Grace: The Dominant Note of Christmas

John Piper: From the Devotional The Dawning of Indestructible Joy

GOD BECOME MAN

I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh. (John 6:51)

There is no traditional Christmas story about the birth of Jesus in the Gospel of John. You remember how it begins: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). Instead of putting the Christmas story up front with its explanation, John weaves the story of Christmas and the purpose of Christmas through the Gospel. Instead of putting the Christmas story up front with its explanation, John weaves the story of Christmas and the purpose of Christmas through the Gospel.

For example, after saying that the Word “was God,” John says, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. . . . And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace” (John 1:14–16).

So the eternal Word of God took on human flesh, and in that way the divine Son of God—who never had an origin, and never came into being, and was God, but was also with God— became man. And in doing this, he made the glory of God visible in a wholly new way. And this divine glory, uniquely manifest in the Son of God, was full of grace and truth. And from that fullness we receive grace upon grace.

THE MEANING OF CHRISTMAS

That is the meaning of Christmas in John’s Gospel. God the Son, who is God, and who is with God, came to reveal God in a way he had never been revealed before. And in that revelation, the dominant note struck is grace: from the fullness of that revelation of divine glory, we receive grace upon grace.

Or as it says in John 3:16–17, “God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, [that’s Christmas and Good Friday all in one] that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world [Christmas is not for condemnation], but in order that the world might be saved through him [Christmas is for salvation].”

And at the end of his life, Jesus was standing before Pilate, and Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” And Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world [this is the purpose of Christmas]—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice” (John 18:37).

What was the effect of the truth that Jesus witnessed to with his words and his whole person? He told us in John 8:31–32, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” So the meaning of Christmas is this: the Son of God came into the world to bear witness to the truth in a way that it had never been witnessed to before.

He is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). And the aim of giving himself as the truth to the world is freedom. You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free. Free from the guilt and power of sin. Free from deadness and blindness and judgment.

FROM CHRISTMAS TO GOOD FRIDAY

How does that liberation happen? Recall from John 6 that in coming down from heaven, Jesus was planning to die. He came to die. He came to live a perfect, sinless life and then die for sinners. John 6:51: “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”

The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, so that he could give his flesh for the life of the world. We sinners can receive grace upon grace from his fullness because he came to die for us. Christmas was from the beginning a preparation for Good Friday.

So throughout the Gospel of John the meaning of Christmas becomes clear. The Word became flesh. He revealed the glory of God as never before. He died according to his own plan. Because of his death in our place, he is bread for us. He is the source of forgiveness and righteousness and life. This is the great meaning of Christmas in the Gospel of John. Indeed in the world. Today.

Posted at: https://servantsofgrace.org/grace-the-dominant-note-of-christmas/

Making Church a Safe Place for Sorrow

Christine Chappell

Christine Chappell is the author of Clean Home, Messy Heart and Help! My Teen is Depressed (Shepherd Press, forthcoming March 2020). She hosts The Hope + Help Project podcast and blogs at faithfulsparrow.com. Her writing has been featured at Desiring God, The Gospel Coalition, Risen Motherhood, Thrive Moms, Servants of Grace, and Devotable. Christine lives in South Carolina with her husband and three children.

Sometimes worship comes by way of weeping in the pew. When the broken enter the sanctuary of God on Sunday mornings, they do so, perhaps, with every fiber of their being tempting them to withdrawal. They drag their grief, depression, and sorrow behind them like a ball and chain, plodding along to their seats with the hope of going unnoticed in the crowd; that they manage to make it to church after peeling themselves out of bed is a grace manifested through gutsy volition.

There in the pew, they collide with the unspoken notion that a painted smile with stoic countenance acts as a prerequisite for respectable attendance. We subconsciously oblige the sorrowing among us to swallow their grief, pipe up, and praise the Lord. Disconnected from the celebratory riffs and confident proclamations, the crushed in spirit become sorely neglected by the exclusion of their spiritual pain in corporate worship.

In short, we stigmatize the sorrowing by fostering an emotional prosperity culture.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer wasn’t fooled. He warned that community built upon “rapturous experiences and lofty moods” would stymie true Christian fellowship and prove itself disingenuous over time. The result being communities of believers who build programs and religious activities on human ideals instead of divine realities (Colossians 2:8). While Revelation 21 specifically lists death, mourning, crying, and pain as fundamental grievances believers will face, there is a shocking lack of corporate preparation to meet with such sorrows. Removing the stigma of deeply painful sadness requires the local church’s unhurried commitment to making room for it on Sunday mornings and a desire to equip leaders in one-another care.

WHEN THE SORROWING ARE SILENCED

There are times when carrying a burden requires we also carry a tune of lament to weep with those who weep (Romans 12:15). In his book, Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy, Pastor Mark Vroegop addresses the concerning absence of biblical lament in the music of our churches, noting that while, “at least a third of the Psalms are in a minor key, it seems that the American church avoids lament.” He continues, “More people than we probably know are weeping in our Sunday celebrations.”

In this challenging yet honest observation, Vroegop sheds light on the disconnect between our encounters with real-life pain and the traditional atmosphere of Sunday morning worship. Though the Scriptures are rich with language and comforts for those who are walking through devastating heartbreak, a robust theology of human sorrow seems to be missing from the modern-day songbook. As a result, people who limp to the house of God for spiritual refuge become ostracized, believing that their experiences of sorrow must be indicators of defective faith.

PREPARING THE PEOPLE FOR SORROW

Daniel Darling, the Vice President for Communications at the ERLC, has shared about his own personal experience with sorrow on Sunday mornings. “There are times,” he reflects, “when I’ve walked into the church and wondered just where to go with my distress. There are many faces to God, and the one I needed to see on those mornings wasn’t the triumphant Warrior but the gentle Shepherd. In those moments, I’ve wondered, Are there spaces for solitude, for lament, for grieving here?”

Of all places, the pulpit is where God’s people should be guided to a thorough biblical understanding of sorrow, grief, and suffering. Charles Spurgeon saw it as a pastoral responsibility to feed Psalms of lament to his congregation regularly for the purposes of ministering to those presently despondent, as well as to help others prepare for future suffering. He wanted his church to know that while King David experienced great victories and occasions to rejoice, he also had times when he “was very sad, and then he touched the mournful string.”

The Scriptures make room for the entire range of human emotions and experiences—particularly the ones we wish we could avoid through piety. It is of precious wisdom and value to understand that when the tribulations do arrive (John 16:33, 1 Peter 4:12), we have a living God who has promised to be with us, to sustain us, and to ultimately deliver us. The Lord does not view our sorrows as something strange or repulsive, nor is he surprised by them. He long-suffers our sadnesses so we may learn the secret to being content in all circumstances (Philippians 4:11-13) In this way, faithful Christian living is not found in the avoidance of sadness, but in the engagement of it through faith in the Man of Sorrows himself. If the Scriptures offer such consolations, the pulpit must be the vehicle by which such blessed manna be spooned to the weary and worn.

CREATING MODERN-DAY LEPERS

When the Apostle Paul teaches we’re to bear one another’s burdens, he encourages us to focus especially on those in the household of faith (Galatians 6:10). Unfortunately, the church reveals its impatience for the weak and weeping by outsourcing the soul care of its sheep to secular sources. In doing so, believers are given the impression that the Scriptures are not capable of walking them through seasons of excessive sorrow. Like spiritual lepers, they’re cast outside the house of God to find their convalescence and healing. As Dr. Dale Johnson, the Executive Director for the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors, rightly observes: “The church has demonstrated we ought to be a last resort to many human problems.”

Scriptural sufficiency (2 Timothy 3:16-17) is rarely propounded in the local church as a resource for helping people navigate their sadness. Thus, the intentional discipleship of melancholy Christians is often entirely neglected. In instances where sufferers do seek biblical soul care from their church, it’s not uncommon to be met with trite slogans, impatient rebukes, or outright rejection altogether—further perpetuating the stigma of sorrow. The notion that human experiences of hopelessness, depression, and grief are problems only “professionals” can address is a gross disregard of what it means to belong to and be cared for by the body of Christ.

I know what it is to secretly sorrow in the pew—to mourn over my inability to match the emotional jubilation of those around me. Not only did my soul seem distant from God on those mornings, but I felt like a filthy pebble among diamonds in the sanctuary. What are we to do when sad people cannot lift themselves to the emotional heights we enjoy? We follow our Lord’s example and step down into their world. Vroegop encourages, “There is a song of mercy to be sung under dark clouds. The church should lead the way. Through every injustice and every sorrow, followers of Jesus can help one another find their way through the pain.”

In our local churches, we’re to help the weak and fainthearted with all patience and brotherly affection (1 Thessalonians 5:14). By corporately acknowledging the broken-hearted through worship, preaching, and one-another care, we affirm that sorrows of any kind rightly belong in the house of God. Such attentiveness, compassion, and Christian community can become one of the most blessed manifestations of Jesus Christ’s presence we can experience on this side of heaven.

Posted at: https://servantsofgrace.org/making-church-a-safe-place-for-sorrow/

Don't Mistake Experience for Growth

Kris Sinclair 

It’s a sad truth that many churches are full of people who have professed saving faith in Christ, attended and served faithfully for twenty to thirty-plus years, taught Sunday school, and read their Bibles, but have not been transformed at all. They’ve gained experience in doing Christian things but haven’t actually grown as a Christian. They've mistaken experience for growth.

Peter instructs Christians to “Make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Pet. 1:5–8, emphasis added).

“In God’s economy, it is the Christian who is constantly growing, not constantly doing who is the most effective.

In God’s economy, it is the Christian who is constantly growing, not constantly doing who is the most effective. It reminds me of a quote from James Clear in his book Atomic Habits: “Too often, we assume we are getting better simply because we are gaining experience. In reality, we are merely reinforcing our current habits—not improving them.” 

We have the capacity to do the same thing spiritually. We think we are growing in the Lord by going to church, attending Bible studies, and reading the Bible. But how many of us have been doing these things for years without any meaningful growth or discernible improvement in our virtues or walk with the Lord? 

A NEED FOR APPLICATION

It’s not enough to ask yourself, Do I believe in the Gospel? You must also ask yourself, Am I living in step with the Gospel? Christianity requires not only an assent to the truth of the Gospel but also an application of it to our lives. Our hearts, minds, and lives must be changed. And this changing isn’t a one-time event.

Yes, the Gospel is something “which you received and in which you stand.” It’s the foundation our Christian life rests upon, but it’s also the means “by which you are being saved" (1 Cor. 15:1). In other words, the Gospel is continually at work in our lives, building upon the foundation that is laid. 

I’m afraid too many believers have fallen into the same trap as the Pharisees: “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life” (John 5:39–40).

Christ affirms to us that you won’t find life by merely reading, studying, or memorizing the Bible any more than you’ll find treasure by merely reading, studying, or memorizing a map. You must actually travel the route the map reveals to you before you end up at its destination. Likewise, we must study the Scriptures with the intention of finding what (or more accurately who) they are pointing to—Jesus. 

“If your knowledge of the Bible doesn’t act as a stepping stone to help you land on the worship, adoration, and reverence of Christ, then you’ve only become more self-righteous, not more holy.

This should make us wary of determining our maturity by how much knowledge of Scripture we have. There is no life found in Bible memory, knowledge, or trivia. If your knowledge of the Bible doesn’t act as a stepping stone to help you land on the worship, adoration, and reverence of Christ, then you’ve only become more self-righteous, not more holy.

David Kinnaman and Mark Matlock make this same observation in their book Faith for Exiles:

“Sometimes we mistake being on the path—say, attending church—for making active progress as a disciple. But many young people (and older adults, for that matter) are dutiful churchgoers while remaining spiritually inert.”

They continue, saying “church involvement is a necessary but insufficient condition for resilient discipleship... It is difficult, if not downright impossible, to shape hearts and minds with only a few hours a week to work with.”

In other words, merely reading your bible and going to church isn’t going to cut it. For true growth to take place, something more has to happen.

A NEED FOR SUFFERING

In short, you have to suffer.

Pain and suffering are part and parcel with spiritual growth and maturity. You can’t grow without it. Paul tells us as much in Romans 5:2–4: “And we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope.” 

Look closely enough at this and you see that what Paul describes is quite an amazing process. “We rejoice in hope of the glory of God” (v. 2b). This is the beginning of the Christian’s walk with the Lord. Upon recognizing our depravity, repenting of our sin, and placing our faith in Jesus Christ for the atonement of our sins, what are we left to do but to rejoice in the hope of the glory of God?

This rejoicing is the first posture of worship the new Christian takes and then strives to maintain throughout the rest of her life. This is where we must begin in our walk with the Lord. But notice the rest of the process Paul lays out. Rejoicing in our newfound hope is not all we rejoice in, “We also rejoice in our sufferings.” Why? “Because suffering produces endurance, endurance produces character, and character produces hope.”

Notice that the product of suffering is endurance, and the product of endurance is character, and the product of character is hope. Work that backward and you’ll begin to see the importance of what Paul is describing.

Do you want hope? Build character. Do you want character? Strive for endurance. Do you want endurance? Experience suffering.

What Paul describes for us in Romans 5:2-4 is a process of growth. We begin our Christian walk by rejoicing in the hope of the glory of God, then as we follow Christ, we experience suffering (2 Tim. 3:12). If we successfully endure that suffering, then character is produced. We become more like Christ; we actually grow. All of this results in a greater hope, which brings us back to the first step, to repeat this process over again.

A RESISTANCE TO PAIN

“The reason we see so many in our churches who have maintained a stagnant spirituality for years is because we’ve tried to exchange the suffering that is required for our growth with experience.

It’s a failure to adopt this method of growth that has caused the problem we see. The reason we see so many in our churches who have maintained a stagnant spirituality for years is because we’ve tried to exchange the suffering that is required for our growth with experience.

By doing so, we’ve effectively cut ourselves off from the endurance that produces character, the character that produces hope, and so on and so on. We’ve stunted our own growth.

Our twenty-first-century Western culture has become good at discovering silver-bullet solutions to our pain. We’ve created a pill for everything that ails us, we’ve developed countless distracting hobbies to take our minds off the hurt, we’ve become professionals at avoiding pain.

This has infected the church’s spirituality in a way that has robbed us of the painful disciplines needed for growth.

• Solitude is hard. Retreating from social media and the serotonin rush that comes with each notification is too much for us to give up.

• Fasting is painful. Depriving our bodies of what it physically needs in order to gain what it spiritually needs seems unappealing and uncomfortable.

• Praying before each meal is laborious and monotonous enough, let alone praying without ceasing through the night with no sleep. How awful!

• Selling our possessions to simplify our lives and give to the poor? That’s someone else’s cross to bear, not mine.

• Fighting against lust and pornography seems impossible in our over-sexualized society. Why try?

• Confessing our sins to one another is way too vulnerable. Temptation? Maybe we’ll let someone in on that, but the fact that we’ve actually sinned? Nope, too damaging to our reputations.  

A NEED FOR COMMUNION

The point is that the kind of growth Peter and Paul speak of stresses the importance of determined discipleship: an intentional and sometimes painful pursuit of Christ and the grace that living in his Kingdom affords us. And what’s ironic is that this kind of pursuit of Christ and the development of the virtues Peter listed may actually call for some of us to start doing less. It’s the pain of cutting away our idols and our distractions that clears the path for us to find more of Jesus, it’s what enables us to identify with the suffering servant in a unique way that we wouldn’t be able to apart from our suffering.

We're so busy doing things for him, that we don't have the time to actually commune with him. Yet without this communion, we cannot change (2 Cor. 3:18). We cannot learn the way of Jesus without spending time with him, and once we find him, we won’t make it very far if we aren’t willing to sacrifice.

What could you become, or better yet, who could you become, if you were intentional about trading in your participation in hollow rituals and instead creating the margin in your life for deep, perhaps painful, but joyful communion with Christ?

Posted at: https://gcdiscipleship.com/article-feed/2019/12/4/dont-mistake-experience-for-growth

How and When God Forgives

Colin Smith

Forgiveness is a fruit of life in Christ. This is a distinguishing mark of all who are in Christ, which is why the Lord teaches us to pray in the Lord’s Prayer: “Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us” (Matthew 6:12).  

With this in mind, think with me for a moment about how and when God forgives. God forgives: 

1. where wrong has been done 
2. when repentance begins 
3. because atonement has been made 

1. God forgives where wrong has been done. 

If I were to say to you, “I forgive you,” you would reasonably say, “Whatever for? I haven’t done anything for you to forgive!” Forgiveness is only appropriate, it is only meaningful, when a wrong has been done.

When God forgives us, it means we’ve wronged Him. Every sin in your life and mine is a personal offence against God. Saul of Tarsus was on a campaign in which he hurt people, and the risen Christ appeared to him on the road to Damascus and said, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”

Forgiveness can only happen when a wrong has been done. We have wronged God. Thank God, He forgives. 

2. God forgives where wrong has been done, when repentance begins. 

The story of the prodigal son makes this clear. The son goes off on a journey of rebellion, and when he comes to his senses, he says to himself, “I will go to my father.” 

The boy has a change of heart, and he begins the long journey home. Remember what happens: The father sees him from a distance and runs out to meet him. Rather than wait, he runs to him. Why? God embraces us with mercy and forgiveness at the first sign of repentance. 

Repenting is a process that every believer begins, but none of us completes, in this life. Our repentance towards God is at best a small part of what it should be. Thank God, He forgives when our repentance begins, not when it is complete. Without this none of us would ever be forgiven.

But friends, remember this: there is no forgiveness without repentance. 

There is no forgiveness without repentance. God does not forgive unrepentant sinners. He loves them, and that is what He calls us to do, “Love your enemies, pray for those who persecute you.”

Why does he say that? Because that’s the way God loves sinners. God does not say, “Forgive your enemies.” He says, “Love them. Pray for them.” Because that is what God Himself does. He laid down His life for us while we were yet sinners (Romans 5:8). 

“Forgiving the Unrepentant Person” 

You often hear Christians talk about “forgiving the unrepentant person.” They say, “You must do it for your own sake, so your life is not controlled by another person.” 

But in asking you to forgive the unrepentant person, they’re asking you to do something that God Himself never does, and in the process, they’re changing the nature of what repentance is. God’s forgiveness always effects a restored relationship. 

Forgiveness involves the reconciling of two people—one who repents and the other who forgives. I believe, as a pastor, that it is a great mistake to tell people that they must forgive where there is no repentance. 

God forgives at the first sign of our repentance, and where forgiveness and repentance meet a relationship is restored. He does not say to us “Forgive your enemies.” He says to us, “Love your enemies.” 

3. God forgives where wrong has been done, when repentance begins, because atonement has been made. 

There is a sense in which God is the only being in the universe who cannot forgive. For us who are sinners, it is reasonable to be indulgent, lenient, and forgiving towards others whose wrongs may not be very different from our own. 

But God is holy. God sees sin in all the ugliness that it is. God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. Every time someone says, “I know God has forgiven me, but I can’t forgive myself,” I want to ask: “Are you saying that it’s easier for God to forgive you, than it is for you to forgive yourself?” James Denny says: 

If there should turn out, after all, to be such a thing as a Divine forgiveness of sins, we may be sure it will be such a forgiveness as carries the Divine condemnation and destruction of sin at the heart of it. 

That is precisely what we find at the cross. God’s forgiveness flows from the destruction and condemnation of sin in the atoning death of His Son, Jesus Christ, as He bore our sins at Calvary. 

Whenever there is an injury, there will always be something in the human spirit that cries out, “What about justice?” The Christian answer is that justice has been poured out on Jesus. 

The cross makes forgiveness possible. God forgives where wrong has been done, when repentance begins, because atonement has been made. 

How can I get to forgiveness? 

Satan can get us so focused on one sin, one problem, one issue that we want to overcome. How do I get over my fear? How can I prevail over this lust? There you are, standing right next to the hurdle, and you can’t get over from that position. You have to begin further back, so you can get a run at it and get some momentum. 

You can’t begin with forgiving other people, but you have to go back and begin with your own need to be forgiven. How’s that relevant? The very beginning is seeing my own need of forgiveness.

As I began to reflect on what the Bible says about getting to the place where you can forgive, I realized that everything we need to know is brought together in Ephesians 4. 

Posted at: https://unlockingthebible.org/2019/12/how-when-god-forgives/

Unsure of Your Future? Rest on God’s Immutability

Davis Wetherell

God’s immutability is a wonderful attribute. What is immutability? In a 2014 Banner of Truth article, Geoff Thomas explains,

God is perpetually the same. He never changes. His being, and nature, and perfections can’t be altered. Nothing can be added to the infinite God and nothing can be taken from him. What God is today he always was. What God is today he shall always be.

In sum, God is always God. And He is the only being that is this way. You and I are always changing, growing, moving, and developing, but God is what He is. Herman Bavinck wisely wrote, “God alone is absolute being, the ‘I will be who I will be,’ but all creatures… are subject to the law of becoming” (82).

Implied in this “law of becoming” is unknowing and uncertainty. What will our lives hold?

As we approach the new year, perhaps we face this question more directly. If this is a daunting question for you like it is for me, then join me in meditating on these three Bible verses on the immutability of God.

1.) Psalm 106:25–27

Of old you laid the foundation of the earth,
    and the heavens are the work of your hands.
They will perish, but you [God] will remain;
    they will all wear out like a garment.
You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away,
   but you are the same, and your years have no end.

I find a lot of comfort in this verse because it reminds me that nothing is as permanent as God. Although the world I live in may be hectic, painful, and confusing, it will pass away. God alone will remain.

It’s not enough to know that the earth will pass away, for if everything were to just end then life would be pointless. The struggle would be fruitless. But God remains the same in the end as He was in the beginning.

The application here, partially, is that faith in and worship of Jesus Christ brings stability to our lives. He is the only thing that will never change. So if you are looking for stability this season, look to Jesus!

2.) Isaiah 46:9–10

I am God, and there is none like me,
declaring the end from the beginning
    and from ancient times things not yet done,
saying, “My counsel shall stand,
   and I will accomplish all my purpose.”

This is one of my favorite verses for several reasons. One reason is that God promises His counsel shall stand, and that He will accomplish His purpose. God is good not only because He does not change but also because He never fails. That’s part of God’s immutability; He always accomplishes His purpose.

Another reason is that God highlights something He can do that no one else can do: God declared the end of time from the beginning of time.

When we experience failures or uncertainties in our life, we can be comforted by Christ, because we are in Christ, and He never fails and He is always certain.

Prediction and Declaration

I’m a baseball fan, and I enjoy guessing who will win the championship. In fact, I like guessing who will win each division, who will win each playoff series, and who will win the World Series. I shared my picks with my wife back in February, and guess how I did? Terrible! I predicted the Chicago Cubs would beat the New York Yankees—but Chicago didn’t even make the playoffs!

Had I been right, I could have said, “I declared the end of the season from the beginning of the season.” That would have been a nice guess, and it would have certainly increased my credibility as a baseball thinker.

God, however, isn’t predicting something eight months away, He is declaring the end of all things from the beginning of all things. And my baseball prediction was just a guess—it had no bearing on reality. What God is doing is not prediction, it’s declaration. He isn’t saying, “Look at how perceptive I am into the way the world works.” He is saying, “I will do this.”

God does not predict the end from the beginning; God is “the beginning and the end” (Revelation 21:6; 22:13).

3.) James 1:17

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

It is good to remember that everything good comes from God. The source of good gifts never changes. So, when you are stuck in a period of uncertainty and unknowing, if you receive a good gift—a new friend, an encouragement—you know it’s from God and He is with you.

The other thing to mention is that giving good gifts is a part of God’s nature, and therefore a part of His immutability. He does not waver in His nature, and His nature is that of a “Father” who “give[s] good things to those who ask him” (Matthew 7:11).

When you are facing an unknown future, ask God for His help! It is His promise to His children that He will give good gifts. You can have peace knowing that God will do this and that what He will do will be a good thing.

Other Verses to Read?

This article just had enough space to talk about three verses from the Bible on God’s unchanging nature. But there are plenty more! What verses do you often revisit when you need to be reminded of God’s immutability?

I hope you have a wonderful Christmas season, full of rich biblical meditation on who God is and what He has done for you.

Posted at: https://unlockingthebible.org/2019/12/unsure-future-rest-god-immutability/

8 Verses to Memorize about Biblical Gentleness

Davis Wetherell

1.) Psalm 18:35

You have given me the shield of your salvation, and your right hand supported me, and your gentleness made me great.

David had many enemies. The Lord not only protected him but also gave him victory over them. Due to this, David became a great man. But what does David thank for his becoming great? God’s gentleness. God’s gentleness brings greatness!

There is a truth to remember here. Wherever we see evidence of greatness in our lives, we know God has been there first.

2.) 1 Corinthians 4:20–21

For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power. What do you wish? Shall I come to you with a rod, or with love in a spirit of gentleness?

Paul here is admonishing some of his readers for not behaving as they ought to behave. And he is giving them a choice: Will they continue to be stubborn, and require greater discipline in order to bring them back to right living? Or, will they be teachable, and allow Paul to speak with a spirit of gentleness?

In this instance, gentleness from Paul would be a confirmation of Christlikeness in the Corinthian church. He’s not saying they don’t have more to learn—for even Paul wasn’t perfect (Philippians 3:12)—but with the church being humble, he could teach them with gentleness.

3.) 2 Corinthians 10:1–3

I, Paul, myself entreat you, by the meekness and gentleness of Christ…

In Christ we find the greatest example of meekness and gentleness. This list of eight verses is hardly even scratching the surface of what gentleness is and what it looks like in practice.

If you want to see real, biblical gentleness, open your bible to one of the gospels, and reflect on Jesus’s words and actions.

4.) Galatians 5:22–23

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

For some, gentleness can be a tough thing. We want to move fast, swing big, and talk bold. Not that these things are necessarily against being gentle, but there are some personalities that have to be more intentional about it than others.

If we feel like there is a limit to our gentleness, we know that limit does not come from Scripture! Here Paul says there is no law against it. So, we all should be looking to increase our capacity for the fruit of the spirit. If God has not put a limit on it, why should we?

5.) Ephesians 4:1–3

I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

The Bible teaches that, as Christians, we have been called by God. Since we are merely pardoned sinners, this can get to our heads. Whether on the front of our mind, or in the back of our mind, we can feel like we are better than others.

But this is so far from the truth! Paul says that “the calling to which [we] have been called” necessitates we walk in humility and gentleness.

Christian, don’t forget that it is God’s gentleness that made you great, and that you are called to proclaim His glory—his gentleness—to the world.

6.) 1 Timothy 6:11–12

But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith.

The Christian life is the active life. Sin does not just leave us alone, we have to flee from it. And we are also told to pursue righteousness and other good things including gentleness. To say we must pursue it implies we are not perfect at it right away—there is more room for growth.

It’s interesting to me how the words gentleness, which ends a sentence, and fight, which begins the next sentence, are placed back-to-back. It’s not a contradiction! This verse is showing us that sin will try to keep us back from spiritual growth, but we have to fight for it!

As odd as it sounds, we have to fight for gentleness!

7.) 2 Timothy 2:24–25

And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness.

Public speakers face a particularly tough test when it comes to gentleness. If you are verbally questioned, having your ideas questioned in front of other people, you will be tempted to prove your rightness by showing your strength. You will be tempted to yell, to ridicule, to make fun, or other sinful things.

But where does our power really come from? We were made great by God’s gentleness. Our power is in God’s Word.

Rely on these things, rather than your own display of strength.

8.) 1 Peter 3:14–16

But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.

In the last verse and in this one, we see that the biblical response to evil and suffering is gentleness. Gentleness is powerful enough to convert a person to Christ, while unrighteous anger and spite may only drive them farther away!

In everything we do, we aim to bring glory to Jesus Christ. And these 8 verses help us see that gentleness is a great way to point to God’s goodness!

THE AUTHOR: Davis Wetherell (MA in English, Marquette University) is a writer and editor. He currently manages article content for Unlocking the Bible. He previously taught college classes on literature, rhetoric, and composition. Davis has a heart for writers and loves to serve them. Check out his blog.

Stay Out of the Ditches

Paul Tautges

When I was a sophomore in high school, I learned how to drive a car. After I passed the required driver’s education class that fall semester, I enrolled in the behind-the-wheel part of the training. Learning to drive my dad’s 1973 Pontiac Catalina, with its 400 cubic-inch V-8, was more than a little fun. But learning to drive on the winter roads of Wisconsin was also a valuable experience. “Stay out of the ditch” was one of my dad’s favorite lines. In fact, once I got my license, it was not uncommon for Mom or Dad to say to me as I was leaving for my job at McDonald’s, “Stay out of the ditch.”

I grew up in a subdivision in the country, surrounded by farmer’s fields, a delightful place for five boys and one girl to be raised. But living out in the country had its challenges, too, especially in winter. We were fifteen minutes from the nearest gas station or grocery store, so we had to plan ahead. It also meant that our roads were not the first to be plowed during or after a snowstorm. This made winter driving difficult for mature adults, and quite exciting for high school boys. It was not easy to stay out of the ditches. Take a corner a little too fast, or hit a small patch of black ice, and you might be spinning around in no time at all.

But, as some of you may know, you only have to get stuck and towed out once to realize that sliding off the road, and into the ditch, throws a monkey wrench into your schedule. And can be more than a little embarrassing, since being late for work was not something that was smiled upon. All in all, I learned that if you are going to get to your final destination safely you need to stay out of the ditches.

The same principle applies to Bible doctrine. Staying on the road of biblical doctrine means staying out of the ditches. Sometimes the ditches are pretty deep and easy to see, like obvious theological errors. Others are shallow and not as easy to detect, like imbalances or extremes. The doctrines of God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility are two examples.

Sometimes Christians go off the good road by sliding into the ditch of believing that God’s sovereignty eliminates man’s responsibility, thus making man a puppet. They might get stuck in that ditch for quite some time. While they are lounging in their spiritual Lazy-Boy recliner, they’re wondering when God is just going to do something to meet their needs or zap them into super spirituality.

Other times Christians go off the good road by sliding into the ditch of believing that man’s free will is absolute, thus making God a cosmic Santa Claus whose authority is limited to responding to their good or bad decisions.

Thankfully, the Word of God presents the absolute sovereignty of God, and the limited free agency of man—not as enemies—but as friends. There is no question that God is sovereign, and we are not. But what is so fascinating about the way that God works is that He has chosen to work out His gracious sovereignty in such a way that man’s limited free agency is respected and even utilized to carry out His bigger plan. Most importantly, the bigger plan of our redemption.

That is what we see taking place in the second chapter of Ruth, a little book revealing some behind-the-scenes working out of God’s providence for certain individuals, while always keeping the big picture of His redemptive plan in focus. Here we see the companionship that divine sovereignty enjoys with human responsibility and accountability.

There are three important truths that God wants you to understand and live out in your faith walk with Him.

Recognize the dual realities of divine provision and human responsibility (v. 1-3)

Remember the relationship between divine grace and human reward (v. 4-16)

Receive the blessings of divine kindness through human generosity (v. 17-23)

God was working out His gracious plan in and through the lives of Naomi, Ruth, and Boaz. But He did not do His work in opposition to human responsibility, but through it.

It was through Naomi’s decision to return to Bethlehem that Ruth is brought into the field of redemption.

It was through the kindness of Boaz that the material needs of two widows were met.

It was through Ruth’s simple faithfulness and hard work, day in and day out, that the will of God was accomplished in her life. And she did all of this without knowledge of the big picture, without knowing where her daily obedience to God would take her.

But through the lives of these individuals, the glorious plan of God was marching on toward the day when the Redeemer would come to save sinners like you and me.

Followers of God in the Old Testament lived each day in anticipation of the coming Redeemer. And so it is for you and me. Though we now live after the first coming of the Savior, the Scriptures assure us that He is coming. And so we, too, walk by faith and not by sight.

Posted at: https://counselingoneanother.com/2019/12/09/stay-out-of-the-ditches/

A Revolutionary Prayer Life

Mike Brooks

Somewhere near the top of the list of questions that send most conversations amongst Christians into a tailspin is this one: “So, how’s your prayer life?”

I’ve heard it asked in counseling settings when all the issues have been brought out onto the table.

“He did this, then she said that…”

“Well, yeah. But how’s your prayer life?”

Cue the bewilderment.

It’s been asked of me in particular seasons of frustration and in the midst of feelings of despair: “Man, that sounds really tough. Hey, how’s your prayer life?”

I even had one friend who would reframe that age-old question. He’d ask me, “Mike, what have you been saying to God when you pray?” He refused to allow the easy out of an over-simplified, uber-spiritualized answer. He wanted to know the content of the conversations I was having with God and it wasn’t because he was meddlesome or looking to cause trouble. He was out for my good and he knew that any good I’d experienced was almost always directly correlated to the quality of my prayer life and to the specifics therein.

A member at a church where I was previously on staff approached me one day to share some good news. His prayer life had been “revolutionized.” I don’t need to overstate things here, other than to say, when something has been revolutionized within close proximity to me, I’m all ears.

My friend went on to tell me about his recent frustrations with the way things were going at work and home. He told me he’d been feeling a little down about his involvement within our congregation and he was a little regretful that he hadn’t shared his faith in quite some time. I nodded along, waiting for the big turn. He told me he often had long rides between job sites and, out of habit, he’d been vocalizing those frustrations on his drives. I thought it to be an okay way to relieve some stress and mentioned it probably felt a little weird. He agreed, then his eyes widened, “But that’s just it. It was really weird until recently. I realized I hadn’t been praying much, so I just started praying on those rides instead.” I asked him what he had been praying and he replied, “Well, I basically just say the same exact things as I was saying before. But only now, I stop myself and I say ‘Dear God’ before I start talking.”

Revolutionary, indeed.

This is no indictment of my friend’s oversimplified version of prayer, though I think its probably worthy of some critique. My response is more like one of those pursed-lips, head-nodding, have-to-say “Hm” kind of responses. When my brother uttered his “Dear God,” a thousand gears began turning in his relationship with the God to whom he was praying. And it all began with a simple acknowledgement of who it was he was actually praying to.

A problem many of us face in the moment we’re praying is that, if we were to pay close attention, we’d likely catch ourselves mentally processing our joys and frustrations, rather than remaining present in prayer and sharing these things with God, praising him for his faithfulness and asking him to reveal the ways in which we aren’t trusting him as we ought.

Where does the wayward mind truly go when it comes time to pray? It’s hard to say. Maybe we’ve complicated the whole thing and err on the side of saying too much. Jesus said it’s not really about the perceived greatness of our oratory performance when it comes to beseeching the Father. Or, maybe we’re somewhere on the opposite end of the spectrum – we don’t have much to say at all. Perhaps we come before God less desperate – less needy – than we ought to, not fully realizing how insufficient we are for not just immediate tasks, but insufficient in most every role we’re placed in. Isn’t this where we find David as he’s praying in Psalm 86? “Incline Your ear, O LORD, and answer me, for I am oppressed and need.” Perhaps it’s even recognition of this need that puts us at a loss for words. There will be times we just won’t know what to say and, with our noses pressed firmly into tear-stained carpet, we’ll ask the Lord, even beg the Lord, “Help?”

And, if we’re honest, there will be times our prayer life is simply marked by conversations with God had while driving down the road in which we say “Dear God” and proceed to unload our frustrations on him.

We can be confident that in any of these moments, we have the listening ear of a gracious and loving God who may, in fact, delight in prayers chock full of “justs” and “Lords” and “Dear Gods.” Christian, never take for granted the fact that you have an embarrassing amount of access to the God of all creation through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. When you’ve somewhat gotten over the fact that this God is the one to whom you’re praying – then, as simply as you can manage, pray: “Dear God…”

About the Author: Mike serves as Associate Editor at For The Church. He is currently a PhD student in Historical Theology at MBTS and a member at Emmaus Church. Mike and his wife, Paige, reside in Kansas City. You can follow him on Twitter via .

Posted at: https://ftc.co/resource-library/blog-entries/a-revolutionary-prayer-life

Five Attributes of God’s Holiness

David Tank

The holiness of God distinguishes God as God, and reveals how we are not. It communicates His transcendent sovereignty and flawless purity, His overwhelming right to rule, and His stainless character.

Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable. (Psalm 145:3)

Human beings cannot begin to measure God’s holiness, and yet, God has revealed His glory and holiness to us in His Word (John 1:14; Hebrews 1:3; 2 Corinthians 4:6).

Because of Jesus, Christians can know God through His attributes, and God’s holiness is the crown of His attributes. In this article, we’re going to unpack five attributes of God’s holiness.

1. God’s Holiness is Providential

First, God is holy in His omniscience, or providential knowledge.

Because God is light, nothing is hidden from Him (1 John 1:5). The Lord rules on high as the perfect judge, and no one can measure the depths of His understanding. All things, past, present, and future are fully known by our God.

Human understanding is limited and like walking in a poorly lit parking lot at night. But God rules over all things and sees all things in perfect light. God’s omniscience is like the light of a sports stadium which illuminates everything as if it were day.

All of creation is full of the glory of God, because of His omniscience; thus, “no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account” (Hebrews 4:13).

Our holy God sees all, knows all, and orchestrates all things in complete and perfect clarity.

2. God’s Holiness is Present

Second, God is holy in His overwhelming presence.

When Solomon built and dedicated the temple, he desired that it would be a place of God’s dwelling just as the Tabernacle had been for Israel in the wilderness. Solomon fully recognized that unlike idols, the God of Israel cannot be contained.

He prayed, “Will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you, how much less this house that I have built?” (1 Kings 8:27).

God’s immensity stretches beyond human ability to measure. God is present here at the Unlocking the Bible offices in Illinois as well as in Bangladesh. More than that, He is at the center of the universe, and His presence extends beyond the limits of the cosmos. His holy presence is weighty and potent.

3. God’s Holiness is Powerful

Thirdly, the holiness of God also applies to His power. He is powerful beyond comparison!

God is the Creator and Sustainer of everyone and everything, He is omnipotent (all powerful) (Colossians 1:16), and His power extends over all things, both visible and invisible. Galaxies, stars, and planets did not come into being by accident. Conception of human life is nothing less than a miracle. All of creation sings of the mighty power of God!

Presidents, prime ministers, queens, and supreme leaders all may claim some form of authority, but none of these can stand next to the true sovereign, the King of kings and Lord over all lords. No matter the uncertainty of our times, the Lord remains exalted upon His throne.

4. God’s Holiness is Infinite

Fourth, the holiness of God is infinite.

More than being immortal, God’s eternal nature also means that He does not change. God’s holiness sets Him apart from all else. Because He exists in perfect purity and is eternally consistent with Himself.

People grow, mature, and age, but God remains the same. He is morally pure, without the slightest hint of evil, and the Lord is faithful and true (Revelation 19:11). He will not commit evil for He cannot deny Himself (2 Timothy 2:13). For this reason, God’s wisdom, justice, and beauty are perfect.

Out of this fact comes a final point:

5. God’s Holiness is Incomparable

When my wife and I were first thinking about marriage, we went ring shopping. We found an amazing jeweler. He was great because he didn’t just try to just sell us a shiny rock and metal band. Instead, he took the time to show us what makes a great diamond. I learned a lot, and then gave him a lot of my money.

Gemologists measure the quality of diamonds by cut, color, clarity and carat weight. And, they grade gems by their various degrees of imperfections, with the perfect stone representing flawlessness.

Any honest jeweler will admit that there are no truly ‘flawless’ diamonds out there. However, Christians can say of our Holy God, that He is “Flawless! Flawless! Flawless!”

Everything about His incomprehensible nature and character is supreme. And because of God’s infinite nature and character, He is worthy of eternal praise!

The Promise

God’s holiness is His crown, and it makes God himself, the treasure of all treasures. Angels in heaven sing praise to God for all that He is and all He has done, and God desires men and women to join with the heavenly choir.

An excellent way to do this is by reading the Psalms, for they invite us to “worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness; tremble before him, all the earth” (Psalm 96:9).

Whenever people in the Bible saw the LORD in His awesome holiness, they trembled with fear (Isaiah 6:5; Revelation 1:17). Those moments made people realize how absolutely unholy they truly were because of sin. However, Christians have confidence to approach God’s holy throne through faith in Christ.

When the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, people saw the glory of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)

Jesus reveals the holy God to sinners. When you open the Bible, you can behold the holy God in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18; 4:6).

Best of all, when you put faith in Jesus Christ, the God crowned in awesome holiness, promises to crown you with His steadfast love and mercy (Psalm 103:4). Thus we can say:

“Bless the LORD oh my soul…worship His holy name.” (Psalm 103:1)

Posted at: https://unlockingthebible.org/2019/12/5-attributes-gods-holiness/

Six Strides Toward Forgiveness

Colin Smith

We are looking today at the subject of forgiveness. To forgive a person who has hurt you deeply may be the greatest challenge you ever face and the greatest gift you ever give.

Imagine standing right next to a hurdle on a racetrack. You are right up against it. You can’t jump a hurdle from a standing start. It’s impossible. It can’t be done. You have to take a run at it.

This, to me, has been one of the most important things I have learned about the Christian life, and it is at the heart of our series. All progress in the Christian life is made by the momentum of our spiritual health.

So, here are six strides you can take toward forgiveness:

1. Remember that the Holy Spirit lives in you.

…the Holy Spirit by whom you were sealed. (Ephesians 4:30)

Progress towards forgiveness begins here: The Spirit of God lives in you.

You may have experienced hurts and wounds that are incredibly hard to forgive, hurts that I know nothing about, hurts that are deeper than anything I’ve ever experienced. Here’s what you need to know: No one has had more to forgive than God.

Think how much God has had to forgive: Every sin you have ever committed is a sin against Him. Each of these sins played a part in the awful suffering of God’s Son. That is true, not only of your sins, but of every sin of every believer who has ever lived.

Think how much God has had to forgive, and He has done it! And His Spirit lives in you!! When you look at an offense, and forgiveness seems impossible, take a step back, get some distance, and begin your run here.

2. Don’t dwell on the injury.

Let all bitterness and wrath and anger… be put away from you. (Ephesians 4:31)

Bitterness, wrath, and anger all come from nursing a grievance. Someone has wronged you, and your mind keeps going over it, and over it, and over it again. All of us know about this in our own experience.

You keep thinking about it—how wrong it was, how hurtful it is. But every time you think about it, you are stoking a fire within your own soul of anger and bitterness.

Bitterness and anger are fires that need to be fed. Stop feeding them. When your mind goes back to that stuff, say to yourself, “There are better things to fill my mind with than this.”

With the help of the Holy Spirit, set your mind on something else—whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise. You have the power to do this if you are a Christian because God’s Spirit lives in you.

3. Don’t fight and quarrel.

Let… clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. (Ephesians 4:31)

When a relationship is in trouble, fighting and quarreling over who did what or who said what can make it worse. “The Lord’s servant must not quarrel” (2 Timothy 2:24). Quarreling stokes the fire of bitterness and anger, putting you further from the forgiveness you’re trying to cultivate.

Put clamor and slander away from you: I am not to sit at the breakfast table or go around talking to other people about what that person has done or about what a terrible person he or she is.

Put away all malice: Malice is the desire that the person who hurt you will get what they deserve.

These are the negatives, and they are very important. There are certain things that make forgiveness impossible. If you keep doing them, you will not be able to forgive.

4. Have compassion on the one who has hurt you.

Be kind to one another, tender-hearted… (Ephesians 4:32)

This is especially important with a person who has wronged you and still has no idea what he or she has done. They’re completely unrepentant—they have not taken ownership. They have no sense of responsibility. They’re blind to what they’re doing, and to the pain they’re causing.

Well, if this person is blind, then you should have pity. When you see a person walking on the street who’s completely blind, do you want to run up and kick their cane away? No!

Jesus became the merciful, tenderhearted, compassionate high priest He is through what He suffered (Hebrews 2:17). That means suffering can produce hardness of heart, but it can also produce great tenderness! Pain made Him the kind of high priest that you can come to.

If you have experienced great pain through the sins of another person, if something can hurt this much, then use your pain as fuel for compassion.

When Jesus saw the crowds, He had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd (Matthew 9:36). They didn’t even know they were lost! The person who has sinned against you may be just like that. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted.

5. Realize that you will need the forgiveness of others.

Forgiving one another… (Ephesians 4:32)

God does not tell us here that we should forgive someone who has hurt us.

He says that we should forgive one another. What does that tell us? There will be things that you need to forgive in others, and you can be absolutely certain that there will be things that others need to forgive in you.

Here’s something that you will find to be true: It is impossible to say from the heart “Lord, have mercy on me,” and at the same, to refuse mercy to another person in your heart. Realizing your own need of continuing forgiveness will help you to take another stride towards forgiving.

6. Savor your forgiveness in Christ.

Forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you… (Ephesians 4:32)

God’s forgiveness is both the model of our forgiving and the motive of our forgiving. So, the Apostle draws our attention to the way in which we have been forgiven by God.

Think about how God has forgiven you. Turn this over in your mind. God has forgiven me in Christ. He did it gladly, freely and fully. This forgiveness us undeserved, it is irreversible, and it is eternal.

God has forgiven me in love and mercy, out of an agony of heart, shrouded in darkness at Calvary, and I will never fully understand that pain, even in all eternity.

Savor your forgiveness in Christ. Appreciate it. Enjoy it. Let this priceless gift of God that you have received move your heart to worship, wonder, love, and praise. Forgive one another as God in Christ forgave you.

Practice the six strides and your seventh will take you over the hurdle of forgiveness.

Here’s what you do with regard to a person who has hurt you badly, and is completely unaware of what he or she has done: Take these six strides on the path of mercy, and you will be ready at any moment to forgive.

Forgiveness will already be in your freed heart, ready to be released. You will be ready to place it in the hands of the one who has wronged you when he or she is ready to receive the gift.

And this is how Jesus Christ is towards you today: Ready to forgive whatever in your life needs to be forgiven. He is kind and tender-hearted. He has compassion on you. His nail-pierced hands are stretched out towards you today. Whatever you see that needs to be forgiven, He is ready to forgive as you come to Him.

If you believe that this is true, why would you not come to Him in repentance today?

Posted at: https://unlockingthebible.org/2019/12/six-strides-forgiveness/