Category: Jesus

There is a time when shame is proper. In fact, the Lord rebuked His people through a prophet of old for being in sin and feeling no shame. “‘Are they ashamed of their loathsome conduct? No, they have no shame at all; they do not even know how to blush. So they will fall among the fallen; they will be brought down when I punish them,’ says the Lord.” (Jeremiah 6:15)

But some types of shame are undeserved. One may be humiliated for simply loving Jesus. What should a person do with this shame? It sounds strange, but Jesus says, “Rejoice!” “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matthew 5:11-12)

I think there is another type of shame that may come to one who follows Jesus. This is the shame Job felt when everything in his life went wrong. When a person is free from sin and walking in fellowship with the Lord and everything crashes down, shame can easily attack. This type of shame is a weapon of the devil that targets confidence, faith, and hope. “If he was really a servant of God, he would not be in that condition.” “If she really loved the Lord, He would heal her.” “God would never let such a terrible thing happen to a Christian that pleased Him.” The friends of Job offered some strong religious arguments with just one serious flaw… they were wrong.

Sometimes God ordains such shame to be a part of the lives of His children. Never was this proven so true as in the method of Jesus’ death. In those days, a cross equated with shame. While watching Him hang, the rare individual said, “Surely this was the Son of God.” The common thought was, “This could never be the Son of God! Would God ever subject one He loved to such a humiliating death?”

Jesus gives His followers the way to handle such shame. To scorn means “to reject as unworthy”, and this is what Jesus did with shame. We thank God that He did not scorn the Cross, but we rejoice that He scorned the shame. May we follow in His steps this new year.

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so you will not grow weary and lose heart.” Hebrews 12:1-3

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God…” Romans 12:1

In the day this was written, sacrifice involved an altar and fire. It still does. Will we get on the altar? Will we remain in His consuming fire?

My family thought I was quite ignorant last week when I asked what would happen if I took the iron poker out of the fire and placed on a newspaper. My sixteen year old son sarcastically replied, “What do you think will happen, Dad? Of course, the newspaper will catch on fire.”

But it was not so simple. The fire had just started when I first tried my experiment. Nothing happened when I placed the iron on the paper. So I put the poker back in and let it remain about ten minutes. This time the newspaper was irritated a bit, but it still did not catch on fire. It was only after I stuck the poker in the hottest part of the fire and left it a long time that the newspaper ignited when touched by the iron.

In our enthusiasm, we may want to hop off the altar and set the world ablaze. But the Lord says, “Remain in Me and know that I am a consuming fire. I will burn away your impurities and teach you about Myself. My Spirit will burn within you, and you shall be salt and light in this dark world.” When two “unschooled, ordinary men” witnessed mightily about the risen Christ in Acts 4, people recognized a simple fact: “… and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.”

“Lord, let us take the time to be with Jesus.” In this special week of the year, we remember how the Savior came to live on earth. He now longs to live in the hearts of all men. May we be among those who welcome Him!

I thank God for each of you. Your prayers and encouragement are such gifts to me and my family. I pray God will bless you all with peace and joy this holiday season.

Love,
Dana

I remember a home Taylor and I got to visit in one of the villages of Benin. There were few of the common things we find in our houses (including electricity), but there was no shortage of joy. The husband in the family rode a bicycle with a little license plate containing these French words: JESUS SEUL SUFFIT. When I asked my brother what this meant, I learned a secret. JESUS ALONE IS SUFFICIENT, or more simply put, my brother explained, JESUS IS ENOUGH.

This was Paul’s secret too. He had intelligence, he had education, he had health, he had position in society… but he surrendered all to gain Christ. “I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ – the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.”

What blessings did Paul receive in his pursuit? Perhaps he gained the same things I saw in the home of Germaine and Pierrette in West Africa: contentment, joy, peace… the fruit of the Holy Spirit. “Jesus is enough for us. We don’t need much to be happy. We have everything in Christ.” Or as Paul put it: “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.”

Who gives such strength? Who is our hope? He wants us to know Him. He wants us to know He alone is sufficient. He wants us to know His love that surpasses all knowledge. He wants us to be filled with the Spirit of the Living God.

I think if Paul could pray for us now, he would pray the same things he prayed for the Ephesians long ago: “I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe… I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge – that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”

Amen

Some of the commands of Jesus and the apostles are impossible to obey unless Christ lives in us. “Love your enemies.” Who can do such a thing but Christ? Out of my own effort, I may be able to turn the other cheek, but will there be sincere love in my heart for the one who strikes me?

“Do not worry.” Who can do this in his own strength? And to make it even more difficult, we are commanded to rejoice! Who but Christ can rejoice through the worries of this world?

“Give thanks in all circumstances.” Even in this terrible trial? How?

“Be perfect, therefore, even as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Impossible! I confess I don’t measure up… but Jesus does. My hope as a Christian is to know that Christ lives in me. “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

I was His enemy, yet He loved me enough to lay down His life. I fail when I let my own desires rule, but if I die to myself and abide in Him, He promises to live in me. This is my hope for loving as He does. Apart from Him I cannot.

Jesus did not worry because He knew His Father was in control. He slept in the raging storm while the disciples were terrified. Many things terrify us, but when we surrender our fears to the One above all, we receive a “peace that passes all understanding”. The One who spoke the word to calm the storm is the Source of true peace.

Jesus could give thanks in all circumstances for He knew He was in His Father’s will. Oh for this confidence! If we are in the Father’s will we can sincerely thank Him in every situation, knowing God is over all. If we are not in His will, we must run to Jesus. “Come to Me” is His constant invitation. What a Savior we have! (notice the last line of the Scripture below)

“Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else. Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not put out the Spirit’s fire; do not treat prophecies with contempt. Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil. May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus. The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.” I Thessalonians 5:15-24

I got five immunization shots last week. (My arm is still sore!) My immune system is only a year and a half old, so they gave me the same shots they give babies. I received this new immune system through an amazing procedure called a stem cell transplant. Stem cells are the powerful cells God put in our bone marrow to produce other cells in our body. Since other treatments were ineffective in knocking back the cancer, it was proposed we go this route.

I often thought, “Why can’t they just give me a pill?” But such a strategy would not deal with the root of the problem. “Why can’t they just do surgery and cut the cancer out?” But the problem is in the blood and you can’t simply remove a person’s blood. A radical approach was needed, but one that had some hope of success. The only way to kill the cancer cells was to kill all the cells in my blood – red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. Of course, this leaves one without an immune system – which is quite dangerous (and not much fun). Here was the doctor’s explanation: “We will take the stem cells out of your bone marrow, then kill all the cells in your blood with high dose chemotherapy, then re-inject your stem cells and wait for them to build a cancer-free immune system.” Being the patient man I am, I asked if there were things I could do to hurry this process along. The answer was a firm “no”. I had to be content to do as I was told and trust such a procedure to work.

God has provided an even greater remedy for a graver problem we all have in common. We know we have sinned, and we thank God for the forgiveness of sins through Jesus. But what about the root? Are we sinners because we sin? Or do we sin because we are sinners? Scripture reveals that our very flesh (or our sinful nature) is the problem (read Romans 7). God knows we need forgiveness, but He is far wiser than one who just pulls the bad fruit off a tree and says everything is alright.

We would be content to attack the root of the problem a different way. “If I can just do some good things to make up for my mistakes, surely God will forgive me.” “If I can just get some good advice, I’ll improve my habits and be a better person.” “If I go to church every time the doors open, surely God will overlook my evil heart.” Such things may ease the conscience a bit, but they do not deal with the root. God does not want to simply improve a sinful heart; He wants to give a new one. He plainly sees every soul as righteous or unrighteous. The righteous have all been given this gift through faith in Jesus. The unrighteous have trusted in something else.

We ask the same question people did when Jesus walked the earth: “What must we do to do the work God requires?” Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.” He is the Lamb that takes away the sin of the world. In Him there is forgiveness. In Him there is true life. The Holy Spirit is given to all who fully trust in Him. Such a gift is far greater than a new immune system!

“… For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast…” Ephesians 2:1-10

“… Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation…” II Corinthians 5:14-21