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Devotion Archive

True Faith: Judgement #96
29th January 2010

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Good Morning Cherished Ones,

You'll remember that for the last couple of weeks, the Holy Spirit guided me to write about questions we should ask ourselves in examining our lives. These arose out of the comparison of Christ's Sermon on the Mount words from MT 7: 13-14 [the narrow gate] and LK 13: 22-30 [the narrow door]. These are the questions we asked so far: 1) Have we taken the narrow way in our own lives? 2) Is the Lord in leadership in our lives? 3) Do we use the foundation of God's word in making decisions, choice of our words, and in our actions? And today, we will pick up with 4) Are we willing to witness accurately to the truth to others? My addition of the word "accurately" in that question needs some attention. During the time of the early church, there was an effort, seen in the Scriptures, to get the teaching all on one page-God's page. There was a meeting in Jerusalem, as seen in AC 15. Beforehand there were some men who came from Judea to Antioch and stared to teach that you cannot be saved unless you are circumcised, as the Law of Moses requires. Paul and Barnabas got into a fierce argument with them over this matter, so it was decided that Paul and Barnabas and some of the other in Antioch should go to Jerusalem and see the apostles. It was decided that Paul and Barnabas should preach to the Gentiles, and that it was too much of a burden to place on them to require circumcision [AC 15: 1-11]. I can't help but think of the words to "Just As We Are" that wonderful hymn that is sung at the Billy Graham crusades. After a long debate on the subject, Peter uttered, in (11), "No! We believe and are saved by the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they are."

Another such example comes in AC 18: 24-26, when Paul's friends, Priscilla and Aquila took Apollos to their home in Ephesus. Apollos was a fine teacher, but had only been teaching about the baptism of John. Priscilla and Aquila helped him to understand the part he didn't know about, and Apollos later went to the believers in Achaia, becoming a great help to those who had become believers. The believers in Ephesus wrote to the believers in Achaia, urging them to welcome Apollos. It's this author's opinion that Christianity would never have spread over the world from the time of the early church or survived the test of time had not the agreed upon theology been in line with God's will.

The remaining component of this fourth question has to do with our own willingness to look for God-given opportunities to witness once we have a good, accurate working knowledge of the word of God. This process calls for diligence in looking for opportunities, courage in dealing with that opposition, and with a lifestyle lived in Christ. COL 3: 1-4, "You have been raised to life with Christ, so set your hearts on the things that are in haven, where Christ sits on His throne at the right side of God. Keep your minds fixed on things there, not on things here on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. Your real life is Christ and when He appears, then you too will appear with Him and share His glory!" These words are particularly precious to me, because I have lived an existence without Christ and know what a blessing it is to finally have a life with Him in leadership. Does this mean I'm perfect? Of course not-far from it! It just means that I can perceive the difference and am making a conscious choice to live with Him in my life. I want my life to be "hidden with Christ in God." I find inner peace when I place my priorities in heaven rather than on earth. On earth, I'm an elderly woman with chronic health issues, constant pain, and a lot of financial stress. In heaven, God has told me I will be fully healed, without pain or sorrow, and that I will be enjoying the rewards God promises for people who are victors over the adversary in His Son's name. Money isn't a part of it. My age, body type, career, educational background, etc. won't matter, because I will be a child of God just like everyone else there.

There are two ways that we witness to the truth, by words and by example. Some of us are given a talent for words more than others. Some are better scholars than others on the word of God. But everyone who is a believer can set an example within the circumstances of his life for others who don't yet believe or need their faith strengthened. Those who God chooses to eventually come to faith will recognize the impact that belief in Jesus Christ has on the believer's life. I have a friend who is a very quiet lady. God has given her the talent to paint and sculpt as a means of witnessing to her faith. Her art work is noticed. Another friend writes like a dream, leads disaster relief programs, and stood by her husband's victorious battle against cancer and job discrimination. They witness by example. And still another friend can spellbind an audience when she speaks to them about the reasons for her faith. Each friend is a powerful witness for the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I know that God placed me amidst these and other believers to me a stronger believer and a better servant. It is my hope that He is using my life as a witness to others who wish they had my inner peace. God loves each and every one of His human creation, even though so many of us fall short of pleasing and honoring Him [RO 3: 23]. PS 29:11, "The Lord will give strength unto His people; the Lord will bless His people with peace."

PRAYER: O Lord, we come before Your throne to ask You to use Your power "to transform us inwardly by the renewal of our mind" [RO 12: 2], so that our lives can be examples of powerful witness to Your truths. We "offer ourselves as living sacrifices to You, dedicated to Your service and pleasing to You" [RO 12: 1]. We know this is true worship that we should offer. The most powerful example of faithful obedience You ever gave us was that of Your Son, Who the night of His arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane uttered, LK 22: 42, "Father, if You will, take this cup of suffering away from Me. Not My will, however, by Your will be done." He then, without complaint and with full opportunity to choice otherwise, suffered, went to the cross, and took to His physical death the sins of the world upon Him. He did this in response to a prophecy made 300 years before this Atonement. IS 53: 4-5, "Surely He took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered Him stricken by God, smitten by Him, and afflicted. But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed." Dearest Abba, Your Son was perfect and suffered this ignominious death for us. We are far from perfect [RO 3: 23] and yet, You loved us enough to have sacrificed Your only begotten Son, so that we might be made Your friends, come alive in Him, and eternally forgiven [RO 5: 10-11; RO 6: 5, 9, & 11; HE 8: 12]. We pray to You that we make 1 JN 4: 12 true, "No on has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and His love is made complete in us." We ask You to give us Your words to say, ability to recognize when to say them and to whom to say them, and the courage to make our lives a witness to our faithful obedience to You. We ask these things because of our love for You and our recognition that "every good thing I have comes from You," [PS 16: 2]. We honor, praise, and thank You, in the holy and mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Next week, I have been commanded to begin writing about discerning false teaching. It's the reason the Holy Spirit instructed me to spend so much time on this message on the issue of preparing oneself to witness with accuracy. When we have the reverence and respect that God wants us to have for His word, we position ourselves to have little equivocation about what is His will. There is a great difference between being slaves of a human master or idol and slaves to righteousness as God clearly defines it in His word. He wants those who don't yet believe to see the peace we have as believers and want that for themselves. I personally have been accused by rejecters of Christ of using my faith as a "crutch" to help me avoid the pain in our lives. I rebuff this wrongful statement, knowing full well that believers on earth go through as much suffering and loss as anyone else. The big difference comes in knowing that the Lord will never give us a trial that will break our spirit [1 COR 10: 13]. Instead, he makes other believers as "iron sharpens iron" [PR 27: 17] so we can learn from one another. He also stays with us through our challenges, giving us His outstretched hand to help us through them, step by step. His purpose in letting us go through these challenges and losses is to strengthen our faith and dependence on Him. This is because He wants us to know that those of us who know we are in need of His intervention are truly God's children. MT 5: 3, "Blessed are those who are poor in spirit; they will inherit the Kingdom." Despite how difficult our trials are for us, He will never abandon us [PS 9: 9-10]. May God be forever praised and thanked for His patient, wise, and compassionate love for us!

Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn

© Lynn Johnson 2012. All Rights Reserved.

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