Faith Made Perfect

Some people buy vehicles for transportation, and others want to make a statement with their selection.  And there are those who adorn their cars with literal statements called bumper stickers.  Love them or hate them, where I lived in southern California vehicles were commonly plastered with them.  Besides a Local 5 Union sticker, I had one notable sticker for years I found on the Living Waters website:

1 April this year fell on Easter Sunday for the first time in recent memory, and after a online search to appease my curiosity I discovered 1956 was the last time this occurred - a bit before my time!  It is ironic a day remembered by deceiving and pranking others would be the day commemorating Resurrection Sunday.  The resurrection of Jesus Christ is no joke but a substantiated historical event and divine triumph which impacts believers and sceptics alike.  If Jesus did not rise from the dead Christianity is a farce, but if Jesus Christ did rise from the dead to dismiss it would be grave folly.  The resurrection of Jesus demonstrates the victory of Jesus over sin and death, and it is assurance Jesus will return to judge all who reject Him (Acts 17:30-31).

As the sticker points out, the Bible describes those who deny the existence of God as fools, but we believers have no footing to be smug about this.  Wise people can make foolish choices, which could be defined as making decisions without considering what God has said in the Word and He knows all things.  In the hearts and minds of Christians we too can play the fool, giving place to worry and fear when Jesus is risen and glorified.  If we ever are tempted to point fingers at the faults or hypocrisies of others, realise we are no better.  Having hearts that acknowledge God's existence and salvation through the Gospel, let us faithfully honour Him with our decisions and plans, seeking His guidance as we rest in Him.

James 2:19-22 reads, "You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe--and tremble! ²⁰ But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? ²¹ Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? ²² Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect?"  If we acknowledge the existence and wisdom of God, it follows we ought to practice what He says.  Genuine faith will be confirmed through obedience as the life of Abraham reveals.  Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him as righteousness.  Abraham was not deemed righteous because he was obedient, but his faith in God was demonstrated through obedience.  Praise the LORD for the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the empty tomb still speaks to all who will heed with far more impact than a bumper sticker.

God Answers Our Prayer

In the mornings I have been reading through the book of Ezra which details the return of the children of Israel to Jerusalem.  Ezra was a priest and scribe who not only led exiles back to the land God provided them, but taught them the Law of God.  His knowledge of God was not theory but to be put into practice.  Familiarity with doctrine does us no good unless we apply it personally to our lives.

I was impressed with Ezra's leadership in Ezra 8:21-23:  "Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from Him the right way for us and our little ones and all our possessions. ²² For I was ashamed to request of the king an escort of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy on the road, because we had spoken to the king, saying, "The hand of our God is upon all those for good who seek Him, but His power and His wrath are against all those who forsake Him." ²³ So we fasted and entreated our God for this, and He answered our prayer."  What can pass for spiritual leadership today can be no different than following a business structure or a cult of personality.  Ezra had been chosen by the king of Persia to fulfil a great task, but Ezra did not appeal to his "authority" granted by God or the king:  he led the people to seek the LORD with prayer and fasting so they might be led and protected by the Almighty King of kings.

The scriptures demonstrate this is true spiritual leadership, to lead people in following God - not seeking to make loyal followers of self.  Ezra had been bold to speak of the power of the great God of Israel to the king of Persia, and he would have felt a hypocrite to beg for assistance when their enemy waited to attack them on the road.  Wasn't God able to safely escort them to His desired destination?  Ezra and the people fasted and humbled themselves before God, and simply said God graciously "...answered our prayer."  God did not respond to the prayers of His people because they afflicted themselves, paying their divine dues to sacrifice comfort for the blessing and guidance of God.  God answered the prayers of His people because He had promised and delighted to do so.  Ezra and the people sought the LORD in fasting not to earn an audience with God but denied themselves in their fervent desire to draw near to God in faith.

As believers we can make the mistake of assuming God will bless our own plans by virtue of our belief in Him rather than seeking Him for guidance and wisdom.  God's people ought to seek Him rather than leaning on their own understanding, anointed and called as they might be.  This is not a hard lesson to learn, but it is a challenge to remember and practice.  As children of God may we be as His hungry little ones, running to Him so He might supply our needs.  When our children were little we would instruct them to ask us before they ate or drank whatever was on offer:  is it unreasonable for God to desire the same for us?  In the scope of life's decisions one snack or meal is a small decision.  If we will trust God united as one, then let us seek Him as Ezra did, trusting He will hear our cries and answer our prayer.

The Risen Healer

Good Friday and Easter is a great reminder of the death of Jesus on the cross and His subsequent resurrection.  The body of Jesus, marred beyond recognition, would be raised victorious in divine glory.

I have heard it said "Time heals all wounds," but even cursory thought reveals this to be a myth.  Not only is time incapable of healing anyone in itself, it offers no hope of genuine comfort.  How did this cliche hold up as stones crushed the skull of Stephen?  What would it profit to wax poetical over the body of Paul as the executioners blade decapitated him?  Say, "Time heals all wounds" to the mother whose infant son was stolen or to the husband whose wife has left him.  Employ this view to the boy or girl who has been raped by a supposed friend.  Go ahead and say it, but it doesn't mean it is true.

During His life Jesus Christ healed many people, many of them suffering from incurable conditions and illnesses.  He opened the eyes of men born blind, healed the flow of blood from a poor woman, healed the lame, cleansed lepers, cast out demons, and even raised people from the dead.  I wonder what people thought when the Healer bled out on a cross and was buried in a tomb.  "He healed others but could not heal Himself," they may have sneered.  Yet all the scorn and mockery was revealed to be unfounded when Jesus Christ rose from the dead after three days.  He accomplished more than the healing of His physical body but was resurrected in a glorified, immortal form.  How glorious is the empty tomb and our risen LORD!

Time heals no wounds, but Jesus who is the same yesterday, today, and forever remains a Healer.  He is able to administer a cure no medicine can boast, the forgiveness of sins and granting of eternal life.  The dead are still raised to life as the love and power of Jesus Christ is perpetuated through the Gospel.  In Jesus is redemption, reconciliation, and everlasting hope.  Christ does not offer sentiment but salvation, and He lives forevermore!

Jesus and Heart Transplants

I was recently made aware of a young woman who needs a heart transplant.  While considering her life-threatening condition, it struck me that for her need for a new heart to be supplied someone else would first need to die.  As we approach Good Friday and Easter, the words of Jesus Christ come to mind in John 12:24-25:  "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain. ²⁵ He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life."  The woman waiting for a heart transplant undoubtedly hopes for a "new lease on life," but only Jesus provides abundant and eternal life without disease, pain, or medication.

Jesus did not demand His followers die to prove their loyalty to Him:  He willingly chose to die for those who despised and rejected Him.  Jesus Christ was willing for His blood to be poured out like water and His skin to be ripped into ribbons in obedience to the Father for the joy which was before Him.  If I was to offer my heart as a transplant for someone else, I could at best help one person.  Often a heart transplant isn't successful because the rejection of the transplanted organ is a common complication.  But Jesus, when He laid down His life by being lifted up on Calvary's cross, provided new life for all people who will repent and believe in Him.  This is the Gospel truth for all people we celebrate this day and every day, that by faith in Jesus who was broken His followers are made whole.

The life Jesus Christ gives is not just better but a new life lived with the benefit of a new heart.  The promise of God was spoken by the prophet to the nation Israel under Law has been expanded to all people by the New Covenant in Christ's blood in Ezekiel 36:26-27:  "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. ²⁷ I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them."  A recipient of a heart transplant needs to take medications for the remainder of her life to prevent the body from rejecting the heart, and God gives us a new heart and the Holy Spirit.  Our unregenerate heart spiritually resembled stone:  hard, stubborn, without feeling, and incapable of supporting life.  When we are born again through the Gospel, Jesus gives us a heart of flesh that is soft, tender, and full of life.  The life is in the blood, and it is the blood of Jesus which washes us from all sin.

Loving your unregenerate life leads to loss of it, but those who are willing to deny self and follow Jesus discover new, abundant, and eternal life through faith in Him.  Have you been brought to a place where you can say, "I hate my life in this world?"  Do not despair if this describes well your feelings and thoughts concerning your life, for there is hope in Jesus.  The curse of sin is dragging you to eternal damnation and torment in hell, but Jesus came to set the captives free!  After dying on the cross, He rose from the dead victorious over sin and death - and that is the victory He provides for all who repent and trust in Him.  Do you need a new heart?  Only Jesus can give you the new heart you need.  A heart transplant only prolongs life on earth, but Jesus gives eternal life which is for today and always.