Jennifer N. Buczynski's Blog

14 For many are called, but few are chosen.” – Matthew 22:14

Since God loves everyone and Jesus died for all human sin on the cross, why does the Bible say that only “many” are called to salvation and not “all”?

The “called” in Matthew 22:14 represent those who receive a gospel presentation. Regardless of whether they choose to accept salvation through faith in Jesus or not, all who are presented with the good news of Jesus and His Work on the cross are still “called”. Many people in human history have been “called” by God, invited to receive His gracious gift of eternal life, but only a few are “chosen”.

Why are they chosen? They responded to God’s call by putting their faith in Jesus.

29 For those whom He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, in order that He might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom He predestined He also called, and those whom He called He also justified, and those whom He justified He also glorified. – Romans 8:29-30

Here we see our free will faith and God’s divine decrees working together in perfect harmony, as they always do.

This passage in Romans is talking about believers only. In this passage, God has foreknown and predestined believers to receive eternal life – and so He called us and we responded to that call through faith in Jesus. We believers are the “chosen” in Matthew 22:14 precisely because we responded in faith to God’s call (as opposed to rejecting it as many have done).

How could we have chosen for God if He had not made us and showed Himself to us, sent Jesus to die for us on the cross, and called us to salvation through providing us with the gospel message?

And God would not predestine us for salvation against our will. If we are not willing to be chosen, then God will not go against that choice (even if we are stubbornly refusing our own eternal salvation).

Never Heard the Gospel?

One might argue that if there are those who have never heard the gospel presented, isn’t that somehow unfair to them? As if God didn’t give them a “fair chance” at salvation? Not at all!

God knows every human heart. He has perfectly written all of our free will choices into His plan, without compromising those choices. If God knows that someone has no interest in knowing or following Him, why should He provide the gospel message to them, for them to throw it back in His face (see Psalm 53:1, Matthew 7:6, Hebrews 10:29, Psalm 10:4)?

God is not unjust. He is always willing to provide the gospel to those who want it, always willing to be found by those who seek Him (see Acts 17:27, Matthew 7:7-8, 2 Peter 3:9, 1 Timothy 2:3-4). God has done everything necessary to provide salvation to all, if only they would be willing to be saved – and some are not willing (see John 5:40).

God has made Himself known to all humanity. He has constructed this world we live in to point to Himself (see Romans 1:18-21, Psalm 19:1-4). We know in our hearts that there is something more than just ourselves or this corrupted world (see Ecclesiastes 3:11). At some point in the lives and hearts of us all, we understand that God exists and is Holy – even if some harden their hearts against that truth and go their own path.

A Note on Evangelism

As human history has shown, the majority of people are not interested in a relationship with God. Thinking that we can successfully evangelize everyone we meet is a mistake. We are warned not to “throw our pearls to pigs” (see Matthew 7:6). Some believers are given the gift of evangelism (see Acts 21:8, Ephesians 4:11) and God empowers them through the Holy Spirit to use their spiritual discernment as to who might be interested and to effectively give the gospel message to others.

Of course, we should share the gospel message with someone if the Holy Spirit directs us to (see Romans 10:14). If someone makes it obvious that they have no interest in Jesus or if the Holy Spirit is directing us to keep silent, then we would be wise to not “shove” the gospel down their throat. If they are interested, if they are asking questions – if they are seeking the Lord for salvation – He will answer them, perhaps even allowing us to be part of that process.

15 But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, – 1 Peter 3:15

The post Who Is Called to Salvation? appeared first on Growing in Jesus.

The gospel message – God’s good news to us – is glorious. God loves us all and He wants us to be saved, to join His family. Everyone who lives has a chance to be part of that family (even though we don’t deserve it).

8 But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. – Romans 5:8

God is good, but we are not. We have all sinned and all stand in need of God’s mercy in order to be saved from our just punishment – eternity without God in hell.

So what do we do? How can we escape the wrath of God?

God Himself has provided the way for us to be able to join His family. God sent His Son, Jesus, to die for us and all we have to do is trust in Jesus. That is why the gospel is called the “good news”.

So we all have a choice to make – will we trust Jesus?

What is Salvation?

When we say we “are saved” or talk about salvation, we are talking about being rescued. God sent His Son, Jesus, to rescue us from darkness – sin, death, and hell – and to forgive our sins, which Jesus paid for on the cross.

13 For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves, 14 in Whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. – Colossians 1:13-14

Without God sending Jesus, we would all be condemned to eternity without God, in hell. Since God is love and light (and hell is without God), there is no joy, no peace, no goodness at all there – forever. That is what Jesus is willing to rescue us from – if only we are willing to be rescued by saying “yes!” to His offer of salvation.

God has done the work. All that remains for us to do is to accept the gift that God is providing.

How to be Saved

For God so loved the world that He gave His One and Only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. – John 3:16

To be saved, all you must do is trust in Jesus – Who He is and what He has done:

Jesus is God’s Son, and also a true human (Philipians 2:5-8). Jesus died to pay for all the wrong you have done (Romans 5:8).

But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. – Romans 5:8

Trusting in Jesus is the only way to spend eternity with God when you die. With the sacrifice of Jesus, God has paid the price for all our wrong and is freely offering us a chance to spend forever with Him. Trust that what God has said about His Son is true.

Whoever has accepted it has certified that God is truthful. – John 3:33

When you trust in Jesus, the Bible says this about you:

We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know Him Who is true. And we are in Him Who is true by being in His Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. – 1 John 5:20

Sadly, even though God loves everyone and wants everyone to be saved, not everyone will be saved – only those who accept who Jesus is and what He has done will spend eternity with God. Through the Person and Sacrifice of Jesus, God has made provision for all people to be saved, but only those who put their faith in Jesus will actually receive salvation.

12 Yet to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His Name, He gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. – John 1:12-13

God’s love is so wonderous and so gracious. Jesus has done all the work in order for us to be saved – we are free to enter into God’s family by trusting in that truth.

Things that Can’t Save Us Church attendance or membership

Going to church or being part of a denomination is not what saves us – trusting in Jesus and His sacrifice is what saves us. God does not save us because we went to church enough times or were part of “this or that” church. God wants us to believe in Jesus.

Living a Good Life

We have all done wrong and we are all imperfect. No amount of “good” things we do could ever make up for the wrong we do.

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, – Romans 3: 23

6 All of us have become like one who is unclean,
    and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags;
we all shrivel up like a leaf,
    and like the wind our sins sweep us away. – Isaiah 64:6

Only God is pure. Only God is holy. We can’t be “good enough” to deserve eternity with God. That is why we can rejoice that Jesus came and made the perfect sacrifice!

Water Baptism

Water baptism does not save us – only trusting in Jesus can save us. We are only washed clean when we receive Jesus’ payment through faith. We do not need water to wash our bodies, we need Jesus and the Holy Spirit to wash our hearts and make us able to live with God.

5 He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, – Titus 3:5

Being Religious

We can not earn or buy our salvation by being religious. God does not want us to follow man-made rules, He wants us to believe in Jesus.

29 Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the One He has sent.” – John 6:29

28 For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law. – Romans 3: 28

Jesus is the Only Way to God

Apart from Jesus, there is no way to spend eternity with God. No one can come to God without having faith in His Son, Jesus.

12 Salvation is found in no One else, for there is no other Name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” – Acts 4:12

6 Jesus answered, “I am the Way and the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. – John 14:6

We all decide where we will spend eternity. We all get to choose either a life forever with God…or forever without Him. God wants you to be with Him. Don’t ignore the gracious gift of Jesus.

25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in Me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in Me will never die. Do you believe this?” – John 11:25-26

2 For He says, “In the time of My favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.” I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation. – 2 Corinthians 6:2

20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. – 2 Corinthians 5:20

The post How Do I Know if I am Saved? appeared first on Growing in Jesus.

When things go wrong, our thoughts often wander to “Is God punishing me?”

Whatever circumstances surround this thought – an illness, a loved one’s death, a tragic event – we sometimes start digging into the past (recent or long ago) and pull out something we feel guilty about and attach our present situation to that.

The questions start swirling in our mind.

“Does God love me?”” Is God mad at me?”” What did I do wrong that (fill in the blank) is now happening?”“Oh, I did (fill in the blank) – what’s why all this is happening to me!”Is God’s Punishment Revenge?

When people think that God is “punishing” them, it often carries the idea that God makes us “pay” for our sin and wrong choices. That God is looking down on us and wanting revenge. We sin, and God is angry with us and wants us to suffer.

The Bible tells us that God does discipline us (we’ll talk more about that in a minute) but God does not get enjoyment from our suffering. Consider these Bible passages:

10 “Son of man, say to the Israelites, ‘This is what you are saying: “Our offenses and sins weigh us down, and we are wasting away because of them. How then can we live?”’ 11 Say to them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die, people of Israel?’ – Ezekiel 33:10-11 NIV

 8 The Lord is compassionate and gracious,
    slow to anger, abounding in love.
9 He will not always accuse,
    nor will He harbor His anger forever;
10 He does not treat us as our sins deserve
    or repay us according to our iniquities. – Psalm 103:8-10 NIV

3 If You, Lord, were to keep account of guilty deeds,
Lord, who could stand?
4 But there is forgiveness with You,
So that You may be revered. – Psalm 130:3-4 NASB

24 Discipline me, Lord, but only in due measure—
    not in Your anger,
    or You will reduce me to nothing. – Jeremiah 10:24

Our God is a God of love and mercy. This does not mean that God ignores sin. Our actions certainly have consequences, and we should remember that when we are tempted to sin. We cannot “hide” what we have done from God. He knows our thoughts and hearts completely.

God does not discipline us to make us “pay” for our sins. In truth, we are incapable of doing anything to “pay” for our sin. Our human body is corrupted with sin and we are not holy or good or righteous apart from God. How could we ever “repay” a Holy, Good, and Righteous God?

    6 All of us have become like one who is unclean,
    and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags;
we all shrivel up like a leaf,
    and like the wind our sins sweep us away. – Isaiah 64:6

9 What shall we conclude then? Do we have any advantage? Not at all! For we have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under the power of sin. 10 As it is written:

“There is no one righteous, not even one;
11     there is no one who understands;
    there is no one who seeks God.
12 All have turned away,
    they have together become worthless;
there is no one who does good,
    not even one.” – Romans 3:9-12

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, – Romans 3:23

We have nothing to offer God to “make up” for the sin we have committed. We can, however, offer God a willing and responsive heart.

God’s Discipline and Our Response

Hebrews 12:4-11 is a wonderful passage to study on the topic of God’s Discipline and our proper response to it.

4 In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. 5 And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says,

“My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline,
    and do not lose heart when He rebukes you,
6 because the Lord disciplines the one He loves,
    and He chastens everyone He accepts as His son.” – Hebrews 12:4-6

As children of God, the struggle between what our Spirit wants and what our flesh wants is intense (Galatians 5:17, Romans 7:21). We need to “resist sin” to the point of bloodshed. Not literal, physical blood – we are engaged in a Spiritual struggle. We need to keep going, to keep fighting, keep using God’s strength to win the Spiritual war over our flesh and our enemy. The more we resist sin, the less God will need to discipine us to correct our behavior.

We will fail at times – we are all infested with a sin nature and we all sin. And so, God’s discipline will come to us all. Not from the hand of an evil tyrant, but from the hand of our loving Father. We should neither ignore God’s discipline nor grow discouraged when we are experiencing it.

If God is disciplining us, we are truly His children!

7 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as His children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? 8 If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. – Hebrews 12:7-8

Although discipline is not fun, we have a right to be thankful for it. God loves us enough to correct us when our actions don’t line up with what God desires. God does not leave His children to stumble around in this life, with no concern or involvement from Him. He corrects, instructs, and guides us (Psalm 25:8). This is a sign that we are God’s children.

9 Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! 10 They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in His holiness. – Hebrews 12:9-10

At the heart of God’s disciple is love and correction. God always desires our Spiritual good. He knows that when we sin, it harms our relationship with Him and with others. God knows that we will only destroy ourselves if we pursue our desires.

12 There is a way that appears to be right,
    but in the end it leads to death. – Proverbs 14:12

How much better it is to take God’s correction to heart and set our feet on the straight and narrow path!

11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. – Hebrews 12:11

Discipline is not enjoyable, but it is necessary (and given in love). The goal of God’s discipline is our training in righteousness and peace.

We sow seeds every day and we will gather in what we planted. When we acknowledge that God knows what is good for us, when we submit our will to God’s will and accept His correction, then we will be blessed with righteousness and peace. When we allow ourselves to be trained by God’s instruction, we will gain a good harvest.

7 To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, He will give eternal life. 8 But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. – Romans 2:7-8

Experiencing God’s Discipline

8 If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. – Hebrews 12:8

All believers will suffer divine discipline for personal sin. What should we do when we are experiencing God’s discipline?

Confess Our Sin

Confession of sin always brings forgiveness from the Lord (1 John 1:9). After we confess our sin, we are again in fellowship with Jesus, and the divine discipline we are receiving is – while still not enjoyable – endurable. Our discipline might not end immediately upon confession, but we can be confident that God heard and granted our prayer for forgiveness.

Confession (admitting our sin) and repentance (changing our ways) is the goal of God’s discipline. He wants us to return to Him with our whole heart and again walk in the way of the Lord.

The more responsive we are to God’s discipline, the less suffering we will have to go through. If we are willing to be corrected quickly, and the first time, the less trouble we will bring down upon ourselves. A good principle to keep in mind when tempted to sin.

Rejoice in Our Adoption

 See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! – 1 John 3:1a

We are God’s children and He loves us enough to protect us from the dangers of sin. Divine discipline is a sign of God’s amazing love for us. While our enemy would like nothing more than for us to sink deep into sin and totally destroy our faith, our Lord desires to correct, encourage, comfort and sustain us as we walk through this dark world. Sometimes that involves discipline to encourage us to return to the safe path – and we would be wise to respond quickly and completely.

17 Whoever heeds discipline shows the way to life,
    but whoever ignores correction leads others astray. – Proverbs 10:17

Endure Patiently

12 Blessed is the one You discipline, Lord,
    the one You teach from Your law; – Psalm 94:12

After confession, we should patiently endure the remainder of our discipline, knowing that God is a perfect Father, acting in perfect love. He knows exactly what will make us learn our lesson – and how long.

So let us not grow discouraged or doubt our Lord’s love when we are enduring discipline. He will bless us even in the midst of our discipline and relieve us at just the right time.

Remember the Instruction

The next time we are tempted to sin, we should remember the suffering we previously endured. The enemy would like to tell us that sin and its consequences don’t matter. This is just a lie.

2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”

4 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

Let us not be deceived by our enemy or enticed by our own sinfulness. We might have to resist to the point of blood (see Hebrews 12:4), but if we are willing to fight, God will grant us the strength.

Trust in God’s Love

What more needs to be said on God’s love? We see God showing mercy and compassion to His children all throughout Scripture. We should not take this mercy for granted nor look upon it lightly, for our forgiveness was paid for with the blood of Jesus Christ. Yet even all the great men and women of faith in the Bible were not perfect – and we are given many accounts of their failures. However, we see God willing and delighted to show them mercy whenever they confessed their sin and returned to Him. They did not shun His discipline but allowed themselves to be trained in righteouseness. Let us make it our practice to do the same.

18 Who is a God like You,
    who pardons sin and forgives the transgression
    of the remnant of His inheritance?
You do not stay angry forever
    but delight to show mercy. – Micah 7:18 NIV

The post Does God Punish Us? appeared first on Growing in Jesus.

When we study the Bible, we sometimes see God testing believers – often in hard ways. We see Abraham, asked to sacrifice Isaac. We see Joseph, withstanding injustice. We see Job, losing his possessions and loved ones. We see Paul, suffering mightily for Jesus. We see Esther, risking her life to help God’s people. And many others too. And while they all had their faults, trial after trial, day in and day out, these believers kept trusting the Lord.

God knew they would continue to trust Him. So why test them?

Our Faithfulness

God knows all things, He is omniscient. God is not under the rules of space and time. His character is perfect. His understanding is perfect. His foreknowledge is completely encompassing.

We are limited to our current moment in space and time. We have no knowledge of the future (not to mention our often imperfect memory of our own past!).

God alone is capable of creating us and orchestrating our lives. He has blessed us with the gift of the image of God, the chance to choose how to respond to God. As believers, we have accepted God’s amazing salvation in His Son, Jesus, and now we are here to walk in faithful obedience.

We were made with free-will and this world is where we demonstrate that. God, in His foreknowledge, has predestined our salvation and our Christian ministries and good works. However, we still have to live our lives and make our choices. We still need to be tested because until we actually experience it, we haven’t chosen anything. God told Abraham to sacrifice Isaac knowing that Abraham would obey. Abraham still had the choice – and he chose to obey God. Yet how could he have chosen if he had never been born? How could he have chosen if God had never asked him? Or if God had not planned it and decreed it?

When God tests us, we are allowed to demonstrate our faithfulness to God. Abraham trusted God so entirely that he was willing to sacrifice Isaac, the child through whom God had promised to make Abraham’s descendants “as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore.”

17 By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, 18 even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” 19 Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death. – Hebrews 11:17-19

We need to trust what God tells us, even when it goes against all that this corrupt world and human wisdom says. And our trust and obedience will be faithfully reward by our Lord, in this life and also in eternity.

When we demonstrate our trust in God, when we act in faith, we show that we care more about what God wants than anything else. The world will mock us and oppose us, but we want to receive these words from our Lord:

21 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ – Matthew 25:21

Our Level

We’re not all at the same place in our spiritual walk. We all have hangups from our past and struggles in our present. God is working with us, molding us in love. And He knows exactly how to shape us.

In our example of Abraham, we see this man exercising strong faith in the Lord throughout his life. Abraham had grown spiritually to a point where God could test him in such a hard way and Abraham (as we see in Genesis) had sufficient faith to pass the test. God would not ask a new believer to pass a test like sacrificing Isaac – and God had a larger picture in mind, as the event foreshadows the promised coming of our Messiah, Jesus Christ.

When God tests us, He lovingly never gives us more than we can handle.

13 No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. – 1 Corinthians 10:13 NIV

You have not suffered any testing beyond normal human [experience]. And God is faithful. He will not allow you to be tested beyond your capacity, but, along with the test, He will grant you the way out, so that you can bear up under it. – 1 Corinthians 10:13*

*This translation is done by Dr. Robert Luginbill, a pastor and Bible teacher whose ministry can be found at Ichthys.com. Please note that many Bible translations use the word “tempting/tempted” in place of “testing/tested”. Many passages in the Bible tell us that God allows testing in the life of a believer, but we know that God does not tempt anyone (compare 1 Corinthians 10:13 to James 1:13-14). So “testing” is a good translation here.

Our Example

8 Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.” – Job 1:8

Job was a godly man, and the Lord had blessed him with large herds of livestock, many servants and ten children. The enemy accused Job (to God’s face) of only following God since the Lord had blessed him with so much.

And the Lord allowed Job to be tested.

One after another, servants came to Job and told him disastrous news – how his livestock had been stolen or burned with fire and all the servants tending them were killed. How, in the same house, his children had all died. Job was distraught – how could he be otherwise? Yet even after Job receives all this news, the Bible says:

22 In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing. – Job 1:22

Job still loved and worshipped God, despite all the ruin that had come upon him. Later, the enemy afflicts Job with painful physical boils all over. Although the enemy wants him to curse God (and Job’s own wife tells him to), Job remains strong in his faith in the Lord. He acknowledges that he will accept both good and trouble from God.

Job did not know why these things were happening to him. Yet his example proved to the enemy that trusting God, come what may, is still a choice we can make. While Satan chose to turn against God – and decisively so – God is demonstrating to the fallen angels that there are still creatures that WILL choose for God, even in the midst of pain and huge loss. And through this account written in the Bible, God is encouraging believers to trust when we go through trials and tests, knowing that God has it all in control. There were limits to what God allowed the enemy to do, and God only lets things come our way for our good (Romans 8:28).

Our Goal

Whenever we are tested, we can give a good witness to our faith in the Lord. We can stand strong in the belief that God loves us more than we can comprehend. That He is testing us to refine our faith – and continued faith in Jesus is our only hope of eternal life. We are (hopefully) walking with our Lord Jesus and striving for maturity, so when trials come, we can truly “count it all joy”.

2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. – James 1:2-4

Our suffering and pain are not arbitrary nor purposeless. God does not delight in our pain nor is He disinterested or distant. Jesus loves us and will not let us walk through the trial alone and helpless.

We are assured that trials come to strengthen our faith in Jesus and help us to draw closer to the Lord. We have God’s presence and guidance throughout. We have God’s peace as we rest in Him. All the storms of this evil world cannot shake the promise of our salvation and eternity with God, and “we have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure” (see Hebrews 6:19 and 12:28).

When we are tested, we will know that this trial has come to us for a good purpose, and we will rejoice in that, even if our eyes have tears and our bodies are tired and there is nowhere to go and no way to solve our problems. Let us tighten our grip on the Lord’s Hand and keep our feet close to Him on the path, and we will see that our Lord is faithful in our hour of need.

12 Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when His glory is revealed. 14 If you are insulted because of the Name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. – 1 Peter 4:12-14

19 So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good. – 1 Peter 4:19

The post Why Does God Test Us? appeared first on Growing in Jesus.

Every hour we are closer to eternity.

Inhale, exhale. Closer to eternity.

Drive to work. Closer to eternity.

Take a walk, mop the kitchen, do the dishes, snuggle with the kids. Closer to eternity.

Most of the time we don’t think like that. There are things to do.

Good things, godly things – like living a quiet life and working with our hands and doing all we do as unto the Lord. Cooking dinners and washing laundry and waking and sleeping.

And there are distractions too – a whole host. The list is endless.

Time is here and now. Forever is…well, somewhat uncomprehensible. Yet forever is coming.

How then should we live?

15 Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.- Ephesians 5:15-18

We shouldn’t run around like we’re running out of time. We shouldn’t waste our time digging through our past. And we shouldn’t even (try to) look into the future – since as finite humans, we only have this actual moment we are living in.

Right now. That’s it.

What a joy. What a comfort, that you can make this moment count for the Lord.

You can pray (and sweep the floor).

Study the Bible.

Work (inside the home or outside) as if you were working for the Lord (since you are!)

Give whatever you have, even that cup of cold water, and you will not lose your due reward. Let the Lord guide you as you go throughout the day.

10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. – Ephesians 2:10

Our God is a gracious God. Not only does He save us, He walks with us and even gives us Spiritual work. These “good works” are what we are to devote ourselves to after salvation. Not to secure salvation, rather, to serve Jesus and our fellow Christians.

 “…so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God….” Colossians 1:10

As we live – confessing our sins, forgetting our past, trusting God with our future – we rejoice in the knowledge that we are one moment closer to seeing our risen Lord. One moment closer to sweet, endless fellowship with God’s entire family for all time.

We are one moment closer to eternity.

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12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. – Philippians 3:12-14

Sometimes in our Christian walk, we get stuck – we stop pressing on. We contend daily with our human hearts and our personal sin natures, as well as the enemy and the world’s distractions. Some of the hinderances to our walk include:

Sin

Sin can trip us up and cause us to lose our spiritual momentum. Temptation might come suddenly and strongly, or it might pressure us over a long period of time. We all struggle with sin, but our daily goal should be to imitate Christ more and more.

13 When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone; 14 but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. – James 1:13-15

When tempted, we must remember that sin takes us out of fellowship with God, which is the opposite of what we are to desire as Christians. This does not mean we are unsaved, but we can’t enjoy fellowship with God while walking in sin.

5 This is the message we have heard from Him and declare to you: God is light; in Him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin. – 1 John 1:5-7

As believers in Jesus, we have the privilege of confessing our sins and gaining the Father’s complete and immediate forgiveness. However, we should remember that God disciplines us for our sin, since in His love He wants our spiritual growth and good.

If we are stuck in a cycle of sin, we should ask God for the strength to change and remember that we are the master of our own will.

12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before Him He endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. – Hebrews 12:1-3

Guilt

Another hinderance to our spiritual walk can be the emotion of guilt. Whenever we sin, we truly are guilty according to the Lord.

4 Against You, You only, have I sinned
    and done what is evil in Your sight;
so You are right in Your verdict
    and justified when You judge. – Psalm 51:4

However, when we confess our sins, we are assured of forgiveness – based entirely on the sacrifice of Jesus in our place and our acceptance by faith of that atoning work.

5 Then I acknowledged my sin to You
    and did not cover up my iniquity.
I said, “I will confess
    my transgressions to the Lord.”
And You forgave
    the guilt of my sin. – Psalm 32:5

9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. – 1 John 1:9

When we have confessed and turned away from our sin, we should continue walking with the Lord and not allow confessed sin to get in the way. Sometimes emotions of guilt remain, and we allow them to keep us tied down. Trapped in our past, feeling like we can’t move on. If we are guilty of sin, we confess to the Lord. If we have confessed, we are forgiven. If we still feel guilty, we need to recognize that as a trap and refuse to let it hold us down or keep us from walking with the Lord.

If you feel stuck in guilt even after you have confessed, resolve to trust in the promises of Jesus, not what your human emotions are sensing. Ask God to help you. The enemy will do whatever he can to undermine the sacrifice of Jesus and keep you from trusting what the Lord has said. Don’t allow a misplaced emotion – no matter how strong – to keep you from walking as the Lord wants you to.

Complacency

2 We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. – Hebrews 2:1

The Bible has many exhortations to keep fighting the fight, to continue in our faith, to not give up. When we are running our race well, it can be tempting to let down our guard or slack off. However, it doesn’t take long until our spiritual momentum suffers and we may find ourselves more vulnerable to attack and temptation. Without the proper spiritual strength, without daily putting on the armor of the Lord, it is difficult to fight well. The war never stops and it is unwise to let our attention slip.

When we see that we have not done our due diligence, we must seek to recover any lost ground and gain more. Not in our own strength, but through the strength of the Holy Spirit – confident that He will help us. And not wasting time lamenting our failures or lost battles, but determining to give our all from this point on.

Distractions

In a world swirling with distractions, we can soon get lost in unimportant and unnecessary things. With the lies loud and insistent, it takes a diligence to keep ourselves from being consumed. We are to live for the Lord, keeping Jesus as King in our lives, and not allow the thorns to stop us from growing.

22 The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the Word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the Word, making it unfruitful. – Matthew 13:22

Testing

When we are tested, the Lord is giving us an opportunity to grow in our faith and to trust Him even when we are hurting or can’t see the divine plan. It can be tempting to wonder if God cares or sees us in our pain, but we can rest assured that any divine testing coming our way is entirely for our good (not matter how it might feel in the moment).

If our human side wants to doubt God’s love and wants to give up, we must encourage ourselves to stay the course and keep pressing on – in adversity, in sorrows, in pain and sickness, in the dark. Jesus will not let us face this life alone as long as we remain faithful to God.

Keep Pressing On

Daily we can choose to press on. We can resolve through the strength of the Holy Spirit to forget what is behind and move toward our goal, a goal that is not unknown or uncertain, but one that is promised to us – that our continued faith in Jesus secures for us.

Press on.

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Our minds are an intense field of war, where the most strenuous fighting often occurs, and the most tiring effects take us to low places. Some Christians are more prone to struggle with this than others and there are many ways in which we can get off track (e.g. one Christian may struggle with pride and another with worry). How should we approach our thoughts as we live our Christian walk?

5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. – 2 Corinthians 10:5

Do you ever feel like your thoughts have taken you captive, not the other way around? Like you’re a prisoner in your own mind? Striving against walls and chains stronger than anything in the material world, more tormented by your own thoughts than if you were locked in a physical room?

Or perhaps you’re having an annoying nagging, the temptation to let your mind wander or entertain thoughts that are unhelpful or even sinful?

Good news: this isn’t a hopeless war (although it is a war). We have control over our thoughts and the Holy Spirit is more than willing to help us in this struggle as we surrender it to Him.

The “inner you”

The mind/heart (essentially your “inner self”) is where we sort out all our emotions, thoughts, intentions and desires. And our hearts and minds, since we live in this corrupted body of sin, are tainted as well. And we wrestle with all sorts of inner conflicts.

The Bible tells us that out of our hearts and minds comes sin. We are human and in this present life, we will always struggle with sin. Paul the apostle, one of the most mature believers who ever lived, said this:

21 So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; 23 but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? 25 Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin. – Romans 7:21-25

Our enemy has designed lies to deceive us and distractions to lure us away from God – he cannot tell the truth, since he is the father of all lies (see John 8:44). And he will tell you any lie you are willing to accept, the ones that are obvious and the ones that slip in almost without us noticing. That’s why it’s so important to “take captive every thought” and see if it lines up with the gospel and character of Jesus.

Guarding the “inner you”

23 Above all else, guard your heart,
    for everything you do flows from it. – Proverbs 4:23

Our human hearts/minds are dark from the moment we enter this world, due to the sin nature resident in us all. Unbelievers continue in this darkness since they have not turned to the light of God’s truth – they have not chosen to let the light in.

18 They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. – Ephesians 4:18

When we trust in the Lord, we are no longer walking in darkness. We have chosen the way of light and God Himself desires us to walk in that light more and more every day. We receive the Holy Spirit, and He makes the truth understandable to us even though we are still “flesh and blood”, still with a sin nature. He lives inside us and shows us the truth in a way that we previously could not see or understand it.

13 For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves, 14 in Whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. – Colossians 1:13-14

14 The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. – 1 Corinthians 2:14

This does not mean that we automatically know all the amazing truth God wants us to know. We still have to be taught – by reading the Bible, by listening to good Bible teaching, and living out the truth in our daily lives – and the Holy Spirit is the One giving us understanding as we live in faith and trust in God. To make our thoughts obedient to Jesus, we need to know and trust the thoughts of Jesus.

2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—His good, pleasing and perfect will. – Romans 12:2

Our humanity is quick to follow the patterns of this world – we find ourselves caught in the traps of pride, greed, selfishness, gossip, anger and a host of other sins. As Christians, we are called to stop those patterns and adopt new, Spiritual ones. We will never be sinless this side of eternity, but we can certainly walk closer to Jesus every day, seeking to renew our minds. This process starts in our minds/hearts (where we choose to believe what the Bible says) and when our thinking starts to line up with God’s thinking, so should our actions.

As in water a face reflects the face,
So the heart of a person reflects the person. – Proverbs 27:19

We need to be very careful about what we allow into ourselves. What we allow to dominate our thinking or what we dwell on. If we are falling prey to a sinful thought process or action, we should consider what God says on the matter, disregarding our personal feelings or emotions. The sooner we put our thinking and actions in line with God’s, the more trouble we will save ourselves – in natural consequences as well as any divine discipline that might be coming our way if we refuse to repent.

Sometimes we experience inner turmoil that is aggravated by our enemy, since he opposes our spiritual growth and likes to “hit us where it hurts”. In those situations, we need to take up the “shield of faith” and surrender the fight to the Holy Spirit, trusting that He will help us. Stand firm on the truth and not allow ourselves to be shaken, even when we’re getting attacked where we are the most vulnerable or it is the most personally distressing, trusting that God will not let anything that we can’t handle come our direction.

in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. – Ephesians 6:16-17

This is a hard war and often our flesh will put up a hard fight, especially when we are trying to follow the Holy Spirit. Don’t get discouraged! God sees you and knows what you are going through – He will rescue you through the truth as you continually trust Him.

11 For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. 13 This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words.14 The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. 15 The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, 16 for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ. – 1 Corinthians 2:11-16

Understanding God’s Perspective

God has graciously given us many gifts to help us understand Himself – and we should make use of these and thank God with joy!

The Complete Bible

Our first and most vital source to understanding God is the Bible. The Bible is inspired by the Holy Spirit and so it perfectly reflects the mind and character of our Lord Jesus. Even in the case of the Old Testament, where the humanity of our Lord Jesus had not yet been revealed to us as He is in the New Testament, since God does not change (see Hebrews 13:8 and James 1:17), we can rest assured that the entire Bible is consistent just as God Himself is consistent. There are just different ways God has guided His people and, of course, we do not have perfect understanding of God’s ways (Isaiah 55:9), so any seeming inconsistencies are a result of human error and misunderstanding.

Indwelling of the Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit’s ministry is vast and amazing. The Holy Spirit is the One responsible for helping us understand and remember the Truth we have chosen to accept. Not only that, but He is actively helping us in our walk day by day. If we are walking after the Holy Spirit, we will be led into the Truth.

Pastors and Bible Teachers

God has equipped certain men within the body of believers to serve in this capacity. They are responsible for teaching the Bible, explaining God’s Truth to other believers, and shepherding the flock (see John 21:17). That is a huge responsibility. In our current time, there is a concerning amount of apathy towards the Bible, both in those teaching and those listening. We should closely examine the teaching of anyone from whom we are willing to get Biblical instruction. A Bible teacher who is correctly serving God will make Jesus and the Bible the true focus (not extrabiblical works, or men and women, or a special building, etc). Let us make sure we are seeking out Bible teachers who are committed to teaching the Bible in depth and accuracy, and also committing ourselves to the task of listening to and learning the Bible with a willing attitude. If the correct Biblical mandate is fulfilled, pastors are not teaching their truth – rather God’s Truth. And we are not accepting their words – rather God’s Word.

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. – Colossians 3:1-3

 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. – Philippians 3:13-14

14 Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh. – Romans 13:14

We are told not to set our minds on the past or the future, or the things of this world, or our fleshly desires, but on the things of eternity and our Eternal God. When our minds and hearts are set on the truth, this world and its desires pass away, and we hold tightly to our eternal perspective – ever seeking to live more and more with the mind of Christ.

8 My heart says of You, “Seek His face!”
    Your face, Lord, I will seek. – Psalm 27:8

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When December arrives, the account of Jesus’ birth (what we often call the Christmas story) is recited in our churches and our homes. And what a glorious account it is, when our Savior and Lord came to live with us. Emmanuel – God with us.

14 The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is the Messiah, the Lord. – Luke 2:11

4 But when the set time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. – Galatians 4:4-5

The nativity of Christ is not where the story ends. The Bible gives us many amazing truths about Jesus – truths which should comfort and sustain us, grow our faith, and help us see Jesus for Who He is. God with us, for us, and loving us.

Jesus is:Our Savior:

Jesus died for the sins of the whole world. He came to save the entire human race – past, present, and future. Only those who choose to trust Jesus for eternal life will spend eternity with God, but in dying for us all, Jesus shows His love for each person. God loved you enough to give up His Son for you.

29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! – John 1:29

14 For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that One died for all, and therefore all died. 15 And He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for Him who died for them and was raised again. – 2 Corinthians 5:14-15

8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. – Romans 5:8

Our Mediator:

We can’t save ourselves from our sin. We are born with a sin nature and commit sin from the time we are little children. That is why the hope of Jesus is such an amazing hope! Jesus did for us what we could not do – atone for our sin so that we could have a relationship with God. Sin separates us from God since God is completely Holy and Perfect (how can He allow imperfect things into His presence?). The sacrifice of Jesus opens the way for us to enter God’s presence.

For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave Himself as a ransom for all people. This has now been witnessed to at the proper time. – 1 Timothy 2:5-6

50 And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. 51 At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. – Matthew 27:50-51a

God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. – 2 Corinthians 5:21

Our Advocate:

Jesus is God. He is One with the Father and is in complete agreement with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. He is Eternal, Perfect, and Holy. Since the incarnation (Jesus’ birth in a physical, human body) Jesus is also a genuine man. He has free will, He ate and slept and cried and talked just as we did. And Jesus understands us perfectly, since He spent time with us. With sinners, in this cruel, sin-tainted world. He knows exactly what it is like to walk in our shoes, tested and tempted – yet Jesus did not sin. We, however, do sin. And when we do, Jesus advocates for us on the basis of His sacrifice for us. We can be righteous since Jesus sacrificed Himself in our place – what amazing love.

My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. – 1 John 2:1

Jesus came to us – to redeem us. Without Jesus’ physical birth, there could be no cross. Without Jesus’ death on the cross, no redemption and resurrection for us. Jesus took on true humanity to give His life for us. He was born to die.

With the sacrifice of Jesus and our trust in Jesus, we can pray directly to the Father for forgiveness of sin. And God has promised to grant us forgiveness since Jesus – our Advocate – has paid the price for our wrongdoing.

 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. – 1 John 1:9

Our Example:

Jesus is our example in this life. He walked through this world without sin and although we will never come close to a sinless life (we have a sin nature) we can see how Jesus resisted temptation and use that to encourage ourselves in our struggle against sin. Jesus was not without His share of temptation and pain – He was fighting the most intense spiritual warfare (much more than we will ever have to). And He stood solidly in the Lord without wavering.

Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. – Hebrews 12:3

Therefore, since we have a great High Priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15 For we do not have a High Priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have One who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet He did not sin. – Hebrews 4:14-15

The Bible tells us that Jesus represents God the Father. He said and did exactly what God wanted – every single time.

The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by His powerful word. After He had provided purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. – Hebrews 1:3

49 For I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me to say all that I have spoken. 50 I know that His command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say.” – John 12:49-50

8 Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” 9 Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on My own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in Me, who is doing His work. – John 14:8-10

When Jesus came into the world He came to save us. He came to die. At Christmas time and every other day of our lives, let us live for Jesus and with the hope that His life and sacrifice gives us!

“She will give birth to a Son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.” – Matthew 1:21

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The Same Mindset

1 Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from His love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

6 Who, being in very nature God,
    did not consider equality with God something to be used to His own advantage;
7 rather, He made Himself nothing
    by taking the very nature of a servant,
    being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in appearance as a man,
    He humbled himself
    by becoming obedient to death—
        even death on a cross!

9 Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place
    and gave Him the name that is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
    in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
    to the glory of God the Father.

-Philippians 2:1-11

In this passage, we are called to “have the same mindset as Christ Jesus”. Jesus is God and He can raise the dead (John 11:43-44), give sight to the blind (John 9:7), and forgive sins (Matthew 9:6). We, of course, can’t do those things. And only Jesus could die for us, since He is the One and Only perfect Son of God (we are stained by sin and could never have any righteousness apart from Jesus).

How then do we have the same mindset as Jesus did?

Jesus lived among us and died for us out of His amazing love for us. He can’t do anything that isn’t love, since His very nature is love. And we are to love one another with a Christ-like love.

Jesus says:

10 “If you keep My commands, you will remain in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commands and remain in His love. 11 I have told you this so that My joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.” – John 15:10-12 (emphasis added).

“This is my command: Love each other.” – John 15:17

What is Love?

What does love look like? God has given us general guidelines in the Bible on love.

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8 Love never fails. – 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a

“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.” – Matthew 7:12

As Paul writes in Philippians 2:1-2,

“Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from His love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. – Philippians 2:1-2

In verse 1, Paul lists the things we have as believers:

we should take encouragement every day in our union with Jesus! Through trusting in Christ, we are saved and will enjoy an eternity with God and blessings more amazing than we can presently imagine. we should take deep comfort in Christ’s love for us, delighting in the security and joy we have in Jesuswe all have the Holy Spirit living inside uswe should have tenderness and compassion for those around us

In verse 2, Paul tells us that we should live that out in love for one another – that we should have the same love, the same spirit, the same mind. We can only achieve that by growing in the truth of God’s Word. As we grow closer to Jesus and understand the Bible more, our thinking will shift from a worldly viewpoint to a God-centered viewpoint. This won’t happen overnight and without diligently studying the Bible and applying those principles to our lives, but the change will come as we continue to seek God. And as our fellow Christians are applying themselves to this task also (us helping them when and where we can) we will all be growing into the same love, spirit and mind.

Consider Others

Paul gives us more instructions in verses 3 and 4:

3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

We all need time to take care of ourselves. Some of us work for a living. Some of us stay at home to care for our children. Some of us are sick and need to concentrate on getting well. There are many circumstances and many complications. God is not telling us to ignore our own needs or families or work to the detriment of our own lives.

That said, we must avoid making excuses. Most of us can probably spare some extra time and energy to look to the needs of others (and if we truly can’t, God knows that as well). We also must avoid being guilt-tripped into something that God isn’t calling us to do. Let the Holy Spirit guide you in your specific circumstances.

Ask yourself how you can love the people you are with every day.

Loving others is often doing very daily things. Pray for your friends. Tell your kids about God. Lend a helping hand to a grumpy co-worker. Send an encouraging text to someone who needs a reminder of God’s love. Jesus lived among us in our everyday lives – He ate and slept and got tired just like us, and still He chose to love us perfectly, all the time.

We try to imitate Christ’s love in our interactions with others.

And when someone around us doesn’t love us in return….

32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. – Ephesians 4:32

We’re not perfect (surprise!) And we should give grace to those around us:

to unbelievers, remembering that God loves them and desires their salvation (1 Timothy 2:4). to believers, remembering that God loves them and desires their spiritual good and growth.

As we live in this dark world, let us shine the light of Christ’s love to those around us. Let us show love to the strangers we meet and the people within our own houses also. Jesus loves us and shows us how to love others – let us love as Jesus would have us to!

37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” – Matthew 22:37-40

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In this world of sin and suffering, even believers experience hardships. Sometimes it seems like the strongest Christians we know are hit with the hardest life circumstances and we question why. Why does a good God allow such hard things to happen? Some of the hardships we must go through are specifically allowed by God to refine our faith (1 Peter 1:3-7). As we grow spiritually and advance in our Christian walk, God allows harder testing to come our way. 

We should not allow the thought of testing to discourage us. God has promised to never leave us (Hebrews 13:5).What if we can’t seem to handle what we’re going through now? We must have complete trust that God will prepare us for all we must face (now and in future testing) and give us His strength as we use our free-will to respond to Him (Philippians 2:13).

We are told to consider it pure joy when we face trials (James 1:2-4). Why? Trials produce perseverance of our faith. And faith in Jesus is our entire life, our victory over this sinful world (1 John 5:4). In the passage about the armor of God, (with every principle listed essential to warding off the attacks of the enemy) our faith is called a shield “with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one” (Ephesians 6:10-17). Faith is trusting God, even when we don’t understand or can’t see the plan. 

Jesus – Our Role Model

As in all things, we can look to our Savior and role model, Jesus. He was tested more intensely than anyone else in human history. When confronted with the lies of the enemy, He responded with God’s Word (Matthew 4:1-11). This should encourage us in many ways since:

The Bible contains only truth. (Titus 1:2)

Jesus directly quoted Scripture with every response. He used only God’s Word to knock down wrong ideas.

The Bible contains all the truth we need. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

Jesus was sufficiently prepared for every attack, since the Bible has all the truth we need to defend against every lie. Jesus had a perfect understanding of the truth (through much diligence and study on His part), and this should encourage us to grow spiritually so that we are more prepared to handle attacks.

The Bible can be trusted and acted upon. (James 1:22)

Jesus demonstrated the importance of knowing Scripture, and also trusting it is true and applying it to our lives. Knowing the Bible does us little good if we don’t act on what we know.

God’s Provision

When we are tested, we must never underestimate God’s loving provision. Unlike people, even the people who love us the most, God always works in our lives with goodness. His goodness is untainted and perfectly consistent (Hebrews 13:8). We are assured in Romans 8:28 that whatever God allows in the life of a believer, it is for our good.

Many circumstances in this life don’t seem good. Illness, financial strain, damaged relationships, the death of a loved one. Often we look at the world through the eyes of our fear, doubt, selfishness, and sin nature. We have to train ourselves to look at the world through God’s point of view. How is this accomplished? Through learning and believing the truth (Romans 12:2). The more Scripture and Biblical principles we store in our hearts, and apply these to our lives through the power of the Holy Spirit, we start to see our circumstances through an eternal perspective. Every day is an opportunity for spiritual growth and eternal reward. 

God’s Deliverance

Testing is a sign that we are growing in the truth. While testing can push us outside our comfort zone, even stretch us to our limit, we should keep our thoughts NOT on our problems or pain, but on our response. The apostle Paul wrote the epistle of 2 Timothy from jail, shortly before he was executed, and he knew he was going to face death (2 Timothy 4:6). Yet he still said with confidence that “The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen. (2 Timothy 4:18).

When we consider Paul’s martyrdom, it could be tempting to ask, “How did God deliver him? Paul still died a violent death. How is that rescuing him from every evil attack?” We are told not to fear men or what they may do to us (Philippians 1:27-28, Luke 12:4-5, Psalm 56:11). Although to our human eyes and emotions it is a terrifying thing to die a death like Paul, we don’t know how God provided for them in their time of testing. We don’t know the strength, reassurance, peace or sound mind He gave those believers. We do know that God will perfectly provide in all situations (2 Peter 1:3). Just as long as we choose the right path, God will give us strength to endure all things through the power of the Holy Spirit within us (Philippians 2:12-13, Zechariah 4:6, Philippians 4:12-13).

Joy – An Eternal Perspective

When we are tested, we can rest assured that God knows exactly who we are and how much we can take. Handling pressure is not simple. Joy is not automatic. God is gracious and merciful to us and will not give us what we cannot take (1 Corinthians 10:13). When we are tempted to give up, to doubt God’s promises, to mitigate the pressures through our own human efforts or sinful actions, we must choose to stand on God’s Word. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). The Holy Spirit is our comforter and guide (John 14:16-17). Testing should not undermine our faith – rather, we should call to mind the eternal, perfect character of God and continue to walk as God would have us to (1 Peter 4:19).

The apostle Paul, who suffered intensely for Jesus Christ, calls his suffering “light and momentary troubles”. (2 Corinthians 4:17-18). He endured this suffering without giving his attention to this world and its worries – rather, he sought to keep his mind on eternity. When we trust that our faithful endurance of trials will not fail to lose its due reward in eternity (Matthew 10:42), we take our eyes off the pain here and we hope for the glories to come.

3 Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. – Romans 5:3-5 (NIV)

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