Do you truly love me more than these? ……do you love me? (Jesus) JOHN 21;15,17 NIV It is your questions, Lord, that reveal the most to me about myself. And I am sure that’s what you intend. January 15, 2015 Kindness Gone Viral By Mart De Haan Read: Mark 10:13-16 Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. —Mark 10:14 Bible in a Year: Genesis 36-38; Matthew 10:21-42 News of a simple act of kindness on a New York subway has gone around the world. A young man, head covered by a hooded sweatshirt, fell asleep on the shoulder of an older passenger. When someone else offered to wake the young rider, the older man quietly said, “He must have had a long day. Let him sleep. We’ve all been there.” Then he let the tired fellow rider sleep on his shoulder for the better part of the next hour, until the older man gently eased away to get up for his stop. In the meantime, another passenger snapped a photograph and posted it on social media, and it went viral. The man’s kindness seems to resonate with what we all long for—the kindness that reflects the heart of God. We see this gentleness in Jesus when His friends tried to protect Him from the noise and bother of little children. Instead, Jesus insisted on taking the little ones in His arms and blessing them (Mark 10:16). In the process, He invited all of us to trust Him like a little child (vv.13-16). Jesus lets us know that all of us are safe in His presence. Whether awake or asleep, we can lean on Him. When we’re exhausted, He provides a safe place for us to rest. Under His wings, I am safely abiding, Though the night deepens and tempests are wild; Still I can trust Him—I know He will keep me, He has redeemed me and I am His child. —Cushing God is a safe resting place. Insight Jesus demonstrated that true faith in God was not bound by cultural concerns. In a patriarchal society, He met and talked with women (see John 4). He ate and drank with those who were considered impure (see Luke 7:36-30; 17:11-19; 19:1-10). He even embraced children, when most would push them aside (Mark 10:13-14). Jesus didn’t simply say that He had come to “seek and save the lost” (Luke 19:10); He demonstrated it by showing that God’s love is open to everyone. Bob Hoekstra :: Day By Day By Grace :: January 15th The Law Tutoring People to Christ Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. (Galatians 3:24-25) The ultimate ability of the law of God is its capacity to tutor people to Christ. The law was our tutor to bring us to Christ. It is the plan of God to use His law to inform us about our great need for Jesus Christ. Remember the summaries of the law of God: be holy, be loving, be perfect. The law demands that we be holy. We are convicted that we are not holy. Thereby, the law is saying to us: You need Jesus Christ. The law requires that we be loving. We realize that we are not loving. Thereby, the law is declaring to us: You need Jesus Christ. The law insists that we be perfect. We know that we are not perfect. Thereby, the law is announcing to us: You need Jesus Christ. In this process the law functions as tutor (schoolmaster or child-trainer), instructing people of their need for that which only Christ can provide through His grace. Now that we have responded to the laws tutoring work, we are no longer under the tutor. Now that we have placed our faith in Jesus Christ, we are no longer under the law. But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. Whereas we once were told by the law to be holy, now we look to Christ for all personal holiness. But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us…righteousness and sanctification (1 Corinthians 1:30). Whereas we once were told by the law to be loving, now we look to the Spirit of Christ for all the love that our lives are to show forth. But the fruit of the Spirit is love (Galatians 5:22). Whereas we once were told by the law to be perfect, now we look to the Lord for all of the perfecting process. Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:6). O Lord, my Redeemer, thank You for using Your law as a tutor to lead me to Jesus Christ. Your law was so correct regarding my desperate need of a Savior. Now I rejoice that I am no longer under that tutor. What a delight to relate to You by faith and not by performance. What a precious blessing to humbly hope in the Lord Jesus for righteousness and love and growth. How wonderful to look to a gracious, loving Person, the Lord Jesus, instead of to a perfect unyielding standard, the law. Lord Jesus, please complete in me the good work of Your grace that began when I first believed in You. In Your name, and for Your glory, I pray, Amen. ________________________________________ Do You Walk In White? January 15, 2015 We were buried with Him…that just as Christ was raised from the dead…even so we also should walk in newness of life. —Romans 6:4 No one experiences complete sanctification without going through a “white funeral” — the burial of the old life. If there has never been this crucial moment of change through death, sanctification will never be more than an elusive dream. There must be a “white funeral,” a death with only one resurrection— a resurrection into the life of Jesus Christ. Nothing can defeat a life like this. It has oneness with God for only one purpose— to be a witness for Him. Have you really come to your last days? You have often come to them in your mind, but have you really experienced them? You cannot die or go to your funeral in a mood of excitement. Death means you stop being. You must agree with God and stop being the intensely striving kind of Christian you have been. We avoid the cemetery and continually refuse our own death. It will not happen by striving, but by yielding to death. It is dying— being “baptized into His death” (Romans 6:3). Have you had your “white funeral,” or are you piously deceiving your own soul? Has there been a point in your life which you now mark as your last day? Is there a place in your life to which you go back in memory with humility and overwhelming gratitude, so that you can honestly proclaim, “Yes, it was then, at my ‘white funeral,’ that I made an agreement with God.” “This is the will of God, your sanctification…” (1 Thessalonians 4:3). Once you truly realize this is God’s will, you will enter into the process of sanctification as a natural response. Are you willing to experience that “white funeral” now? Will you agree with Him that this is your last day on earth? The moment of agreement depends on you.
Posted on: Thu, 15 Jan 2015 04:00:13 +0000
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