Category Archives: Righteousness

Hardly Fair

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Bambi vs. Godzilla was hardly a fair fight.  Haven’t seen it?  Here’s the link:  https://youtu.be/8s3UogfAGg0    Go ahead and check it out; we’ll see you soon…

There would be no betting on Bambi vs. Godzilla because the outcome would be absolutely certain.  Same thing if you spot a spider in your bathtub.  Stomp, splat, the end.  Cool way to start a devotional blog, eh?  

But there’s a point coming.  Keep the certainty of those outcomes in mind the next time you find yourself struggling with the devil.  Temptation seems so strong but, when you put your whole trust in Jesus, He promises to come and make His home within you. 

Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.  (John 14:23) 

When you remember He is there and turn Him loose, it’s not a fair fight.  

1 John 4:4

Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

I heard a guy say, “Whenever Satan knocks on my door, I say, ‘Jesus, it’s for you…'”   That’s good advice, but the outcome is hardly fair.

Futility

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It is futile to keep doing something that does not work. It is futile to push the elevator button after the first time.  It is futile to attempt to clean up your act and connect  to God by following religious regulations.  Religion that consists of do’s and don’ts doesn’t work. Like the elevator button, however, it seems like it might work if you just keep at it.  That kind of religion reminds me of people using slot machines.  Futility.  They do the same, ineffective thing, over and over, hoping for a better result next time.

Strict religious rules, Paul said, “… have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.”   (Colossians 2:23)

I mean no disrespect.  I am not criticizing sincere motives of people who practice religious ritual.  But, what they do is futile.  If you are trying to close the gap between yourself and God, trying to repair what has been broken in your soul, there is a better way.  One that works.  God has promised to fix what is broken, freely and thoroughly, if you will trust His Son.  

Peter said it like this:

“… [Those who trust Jesus have been]  ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ…”  (1Peter 1:18b-1:19a)

Practice Makes Perfect

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Dad installed a chinup bar in a doorway and used it everyday.  He challenged me to a contest when I was visiting.  I was amazed at his stamina but still beat him – hey, I was 30 years younger.  But now, at the age he was, there’s no way I could measure up to what he did then.  Unless I practiced.  The training regimen of olympic athletes is scary intense.  They punish themselves with every greater challenges til they know they can push through them.

In a similar way, we are encouraged to accept the various trials of life as opportunities to train our faith and develop our capacity to patiently push through.  

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.  (James 1:2-4)

To test a diving board, you jump on it, tentatively at first but then with greater and greater force.  If you can’t break it then you know it will hold you.  You trust it  Same thing with faith; you jump on it to know if it will hold.  You test faith with trials.  As you learn your faith will hold, you become more able to endure life’s trials with steadfastness.  You become “perfect and complete,” in the sense that you are “good to go” in the faith department.  The faith is not in your own toughness but in Jesus’ ability to hold you safe, no matter what.  Like this:

For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.  (Romans 8:38-39)

Eager for Beauty

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When the Olympics begin, make a point of watching the faces and body posture of the athletes who are waiting for their chance to compete.  When a beautiful dive has been executed, you can see admiration on their faces, but, more than that, determination to do better.  When a record has been broken, the runners waiting want to break it better.  They are eager for the chance.

Jesus came, according to Paul’s letter to Titus, and:

14 …”gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.”   (Titus 2:14b)

The word translated, good, literally means “beautiful.”  When people have been “redeemed from all wickedness,” the things they are eager to do are truly beautiful.  Not just inoffensive, or plain vanilla, but strikingly beautiful!  You know the video on the ‘net of the basketball team who rallied around the boy with special needs and gave him a chance to score the winning basket?  That kind of beauty.  The kind that is seen through a tear of inspiration.

Craftsmen are eager to “do what is beautiful.”  They are not content with ordinary.  They want people to experience an uplifting thrill.  Jesus had it in mind for His people to be craftsmen of beautiful things.  I wish Christian films “out-Spielberged” Spielberg instead of putting up with simplistic plots and mediocre acting.  I wish Christian music transported people to new heights.  I wish everything done to honor Jesus’ great love and grace would be known for astonishing beauty.

According to Paul, so does Jesus…

Special Treatment for the Corrupt

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They didn’t say it out loud, but the people in line resented me as I was ushered to the front and given the best seat on Space Mountain in Disneyland.  “Hey, Buddy, we been standing in line for an hour…”  They didn’t say it because they assumed I was some important celebrity who naturally would receive special treatment.  (Actually, I simply knew a guy who worked the ride.)  We have gotten used to it when so-called important people get the best seats, free tickets, etc.  I suppose all that, as screwy as it is (because they could most afford to pay for those perks…), is relatively harmless.

But, in fact, those same important people sometimes also get a free pass when they break the law.  Most of us grudgingly accept that, too, knowing there is little we can do about it.  Perhaps it would help to know that God is angry about it too.  He says,

22 Woe to those …
23 who acquit the guilty for a bribe,
but deny justice to the innocent.    (Isaiah 5:22a & 23)

Those who get away with breaking the law, who think they deserve special treatment because they are better or more powerful than the rest of us, should pay careful attention to the first word quoted above, “Woe…”  “Woe” may not seem to be such a deal unless you remember that it was dictated by Almighty God.  If your neighbor’s kid says, “Woe…” to you, you might shrug it off.  But if it turns out he’s a champion fighter in the UFC, well, then you got a problem.  But if God says, “Woe…” you’ve got a whole lot more than a mere problem.  Here’s what God has planned for those to whom He says, “Woe…”

24 Therefore, as tongues of fire lick up straw
and as dry grass sinks down in the flames,
so their roots will decay
and their flowers blow away like dust;
for they have rejected the law of the Lord Almighty
and spurned the word of the Holy One of Israel.  (Isaiah 5:24)

There will come a day, God says, when the corrupt will be destroyed as with fire and will no longer be able to propagate their injustice (their roots and flowers will decay and blow away).  If you have been angry about someone getting treated as though the laws do not apply, take heart.  However, while you are taking heart, also take note:  this outcome is for those who “have rejected the law of the Lord Almighty and spurned [His]… Word.”

Faithful

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“Stuff that works, stuff that holds up The kind of stuff you dont hang on the wall  Stuff thats real, stuff you feel  The kind of stuff you reach for when you fall… ” 

 That’s from a great song by Guy Clark, about things that don’t let you down.  You go to use a tool, or start a motor and the tool doesn’t slip or break and the motor starts – reliably.  You can count on it.  Or, you call a friend, knowing you can count on that person.  He or she will be there for you.  If they say they’ll do something, you don’t have to wonder or worry.

You want to be that guy, the one they know they can count on and trust.  In a word, you want to be faithful.  God is faithful.  He stakes His reputation on reliably doing what He said He would do.  Think how nice it would be to be known for that character trait.

Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart. So you will find favor and good success in the sight of God and man.

Proverbs 3:3 -:4
Good advice, that.  Be worthy of trust, like the stuff that works.

Old Wisdom

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In “When Nations Die,” Jim Nelson Black examined the common causes behind the fall of Carthage, Greece and Rome.  These powerful empires didn’t fail because they were attacked from outside; they rotted away from the inside with what Black calls “Social, Cultural and Moral Decay.”  Such decay results when the people abandon traditional wisdom and values.  People turn away from the mores and beliefs of the past and attempt to rewrite new ones, based on what they believe is new and more sophisticated thinking.   That’s what happened to Carthage.  The same process brought down the empire of Greece and then Rome.  We have seen similar attitudes and consequences in Europe and Not-so-Great-Anymore Britain.  And here.

You might think we would get the point.  That guy you just passed on the highway with his hood up?  He ignored his “Check Engine” light.  If we paid attention to history, we would see a bright, flashing “Check Engine” light on the dashboard of the United States.  But the prevailing attitude is to put tape over it and drive on.

This is more puzzling since we also see examples in history of nations that have returned to old wisdom and have prospered.  The Old Testament is full of such examples.  Rwanda is a present day demonstration of this truth.

But it’s not just any old wisdom that matters.  It’s not about hanging on to old superstitions and myths.  The old wisdom that is critical for national survival is grounded on a deep reverence for our Creator, God.  Standing in humble awe before the One for Whom quantum mechanics is two plus two.  Recognizing He just might know what works best.

1 My son, if you accept my words
and store up my commands within you,
2 turning your ear to wisdom
and applying your heart to understanding—
3 indeed, if you call out for insight
and cry aloud for understanding,
4 and if you look for it as for silver
and search for it as for hidden treasure,
5 then you will understand the fear of the Lord
and find the knowledge of God.
6 For the Lord gives wisdom;
from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.

Proverbs 2:1-6

Firm in What?

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Wars and rumours of war aren’t indicators of Jesus’ return.  Neither are famines and earthquakes.  Jesus called those things “the beginning of birth pains.”  First labor pains ordinarily indicate the start of an unstoppable progression of events but not the imminent conclusion of them.  So what indicators did Jesus say would tip us off the time was drawing close?   Among other signs, Jesus included this troubling thought:

 12 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold,  (Matthew 24:12)

The more we encounter wickedness, the more  tempted we are to respond in kind.  The recent sniping murder of Dallas policemen is a sad case in point.  Somebody thought, “Enough is enough; I’m going to make someone pay.”  That’s an extreme example.  Maybe you would never go that far.  But Jesus taught us to actually respond in the opposite way:

27 “…Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.”  (Luke 6:27b-28)

When most people find it too tough to respond to wickedness with love, that is a sign the end times are drawing to a close, that Jesus is coming soon.  What do you think?  Are we there yet?  Has the love of most grown cold?  If you had to make the call, based on your own attitudes, what would you say?  For me, that is a sobering question.

But don’t give up!  No matter what, don’t abandon love.  That first quote above is only the beginning of Jesus’ sentence.  Here’s the whole thing:

12 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold,  13 but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. (Matthew 24:12-13)

Stands firm in love.

Pay or Pray?

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Here’s some good news: you can be released from a spiritual death sentence if you send televangelist, Paula White, pastor of New Destiny Christian Center in Apopka, Florida, a mere $1144.  That’s what she said so it must be true.  She’ll even through in a prayer cloth with magical powers.  Better yet, I’ll give you a discount; I’ll knock off $144.  I don’t have the prayer cloths, but my promise of spiritual life is every bit as reliable and valuable as hers.  What a bargain…

I wonder if Ms. White knows about this event:

“Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’”  (Matthew 21:12-13)

When you pray, at a house of prayer or back home in private, you ask God to provide.  Money changers set up booths in the temple to make a profit (possibly an exorbitant profit) in order to provide for themselves.  If Jesus got so worked up about those guys, calling them “robbers,” how do you suppose He would respond to Paula’s offer to sell spiritual life for $1144?

If she charged 50 cents, it would be a ripoff.  Jesus gives spiritual life, eternal life away for free.  You don’t pay for it.  You pray for it.

Clean Hands, Dirty Heart

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Where was this Bible verse when I was growing up?

“to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.”  (Matthew 15:20b)

If I had only known.  Jesus said it; it must be true.  Gospel truth, no less.  I could have had that verse memorized and ready to quote at opportune moments.  Alas…   Of course, now I know better.  Jesus wasn’t giving hygiene instructions for little boys.  He was challenging hypocritical religious leaders, the ones who wanted to control others with nit-picky rules.  Jesus’ point was that righteousness (or the lack thereof) is determined by what is in our hearts and not by what may be smudging our hands.

“Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled? But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.” (Matthew 15:17-20)

Wash all you want and you cannot cleanse corruption of the heart.  Only the Holy Spirit, living within can pull that off.  Happily, that is exactly what God promises to do.

“Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord:
though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red like crimson,
they shall become like wool.

(Isaiah 1:18)

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just
to forgive us our sins and
to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  (1 John 1:9)