that every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future.

Naomi mistakenly thought her past dictated her future. God proved her wrong…thankfully.

Posted on

A Prayer Naomi Could Have Prayed

This prayer is from The Valley of Vision, a book of Puritan Prayers and is called by that same name. Read it (and pray it) slowly and deliberately. Quiet yourself before the Lord.

The Valley of Vision

Lord, high and holy, meek and lowly,

Thou has brought me to the valley of vision,

where I live in the depths but see thee in the heights;

hemmed in by mountains of sin I behold thy glory.

Let me learn by paradox

that the way down is the way up,

that to be low is to be high,

that the broken heart is the healed heart,

that the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit,

that the repenting soul is the victorious soul,

that to have nothing is to possess all,

that to bear the cross is to wear the crown,

that to give is to receive,

that the valley is the place of vision.

Lord, in the daytime stars can be seen from

deepest wells,

and the deeper the wells the brighter

thy stars shine;

Let me find thy light in my darkness,

thy life in my death,

thy joy in my sorrow,

thy grace in my sin,

thy riches in my poverty

thy glory in my valley.

Posted on

Why I Still Trust God

When I got the call Saturday morning that Eleck had died I was shaken. Surely it couldn’t be. I asked the State Trooper to spell his name to me just to be sure I was hearing correctly. “Not Eleck,” I thought. I wanted answers, explanations, reasons. The nagging question that grips many is this: If God is good and powerful, how could he allow Eleck to die? Why?

It’s a legitimate question. I don’t fault you for asking. At times like these I sometimes have more questions than answers. But I still trust God and I want you to know why.

I still trust God because…

  • He unconditionally loves me.  In Genesis 15 God made a covenant with Abraham.  It’s a gruesome scene.  Abraham took a cow, a goat and a ram, cut them each into two pieces and lay them on the ground.  Believe it or not this wasn’t unusual in Abraham’s day.  This is how kings made agreements between one another.  The weaker king would walk between the pieces of the animals and say to the stronger king, “May it be done to me as has been done to these animals if I break this covenant.”  So you would expect Abraham to walk between the pieces of animals and declare his undying allegiance to God.  He didn’t!  He fell asleep and a boiling pot and a torch passed between the pieces, representing God!  What was God saying? “May it be done to me as has been done to these animals if I break this agreement?”  No.  God cannot lie.  He would never break this agreement.  God was saying, “May it be done to me as has been done to these animals if you break this agreement.”  Did Abraham break it?  Of course!  And God carried through with his promise.  Romans 5:6 says, “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.”  I still trust God because He kept his promise to Abraham by dying on the cross for Abraham’s sin.  I still trust God because, while I was ungodly, He died for me. He loves me.
  • He sacrificially loves me.  In his book, Reason for God, Tim Keller talks about the unique nature of Jesus’ suffering.  Many martyrs have marched valiantly to their deaths. Jesus cowered under the weight of his impending crucifixion.   “He began to be deeply distressed and troubled” saying, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.”  (Mark 14:33-34)  Why?  Jesus was not simply encountering the physical pain of suffering–he was carrying the weight of my sin.  His suffering caused him, for a period, to be separated from His Father.  His cry from the cross was, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”  He not only sacrificed his life, but his good standing before His father so that I could have life. Again, Keller says, “He had to pay for our sins so that someday he can end evil and suffering without ending us.”  He loves me.
  •  He sees me as I will be, not as I am.  I’m often tricked into thinking that I’m living my best life now, that things couldn’t get any better.  On really good days I sometimes think, “It doesn’t get any better than this.”  And I’m wrong.  As beautiful as a fall day is, it pales in comparison to the unhindered beauty of heaven.  As vivid as the bright orange on the maple trees is, its color is muted by the early frost.  When I feel I’m getting it most right, I’m not even close to getting it right.  I struggle with wrong motives and thoughts that others never see.  God sees them.  And the resurrection of Jesus is proof that I won’t always be like I am now.  Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:42-43, “So it is with the resurrection of the dead.  What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable.  It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory.  It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power.” I am not who I was, but I am not who I will be.

I miss Eleck.  I love the Eleck I knew here.  However, the Eleck I knew here is a mere reflection of the Eleck I will see one day.  I saw Eleck in moments of glory…one day I’ll see Eleck in all of glory.

The reason I will be able to see Eleck is because God is good (He died) and powerful (He raised Jesus from the dead).

He loves me.  I still trust Him.