Are You A Keeper?

I was impacted by an interaction recorded in the book Same Kind of Different As Me to illustrate friendship.  A man named Denver made the observation how some fishermen practice "catch and release."  They are into fishing for sport.  After catching, weighing, or taking a photo, the fish is released.  Denver had no interest in catching a fish only to release it.  Catching a whopper brought the town together to celebrate the catch and share a delicious meal.  The point driven home to me is friendship is for keeps.  If you genuinely love someone, you won't let them go.  You will always hold a friend close in your heart even if time or distance separates.

Matt Redman wrote a song titled "You Never Let Go" which enforces how God treats us all like "keepers" though we have never measured up.  As sinners we have fallen dreadfully short of His righteous standards, yet out of His love for us God embraces and adopts us as His own through the Gospel.  This divine acceptance is all of grace, and it is received when we repent and place our faith in Jesus Christ as LORD.  Jesus called His disciples friends, and all who will be His friends will keep His commands.

The chorus of Redman's song says, "Oh no, You never let go through the calm and through the storm...in every high and every low. Oh no, You never let go Lord. You never let go of me."  Our grip on God grows weak and weary as we are beset by anxieties and cares.  No matter the trial or trouble God keeps us close, and no one is able to snatch us out of God's hand.  I am in wonder of the grace of God that when we were in complete rebellion against God He pursued us and bid us draw near to Him in faith.  It is one thing to gather your little own ones in your arms, but another thing to reach out to stubborn rebels.  Push Him away, try to silence Him if you want, but as long as we live on this earth He will not stop seeking us out and calling our names.  We cannot drown out the voice of truth or comfortably numb our conscience from the Saviour who will have us for His eternal inheritance.

Fall on your face in worship, man!  David's musings echo in my soul of the excellence of the LORD in Psalm 8:3-4:  "When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained, ⁴ what is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him?"  Dust we are and to dust we will return, yet the love and life given through Christ endures forever.  1 Peter 1:3-5 says, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴ to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, ⁵ who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time."  All who will submit to being caught by the Gospel God deems a keeper.

God doesn't do "catch and release" when we fail.  He's a God who keeps His redeemed by His power through faith for eternal salvation.  Repentance leads to restoration of fellowship with God by His grace.  God loves and never lets go.  Should you choose to go your own way, don't be surprised when He hunts you down and speaks kindly to you.  What grace!

Identifying with Christ

Jesus came to save sinners.  Once we are freed from the power and penalty of sin, the Holy Spirit provides all we need to know and do God's will.  Living in these bodies of flesh makes it a real challenge to walk uprightly.  I am a sinner and need a Saviour, and if I have truly repented I ought not consciously sin any more.  Paul asked rhetorical questions which have obvious answers in Romans 6:1-2:  "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? ² Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?"

When we are born again through faith in Jesus Christ, we are made new.  Our bodies stay the same, but our eternal souls have been raised to new life.  We ought to make a clean break between who we were and who we are by God's grace because we now know God and find our identity in Him.  1 Corinthians 6:9-11 says, "Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, ¹⁰ nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. ¹¹ And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God."

God is able to take a thief and transform him into a man whose honesty is a reflection of His own.  He takes a fornicator burning with lust and gives him power and discipline to walk in purity.  God takes sexually immoral people and cleanses them, causing their hearts to desire to please God over self.  Drunks and extortioners and liars need not be resigned to the chains which bound them to sin and ruled their lives, for now Jesus has become their LORD and Saviour.  Having been washed of the stains of sin, our previous way of living is to be relegated to a previous life which was drowning in perdition and sinking towards eternal destruction.

Praise the LORD He is able to change us completely so we can be as God intended us to be.  The world tries many means to squish us into its mould, but no worldly mould is suitable for a child of God.  Let us reckon the old man dead and sin also dead to us.  We will not entertain or make room for it any more because now we know it leads to death.  We will not justify sin in denial of God's Word and the conviction of the Holy Spirit.  Sin slyly dolls itself up like Jezebel with her tiered head and painted face to look attractive, but let's not be fooled.  To sleep with her is to court death.  Since we love our Saviour Jesus, we will obey Him at any cost.  Jesus has paid the price for our atonement and salvation, and He also empowers us to pay the price He is worthy of daily.

God Supplies Needs

I like the occasion in scripture when Elisha provided for a widow in a miraculous (and memorable!) way.  She was unable to pay off a loan and the creditor demanded her two sons as bondslaves.  In desperation she contacted Elisha the prophet.  He said, "What do you have in the house?"  The poor woman said, "Nothing, except a pot of oil."

2 Kings 4:3-4 says, "Then he said, "Go, borrow vessels from everywhere, from all your neighbours--empty vessels; do not gather just a few. ⁴ And when you have come in, you shall shut the door behind you and your sons; then pour it into all those vessels, and set aside the full ones."  This is a strange directive, isn't it?  How could one pot of oil fill so many?  The woman wisely did not question the man of God but obeyed.  It says in verse 5, "So she went from him and shut the door behind her and her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured it out."  And pour it out she did.  As long as there was another pot to pour into, the oil continued to flow.  According to her obedience she received oil she sold and paid off the debt, delivering her sons from slavery.

One lesson we can glean from this passage is God will supply all the needs of His people, and He will do it however and whenever He wants.  We feel comfortable with money in the bank, with "liquid assets" we can utilise at our convenience so we don't have to trust God.  Having a surplus provides a sense of security the flesh craves, but often God provides strength as we need it.  We are called to trust God whether we have millions in our account or live paycheck to paycheck - even when there is no paycheck!  We make a mistake to limit God by our perceived lack because God has promised to supply our needs.  Paul affirmed in Philippians 4:19, "And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus."

When we have God, we have all we need.  We are able to experience the fullness of His grace when we trust and obey Him.  Praise the LORD how He can take these empty vessels and fill us with His Spirit!

Bookmarks and Commitment

Diligence is a good virtue to cultivate.  It is easy with the busyness of life to procrastinate or neglect important duties.  We start tasks with good intentions but for some reason completing them can elude us for weeks, months, and years.  We are exhorted in whatever we do in Colossians 3:23 to do it heartily as unto the LORD.  God requires stewards to be faithful, and in His strength we can do all He asks of us.

Jesus said in Luke 16:10, "He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much."  Because we are limited by time, ability, and resources, we prioritise tasks.  The completion of tasks large or small requires commitment with focused labour to that end.  It helps when we prioritise unfinished tasks (in most cases) before we embark on new ones.  Progressing and completing even a small task moves us in a positive direction.

Whenever I have a new book to read (I have a bit of a pile at the moment!), for me placing a bookmark within the pages is a commitment to finish that book.  Not all books which we begin reading are worthy of being completed, but for me the bookmark is a helpful - even a necessary reminder to finish what I have started.  Finishing a book is a little thing in the scope of life, but the words of Jesus remind me how important faithfulness and diligence are.  What we say we should do, and even a little scrap of paper sends a message I have made a commitment and should follow through.

Are there any commitments or tasks you have begun but for whatever reason have remained undone?  At the culmination of a life lived for the LORD He will commend His faithful servants.  Life is comprised of countless little jobs, and at the end of every little task done unto the LORD we can take to heart His words:  "Well done, good and faithful servant.  Enter into the joy of the LORD."  My commitment can be weak and faulty, but our God is faithful to supply our every need.  Praise the LORD He is fully committed to us and will never leave or forsake us!