Pressing On In His Footsteps

Romans 12:1-2 NKJV  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. ² And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Romans 12:1-2 Phillips With eyes wide open to the mercies of God, I beg you, my brothers, as an act of intelligent worship, to give him your bodies, as a living sacrifice, consecrated to him and acceptable by him. Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould, but let God re-mould your minds from within, so that you may prove in practice that the plan of God for you is good, meets all his demands and moves towards the goal of true maturity.

Romans 12:1-2 MSG So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.

Observation

I include the same verses from three translations here to make a point.  All of them express the same request (submit completely to the Holy Spirit’s work in you) and promise the same result (spiritual maturity).  As with all of us, each translator expresses himself/herself in their own unique way.  Being “conformed to this world”, allowing the world/culture to “squeeze you into its own mould” or becoming “so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking” – which one creates a better picture for you of how the culture around us will change us if we don’t submit ourselves to God and allow the Holy Spirit to be in charge of how we represent Jesus by our lives in this world? 

These verses are about becoming like Jesus – choosing to be a living sacrifice – taking our everyday, ordinary life and placing it before God as an offering.  Paul makes it clear that becoming like Jesus is not automatic, easy, comfortable or for the faint of heart.  Becoming more like Jesus is an on purpose sacrifice of fitting in with the culture of the world in which we live.  Not only can we not fit in with the obvious evil we see, but we must also be willing to turn over the tables (the sacred cows) of religion.  Neither is easy, but both are necessary if we want to follow in the footsteps of Jesus.

Impact on Me

I am a person who wants shalom, but shalom is much different than peace-keeping.  Shalom is peace-making.  As a matter of fact, achieving shalom often requires standing up for the unpopular truth, being misunderstood by even those I love.  My culture wants me to be “kind and merciful” enough to forget that human goodness does not gain heaven on its own.  My culture wants me to accept sinful conduct as the norm because “everybody is doing it.”  Rather than judging and condemning them, does my heart ache to see those redeemed who are blinded by my culture?    God’s heart ached so for all humankind that Jesus, God made Man, made the great sacrifice of dying for us all.  How can I help them to come face-to-face with Jesus?

So, for me shalom, that redemptive wholeness of living in the presence of God, comes from learning to be a peace-maker – being a forgiver, turning the other cheek, becoming difficult to offend, going the extra mile, praying for those who spitefully use me, seeing past the behavior of a person to recognize a soul that needs healing and redemption, and so much more.  These are the types of sacrifices Paul is asking me to make – counter to my worldly culture but representing pure heaven-culture.

Devotion

Everlasting Father, God of Love and Mercy, Redeemer, Lord of All, Your goodness and mercy chases after me even when I think I don’t deserve it.  Give me the heart of Jesus for the outcasts as well as the “in group” (cultural influencers) who are blinded by this worldly culture.  Give me Jesus’ insight into the wounded and confused souls of those who might be offensive or disrespectful to me so I might have compassion for them.  Make me a peace-maker so that Jesus can continue His redemptive work in and through me – “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor;  He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; ¹⁹  to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” (Luke 4:18-19 NKJV)  In Jesus’ name, I pray.

Hebrews 4:12-13 NIV  For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

Hebrews 4:12-13 PHILLIPS  For the Word that God speaks is alive and active; it cuts more keenly than any two-edged sword: it strikes through to the place where soul and spirit meet, to the innermost intimacies of a man’s being: it exposes the very thoughts and motives of a man’s heart. No creature has any cover from the sight of God; everything lies naked and exposed before the eyes of him with whom we have to do.

Observation

According to these verses, there is nowhere one can hide and nothing one can keep secret from God; He sees and judges it all – “the innermost intimacies of a man’s being.”.  For some, this would be terrifying because they don’t know and understand the nature of this God of ours.  They expect Him to be like us, having a human nature, and find this level of transparency and judgment unnerving and even threatening. What human can be trusted with complete knowledge of another – every thought and intent of the heart, every secret act, every shameful regret?  This kind of complete knowledge would give too much power to another by revealing the ugliest and most fearful, shameful, embarrassing secrets we work diligently to hold safe and secret within the dark, locked closets of our own soul.  Our safety, our future, our success, even our very life, would depend upon the nature and character of the person – good or bad – who had such power over us. 

For someone who understands our God as angry, stern or unyielding in His demands for perfection, this verse cuts in a way that further wounds and oppresses. For those who understand our God as just, merciful and loving, this verse cuts in a way to free them from their burden of sin as they come again and again to expose themselves in sincere repentance and be judged by Him, knowing that they have an Advocate Who does understand what it is to be human and guarantees the result will be mercy and grace.  The verses immediately following give us hope. “So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.” (Hebrews 4:14-16 NLT).

Impact on Me

 This is a passage of Scripture that always arrests me as I read. I must stop and consider the sacrifice made to make this possible – not only the Cross but also asking His Son to become a vulnerable infant and grow up, experiencing life as a human so He could understand us, emotionally, physically, actually, and be our passionate advocate before Father God. Is it so much of a sacrifice for me to trust a God like this – One Who fully knows my deepest secret regrets, failings, betrayals and yet still loves me past reason?  Why am I still holding on to painful secrets that He already knows?  I must ask myself if I trust Him enough to relinquish to the Holy Spirit the keys to every dark, locked closet in my soul so He can clean out all the ugliness and shame. I must ask myself if I truly trust that Jesus will still advocate for me regardless of what He finds hidden in those closets – no matter how shameful, ugly, horrible or disgusting.

Do I truly believe He already knew my deepest, darkest secrets, my imperfections, my failings, my shame and, yet, still loved me enough to die for me before I knew Him as Savior?  What about when I fail Him now, slapping Him in the face by choosing my own way?  Will He turn the other cheek and advocate for me before the Father when I recognize my foolishness and come again to ask for mercy and forgiveness?    This passage of Scripture says, “YES!!”  Being transparent, exposed, judged by such a God as ours is not a risk, but, rather, a benefit; He is always just, merciful, faithful and full of grace for His children.

Devotion

 Lord, You are gracious, merciful and just – King of all kings, Lord of all, the Everlasting, All-Powerful God. You are the One Who knows me inside and out and yet still loves me. I marvel that You would have Your eyes on me, care about my moments, hear me when I call. Who am I?  Yet, when I come repentant, seeking forgiveness, grace and mercy, You always have time and a heart for me. Help me to trust You, invite You in, open my deepest, darkness, most sensitive places to You that, in my transparent exposure, complete trust, before You, I can truly be set free. Fill me with the boldness and courage to do just this. I ask it all in the name of Jesus. Make it so.

John 6:5-13 MSG When Jesus looked out and saw that a large crowd had arrived, he said to Philip, “Where can we buy bread to feed these people?” He said this to stretch Philip’s faith. He already knew what he was going to do. Philip answered, “Two hundred silver pieces wouldn’t be enough to buy bread for each person to get a piece.” One of the disciples—it was Andrew, brother to Simon Peter—said, “There’s a little boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But that’s a drop in the bucket for a crowd like this.” Jesus said, “Make the people sit down.” There was a nice carpet of green grass in this place. They sat down, about five thousand of them. Then Jesus took the bread and, having given thanks, gave it to those who were seated. He did the same with the fish. All ate as much as they wanted. When the people had eaten their fill, he said to his disciples, “Gather the leftovers so nothing is wasted.” They went to work and filled twelve large baskets with leftovers from the five barley loaves.

Observation

I am continually amazed at how simply God works. Not enough food?  I’ll just make it stretch – and stretch – and stretch until “All ate as much as they wanted”!  Our “impossible to even imagine” is natural for Him. Like His students, we do not understand the power and possibility available to us in and through Him. No doubt we would have been thinking like Phillip and most of His team – “Feed all these people?!!!  Do you know how much that will cost?  Never mind finding enough even to buy out here!”  Had they forgotten the miracles that had gone before – raising Jairus’ daughter from the dead, healing the woman with the issue of blood, calming the stormy sea, making wine from water and so many others? 

Perhaps Andrew remembered and had a ray of insightful hope when he brought the boy with the loaves and fish – “Here is all that we have to offer, but it cannot be enough.”  He had seen Jesus do the impossible before, but how could so little be made into so much?  Jesus always intended to provide the meal (“He said this to stretch Philip’s faith. He already knew what he was going to do.”), but He wanted to break through the barrier of “possibility” thinking in their minds so that they would embrace and flow in overcoming the impossible through the power that He provided for them. . It was not WHAT or HOW MUCH they brought that mattered but HOW WILLING they were to trust, believe and let Jesus use what they had.

Impact On Me

My mom and dad were very gracious and always welcomed guests on a moment’s notice. They always wanted to have enough in case we had a few unexpected guests at the dinner table (a common occurrence). They were not happy unless everyone was full and we had leftovers. Meal stretching was an art in our home!  However, we never had 5000+ to feed!  This episode in the hands-on teaching of His disciples speaks to me of my limited understanding of the power of absolute submission and surrender. This story illustrates that all my talents, skills, abilities, resources, strengths – everything I can bring – are like the 5 small loaves and 2 small fishes ( like small or large mattered in the least!); they are completely insufficient until I surrender them into the hands of Jesus. 

I am also reminded of my human tendency to think that circumstances matter when God asks me to do something. Like Philip, I look at the immensity of the task and reckon the accomplishment to be impossible – with my resources and what is available to me – forgetting that the same God Who.is asking me to partner with Him is able to accomplish the task without my help, but, for some incomprehensible reason, wants me to share in the joy of seeing it come to pass. I marvel at God’s insistence on partnering with us to accomplish anything as we are like toddlers learning to bake (making more mess, taking more time, using more effort)!  How like the toddling disciples I am!  Just like the disciples and the toddler, as I let the Holy Spirit take the lead, adopt His plan, listen to His instructions and follow them, I will find understanding and joy in the results!

Devotion

Father God, You are all-powerful and all-knowing and yet still so gracious, so loving, so patient toward us as we step out, wobble, stumble, fall and and You help us get up again. I cannot fathom why You love us so much and care so deeply about sharing the joy with us. As for me, help me to never in my thinking limit You by what I think is possible. Whatever I have and am is more than enough in Your hands. When I speak, let it be Your words that are heard. When I hug, let it be Your arms that are felt, Your love and care that remain long after I am gone. Lord Jesus, help me to understand and embrace complete surrender, total submission to You, so that Your Holy Spirit will be free to use me in accomplishing the humanly impossible. I pray all of this in the name of Jesus. Make it so!

Mark 4:35-41 PHILLIPS  On the evening of that day, he said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side of the lake.” So they sent the crowd home and took him with them in the little boat in which he had been sitting, accompanied by other small craft. Then came a violent squall of wind which drove the waves aboard the boat until it was almost swamped. Jesus was in the stern asleep on the cushion. They awoke him with the words, “Master, don’t you care that we’re drowning?” And he woke up, rebuked the wind, and said to the waves, “Hush now! Be still!” The wind dropped and everything was very still. “Why are you so frightened? What has happened to your faith?!” he asked them. But sheer awe swept over them and they kept saying to each other, “Who ever can he be?—even the wind and the waves do what he tells them!”

Philippians 4:6-7 PHILLIPS  Don’t worry over anything whatever; tell God every detail of your needs in earnest and thankful prayer, and the peace of God which transcends human understanding, will keep constant guard over your hearts and minds as they rest in Christ Jesus.

Observation

“Jesus was in the stern asleep on the cushion.”  I spent many years working on boats on the Pacific Ocean. When the waters are relatively calm, the movement will rock you to sleep. When the waters are rough and stormy, the movement can violently launch you out of your bunk.  This boat must have been rocking wildly in the wind-driven waves to cause such anxiety among Jesus’ disciples, because in this boat were several seasoned fisherman (who were experienced boat handlers) sailing on their home fishing grounds.  Yet, Jesus is asleep. He is sure He is going to get to the other side of the Sea of Galilee regardless of the distractions or circumstances that confront Him on the way.  He turned this into a wonderful teaching moment for these men who would all be asked to live, serve and suffer through the storms of persecution that were to come.

Impact On Me

“Don’t worry over anything whatever.“  These verses have been mainstays in my storms, cornerstones of my faith, bulwarks against the assaults of the Enemy, over the years.  They are the keys to powerful weapons of God’s warfare during stormy times to combat my anxiety.  Anxiety is defined as “a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease, typically about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome.”  I have learned through many storms that I cannot predict when they will arise nor can I control them when they do. No matter how much experience, knowledge or skill I have, the circumstances can be overwhelming, creating anxiety, if I focus on all the negative possible outcomes (They awoke him with the words, “Master, don’t you care that we’re drowning?”).  These verses remind me that no matter how furious and powerful the storm, Jesus is in my boat with me – either asleep or ready to calm the storm in me when I call on Him.

Philippians 4:6-7 MSG  Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.

Devotion

Lord Jesus, when the storms arise, I want to remember to look to the stern of the boat.  If You are sleeping there, I want to sit down next to You and hold on, letting go of my frets and worries. I remember that You said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”  (John 14:27 NIV). I ask You by Your Holy Spirit to help me in the storms of life to pray and be aware that You are asleep in my boat so Your presence can displace the worries in my life. Help me to pass Your peace on to others in their stormy ties so they will come to know You through my life. I pray this all in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Ephesians 3:14-19 PHILLIPS When I think of the greatness of this great plan I fall on my knees before God the Father (from whom all fatherhood, earthly or heavenly, derives its name), and I pray that out of the glorious richness of his resources he will enable you to know the strength of the spirit’s inner re-inforcement—that Christ may actually live in your hearts by your faith. And I pray that you, firmly fixed in love yourselves, may be able to grasp (with all Christians) how wide and deep and long and high is the love of Christ—and to know for yourselves that love so far beyond our comprehension. May you be filled though all your being with God himself!

HOW DEEP THE FATHER’S LOVE FOR US
Stuart Townend © 1995 Thankyou Music

How deep the Father’s love for us, How vast beyond all measure,
That He should give His only Son To make a wretch His treasure.
How great the pain of searing loss – The Father turns His face away,
As wounds which mar the Chosen One Bring many sons to glory.

Behold the man upon a cross, My sin upon His shoulders;
Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice Call out among the scoffers.
It was my sin that held Him there Until it was accomplished;
His dying breath has brought me life; I know that it is finished.

I will not boast in anything, No gifts, no power, no wisdom;
But I will boast in Jesus Christ, His death and resurrection.
Why should I gain from His reward?  I cannot give an answer;
But this I know with all my heart – His wounds have paid my ransom.

Observation

All of creation and everything that has arisen from it, all that has occurred in the past or will happen in the future, is about this love.  Not all that was created or has happened reflects the intentions of His love, because creation and history has been twisted by the evil workings of God’s enemy, Satan.  However, all is still subject to His love, the grace, mercy and justice characteristic to it, and His eternal plan to redeem and restore everything to exist within it. His plan is not only to restore the earth to its proper order but also to restore mankind to his initial and intended relationship with this God of Love. 

To accomplish this redemption and restoration, He gave Himself as the sacrifice, the only sacrifice with enough value, enough purity, enough righteousness, enough eternal impact, to pay the price for, redeem, restore, forgive all sin – past, present and future.  This was His plan from the beginning because He was not surprised at Man’s Fall.  His Plan A was always “that Christ may actually live in your hearts by your faith” – God Himself paying the price and then freeing providing the priceless reward to whosoever will come and believe – “Why should I gain from His reward?  I cannot give an answer; But this I know with all my heart – His wounds have paid my ransom.”

Impact on Me

I have been many times in a mully-grubby place, vacillating between knowing and not knowing, understanding and not understanding, clearly seeing His footsteps before me and having them obscured by urgencies, distractions, emotional issues, or a path that might appear easier.  In those times, I was struggling to maintain a balance between those things I am able to bear and the unbearable, those things I can change and what I must leave to God, what I want and what He wants for and from me.  This wobbly place is a result of my soul listening more to my human flesh than the Spirit of Christ in me, depending more on what is possible for me to do rather than leaning into God’s possibilities.

Jesus is not surprised that these wobbly events occur in me; I am, after all, human – inconsistent, emotional, questioning, impulsive, prideful and so much more – a work in progress in Christ.  The remarkable, amazing, wondrous, extravagantly loving part is that He doesn’t give up on me. He listens to my whiny psalms and reminds me that He is with me and for me no matter what happened, is happening or will happen.  In one of those wobbly places, He gave me a picture of me floating peacefully on the calm sea of His love, out of sight of land, and reminded me that the ocean waters can be thousands of feet deep and thousands of miles wide.  His love is deeper, wider and safer – rest in it.

Devotion

 Lord God, my Redeemer, my Savior, my patient mentor, I stand in awe of You and all You have sacrificed for me.  I give You freedom in me to work Your love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, meekness, faithfulness and self-control.  I ask for Paul’s prayer to bear fruit in me -“And I pray that you, firmly fixed in love yourselves, may be able to grasp (with all Christians) how wide and deep and long and high is the love of Christ—and to know for yourselves that love so far beyond our comprehension.”  May I be grateful, wise, honest and courageous enough to see with Your eyes and love with Your heart regardless of the cost to me.  Make it so, in Jesus’ name.