Listen and Obey

The following is more or less what I shared with my church family today:

Lately in Sunday school and church we’ve been talking about how the apostles and the early church in the book of Acts were available and obedient to what God called them to do through the Spirit’s prompting. I wanted to share a couple small opportunities that came my way this week.

As you know, Lawrence Efird’s body has been failing for quite some time. I had visited him at the rehab center, but hadn’t gone to see him in the hospital. I kept finding excuses not to go—first the holidays, then the busyness of work, and so on. And the worse he got, the easier it was to find reasons not to go. It’s not that I didn’t want to see him and Shirley, but I didn’t want to see him in that condition, for that to be my last memory of him. If you were at Dulin’s Grove last Sunday you heard Matt pointedly urging anyone who’d been thinking about it to go visit Lawrence, and then he preached on God’s authority and how we can’t call Jesus “Lord” if we won’t do what He says.

So I told God, “I get the message, I’ll go see Lawrence and Shirley.” But after church I started thinking, “Well, I can go Monday since I don’t have to work and will have more time,” trying to put it off again. But as the day wore on I kept hearing, “No, you need to go today.” So I finally got in the car and drove up there. I was nervous wondering who else might be there that I may or may not know. I arrived just as the girls were leaving, so it was just Lawrence and Shirley and Amy there. Shirley and I chatted for an hour or so, shared some tears, and prayed together before I left. When I got the word that Lawrence passed Sunday night, I wasn’t surprised, because I knew that God had a reason for me to go up there and not put it off one more day. I was glad that I had listened to His promptings when I did.

Then Tuesday after Phyllis Hord’s funeral, I went over to Burger King to grab some lunch before returning to work. While I was waiting in line, I heard the cashier asking the man in front of me, “Have you heard anything? Is he okay?” And the man answered, “No, he passed away Sunday.” Now I knew that couldn’t be a coincidence, but if you know me, you know that I don’t generally talk to people I don’t know. In fact, I often don’t talk to people I do know. But I felt compelled to ask, “Are you talking about Lawrence Efird?” And he said yes. It turns out it was Paul, who had often sat with Lawrence and Shirley and Pat for lunch at Burger King on Sundays. As I was talking to him and telling him how to get to the church, the manager came out and asked about Lawrence. I was able to write down the details on the arrangements for him. And I was glad to have the chance to be in the right place at the right time.

Thinking later about the fact that these “strangers” knew Lawrence well enough to want information about his funeral, I knew that it wasn’t just because he was a frequent customer, but because Lawrence never met a stranger. He would talk to anyone, and I’m sure that the conversations often turned to his faith, because that was what was most important to him. He wasn’t one to shirk opportunities that came his way.

I’ll be honest, when we started the Sunday school series on Acts and when I heard Matt was going to be preaching on Acts, I was less than enthusiastic. In my mind, Acts is a nice narrative of how God worked through the Apostles, but it doesn’t have a lot of theological meat to chew on, and I’m not sure how to apply it to “real” life. So I had reluctantly prayed that God would help me figure out what to do with this study. It turns out that God answers even reluctant prayers! He provides opportunities to apply His Word if we’ll just pay attention. It may be small things, but God still speaks and we have to choose whether to listen and obey. So my prayer for all of us is that we’ll learn to listen to the Spirit’s promptings and to obey Him all the time, not just when it is convenient or comfortable.

As I was getting ready to post this, I thought of the song “The Voice of Truth” and its reminder that we can step out in faith and not be afraid of whatever God calls us to do.

© 2018 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated all images are copyright free from pixabay.com.

Sealed

I keep thinking about a Christmas letter received from an acquaintance of the family. She’s an unmarried woman who joined the Mormon church many years ago. She reported in her letter that she’d been “sealed to her parents.” I didn’t know what that meant so I looked it up. According to Wikipedia: “The purpose of this ordinance is to seal familial relationships, making possible the existence of family relationships throughout eternity.” As a single woman, she would have been limited to a lower degree of the “celestial kingdom” without this ceremony. Wikipedia also states that the sealing is “valid only if both individuals have kept their religious commitments and followed LDS teachings.”

I am saddened by the deceptions perpetuated and accepted by so many people. At the same time, I am thankful that my eternal destiny is not dependent on my parents, a spouse, or any human ceremony. In fact, it’s not even dependent on my own ability to keep my religious commitments. Instead, Scripture says that our guarantee is from God Himself.

“And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, and who has also put His seal on us and given us His Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee” (2 Corinthians 1:21-22 ESV).

This sealing occurred at the moment of salvation, and is assured from now till eternity:

“In Him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in Him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of His glory” (Ephesians 1:13-14)

God’s seal upon us is not dependent on obedience, but is motivation for obeying Him:

“And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption” (Ephesians 4:30).

Eternal life is not dependent on who we’re related to on earth, but whether we’ve been adopted by God Himself:

“The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God” (Romans 8:16).

Salvation is a gift from God (Ephesians 2:8-9). Freedom from the guilt and power of sin is a gift (Romans 6:6-7). Sanctification is a gift (Ephesians 2:10). Eternal life with God is a gift (Romans 6:23). When we forget that, we often turn to manmade rituals to try to cleanse our consciences and assure ourselves that we’ll be okay. But if we’re honest, even our best efforts never feel good enough. There’s a lingering doubt that can only be relieved by trusting what God has said in Scripture.

One of my favorite Scriptures is 1 John 3:19-20: “By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before Him; for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and He knows everything.” The whole letter of 1 John is full of reminders and assurances that we can indeed know that we are forgiven and that we belong to God. We can one day enjoy eternity in relationship with the One who created us, redeemed us, and adopted us into His family. What more do we need?

“And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life” (1 John 5:11-13).

© 2018 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated all images are copyright free from pixabay.com.

Secure

I arrived home from my Christmas travels to find my back door kicked in and my jewelry box missing. One of the first things I told the police was “They’re gonna be really disappointed when they try to pawn my stuff. I didn’t have much of value.” After the police left, I was reminded of Matthew 6:19-21 (ESV):

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

At times like this, I know where my treasure truly is. Sure, I’m disappointed in losing things that were given to me by my grandparents and parents, but it doesn’t break my heart. (This bothers me less than the workman I allowed into my house who stole from me, because he pretended to be trustworthy.)

Ironically, I heard this from Alistair Begg today as I was catching up on Truth for Life— “My Help Come From the Lord:”

“Luther said in that great hymn*, ‘But though they take my goods, honor, children, wife, yet is their profit small.’ Why is it small? Because Luther says, ‘All I have is Christ.’ You see, where this goes south for us is if we have not come to the point where all we ultimately have is Christ... If my security, my confidence is in my wealth... or if it’s in my health, or if it’s in my wife, then if you take my wife, my wealth, or my health it’s a disaster. It has to be. But if my security is in Christ, then though they take my wife, goods, children, life, then is their profit small. Why? Because my help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth.”

On the tails of a season often characterized by materialism, it’s a good reminder that our greatest gifts are the intangible things of Christ. There is humility to be found in knowing that worldly possessions don’t last and don’t define us. I remember when I bought my car in 2001. I had less than 200 miles on the odometer when a flying rock chipped the windshield. It was (and still is) a visible reminder that I can’t tie my happiness and pride to things that will disappear sooner or later. Rocks, rust, thieves, disease, and all kinds of other things will take their toll.

So I am thankful for the gifts that never end:

• Salvation and forgiveness
• Reconciliation with God
• Having God as my Father, Jesus Christ as my Brother, and many siblings in the Body of Christ
• Eternal life in a perfect Kingdom

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly place... In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace, which He lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight...” (Ephesians 1:3, 7-8).

“...I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that He is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me” (2 Timothy 1:12).

“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful” (Hebrews 10:23).

(*The hymn he quotes is a more literal translation of “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.”)

© 2017 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated all images are copyright free from pixabay.com.

Peace with God

My favorite Christmas song is Casting Crowns’ rendition of “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.” Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote additional verses that are not usually sung. You can read the story behind the song here. It was written during the Civil War, so it was evident to Longfellow that “There is no peace on earth… For hate is strong and mocks the song of peace on earth, good-will to men.” Though we are not in the midst of a national war in America now, peace is still lacking in many places and many ways. Peace on earth often seems like a distant dream.

Unfortunately, some Bible translations (KJV in particular) have fostered an erroneous idea. The angels did not proclaim peace to everyone on earth. The ESV more accurately translates Luke 2:14b, “on earth peace among those with whom He is pleased.” It is not a universal peace that is promised, but peace for those who are reconciled with God through the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. It is conditional upon our relationship with the Father, which makes us “those with whom He is pleased.”

“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1). That is the peace we have access to today, which gives us reason to endure the hostility, pain, and difficulty of life in this broken world. However, Longfellow is correct that:

“God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The wrong shall fail,
The right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men.”

One day soon, after the Second Coming, we will be able to enjoy universal peace, but not until then. We can look forward to that time of eternal peace, but in the meantime we can celebrate and enjoy the peace that we have with God because we have been reconciled to Him.

We can also experience God’s peace as we entrust all our cares and anxieties to Him. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7). Even when there are wars and conflicts, death and disease, God is still sovereign over this earth. He know all that will happen and His love never fails. So we can trust Him and rest in the One who is peace.

If you’re lacking peace this Christmas, trust Jesus Christ as Savior, submit to Him as Lord, and wait upon Him as the soon-returning Prince of Peace.

“May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord” (2 Peter 1:2).

© 2017 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated all images are copyright free from pixabay.com.

Joy in Abiding

The third week of Advent is typically associated with the theme of joy. Of the four themes, love, joy, and peace are all listed in the Fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22, and Romans 15:13 ties together hope, joy, and peace: “May the God of hope fill you will all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope” (ESV). The truth is that we cannot manufacture hope, love, joy, or peace out of our own efforts. We are dependent on the work of the Holy Spirit within us.

The world tries and fails to mimic these traits, especially at Christmas. We are told it’s the “most wonderful time of the year,” and yet it is often filled with stress, anxiety, discord, and sorrow. We can wish for and look forward to changes in the New Year, but that is not the same as the hope that is firmly rooted in Christ. We can make an extra effort to be kind to others, but as Paul wrote, “If I give away all I have… but have not love, I gain nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:3). We can pursue activities that make us happy, but true joy is found only because of our relationship with Christ. We can try to create soothing circumstances and relationships, but true peace is out of our control.

• “According to His great mercy, He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3b). “Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word” (2 Thessalonians 2:16-17).
• “In this is love, not that we have loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins… We love because He first loved us” (1 John 4:10, 19).
• “Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace at all times in every way” (2 Thessalonians 3:16a). “For He Himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in His flesh the dividing wall of hostility” (Ephesians 2:14).
• “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full” (John 15:11). “Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask and you will receive, that your joy may be full” (John 16:24).

If this fruit grows out of our relationship with God, we won’t produce it by trying harder but by growing closer to Him. As we spend time in the Word and in prayer, we will be transformed by the renewal of our minds (Romans 12:2), and we will be conformed to the image of His Son (Romans 8:29). As we abide in the vine, in relationship with Christ, then the Fruit of the Spirit will become evident in our lives. “As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me” (John 15:4b).

I can think of nothing that will create greater joy, peace, hope, and love than drawing close to the One who created me, redeemed me, and chose me to be part of His family for eternity.

“Though you have not seen Him, you love Him. Though you do not now see Him, you believe in Him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory” (1 Peter 1:8).

© 2017 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated all images are copyright free from pixabay.com.

Love Came First

Love is one of the traditional themes of Advent, thinking particularly of God’s love made incarnate in Jesus Christ. I happen to be reading through the book of Numbers right now, and came across this verse:

“Please pardon the iniquity of this people, according to the greatness of Your steadfast love, just as You have forgiven this people, from Egypt until now” (Numbers 14:19 ESV).

It struck me that Moses pleaded for forgiveness for the Israelites based solely on God’s steadfast love. It wasn’t based on their repentance—they were still grumbling. It wasn’t based on their promises to do better—they hadn’t yet learned their lesson. It wasn’t based on God’s foreknowledge of some vastly more obedient future—they were still disobedient centuries later. God’s forgiveness was sought because He was and is loving, gracious, and merciful. And as we live after the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ, this is even more clearly true for us. God provided the means of forgiveness long before we were born, not just when we realized our need. His steadfast love predated our repentance.

Psalm 107 presents a quick summary of the Israel’s afflictions and judgment, referring probably to Exodus but possibly other exiles as well. We may find ourselves somewhere in these verses—wandering, hungry, in darkness, suffering for our own sin, fearful, oppressed. But the recurring refrain for Israel and for us is “Let them thank the Lord for His steadfast love, for His wondrous works to the children of man!” (vv. 8, 15, 21, 31). Wherever we may be, His love has not changed, and His love seeks us out and provides more than we could ever need.

In Luke 1 Zechariah prophesied that God “has visited and redeemed His people and has raised up a horn of salvation” and that John was “to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God” (68-69, 77-78a). I think it is significant that Zechariah doesn’t speak of this as something that is about to happen, but has already happened (Greek aorist tense). It reinforces the fact that God’s steadfast love was at work from the beginning of time (Ephesians 3:9-12). The incarnation wasn’t “Plan B” when God realized we needed help. In love, even as He created the world He planned to make it possible for sinners to be united with Him through the blood of Christ.

It begins to boggle the mind as you think through these things. We may never fully understand the lengths God went to for us. It should indeed lead us to “thank the Lord for His steadfast love, for His wondrous works to the children of man!”

“I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued My faithfulness to you” (Jeremiah 31:1b).

© 2017 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated all images are copyright free from pixabay.com.

Hopes and Fears

“The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight” (Phillips Brooks).

The first Sunday of Advent is often linked with the theme of hope, and I’ve been thinking a lot about this line from “O Little Town of Bethlehem.” Brooks wrote the song a few years after the Civil War, so I expect he knew a bit about hopes and fears. When life is easy and free from anxiety, who needs hope? But hope is a lifeline when fears are overwhelming.

I have often been guilty of thinking of Christian hope as something rooted in the future. The hope for a perfected world for eternity is a good hope and one worth hanging onto. But that’s not the only hope. As Brooks correctly identified, our fears are addressed by the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus two millennia ago. Our hope is grounded in the past, not just in the future. Christ meets us in our fears.

• When we fear that God doesn’t hear— “Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and humbled yourself before your God, your words have been heard... O man greatly loved, fear not, peace be with you; be strong and of good courage” (Daniel 10:12, 19 ESV).
• When we feel alone and weak— “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand... For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, ‘Fear not, I am the one who helps you” (Isaiah 41:10, 13).
• When shame hangs over us— “Fear not, for you will not be ashamed; be not confounded, for you will not be disgraced; for you will forget the shame of your youth, and the reproach of your widowhood you will remember no more” (Isaiah 54:4).
• When we fear death— “Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades” (Revelation 1:17b-18).
• When we are suffering— “For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in His steps” (1 Peter 2:20).
• When persecution comes— “Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested… Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life” (Revelation 2:10).

I’ve found that hope is a choice. It is choosing to believe the promises of God over the lies of the world. It isn’t always easy to believe that God is good and that He is in control. There are times when hope feels too risky. There are times when admonitions to hope simply fall on deaf ears. But even when we don’t hear it, feel it, or understand it, God is still faithful.

Edward Welch wrote in Shame Interrupted,

“Hope was once a curse to you. It was just another occasion for disappointment and grief… Some days the truth sounds like mere words… When you believe what God has said rather than lies, you are doing valuable work. When you choose hope over despair, your choice has lasting significance. When you get out of bed and persevere in ordinary obedience because you are representing the King, your labor is noticed even by heavenly beings (Ephesians 3:10)” (317, 320, 324).

May this Christmas season bring renewed hope to all who seek Him.

“Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:10b-11).

© 2017 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated all images are copyright free from pixabay.com.