The Lord is.... (part 2)

by Wendy Wood

The Lord is… My Light

Psalm 27:1 “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?  The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”

John 8:12  “Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

1 John 1:5  “This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.”

Light is defined as “something that makes things visible or affords illumination”.  Light makes things clear and able to distinguish. When we are in the dark, it is difficult to see objects clearly.  We may stumble around our house, tripping on things left on the floor, banging our knees against the coffee table, stubbing a toe on the corner of the doorway, all because we don’t see clearly what is around us.  Darkness can also be a place of fear. Walking down a dark street, we tend to look around us with fear. Our hearts beat a little faster, our senses are on full alert, and we walk faster trying to get to a lighted area.  Darkness reveals our weakness and timidity. Darkness inhibits life. Things that are alive need light to grow and flourish. Without the sun, our universe’s source of light, there would be no life. Earth would be left cold and dead.  Plants must have light to go through the process of photosynthesis. This allows plants to produce food and oxygen for all life on earth. Darkness leaves us blind, fearful and lifeless.

But, if we have light, all that changes.  Light gives us the ability to see things clearly, to have life, and to experience courage.  God is light. God gives us the ability to see Him clearly and to see ourselves clearly in relation to Him.  God gives us life. He is the Creator of life and sustainer of life. In Him we have eternal life. God is the source of courage.  It is in His strength and presence that we can act boldly in faith.

Psalm 119:130 tells us “The unfolding of your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple.”  Without God’s word, we are left unable to see clearly, trying to figure out life on our own. We are self-centered and look for ways to solve our problems without God.   Before the fall in Genesis 3, man was made to depend on God for water, food, shelter, wisdom, understanding, and companionship. God graciously gives us the light of his word.  Psalm 119:25 says “My soul clings to dust; give me life according to your word.” On our own, we cling to worthless things. We are blinded to seeing ourselves clearly. Our sin blinds us to our own sinfulness.  Jeremiah 17:9 reminds us that our hearts are deceitful and desperately wicked. Without the word of God, we fail to see our need for Christ. We are left to stumble and fall in the darkness of a sinful world. God is light.  God’s word is light. God reveals himself to us. God declares himself in Exodus 20:2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” In Isaiah 43:3 God states, “For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.”  In John 14:6 Jesus makes known, “I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me.” God tells us who he is. He reveals himself in the light of his word. He is our God. He is our Creator. He is our Lord. He is our Savior. He is the way. He is truth.  He is life. God shows us the way to think about him and us. Scripture tells us that we are sinners and that our sin separates us from God. “Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear; but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear” (Isaiah 59:1-2).  The light of God’s word exposes our sinfulness and reveals God’s holiness. In light of who God is and who we are, we see life clearly. We need a holy Savior and Redeemer. We need to depend on God to show us our sin. God’s word is “living and active, sharper than any double edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joint and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”  God is light. He exposes our need for Him through the light of His word.  

God is light.  He is the Creator and Giver of life.  “The Lord is my light and my salvation” (Psalm 27:1).  It is only in Christ that we experience life. Light is necessary for our life.  John 1:3-4 says “All things were made through him and without him not any thing made that was made.  In him was life, and the life was the light of men.” We are born dead. Our sin separates us from God and makes us spiritually dead to truth.  Ephesians 2:1 says “And you were dead in the trespasses and sin in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience - among whom we are once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.”  We were dead. We all naturally choose sin and selfishness over God and others. God exposes our desperate situation and then is the answer to our problem. He is light and life. “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight, making known to us the mystery of his will” (Ephesians 1:7-9a).  As the sun gives what is necessary for life on earth, God gives what is necessary for eternal life with him. God gave us Jesus. God gives us eternal life with him through faith in Jesus Christ. God lights the way out of slavery to sin and into the freedom to be a servant of Christ where true life and joy are found.

God is light.  He gives us courage and confidence to walk obediently with him through life.  God gives us the Holy Spirit to dwell in us and gives us his power to live life in him.  When Paul address Timothy in his second letter, Paul encourages Timothy that God has given him a spirit of power to live boldly.  “For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. Therefore, do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in the suffering for the gospel by the power of God” (2 Timothy 1:7-8).  Instead of being fearful and worrying about what others think of us, or if we can handle a situation on our own, God is the light of courage. His spirit in us grants us everything we need to live content, obedient lives. When we fix our eyes on the Light, we see clearly that this world is not our home.  The courage to live a life that pleases God, not man (including ourselves), is a gift from the Light of the world. With light, we see clearly where God’s path goes. Psalm 119:9 tells us that we can keep our way pure by living according to his word. Psalm 119:19 says, “I am a sojourner on earth; hide not your commandments from me!”  “Your testimonies are my delight, they are my counselors” (Psalm 119:24). Psalm 119 is a beautiful song about the glories of God’s word. God’s word is the light to our path. He shows us the way we need to go and gives us the courage to walk that path. Throughout this chapter we see the psalmist entreating God to give him the strength and courage to live it out.  “Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and give me life in your ways” (verse 37). It is God who gives us the ability to be faithful. It is God who gives us power to change and be obedient. We participate with him by staying in his word, meditating on His attributes and commands. We step out in faith knowing the Light is always with us.

Which of these descriptions of light do you most need to cling to right now?  God’s light to reveal His own awesomeness and our sinfulness? God’s light to give eternal life in Christ?  Or God’s light to give courage in the face of eternity?

What needs to change in these areas in your thinking, believing, and acting?

Is God your Light?  How are you living in the Light?

The Lord is....

by Wendy Wood, CHCC Counselor

The Lord is ….. My Shepherd

John 10:11  “I am the good shepherd.  The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”

Psalm 23:1  “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.”

Isaiah 40:11 “He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart; he gently leads those that have young.”

Sheep are dependent on their shepherd.  A flock of sheep will either flourish under a good shepherd or struggle under a bad shepherd.  A flock of sheep that is cared for by a selfless, gentle, kind, wise and brave shepherd will thrive and grow.  A flock of sheep under a careless, selfish, harsh shepherd will be thin, weak, riddled with disease and will fall prey to wolves and other wild animals.  Sheep are like humans in many ways and that is why God uses this analogy. Sheep are fearful, timid, stubborn and short-sighted. They wander and put themselves in danger.   When scripture refers to people as “sheep without a shepherd” (Numbers 27:17), it is not a compliment! We, too, are fearful, timid, stubborn, short-sighted and get ourselves into dangerous situations.  We were made to be dependent on God, even before the fall, and God is the only true Shepherd.

Jesus is the good shepherd.  He provides everything that we need.  “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.”  The NIV translation says, “The Lord is my Shepherd, I lack nothing.”  God, in Christ, has met every single one of our needs. In Christ, we have been justified and made right with God.  In Christ, we have forgiveness and freedom from being enslaved to sin. In Christ we have eternal life with God. In Christ, we have eternal hope and joy.  We lack nothing that we need. You may have some things that you want, but if that was what was best for you, you’d have it. Your good shepherd knows what you need and knows what is best for you.  Philippians 4:19 says “And my God will supply every need of yours according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” The glory that is in Christ Jesus, the forgiveness, grace, mercy, and eternal life with God is all you need.  The Lord is your Shepherd and you lack nothing.

The good Shepherd makes you lie down in green pastures and leads you beside still waters.  Green pastures were hard to come by in the middle east, where David was shepherding when he wrote this Psalm.  A shepherd would have to seek out green pastures for sheep to graze and meticulously plan during dry seasons for the sheep to be fed.  Sheep only lie down when their stomachs are full. “He makes me lie down in green pastures” is a picture of God caring for us and making sure we have what we need.  “He leads me beside still waters” is another picture of God’s care and provision. Sheep will not drink from running water. A wise and good shepherd must find “still waters” and lead sheep there to drink.  God feeds and waters us through His word. He gives us “food that endures to eternal life” (John 6:27) and says to us, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” (John 6:35).  God calls us to green grass and still waters. His ways, revealed in His Word and Son, are the best ways. God’s way of living leads to the rest and peace in our souls that sheep experience Our problem is that we think the grass is greener and the water is sweeter somewhere else.  We want to think that instead of overlooking a sin, holding a grudge will make the other person see their sin. Or we think that spending our money on ourselves will bring happiness instead of giving generously and trusting God’s word that it is better to give than receive. Only when we follow our Shepherd and listen to His voice will we find the contentment of green pastures and still waters.

The good Shepherd rescues His sheep and leads them back to the fold.  “I myself will tend my sheep and make them lie down, declares the Sovereign Lord.  I will search for the lost and bring back the strays.” (Ezekiel 34:15-16) Left on their own, sheep wander down wrong paths and get hurt or get devoured by wolves.  In Luke 15, Jesus tells the parable of a shepherd who has a hundred sheep and will leave the ninety-nine to find the one who has wandered off. God pursues us. John 10:27-28 tells us “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.  I give them eternal life, and they will never perish and no one will snatch them out of my hand.” Our shepherd holds onto us. Even when we wander, God pursues, rescues and restores us to the flock. A shepherd has two different instruments to use to bring back a wandering sheep.

“Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” (Psalm 23:4)  The rod is a club-like weapon that a shepherd uses to save the life of a sheep in trouble.  The rod could be used against a lion or bear, the object of danger, or the rod could be used on the sheep.  If a sheep was continually wandering off and putting itself in danger, the shepherd may strike the sheep, even breaking its leg, to keep the sheep from being killed by a wild animal.  The shepherd does not delight in hurting his sheep. But, it may be the most loving thing to do, and necessary to save the sheep’s life. If the shepherd has to break the sheep’s leg, the shepherd would lovingly bind the broken leg and then carry the sheep around his neck.  Keeping the sheep close to him was the shepherd’s protection and loving care. As quoted above from Isaiah 40 “He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart”. 

The staff was a more gentle form of guiding sheep, keeping them on the right path, or lifting them over obstacles.  The staff is the candy-cane shaped crook that we associate with shepherds. The shepherd must be close to the sheep to use this tool, and guides the sheep through difficult circumstances or darkened paths at night.  The path remains the same. The path may be treacherous, dark, close to a cliff, or steep and rocky. The shepherd leads and guides the sheep down whatever path is necessary to get to the destination. The gentle nudge of the staff keeps sheep on the right track.  Or, the staff may lift a sheep over an obstacle that is too high or difficult for the sheep to maneuver alone. We experience both the rod and staff at times. Both tools are used in love and protection for us. Sometimes in life we need a rod to break us of a sin of commission or omission, and God causes pain to rescue us and bring us back into close fellowship with Him.  Sometimes God uses a gentle prod of His word or a well spoken word from a friend to reveal changes we need to make. God is the good shepherd who loves us. He pursues us and rescues us from our own stubbornness and wrong choices.

Often times green pastures come after a steep rocky path.  The best path might look like the most difficult path, but that’s the one the Good Shepherd is on with you! 

Questions to think about:

What does the path of your life look like right now?  Are you on a steep rocky path or are you in the meadow?  What evidence do you see of your Shepherd near you? What evidence do you see that you are listening to your Shepherd’s voice and following Him?

Are you seeking the green pasture and quiet water of God’s word and Jesus’ grace?  Or, where are you trying to find your contentment?

Are you resting in the loving care and provision of the Shepherd who knows what you need?  Or, what are the greener pastures you are pursuing?

Are you enjoying the tender care of the Good Shepherd?

Thoughts on Holiness

A Habitual Attitude

There is no holiness or Christian life that does not have repentance at its core. Repentance is not merely one element in conversion, but a habitual attitude and action to which all Christians are called. It is, argues Packer, a spiritual discipline central to and inseparable from healthy holy living. But what is it? How should it be defined? What are its characteristic features? A close reading of Packer reveals that he understands repentance to entail a number of interrelated themes. The most important dimension in godly repentance is the fundamental alteration in one’s thinking with regard to what is sin and what God requires of us in terms both of our thoughts and actions.

Repentance thus begins with a recognition of the multitude of ways in which our thinking and attitude and belief system are contrary to what is revealed in Scripture. We are by nature and choice misshapen and warped in the way we evaluate truth claims. What we cherish, on the one hand, and detest, on the other, are fundamentally at odds with God’s value system, and repentance must begin with an honest confession that such is the case. But merely acknowledging where our thinking has gone wrong is only the first step in genuine repentance. The most sincere of apologies is at best only a start down the pathway of repentance. There must follow a change in behavior. There must be a conscious and consistent abandonment of those courses of action to which our sinful and rebellious thinking gave rise. Thus repentance:

signifies going back on what one was doing before, and renouncing the misbehavior by which one’s life or one’s relationship was being harmed. In the Bible, repentance is a theological term, pointing to an abandonment of those courses of action in which one defied God by embracing what he dislikes and forbids. . . . Repentance [thus] means altering one’s habits of thought, one’s attitudes, outlook, policy, direction, and behavior, just as fully as is needed to get one’s life out of the wrong shape and into the right one. Repentance is in truth a spiritual revolution.1

There is also an emotional or subjective sorrow and remorse that true repentance requires. Merely feeling sorry for one’s sins is not itself repentance, but it is impossible for repentance to occur in the absence of a deep conviction, and its attendant anguish, for having lived in defiance of God. Thus whereas one may well, and indeed should, feel regret for a life of sin, repentance is never complete until one actively turns away from those former dark paths in order to face, embrace, love, thank, and serve God. Whatever feeling is entailed in repentance, it must lead one to forsake all former ways of disobedience. To acknowledge one’s guilt before God is one thing; to abandon those actions that incurred such guilt is another, absolutely essential, dimension in genuine repentance. Thus there is in repentance not only a backward look at the former life from which one has turned but also a commitment both in the present and for the future to pursue Christ and to follow him in a life of devoted discipleship. Throughout the process the believer is also examining his heart and habits to ensure that nothing of the old ungodly ways is making its way back into his life.

Cultivating a lifelong mind-set of repentance begins with one’s understanding of God.

Packer also sees humility as a necessary constituent element in repentance. “What we have to realize is that we grow up into Christ by growing down into lowliness (humility, from the Latin word humilis, meaning low). Christians, we might say, grow greater by getting smaller.”2 There is hardly a more counterintuitive or countercultural notion than this, yet that is what sets apart the Christian from all forms of mere religion or secular models of personal improvement. When the biblical authors speak of humility and repentance, they have in view “a progress into personal smallness that allows the greatness of Christ’s grace to appear. The sign of this sort of progress is that they increasingly feel and say that in themselves they are nothing and God in Christ has become everything for their ongoing life.” Repentance, then, entails a “continual shrinkage of carnal self”3 as one seeks the enlargement of the fame of Christ.

Cultivating a lifelong mind-set of repentance begins with one’s understanding of God. On the one hand, Christians are fascinated and enthralled with the transcendent glory of God’s grace and love. But they are equally captivated, with a slightly different effect, by his holiness and justice and purity. “This characteristically Christian sense of the mercy and the terror (fear) of the Lord,” Packer explains for us,

is the seed-bed in which awareness grows that lifelong repentance is a “must” of holy living. That awareness will not grow under any other conditions. Where it is lacking, any supposed sanctity will prove on inspection to be flawed by complacency about oneself and short-sightedness about sin. Show me, then, a professed Christian who does not see and insist on the need for ongoing repentance, and I will show you a stunted soul for whom God is not as yet the Holy One in the full biblical sense. For such a person, true Christian holiness is at present out of reach.4

True repentance, then, begins when a Christian is enabled by God’s gracious power to transition out of self-delusion, or what modern psychologists might call denial, into what the Bible describes as heartfelt conviction of sin. This in turn leads to the abandonment of self-centered disobedience and is replaced by a God-centered life in which the Savior is honored, his people are served, and his revealed word is obeyed.

Notes:
1. J. I. Packer, Rediscovering Holiness (Ann Arbor, MI: Servant, 1992), 123. 
2. Ibid., 120.
3. Ibid., 121.
4. Ibid., 132

This article is adapted from Packer on the Christian Life: Knowing God in Christ, Walking by the Spirit by Sam Storms.

Posted at: https://www.crossway.org/articles/j-i-packers-thoughts-on-holiness/

The Lord is.... My Strength

by Wendy Wood

Psalm 28:7-8 “The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my son I give thanks to him.  The Lord is the strength of his people; he is the saving refuge of his anointed.”

Psalm 46:1  “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”

Exodus 15:2  “The Lord is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him.”

Psalm 118:14  “The Lord is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation.”

“I’m too tired.”

“I’m can’t do it.”

“I’m not the right person for this job.”

When we look at our circumstances and the tasks set before us, excuses leap to mind.  It is easy to look at ourselves, our weakness, our failings, our lack of knowledge, gifts, talents, or energy and not even try.  We get caught up in not wanting to fail, that we never even take the first step toward accomplishing anything.

Moses keeps us in good company.  When God approached Moses in the form of the burning bush, and called Moses to go to Pharaoh and lead the Israelites out of Egypt, Moses tried all kinds of excuses.

Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt? (Exodus 3:11)

If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, “The God of your fathers has sent me to you, and they ask me “What is his name?” what shall I say to them? (Exodus 3:13)

But behold, they will not believe me or listen to my voice, for they will say, “The Lord did not appear to you.” (Exodus 4:1)

Oh my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and tongue.” (Exodus 4:10)

Oh my Lord, please send someone else. (Exodus 4:13)

Moses list of excuses, fearing his own lack of strength and ability, sound a lot like ours.  Essentially he says,

I’m not the right person.

I won’t know what to say.

I won’t be believed.

I’m not a good speaker.

I’m just don’t want to do it.

To each excuse God has a response.

I will be with you. (Exodus 3:12)

I AM who I AM. (Exodus 3:14)

The Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?... Throw it on the ground… and it became a serpent…  Put out your hand and catch it by the tail… and it became a staff in his hand.. That they may believe that the Lord, the God of their fathers… has appeared to you. (Exodus 4:3-5)

Who made man’s mouth? (Exodus 4:11)

And then the Lord sends Aaron to help Moses speak. (Exodus 4:14)

We have good reason to doubt our own strength.  Scripture tells us that we are like a mist that appears for a short time and then vanishes.  Scripture tells us that we are like grasshoppers in comparison to the greatness of God. Scriptures reminds us that we are dust.  We are jars of clay. The pictures used to describe humans are frail and small. First Corinthians 4:7 reminds us that God has given us every talent, gift, strength, and weakness that we have.  “What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?” God knows the strength, or lack of it, that we have because he has apportioned it to us.  The question is, do you rely on your own strength, or on God’s?

God is strength for the weary.

Following Christ is hard.  It is easy for us to get overwhelmed with life.  It’s easy to get discouraged in our circumstances and allow our eyes to focus on our problems rather than on Christ.  At times we run to God in his word and in prayer, but at times we shuffle toward him or collapse in the exhaustion of waiting for an answer or from the pain of trials and suffering.  But God is our strength! God never gets tired! God never has less energy or less power. God doesn’t “use up” his strength as he continually works to sustain all life every moment of every day.  He never has more strength or less strength. He doesn’t need to sleep and “recharge his batteries”. He never needs solitude and quiet to renew his strength. He never changes! His strength is perfect at all times!

Isaiah 40:28-31  “Have you not known?  Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.  He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.  Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”

There is no need to fear that we won’t be able to finish the race with Christ.  We run with perseverance because He is our strength. God does not call us to follow him and then leave us on our own to keep up with him and sustain ourselves.  God is our strength!

God is strength for the weak.

We associate weakness with wimpiness.  We think of weakness as one of the worst possible traits a person can have.  Self-sufficiency is prized and strived for. However, we all know we are weak.  And that’s a good thing!

Paul goes through a long list of strength in 2 Corinthians 11.  He gives his pedigree as a sign of his strength. He is a Hebrew, an Israelites, an offspring of Abraham, a better servant of Christ, his labors are greater, his sufferers have been worse, his imprisonments have been longer.  He lists things that should be considered strength to society. Paul has the background and the proven track record of strength in enduring terrible circumstances. Yet instead of boasting of his accomplishments, he boasts of God’s strength that has been the force behind every single thing he has done.

“So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited.  Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me.  But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:7-10)

Paul knew his own weakness.  He knew he wouldn’t be able to preach God’s word faithfully and endure hardship in a God-honoring way without God’s strength.  He boasted of his own weakness, knowing that God alone was the strength that helped him endure.

You will miss out on God’s strength if you always stay within your comfort zone. God’s strength shines in weakness, when we step outside of our own ability, and have to trust God in a new or scary experience, we see at work.  If we continue in old habitual responses, or stay close to what we are sure will go easy and smoothly for us, we fail to rely on God’s strength.

God is our strength.  When you think you can’t possible respond well to a hurtful spouse, God is your strength.  When your teenagers have rebelled and you want to run and hide, God is your strength. When you are asked to do an assignment that you think is too big or too scary, God is your strength.  When 1 Corinthians 13:10 promises that there is a way out of temptation, God is saying that he is the strength behind finding the way out of your circumstance that pleases him. We don’t do anything of eternal value in our own strength.  We rely on God to work through us.

God gives us the spirit of power.  “For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control” (2 Timothy 1:6-7).  This spirit of power is the same spirit that raised Christ from the dead and now dwells in you (Romans 8:11). Jesus himself said “I can do nothing on my own.” Christ also was dependent on the power of God to accomplish the will of God.  God delights to give his children the power to glorify his name. Whenever we respond in denying ourselves, the strength of God enables it, which is why it is pleasing to God. When you are tempted to a sinful response, but stop and trust God and his promises, you display the strength of God.  

Questions to Consider:

When was the last time you took a risk for God?  Maybe you shared the gospel even though your heart was pounding?  Maybe you choose to ask for forgiveness first even though the other person had sinned too.  Maybe you chose to respond kindly to a harsh word trusting God’s promise to experience peace and rest for your soul when you seek to please him.

If you can’t remember the last time you did something that required God’s strength, what will you do now?

The Lord is.... My Portion

by Wendy Wood

Lamentations 3:24  “The Lord is my portion”, says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him”.

Psalm 16:5  “The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot.”

Psalm 73:26  “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”

Psalm 142:5  “I cry to you, O LORD, I say, “You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.”

A portion is an amount that satisfies.  A portion is neither too big, nor too little.  When you go to Claim Jumpers restaurant, you a are served a gigantic dinner on an even bigger plate.  You either leave with a box of food left over or you are uncomfortably full for the rest of the day and maybe even the next day.  The meals at Claim Jumpers are bigger than a portion. On the other hand, you may go to a super fancy restaurant that focuses on the presentation of food, and you have an expensive meal but it is too small to fill you up.  After dinner, you are still hungry. This is probably a ploy to get you to order a beautiful looking, but small, dessert, too. Neither of these scenarios is a true biblical “portion”.

“The Lord is my portion” means that God is everything we need to be rightly satisfied.  He gives us all that we need in the perfect quantity at the perfect time. We live in a culture of “super size” and “big box” stores.  We are people who are constantly looking for more and more. Whether it is food for a meal or storing up food in a pantry, we tend toward wanting more than enough.  The Lord is my portion is God’s call for us to find complete contentment in him.

Proverbs 30 quotes the wise words of Agur son of Jakeh.  He says in verses 8 and 9, “give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, lest I be full and deny you and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’ or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God.”  This Psalmist knew the dangers of having too much or too little. In either case, we tend to forget God. When we have riches too many, we start to depend on the riches and seek more and more. When we have too little, we start to worry about the future and take matters into our own hands to get more.  We deny God and place our trust in our riches or ourselves. God gives each of us what is “needful for me”. God knows your heart perfectly. He knows what you need and what you don’t need. He knows where you will be tempted and gives you the right portion to sanctify you and draw you to himself.

The Lord is my portion means that I am content when my eyes are focused on him and not my circumstances.  Psalm 90:14 says, “Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad in all our days.”  To “satisfy” is to “fulfill the desires, expectations, or needs of a person and give full contentment to a person”. God, in Christ, has fulfilled our greatest desire and need.  He has given us everything we need in Christ to be content and enjoy him forever. Philippians 4:19 tells us “And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”  When we are discontent, when we are striving for more and struggling to get what we want, we are not trusting in the glory of Christ. God’s supply of riches in glory in Christ are listed in Ephesians 1. God has given us “every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places”.  He “chose us in him [Christ]”, he made us “holy and blameless before him”, “he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ”, “in him we have redemption”, “the forgiveness of our tresspasses”. The list goes on and on. The Lord is our portion. He has given us everything we need to be satisfied.  He has given us everything we need to be justified and made right with him, which is our greatest need.

Is the Lord your portion?  Jesus said “Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you.  For on him God the Father has set his seal” (John 6:27). Are you working for “food” that perishes? A better question might be, “What food that perishes are you working for?”  Do you look to your phone to bring satisfaction after a long day at work? Do you stare at a screen to bring ease and comfort and rest? Do you look to your job for security in reputation and achievement trusting that bonuses or promotions will provide for you and your family?  Is your “food” having children that are well behaved and achieving success in school? Does your satisfaction or contentment come and go with circumstances or times of plenty and famine? Jesus declares, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger and whoever believes in me shall never thirst” (John 6:35).  Jesus is the perfect portion for your heart. He fills our deepest longings and needs so that we can rest content without hunger or thirst for anything else.

The “bread of life” is found in the promises of God which meet every need both present and future.  The Lord is my portion because he is faithful to his promises.

Isaiah 41:10 “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your

God; I will strengthen you, I will help you; I will uphold you with my

righteous right hand.”

The presence of God, his strength and help, his grip on you are what you need.  Those are your portion.

Revelation 21:3  “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold,

the dwelling place of God is with man.  He will dwell with them, and they

will be his people, and God himself with be with them as their God.”

Eternity is secure for all who place their hope and trust in Christ.  The guarantee of eternity with God, living in his presence, is the portion our souls need.

Philippians 1:6  “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in

you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”

God promises to bring to work the process of salvation that started when elected you, called you, regenerated, you, converted you, justified you, adopted you and sanctified you.  He will keep you persevering until you are glorified. Romans 8:30 again promises that “Those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.”  Your portion is secure! He gives everything you need to bring him to himself and to keep you for all eternity.

Hebrews 13:6  “So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not

fear, what can man do to me?”

God promises to be our helper!  We have no need to fear over what man can do.  When Joseph’s brothers came to him, he declared “What man meant for evil, God meant for good” (Genesis 50:20).  Everything that happens to us, including the sin of others, God uses for His glory which is what is good for us.  Our portion is forever, eternally linked in union with Christ. Our greatest need, to have the Lord be our helper, has been met.

Psalm 16:11 “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; in your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”  God’s path of life looks different from our culture. Culture tells us to seek more riches. Culture tells us we need to newest and latest technology and fashion.  Culture tells us we need a newer car and an expensive education. Culture tells us we should hold a grudge and make someone pay for their sins against us. Culture tells us to save up money so we can retire early.  Culture tells us to have relationships for happiness. God calls us to give generously. God calls us to love our enemies. God calls us to be humble and allow our relationships to sanctify us for his purpose.

Questions to consider:

Are you content?  Do you spend time wishing you had different circumstances or different people around you?

What things do you have on “bucket lists” of things to do, buy, or accomplish that will make you happier?  How is this not trusting that the Lord is your portion?

The Lord is.... My Rock

by Wendy Wood

Psalm 18:2  “The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.”

Deuteronomy 32:4  “The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice.  A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he.”

Isaiah 26:4  “Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.”

The word “rock” in scripture refers to a cliff, a boulder, or a huge rock.  This is not a pebble or a small stone you would throw and skip on a lake. A rock is a solid, large, immovable object.  God refers to himself as a rock because large rocks don’t move. “A rock is battered by a storm and it does not bend. The waves beat against it but it does not fall.  Our weight presses down on it but it does not sink. That is our God: always perfect; always just; always faithful; righteous and upright; never unjust. So you can trust him and cling to him today, tomorrow and every day.”

“The Lord is my rock” means that when life seems uncertain, or when people betray you, or when everything around you is changing, God is sure, faithful and unchanging.  “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.”  The Lord is dependable.  The Lord is the one constant in life you can always count on.  He is faithful and will never let you down. He is unchanging so his ways and purpose remain the same in bringing honor to himself and working all things for the good of believers.  When your circumstances seem bad to you, you have a rock to depend on.  

This is what Joseph did when he spend over 20 years struggling in Egypt after being sold into slavery.  Joseph’s brothers threw him in a pit, sold him to slave traders, covered his coat with blood and told their father he had been killed.  Joseph was falsely accused of sexual assault and thrown in jail. Joseph was forgotten about in jail and left there an extra two years. Through all of this, God, the Rock, had a plan and was working all things for his purpose.  God had never left Joseph. God had never diverted from his plan. No one had thwarted God’s plan.  Everything was working out exactly as God ordained.  

In the midst of difficulty, suffering, false accusations, and fear of the unknown, there is a Rock you can lean on.  God the rock is unchanging, unwavering, solid, immovable, and constant. You can go to the rock for comfort and to find sure footing. When everything in life is shifting in your circumstances, lean on the Rock.

Another aspect of “God is my rock” is the title “cornerstone”.  

Matthew 21:42-44 says,

“Jesus says to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:

“The stone that the builders rejected

has become the cornerstone;

this was the Lord’s doing,

and it is marvelous in our eyes?”

There I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruit. And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him”.

Jesus is the cornerstone.  A cornerstone is a huge rock that unites two masonry walls.  It is a stone representing the starting place. It is essential to a large building.  

Jesus is the rock of faith.  He is the rock of the church.  All believers must have Christ as the starting place.  His gospel remains essential to faith and a relationship with God forever.  Rejecting Jesus as the cornerstone means that you will be crushed by the weight of your own sin.  Jesus is the only way to God.

Do you take time to think about the cornerstone of your faith?  Do you daily think about what Christ has done for you and that it is his completed work on the cross that gives stability and surety of your relationship with God?

God is my rock means that God is like no one else!  Deuteronomy 32:31 says, “For their rock is not like our Rock, as even our enemies concede.”  There is nothing that can replace God. There is no one who loves like God loves. There is no one who gives grace like God gives grace.  There is no one who rules justly like God rules justly. There is none like Him! Sometimes we try to substitute other gods in place of God.  We might believe that reputation, being loved by our spouse, achievements at work or school, having nice stuff, will provide the hope and peace that we so desperately want.  But, God is clear that nothing and no one can replace him. As creatures made by God, we were made to need him and depend on him. Nothing else can fill the God-shaped hole in our souls.  1 Samuel 2:2-3 says “There is no one holy like the Lord; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God.  Do not keep talking so proudly or let your mouth speak such arrogance, for the Lord is a God who knows, and by him deeds are weighed.”  No one is like God.

Questions to consider:

What are you looking to to be your rock?  Are you trying to depend on your spouse or your kids, or your job, or something else to give you stability and hope?

Only God is the rock that is dependable, unchanging, and who can withstand the weight of your hopes.  

The Lord is.... My Light

by Wendy Wood

Psalm 27:1 “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?  The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”

John 8:12  “Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

1 John 1:5  “This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.”

Light is defined as “something that makes things visible or affords illumination”.  Light makes things clear and able to distinguish. When we are in the dark, it is difficult to see objects clearly.  We may stumble around our house, tripping on things left on the floor, banging our knees against the coffee table, stub a toe on the corner of the doorway, all because we don’t see clearly what is around us.  Darkness can also be a place of fear. Walking down a dark street, we tend to look around us with fear. Our hearts will beat a little faster, our senses will be on full alert and we walk faster trying to get to a lighted area.  Darkness reveals our weakness and timidity. Darkness inhibits life. Things that are alive need light to grow and flourish. Without the sun, our universe’s source of light, there would be no life. Earth would be left cold and dead.  Plants must have light to go through the process of photosynthesis. This allows plants to produce food and oxygen for all life on earth. Darkness leaves us blind, fearful and lifeless.

But, if we have light, all that changes.  Light gives us the ability to see things clearly, to experience life, and to have courage.  God is light. God gives us the ability to see Him clearly and to see ourselves clearly in relation to Him.  God gives us life. He is the Creator of life and sustainer of life. In Him we have eternal life. God is the source of courage.  It is in His strength and presence that we can act boldly in faith.

Psalm 119:130 tells us “The unfolding of your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple.”  Without God’s word, we are left unable to see clearly, trying to figure out life on our own. We are self centered and look for ways to solve our problems on our own.  We are not meant to do this. We are creatures. We are sinful. We are dependent on God for everything. Before the fall in Genesis 3, man was made to depend on God for water, food, shelter, wisdom, understanding, and companionship.  God graciously gives us the light of his word. Psalm 119:25 says “My soul clings to dust; give me life according to your word.” On our own, we cling to worthless things. We are blinded to seeing ourselves clearly. Our sin blinds us to our own sinfulness.  Jeremiah 17:9 reminds us that our hearts are deceitful and desperately wicked. Without the word of God, we fail to see our need for Christ. We are left to stumble and fall in the darkness of a sinful world. God is light. God’s word is light. God reveals himself to us.  God declares himself in Exodus 20:2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” In Isaiah 43:3 God states, “For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.” In John 14:6 Jesus makes known, “I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me.”  God tells us who he is. He reveals himself in the light of his word. He is our God. He is our Creator. He is our Lord. He is our Savior. He is the way. He is truth. He is life. God shows us the way to think about him and us. Scripture tells us that we are sinners and that our sin separates us from God. “Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear; but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear” (Isaiah 59:1-2).  The light of God’s word exposes our sinfulness and reveals God’s holiness. In light of who God is and who we are, we see life clearly. We need a holy Savior and Redeemer. We need to depend on God to show us our sin. God’s word is “living and active, sharper than any double edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joint and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” God is light. He exposes our need for Him through the light of His word.

God is light.  He is the Creator and Giver of life.  “The Lord is my light and my salvation” (Psalm 27:1).  It is only in Christ, that we experience life. Light is necessary for our life.  John 1:3-4 says “All things were made through him and without him not any thing made that was made.  In him was life, and the life was the light of men.” We are born dead. Our sin separates us from God and makes us spiritually dead to truth.  Ephesians 2:1 says “And you were dead in the trespasses and sin in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience - among whom we are once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.”  We were dead. We all naturally choose sin and selfishness over God and others. God exposes our desperate situation and then is the answer to our problem. He is light and life. “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight, making known to us the mystery of his will” (Ephesians 1:7-9a).  As the sun gives what is necessary for life on earth, God gives what is necessary for eternal life with him. God gave us Jesus. God gives us eternal life with him through faith in Jesus Christ. God lights the way out of slavery to sin and into the freedom to be a servant of Christ where true life and joy are found.

God is light.  He gives us courage and confidence to walk obediently with him through life.  God gives us the Holy Spirit to dwell in us and gives us his power to live life in him.  When Paul address Timothy in his second letter, Paul encourages Timothy that God has given him a spirit of power to live boldly.  “For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. Therefore, do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in the suffering for the gospel by the power of God” (2 Timothy 1:7-8).  Instead of being fearful and worrying about what others think of us, or if we can handle a situation on our own, God is the light of courage. His spirit in us grants us everything we need to live content, obedient lives. When we fix our eyes on the Light, we see clearly that this world is not our home.  The courage to live a life that pleases God, not man (including ourselves), is a gift from the Light of the world. With light, we see clearly where God’s path goes. Psalm 119:9 tells us that we can keep our way pure by living according to his word. Psalm 119:19 says, “I am a sojourner on earth; hide not your commandments from me!”  “Your testimonies are my delight, they are my counselors” (Psalm 119:24). Psalm 119 is a beautiful song about the glories of God’s word. God’s word is the light to our path. He shows us the way we need to go and gives us the courage to walk that path. Throughout this chapter we see the psalmist entreating God to give him the strength and courage to live it out.  “Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and give me life in your ways” (verse 37). It is God who gives us the ability to be faithful. It is God who gives us power to change and be obedient. We participate with him by staying in his word, meditating on His attributes and commands. We step out in faith knowing the Light is always with us.

Which of these descriptions of light do you most need to cling to right now?  God’s light to reveal His own awesomeness and our sinfulness? God’s light to give eternal life in Christ?  Or God’s light to give courage in the face of eternity?

What needs to change in these areas in your thinking, believing, and acting?

Is God your Light?  How are you living in the Light?

The Lord is.... My Shepherd

by Wendy Wood

John 10:11  “I am the good shepherd.  The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”

Psalm 23:1  “The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want.”

Isaiah 40:11 “He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart; he gently leads those that have young.”

Sheep are dependent on their shepherd.  A flock of sheep will either flourish under a good shepherd or struggle under a bad shepherd.  A flock of sheep that is cared for by a selfless, gentle, kind, wise and brave shepherd will thrive and grow.  A flock of sheep under a careless, selfish, harsh shepherd will be thin, weak, riddled with disease and will fall prey to wolves and other wild animals.  Sheep are like humans in many ways and that is why God uses this analogy. Sheep are fearful, timid, stubborn and short-sighted. They wander and put themselves in danger.   When scripture refers to people as “sheep without a shepherd” (Numbers 27:17), it is not a compliment! We, too, are fearful, timid, stubborn, short-sighted and get ourselves into dangerous situations.  We were made to be dependent on God, even before the fall, and God is the only true Shepherd.

Jesus is the good shepherd.  He provides everything that we need.  “The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want.”  The NIV translation says, “The Lord is my Shepherd, I lack nothing.”  God, in Christ, has met every single one of our needs. In Christ, we have been justified and made right with God.  In Christ, we have forgiveness and freedom from being enslaved to sin. In Christ we have eternal life with God. In Christ, we have eternal hope and joy.  We lack nothing that we need. You may have some things that you want, but if that was what was best for you, you’d have it. Your good shepherd knows what you need and knows what is best for you.  Philippians 4:19 says “And my God will supply every need of yours according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” The glory that is in Christ Jesus, the forgiveness, grace, mercy, and eternal life with God is all you need.  The Lord is your Shepherd and you lack nothing.

The good Shepherd makes you lie down in green pastures and leads you beside still waters.  Green pastures were hard to come by in the middle east, where David was shepherding when he wrote this Psalm.  A shepherd would have to seek out green pastures for sheep to graze and meticulously plan during dry seasons for the sheep to be fed.  Sheep only lie down when their stomachs are full. “He makes me lie down in green pastures” is a picture of God caring for us and making sure we have what we need.  “He leads me beside still waters” is another picture of God’s care and provision. Sheep will not drink from running water. A wise and good shepherd must find “still waters” and lead sheep there to drink.  God feeds and waters us through His word. He gives us “food that endures to eternal life” (John 6:27) and says to us, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” (John 6:35).  God calls us to green grass and still waters. His ways, revealed in His Word and Son, are the best ways. God’s way of living leads to the rest and peace in our souls that sheep experience Our problem is that we think the grass is greener and the water is sweeter somewhere else.  We want to think that instead of overlooking a sin, holding a grudge will make the other person see their sin. Or we think that spending our money on ourselves will bring happiness instead of giving generously and trusting God’s word that it is better to give than receive. Only when we follow our Shepherd and listen to His voice will we find the contentment of green pastures and still waters.

The good Shepherd rescues His sheep and leads them back to the fold.  “I myself will tend my sheep and make them lie down, declares the Sovereign Lord.  I will search for the lost and bring back the strays.” (Ezekiel 34:15-16) Left on their own, sheep wander down wrong paths and get hurt or get devoured by wolves.  In Luke 15, Jesus tells the parable of a shepherd who has a hundred sheep and will leave the ninety-nine to find the one who has wandered off. God pursues us. John 10:27-28 tells us “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.  I give them eternal life, and they will never perish and no one will snatch them out of my hand.” Our shepherd holds onto us. Even when we wander, God pursues, rescues and restores us to the flock. A shepherd has two different instruments to use to bring back a wandering sheep.

“Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” (Psalm 23:4)  The rod is a club like weapon that a shepherd uses to save the life of a sheep in trouble.  The rod could be used against a lion or bear, the object of danger, or the rod could be used on the sheep.  If a sheep was continually wandering off and putting itself in danger, the shepherd may strike the sheep, even breaking its leg, to keep the sheep from being killed by a wild animal.  The shepherd does not delight in hurting his sheep. But, it may be the most loving thing to do, and necessary to save the sheep’s life. If the shepherd has to break the sheep’s leg, the shepherd would lovingly bind the broken leg and then carry the sheep around his neck.  Keeping the sheep close to him, was the shepherd’s protection and loving care. As quoted above from Isaiah 40 “He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart”.

The staff was a more gentle form of guiding sheep, keeping them on the right path, or lifting them over obstacles.  The staff is the candy-cane shaped crook that we associate with shepherds. The shepherd must be close to the sheep to use this tool, and guides the sheep through difficult circumstances or darkened paths at night.  The path remains the same. The path may be treacherous, dark, close to a cliff, or steep and rocky. The shepherd leads and guides the sheep down whatever path is necessary to get to the destination. The gentle nudge of the staff keeps sheep on the right track.  Or, the staff may lift a sheep over an obstacle that is too high or difficult for the sheep to maneuver alone. We experience both the rod and staff at times. Both tools are used in love and protection for us. Sometimes in life we need a rod to break us of a sin of commission or omission and God causes pain to rescue us and bring us back into close fellowship with Him.  Sometimes God uses a gentle prod of His word or a well spoken word from a friend to reveal changes we need to make. God is the good shepherd who loves us. He pursues us and rescues us from our own stubbornness and wrong choices.

Often times green pastures come after a steep rocky path.  The best path might look like the most difficult path, but that’s the one the Good Shepherd is on with you!

Questions to think about:

Are you enjoying the tender care of the Good Shepherd?

Are you resting in the loving care and provision of the Shepherd who knows what you need?  Or, what are the greener pastures you are pursuing?

Are you seeking the green pasture and quiet water of God’s word and Jesus’ grace?  Or, where are you trying to find your contentment?

What does the path of your life look like right now?  Are you on a steep rocky path or are you in the meadow?  What evidence do you see of your Shepherd near you? What evidence do you see that you are listening to your Shepherd’s voice and following Him?

How to Find Strength in the Strength of God

Article by John Piper Founder & Teacher, desiringGod.org

How do you do a task in the strength of another? How do you exert your will to do something in such a way that you are relying on the will of another to make it happen?

Here are some passages from the Bible that press this question on us:

• “By the Spirit . . . put to death the deeds of the body” (Romans 8:13). So, we are to do the sin-killing, but we are to do it by the Spirit. How?

• “Work out your own salvation . . . for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:12–13). We are to work. But the willing and the working is God’s willing and God’sworking. How do we experience that?

• “I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me” (1 Corinthians 15:10). Paul did work hard. But his effort was in some way not his. How did he do that?

• “I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me” (Colossians 1:29). We toil. We struggle. We expend effort and energy. But there is a way to do it so that it is God’s energy and God’s doing. How do we do that?

• “Whoever serves, [let him serve] as one who serves by the strength that God supplies” (1 Peter 4:11). We serve. We exert strength. But there is a way that our serving is the effect of God’s gracious power. What is that way?

Introducing A.P.T.A.T.

In 1983 I gave my answer in a sermon, and to this day I have not been able to improve on these five steps summed up in the acronym A.P.T.A.T. (rhymes with Cap That).

In 1984 J.I. Packer published Keep in Step with the Spirit, and gave the very same steps on pages 125–126. He calls it “Augustinian holiness teaching.” It calls for “intense activity” but this activity “is not in the least self-reliant in spirit.” Instead, he says, “It follows this four-stage sequence”:

First, as one who wants to do all the good you can, you observe what tasks, opportunities, and responsibilities face you. Second, you pray for help in these, acknowledging that without Christ you can do nothing—nothing fruitful, that is (John 15:5). Third, you go to work with a good will and a high heart, expecting to be helped as you asked to be. Fourth, you thank God for help given, ask pardon for your own failures en route, and request more help for the next task. Augustinian holiness is hard working holiness, based on endless repetitions of this sequence.

My five steps omit his first one (“note what tasks are in front of you”). I divide his second step into two: A. Admit (his word, “acknowledge”) that you can do nothing. P. Pray for God’s help for the task at hand. Then, I break his third step into two. He says “expect to get the help you asked for.” Then, with that expectation, “go to work with a good will.” I say, T. Trust a particular promise of God’s help. Then, in that faith, A. Act. Finally, we both say, T. Thank God for the help received.

A. Admit
P. Pray
T. Trust
A. Act
T. Thank

Trust God’s Promises

I think the middle T is all important. Trust a promise. This is the step I think is missing in most Christians’ attempt to live the Christian life. It is certainly my most common mistake.

“We don’t just pray for help hour by hour; we trust specific promises hour by hour.”

Most of us face a difficult task and remember to say, “Help me, God. I need you.” But then, we move straight from P to A — Pray to Act. We pray and then we act. But this robs us of a very powerful step.

After we pray for God’s help, we should remind ourselves of a specific promise that God has made. And fix our minds on it. And put our faith in it. And say to God, “I believe you; help my unbelief. Increase my faith in this promise. I’m trusting you, Lord. Here I go.” Then act.

Paul says we “walk by faith” (2 Corinthians 5:7) and “live by faith” (Galatians 2:20). But for most of us, this remains vague. Hour by hour how do we do this? We do it by reminding ourselves of specific, concrete promises that God has made and Jesus has bought with his blood (2 Corinthians 1:20). Then, we don’t just pray for help hour by hour; we trust those specific promises hour by hour.

When Peter says, “Whoever serves, [let him serve] as one who serves by the strength that God supplies” (1 Peter 4:11), we do this not only by praying for that supply, but by trusting in the promise of the supply in specific situations. Paul says that God supplies the Spirit to you “by hearing with faith” (Galatians 3:5). That is, we hear a promise and we believe it for a particular need, and the Holy Spirit comes to help us through that believed promise.

10 Promises to Memorize

So, here is my suggestion for how to do this. Memorize a few promises that are so universally applicable, they will serve you in almost every situation where you face a task to be done “by the strength that God supplies.” Then, as those tasks come, admit you can’t do that on your own. Pray for the help you need. Then, call to mind one of your memorized promises, and trust it — put your faith in it. Then, act — believing that God is acting in your acting! Finally, when you are done, thank him.

“Act — believing that God is acting in your acting!”

Here are ten such promises to help you get started. Of these, the one I have used most often is Isaiah 41:10.

1. “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” (Isaiah 41:10)

2. “My God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19)

3. “God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.” (2 Corinthians 9:8)

4. “‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’ So we can confidently say, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?’” (Hebrews 13:5–6)

5. “The Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly.” (Psalms 84:11)

6. “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:32)

7. “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.” (Psalms 23:6)

8. “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7)

9. “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)

10. “Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.” (Psalms 50:15)

Never cease to ponder Paul’s words, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). Not I. Yet I. By faith.

John Piper (@JohnPiper) is founder and teacher of desiringGod.org and chancellor of Bethlehem College & Seminary. For 33 years, he served as pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is author of more than 50 books, including Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist, and most recently Expository Exultation: Christian Preaching as Worship.

How Far Does God's Grace Go?

by David McLemore 

Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.” So he told them this parable: “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. “Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” - Luke 15:1-10

The parable of the lost sheep and the parable of the lost coin are basically the same stories. In each, something is lost, searched out, and found. Jesus is making a simple point: He came to search and find the one. He came to restore that which was lost. Charles Spurgeon put it this way: 

The truth here taught is just this—that mercy stretches forth her hand to misery, that grace receives men as sinners, that it deals with demerit, unworthiness, and worthlessness; that those who think themselves righteous are not the objects of divine compassion, but the unrighteous, the guilty, and the undeserving, are the proper subjects for the infinite mercy of God; in a word, that salvation is not of merit but of grace.

Since salvation is not of merit, but of grace, God’s heart toward sinners is different than our heart often is. He’s not waiting for them to turn their lives around; he’s out there searching for them to bring them home. He’s on the move, even if they’re stuck in a cave or lost in the floorboards. He is not content to merely find the lost one; he rejoices over its restoration. God searches for and finds the lost, one by one, until all his children are tucked safely in their eternal rooms. Then, he throws a heavenly party. Who would spend such time on one sheep or one coin? It seems excessive, doesn’t it? God’s love is like that: excessive, extravagant, lavish.

The sinners and tax collectors gathered around must have understood Jesus was referring to. They were the lost sheep, the lost coin. Jesus had come looking for them, and they had been found! How many in the crowd had dined with him? How many had he healed? How many had received his smile, felt his touch, been warmed by his presence? And yet it was not to this group that Jesus directed his parables that day. He was not instructing the sinners. He was instructing the self-righteous Pharisees and scribes. The sinners and tax collectors had been found by Jesus, but the Pharisees and scribes were still running from him.

They knew the law, but they did not know God. They looked at the letter and found rules to obey without seeing the heart to love. They ventured into the world with their Sunday-best shirt starched as stiffly as possible, Bible in hand, with a smile ready to produce. But their hearts were far from God because their hearts trusted in their good deeds rather than God’s good grace. Their mind was too occupied with obedience to see a need. They were too full of themselves to be needy for Christ. They were lost and needed to be found, but they didn’t know it.

And Jesus was asking them a simple question: how far does God’s grace go? How far does his love stretch? How deep does it plunge? To the worst sinner? To the deepest depravity? To the best Pharisee? To the smartest scribe?

In each of these parables, Jesus includes two characters. The first is that which is lost. The second is the one who seeks. The lost must be found. But in each instance, the lost do not know they are lost. We have no indication the sheep understood his plight. It had no awareness of danger. It thought it was fine. The coin has no ability to see, it cannot understand, it doesn’t think. Each is lost, and each matters so much that the seeker leaves much to find the one.

The one who seeks wastes no time. The shepherd abandons the ninety-nine to look for the one. The woman sweeps the house over to uncover the coin. Time is not mentioned. Cost is not counted. All that matters is the one being returned to the many. And when it is, a party is thrown. It was not the sheep who stayed or the coins in the bank that were the cause of the party. It was the sheep that wandered, the coin that was lost and everyone was invited to rejoice.

The Pharisees and scribes don’t know how to rejoice. Instead, when they see sinners coming to Jesus, they blame Jesus for being too lenient, not for being too gracious. They miss the wonder of his mercy thinking they deserve the party instead.

What about you? Can you rejoice in bad people being made good in Christ? Is there a certain test - designed by you, administered by you, and graded by you - that one must pass to be included in God’s kingdom? The Pharisees and scribes had such a test, and Jesus couldn’t even pass it. Would your test exclude Jesus as well?

Jesus is calling the self-righteous to account in these stories. He’s showing us what his brother, James, said years later, “Judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.” (James 2:13).

Editor's Note: This post originally appeared at David's blog, Things of the Sort.

David McLemore

David McLemore is part of the church planting team at Refuge Church in Franklin, Tennessee. He is married to Sarah, and they have three sons.

Article posted at: https://ftc.co/resource-library/blog-entries/how-far-does-gods-grace-go