Archive | November 2024

Chaplain’s Corner – Sanctification

Nov20

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

There are several words that explain how salvation works, and while this devotional is not intended to serve as a theological dictionary, a few explanations might be helpful. When Jesus died on the cross, he accomplished our salvation once and for all by paying our debt of sin with his life. This is referred to as “justification. “ We are also sanctified, or set apart, by our union with Christ. “But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Corinthians 6:11).

Even though we have been set apart — or sanctified — positionally as God’s holy people, there is no question that we continue to sin. That is why God calls us to cooperate with the Holy Spirit in our ongoing sanctification with a goal of becoming more like Jesus Christ. “Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose” (Philippians 2:12-13).

My personal objective is to become more intentional in my efforts to conform to the image of Jesus Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit, knowing that only when Christ returns will we as believers be made perfect in holiness. My desire is to hear Jesus say, “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).

In our efforts to grow in sanctification, we must first learn what it looks like. We must approach it prayerfully and seek genuine heart change. This is what it means to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. Paul includes instructions to the followers of Jesus in his letters to the churches. During the next few devotionals, we will look at several of these passages in Romans, Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians.

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 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 12:1-2).

In Christ,

Judy

Chaplain’s Corner – Godly Wisdom, part 2

Nov13

“But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere” (James 3:17 ESV).

Two weeks ago, we pondered James’ question “Who is wise and understanding among you?” (James 3:13). This is a convicting question. I think most of us agree that we desire wisdom. We talked about the opposite of wisdom, which is foolishness. None of us desires to be fools in anyone’s eyes. So, let us continue to allow James to be our guide in exploring elements five through eight of wisdom and how they apply to our Christian walk.

  1. Wisdom is full of mercy. We all benefit from God’s mercy, his withholding of wrath for the sinfulness of his creation. As God’s children, we are beneficiaries of God’s grace, whereby we have the righteousness of Christ so that our sin is not held against us. In that, we are absolute debtors to God for his gracious gifts. Who, then, are we to withhold any mercies that we can bestow on others? It is foolish to do otherwise. When Jesus taught us to pray, he included “and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors” (Matthew 6:12). Note that the verse reads “full of mercy.” An abundance of mercy! We must not be stingy with our mercy, as we are so thankful that God is so generous with His mercy that he sacrificed his only Son in payment for our sins. Praise God!! “For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required” (Luke 12:48).
  2. Wisdom is fruitful. Honestly, I got a little hung up on this one at first, and then I got back on track with Galatians 5:22-23 – “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” These qualities, some of which we have already discussed, both contribute to wisdom and are the result of wisdom. These qualities are planted in our hearts when we place our faith in Jesus, and then are demonstrated in our works. (Just like an apple tree produces apples and a stalk of corn produces corn.) “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10). James tells us that faith without works is dead. He is not talking about works to earn our salvation; he is saying that our works, our wisdom, are evidence of our faith (James 2:17).
  3. Wisdom is impartial. The book of James has so much to say about impartiality, especially in Chapter two where he writes about avoiding favoritism, treating everyone with fairness, not judging on external appearances. I am reminded in this of the Golden Rule “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). Praise God for His impartiality. Praise God that He does not play the comparison game as we can be prone to do, whether making comparisons between others, or between ourselves and others. “For God does not show favoritism” (Romans 2:11).
  4. Wisdom is sincere. Sincerity means genuineness, transparency, consistency, trustworthiness. It implies integrity or wholeness, meaning that what you say is who you really are; what you say is what you really mean. What you see is what you get. It means that we are not putting on an act or a front; that we may change our personality depending on our audience. When we possess godly wisdom, we will avoid deceit and disguise and instead be honest with others and show sincerity in our words and actions. “Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good” (Romans 12:9).

Let us diligently pursue wisdom. Seek to nourish the seeds of faith and wisdom that the Holy Spirit has planted in your heart and grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

“A foolish person delights in doing evil. But wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men….” (Proverbs 2:14).

In Christ,

Judy

P.S.: If you would like to talk more about any of these devotions or matters that concern you, please stop by my office, or call or text me at 615-804-3453 to arrange a time, and I will be happy to speak with you.

Chaplain’s Corner – One Hope

Nov6

”As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all” (Ephesians 4:1-6).

I wrote this on Tuesday afternoon, November 5. The election results would be coming in later this evening, and we would likely have a good idea who our next president would be. All the analysts are doing their what-if analyses, but it will probably be too close to call until the final ballot is counted. Of course, now we are pretty sure. And this devotional remains applicable.

We are a nation deeply divided in our politics. We are a nation that seems to define ourselves more by politics than by gender or race or economic background. We are divided by color—red or blue.

In our divisiveness, many fear that we are doomed if the “other” candidate wins. But if I have learned anything from our Bible study, it is that this is an incomplete scenario. Here are two principles that explain how this scenario falls short.

For this first principle, the book of Daniel, chapter 3, is instructive. The book is set in Babylon. King Nebuchadnezzar, the most powerful ruler in the world at that time, took the Israelites from Judah into captivity. This Nebuchadnezzar is so powerful and so arrogant and so egotistical that he is easily persuaded to build monuments to himself and to order hero worship. He is a ruthless king, willing to send those who disobey to certain death in the fiery furnace (you should really read the chapter). Yet when God saved Daniel’s three friends from the fire, Nebuchadnezzar praised the Lord (v.28).

    In chapter 6, a subsequent ruler sends Daniel to the lion’s den. God shut the mouths of the lions and Daniel was spared, causing the Persian King Darius to proclaim: ““I issue a decree that in every part of my kingdom people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel. ‘For he is the living God and he endures forever; his kingdom will not be destroyed, his dominion will never end. He rescues and he saves; he performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth. He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions’” (Daniel 6:26-29).

    The principle of the sovereignty of God is our guide. God was sovereign over Babylon and Persia during the time of Daniel, and he is sovereign over our world today, regardless of who is sitting in any oval office or on any earthly throne. “And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way” (Ephesians 1:22-23).

    Remember, we are commanded by God to obey whoever is elected, again, because God is sovereign over all. “Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God” (Romans 13:1).

    Secondly, there are two sides, but they are defined differently than by any of the above factors. The two sides are (1) believers in Jesus, Son of God, and (2) unbelievers in Jesus, Son of God. And each of these two sides includes both “reds” and “blues.” However, we need to realize that at least for believers, our unity in Christ transcends all else. Don’t get me wrong. It is not a bad thing to have differences of opinion and civil debates. But we need to see beyond these differences of opinion to the heart of our fellow man. The opening verse describes this unity that is empowered by the Holy Spirit. We are called to be peacemakers, not just peacekeepers. That takes work, sacrifice, grace, and mercy.

    The principle of the Trinity is our guide. The relationship between the Trinity–God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit–define and model the relationship we should have with God and each other, as witness to the world of the saving grace of Jesus.

    “I ask that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me” (John 17:21).

    In Christ,

    Judy

    P.S.: If you would like to talk more about any of these devotions or matters that concern you, please stop by my office, or call or text me at 615-804-3453 to arrange a time, and I will be happy to speak with you.