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Proverbs 23:7, Various

I Am Lovable!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
January 9, 2024

Solomon says in Proverbs 23:7, according to the King James and the New King James translation, that as a man “thinks in his heart, so is he.” This verse has been the subject of much debate by scholars, but I believe the truth is that we act out what we truly think “we are” at the deepest level. Hypnotists make a living by making their subjects act in a way inconsistent with who they really are. One Hypnotist applied his practice to four people at the same time on a stage in a crowded theatre. Each was “put under,” so to speak, and told they were a chicken, duck, dog, and cat. When he brought them out of their slumber, one clucked and scratched at the floor, one quacked and nodded his head up and down, one barked and chased a ball, and one meowed and rubbed against the hypnotist’s leg. The audience roared with laughter. When he brought them out of their state, they were all embarrassed at how they were told they behaved.

My point this morning is that Christians are often hypnotized by the world, the flesh, and the devil. We act out in ways that are truly inconsistent with who we really are. God tells us that we are acceptable. Because of rejection from others in the world, we often act like we’re unacceptable. The truth is “To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.” (See Ephesians 1:6) We are acceptable to God. We are also precious to God. In 1 Corinthians, Paul focuses on that reality and tells us that we are bought and paid for by God. We are His prized possession. But because of mistreatment by the world and others around us, we often lose sight of our intrinsic value to God and act out in sinful ways. Isaiah 54:10 tells us that “the mountain and hills may crumble, but My Love for you will never end, so says the Lord who loves you.” The world, our flesh, and the arrows of Satan delivered by others around us often cause us to doubt God’s love and concern for us, leaving us to search for love, as the song says, “in all the wrong places.” We have been hypnotized by the world, the flesh, and the devil in many ways.

Gary Small and John Trent wrote, “We all desire relationships in which we are accepted, valued, and wanted. We desperately long for this esteem from our peers but seldom experience the “real thing.” Countless stories are written about teenagers who accept life-threatening dares in the hopes of being accepted by their peers or business people who compromise their integrity and ethics to join an elite inner circle. We read of men and women who are driven to succeed because they believe the lie that says their value is determined by the quality and level of their performance. For the Christian, none of this futile struggle is necessary because we have been chosen by God before time ever began. We belong, we matter, we have been accepted. No longer outcasts or second-class citizens, we are part of his family. You are acceptable! You are valuable! You are desirable, and you are lovable because God says so!

 

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Isaiah 43:4, Various

You Are Precious To Me

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
January 8, 2024

If you ever watched Tom Hanks in “The Terminal,” you have an idea of what it means to be “unacceptable.” He plays a citizen of Crocotia (A fictional place, I think) who has flown to New York on a personal mission, but when he checks into customs at JFK, he’s informed that civil war in his home country makes his passport invalid. To make the long story short, he ends up living in the terminal for nine months while they attempt to straighten out the mess. Each day, he stands in line to have his application to enter New York approved, but each day, his paper is stamped as “denied. The counter agent tells him, “He’s unacceptable.” He hears that every day.  If you’re like me, you hear it also.  But Romans 15:7 tells us that “God has accepted” us. We are acceptable to him.

But not only are we merely acceptable. We are valuable! We are desirable! As we were cleaning out Kathy’s Mother’s apartment after her death, we found an heirloom broach that came over from Austria with Kathy’s grandmother. It must date back before the turn of 1900. It’s not pure gold, silver, or any other precious material but appears to be plain plastic. But it’s a valuable item because it connects us to our heritage. I expect it will be a treasured possession for all generations. It’s valuable to us, as we are valuable to God. We are his prized possession. John, the beloved apostle, tells us in 1 John 4:4, “But you belong to God, my dear children.”

The thing that makes us valuable is the fact that God loved us. It’s not because we have some special quality that makes us better than others.  It’s something about God’s character. Just as Israel was the object of God’s sovereign choice, so too is every believer today. Moses explained this truth to the Israelites in Deuteronomy 7:6. He writes, “The LORD your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession.”  Why did God make this choice? Moses went on: “The LORD did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. But it was because the LORD loved you.” Just as there is nothing externally valuable about the broach, there is nothing externally valuable in us. What makes us so precious is not our intrinsic value. It is only the value placed on us by God’s love. Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 7:23, “You have been bought and paid for by Christ, so you belong to Him.” God so loved us that he bought and paid for us with his most precious possession, His only begotten son. Isaiah 43:4 speaks to us as well as Israel; “God says, ‘You are precious to Me.’”

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Romans 15:7, Various

I Am Acceptable!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
January 7, 2024

Paul tells us that once a person comes to faith in Christ, they become “new” creatures. We remain ourselves, but there’s a brand-newness about our lives that is part of God’s supernatural movement in our lives. He doesn’t destroy our old selves in that we are re-created from scratch. The essential elements that make up our true “selves” are still intact. He redesigns us, so to speak. The “old things” that pass away are the old ways of doing things and the old ways of acting, and it begins with God renewing our old ways of thinking. That’s what he means when he writes to the Romans to “let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think” (See Romans 12:2). It begins with changing the way we think about ourselves. I guess you could say that our “self-image” has changed. We are no longer who we thought we were. We’re no longer who others think we are, and we’re not what we think others think we are. All the old tapes, for good or for bad, need to be erased, and we need to start listening to a new soundtrack.

God says that I’m acceptable! In Romans 15:7, we read, “God has accepted you.” 1 Peter 2:9, referring to a very similar theme, says, “You have been chosen by God.” You’re not on the sidelines waiting for your name to be called for a 3rd grade baseball game. Your name has already been called! Further, you have been “received.” In a world where many people feel “turned away” from the high life, God has not done so with us. The Psalmist writes, “Even if my mother and father forsake me, the Lord will receive me!” By the way, it’s not just passive acceptance of you; it’s eager, joyous acceptance because “the free gift of God’s grace makes all of us right with God.” (See Romans 3:24). There are several wonderful biblical truths about our acceptability with God.  The righteousness of Christ becomes our righteousness (Romans 5:11-21). We are “justified” in God’s eyes, and looking through the eyes of love, He sees us as already “perfect” (which we’re not practically) (See 1 Cor 1:2, 30, and 6:11). He even calls all believers “saints.” It’s “Saint Chuck” writing to you! See also Hebrews 10:14. All our failures and sins have been buried into the deepest abyss of the seas… i.e., they are gone!

All of this is by God’s grace! That’s the way he thinks about us, and we must let our thinking be transformed from the old way to God’s way.  It’s a work of God’s grace. We can’t change the way we think about ourselves by trying hard or working hard. We’ll only fail and end up more discouraged than we are. It’s all a matter of believing what God says about us! Paul says, “Now to a laborer, his wages are not counted as a favor or a gift, but as an obligation (something owed to him). But to one who, not working [by the Law], trusts (believes fully) in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited to him as righteousness and makes him acceptable to God! (See the Amplified version of Romans 4:4-5).

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Romans 3:10, Various

It’s OK!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
January 6, 2024

Since we are saved by Grace and sustained in this life by God’s Grace, it is foolishness to attempt to win acceptance, love, meaning, or purpose in our lives through being perfect. We’ll never be perfect. There is no one who is completely righteous, no, not one!  I read that somewhere. Paul tells us that in Romans 3:10, and he is quoting it from the Old Testament. When we focus all our energy on being perfect, we ruin our own lives, and we ruin the lives of those around us. We all sin, we all make mistakes, we all say things we’re sorry for, we all do things we wish we could take back.  Paul knew this dilemma himself and described it for us in great detail in Romans Chapter Seven. We must come to grips with the truth regarding our own sinfulness if we’re ever going to be able to have healthy relationships with others. Jesus only eats with sinners. He did not come to save the healthy but the sick. The Publican who acknowledged his sinfulness, in contrast to the religious leader who thanked God for his personal righteousness, came away justified by Jesus.

In his men’s seminar, David Simmons, a former cornerback for the Dallas Cowboys, tells about his childhood home. His father, a military man, was extremely demanding and always pushed him for perfection in everything that he did. He never had compliments for any of Dave’s accomplishments but rather pushed him to achieve more. When Dave played High School football, his father was unrelenting in his criticisms. After every game, his father would point out everything he did wrong. Dave writes, “Most boys got butterflies in the stomach before the game; I got them afterward. Facing my father was more stressful than facing any opposing team.” By the time he entered College, he hated his father and chose to go to the University of Georgia because it was the furthest from home. After college, Dave was the second-round draft pick for the St. Louis Cardinals. Joe Namath (who later played for the NY Jets) was the first-round pick. Excited, he called his father and told him. His father asked him, “How does it feel to be second?”

I remember the fad-psychology book in the ’70s entitled, “You’re OK, I’m OK.” It talked about how we relate to ourselves and to others. You can see yourself as OK and others not OK. You can see yourself as not OK while others are OK. Sometimes, you might see yourself and others as not OK, but the right way to live is to see everyone as OK. I’d argue that the biblical view of this would be, “I’m not OK, You’re not OK, but that’s all OK.” Jesus often taught us the importance of love. It is the greatest commandment, and if we can learn to keep that commandment, we’ll satisfy the entire “law and prophets.” We are to love God first and foremost and then love others also. Paul writes a famous passage in his letter to the Corinthians all about the nature of love. In that chapter (1 Corinthians 13), he defines love in various ways. One of the more important ways is that Love doesn’t keep score. It doesn’t record a record of wrongs. It doesn’t write down a list of weaknesses and failures. Rather, love looks past weaknesses and even overlooks wrongs. I like the way the Living Bible puts it; “Love forgets mistakes; nagging about them parts the best of friends.” God’s love for us inspired His grace for us. Look at the Cross! “While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Our love for God should inspire our grace for others! Perfectionism will destroy any relationship

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Galatians 3:3, Various

Are You That Foolish?

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
January 5, 2024

Paul explains that we are saved by Grace, not by works. He then warns us not to cast off God’s grace and revert to a system of works after our salvation. For, just as we’re saved by grace, we are also sustained by grace. Paul says we “began our life in Christ” by the grace of God, and we should not “try to make it complete it by your own power” (Galatians 3:3). The New Century version concludes their translation with the exclamation “that is foolish.” Most other translations put it as a question, “Are you that foolish?” Perfectionists are not only foolish, but they also make themselves miserable, as well as everyone around them. Talking about extreme efforts of perfection, Solomon asks, “Why should you ruin yourself?” (Ecclesiastes 7:16).

Trying to achieve an unattainable goal and holding others to an unattainable goal is a very destructive way to live. One thing that it can destroy is my initiative. When we read the Old Testament, it’s sometimes difficult to get a clear understanding because we live in a different culture. Literal translations of the Bible focus on each word. Dynamic equivalent translations focus on an entire thought. For example, for Ecclesiastes 11:4, most of the literal translations read, “One who watches the wind will not sow, and the one who looks at the clouds will not reap.” But the Living Bible says, “If you wait for perfect conditions, you’ll never get anything done.” That’s the idea. I can remember a report of a mountain lion wandering the hills around Neihardt Park several years ago. We lived by the park in Blair, Nebraska. I have a friend who even has a picture of a large cat-like animal running across a field near the park. Kathy woke me up at 5:30 one morning and said, “Come on, get dressed. We’re going for a walk around Neihardt Park.” I yawned and said, “Don’t be silly. There’s a lion in the park!” A mountain lion has been spotted in Omaha recently. Now I have an excuse for not walking on our trail at our new house. Twice in the book of Proverbs, Solomon tells us that the lazy man says he can’t go to work because there’s a lion in the street (Proverbs 22:13, 26:13). A sluggard uses any excuse not to do what he should. I’ve known believers who won’t serve in the church because they don’t feel “good enough.” You see, perfectionism can destroy my initiative. I’ve known non-believers who said they have lived in such sin that they cannot turn to Jesus. Yep, we can see lions in the park all the time.

The truth is that even though we’re never going to be perfect, we are “perfect” in Christ. Becoming that way in our daily lives is a process we’ll not complete until we go to be with Him. Bruce Demarest put it this way: “The point is that Christians should not engage in the impossible pursuit of perfectionism because God views both our persons and our labors as pleasing and acceptable to him through the merits of his Son.” Since this is true, we can, as the author of Hebrews instructs us, approach God with confidence, where we will find His mercy and where we will receive His grace to help us in our times of need. (See Hebrews 4:16)

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Ecclesiastes 7:16, Various

Nobody’s Perfect!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
January 4, 2024

Perfectionism, in the History of Christianity, is defined by the New International Dictionary of the Christian Church as “The teaching that moral or religious perfection (in some cases sinlessness) is not only an ideal toward which to strive but a goal attainable in this life.” John Wesley was a serious champion of perfectionism and, through his influence, reached across the Atlantic and found serious advocates in America. The dictionary goes on to say, “In America, a form of perfectionism was advocated by Asa Mahan and C.G. Finney in the first half of the nineteenth century. In the mid-century, there emerged from Methodism the American Holiness Movement, a more revivalistic and rigorist advocate of Wesley’s perfectionism. From this developed the Church of the Nazarene, the Wesleyan Church, some forms of Pentecostalism, and other modern advocates of perfectionism.”

One cannot help but remember Paul’s struggle with sin in Romans chapter 7. He explains how the things he knows he should do, he doesn’t do. He admits that the things he knows he shouldn’t do, he finds himself doing. At the end of his wrestling with the presence of sin in his life, he says, “wretched man that I am!” We also might notice that John tells us in his first letter that if we say we have no sin, we lie. Further, the New Testament (and the Old) are filled with exhortations and warnings to believers against sin. It seems obvious to me that sin is a real possibility in the life of even the strongest believer. The instructions contained in the New Testament for living a disciplined life not only imply a possibility but a probability. Trying to live a perfect, sinless life inevitably ends with increased guilt and shame. Perfectionism makes you miserable, as well as everyone around you! It’s often admirable to seek perfection, but those who seek it in themselves are often the most likely to demand it in others. They make the lives of those around them miserable. None of us can live up to a perfect standard. The only way to live in harmony with God and with each other is to realize and face up to our sinfulness.

The wisest man in the world, Solomon, warns us in his writings of the dangers of trying to be perfect. In Ecclesiastes 7:16, the New American Standard translation says, “Do not be excessively righteous and do not be overly wise. Why should you ruin yourself?” I like the way the New International Versions puts the last part of this verse: “…why destroy yourself?” God’s Word for Today puts it this way: “Why make yourself miserable.” Four verses later, he writes, “Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.” We do not live by works; we live by God’s grace. We all wrestle with sin and will until we die. After Paul wrestles with his sinful nature in Chapter 7, he reminds us of this profound truth in the first verse of Chapter 8. He writes, “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

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Psalm 51:7

Soothing The Sin-Sick Soul

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
January 3, 2024

A New Age bath product is advertised on the internet with this description. It’s a bath oil, and it claims to be “A highly aromatic oil with an exceptionally fine aroma.  This oil blend is said to relieve states of anger, panic attacks, and nervous trembling. Excellent for mental fatigue and depression.” It goes on to say that it “May have an effect on obesity and fluid retention. Invaluable in times of stress, uplifts and revives the spirit.” It closes with the promise that it will “…transform your daily act of bathing into an experience that will not only cleanse and soften your skin but also bring harmony and balance into your life from pure plant essential oils.”

The New Age has been promising to bring “harmony” and “balance” into our lives for as long as I can remember. It was made famous in the sixties (my generation) by the Fifth Dimension’s mega-hit, “The Age of Aquarius.” Its opening verse says, “When the moon is in the Seventh House, And Jupiter aligns with Mars, Then peace will guide the planets And love will steer the stars…It is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius… etc). When I think of bringing “harmony” and “balance” into my life, it has little to do with the moon being in the seventh house and Jupiter aligning with Mars. It has even less to do with a particular brand of bath oil!! But the interesting thing about this bath oil is its name. It is called “purge me with Hyssop” bath oil. The advertisement says, “Hyssop is a holy herb referred to in the scriptures, ‘purge me with hyssop and I shall be clean.’  Hyssop baths have been part of the bathing ritual since ancient times.”

Of course, the “Holy” herb and its particular new age qualities are not at all what David was referring to when he said, “purge me with hyssop,” in Psalm 51, verse 7. It reads in total, “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.” It’s in the context of seeking God’s forgiveness for his sin.  The hyssop plant was so constituted that it served as a wand with a sponge on the end that the priests would dip into the blood of the sacrifice and sprinkle on the people for the forgiveness of their sins. David wasn’t referring to the “new age” properties of Hyssop. He was referring to the cleansing, healing, and forgiving nature of the blood of the sacrifice. Peace will never guide my planets, and love will never steer my stars because I’m a sinner, like David. Only God’s grace can bring “harmony and balance” into my life through the shed blood of the one sacrifice for all our sins. I have to stop focusing on “me” and keep focusing on “HIM.” His Grace is the greatest medicine for the weary soul. “There is a balm in Gilead that will soothe the sin-sick soul.” It’s the only ointment that will wash my sins away. In 1968, the Edwin Hawkins singers sang, “Oh, happy day, when Jesus washed my sins away.”

 

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Matthew 5:48

Get The “ME” Out!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
January 2, 2024

When we think of God’s grace, we usually think of his saving Grace. Not because of works or good deeds we’ve done but because of His Grace. He chooses to redeem us from the eternal punishment that our sin deserves, and instead of judgment, we get what we don’t deserve: heaven! But we are not only saved by grace. We are also sustained by grace. The Galatians, who were saved by grace, were trying to live the Christian life by observing the law. Paul rebukes them and reminds them that living the Christian life is also a matter of God’s grace rather than our own goodness. Coming to faith in Christ, we often, like the Galatians, turn to our own means in an effort to achieve the “perfect” life by trying to observe all the standards of our own understanding of the law. In our flesh, we feel we can contribute to our salvation, if not to our eternal salvation, at least as it is worked out in our lives every day. But God will have none of that! He is constantly bringing into our lives the purging truth of our sinfulness. His amazing grace purges the “me” out of us so that it will be all about Him and not about us or our efforts or works. The refining fires of God’s grace will purge us of ourselves!

There are many verses that have troubled scholars for years. One in particular is Matthew 5:48, which says, “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” There have been many opinions regarding the meaning of the word “perfect” throughout church history, but I’d argue that it means just what it says: BE PERFECT! That is like the sacrificial lambs must be “without flaw” or, like Noah, “blameless” in every way!  But please don’t miss the context. Jesus summarized his teachings that the Pharisees and the religious leaders of the day weren’t righteous enough to inherit the Kingdom of God. In order to get to heaven, one’s righteousness must exceed that of the Pharisees. How much better must one be? Oh, let’s see!! 75% better? No 90% better? Well, Jesus made it clear that nothing but “perfection” can enter into the kingdom of God. Therefore, He says, “You must be perfect.” Throughout church history, there have been numerous efforts to demonstrate how we can achieve perfectionism in our lives. Unfortunately, these “theologies” remain completely hypothetical, for no one has ever achieved it! But we can make our lives miserable by trying!

Jesus wasn’t trying to get us to try harder when he said, “Be perfect.” He was trying to bring us to repentance. He wants to purge the “me” out of us. He was offering an opportunity for us to acknowledge the truth that “there are no righteous people, no not even one,” and that “we have all fallen short of God’s standard. It wasn’t a standard of being better than others that was the basis for admittance into the kingdom of God. It was a completely perfect standard that could never be achieved by one’s own efforts. I love the way J.M. Boice put it in his commentary. He writes regarding Jesus’ statement, “Jesus now answers with a statement that is devastating to all human attempts to earn heaven, a statement that is meant to turn men to God’s grace and away from all man-made attempts at salvation.”

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