12/05/2022
How sad that man so often goes his own way and chooses his own direction by his will alone. How tragic that he will rise from his bed, and set out into the morning, without a single word being spoken with God, with his attention being absorbed in the world, and his path being directed solely by his own thought and shortsightedness. This is counter to the life man should follow, and that Jesus taught us to walk; no cross does he pick up, no suffering does he see, and yet his burden is destined to become great, while pain and death await him with certainty. Who are we to know the way, forgive our own transgressions, and receive eternity by our own will and command? We are called to seek God and love Him above all else… where is our heart, our mind, and our soul? Who is it that gives us strength if not God? How pure is our faith?
“I know, O Lord, that the way of man is not in himself, that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps.”
Jeremiah 10:23 ESV
Man is headstrong, and he tends to look inward, and struggle against the will of God until at last he has been broken by the world, brought to his knees by life, and felt the redeeming fullness of Gods mercy, love, and grace in a moment of contrition within the arms of Jesus. We cannot think ourselves into salvation or work ourselves into redemption, because these thinking and working are products of our own boasting and selfish will. We must be called by God, given access through faith in Christ, and made to see, and find our way by the gift of God’s grace.
“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
Ephesians 2:8-10 ESV
How simple it would be to simply say “I believe” without sincerity. How hollow are words such as this? There are those in churches who have announced themselves saved, and yet fall short of the glory of God because although they work, tend to the things of the church, live moral lives, and even pray fine sounding prayers, they have not established a relationship with God, and Jesus Christ.
““Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’”
Matthew 7:21-23 ESV
Gold weighs a great deal, but so does lead, and the only way to see if a heavy golden bar that is being presented to you as being pure gold is actually gold, is to take a knife and cut beneath the surface. An age old trick was to dip a lead bar in molten gold, and present it as payment, when in truth it was nearly worthless. How many who claim to be believers, people of faith, have a righteousness that is only skin deep?
““Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit.”
Matthew 7:15-18 ESV
The test we make of faith is similar to the one we use to test golden bars… we look beneath the surface. We not only hear the words but feel the warmth of faith, taste the sweetness of its fruit, witness the goodness, and validate every action presented against the Word of God and the gospel of Jesus. We should be able to do this when discerning the faith of others… and the health of our own faith as well. Heaven forbid that we are saying the hollow words “Lord, Lord”.
The Christmas season is a good time to test the gold bars of our faith. Are we solid gold?
Just like in the day when Jesus was born, and all Jews anticipated the Messiah’s coming, few recognized Him when He came. Yet both the believers and nonbelievers alike would argue that they possessed the truth regarding who He was. Only those who tested Him, and themselves came to know Him for certain, and those who were solid gold were found to have been transformed. Only those who picked up His cross and followed Him, even being willing to do so unto suffering and death, would be found to be worthy, righteous, and made of solid gold. What do our tests reveal about us? Listen to these words of Jesus…
““Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.””
Matthew 7:24-27 ESV
Prayer:
Father, thank you for calling us to you through your Son Jesus, and thank you for giving us the belief and faith it takes to establish a true and loving relationship with Him, and you. Thank you for your gift of grace that came within the body of Jesus, and saved us, and is not of our doing, but of your mercy and love for us. Your gift of faith manifested in our belief identifies us as your loving children that worship and love you with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who came to us as sinners, those dead in our transgressions, and redeemed us by grace. Praised be your name for the belief and faith that you have grown within us, and which now completes us… planted by grace, watered by love, and made whole through the blood of Jesus. Cut us, test us, and we pray that you will find us pure in Christ. Jesus, hear us cry out “Lord, Lord” and recognize our voices. Call us each by name and present us to our Heavenly Father as worthy of His eternal reward, and to stand in His presence forevermore.
“even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”
Ephesians 2:5-7 ESV
Rich Forbes