“His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love” (2 Peter 1:3-7).

We started this series on Godliness last week. The opening passage assures us that God’s “divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness.” God has made promises to us that we can escape the corruption of the world caused by evil desires, so that we can participate in the divine nature. There is a truth in these words that is borne out by other Scriptures—God’s divine nature is incompatible with evil desires. Frankly, that scares me, because I confess that I have evil desires. You may not see me often acting on them, but they are there. I’m human.

But God has promised us an escape from these evil desires. Picture that language of escape—running for our very lives! We must realize the danger and flee!! It is said that if we do not sense the corruption of the world around us, we have already been swallowed up in it. Again, that is such a scary thought. I am thankful every day that God has rescued me through His mercy and by the grace of Jesus.

We will dive into this topic of godliness, beginning with the doctrine of faith. Faith is the foundation of our ongoing sanctification. Jesus Christ once and for all provided the atonement (payment) for all our sins. By believing in him, we receive this gift of salvation and are immediately set right with God. From this point forward, we know our souls are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, and we are citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven for all eternity. We will never experience the second death. Can we just stop for a moment and shout praises of gratitude for our loving God!?! “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!” (2 Corinthians 9:15).

We started this explanation of faith by talking about believing. Note that our salvation is predicated first on the work of Jesus on the cross, and secondly, on our belief that He did this for us. Jesus himself tells us through his word to his disciples: “Then they asked him, ‘What must we do to do the works God requires?’ Jesus answered, ‘The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.’” (John 6:28-29).

Jesus himself proclaimed “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).

An English idiom states: Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth. Cambridge Dictionary interprets the meaning of this idiom as “to advise someone not to refuse something good that is being offered.” This is wise advice. Jesus has offered himself as the Resurrection and the Life. When the jailer asked Paul and Silas, what must he do to be saved, “They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household” (Acts 16:31).

Faith is simple, but it is not easy. In the letter to the Hebrews, faith is described as “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1). Believing is the first step to faith, to seeing. “Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” (John 11:40). We have God’s Word, which contains many fulfillments of prophecies, which bear witness to the truth. Jesus himself says, “I am one who testifies for myself; my other witness is the Father, who sent me” (John 8:18). We have the testimonies of the disciples, ordinary men who walked and talked with Jesus and saw him crucified, buried, resurrected, felt his wounds, and saw him ascend to heaven in the clouds. We have the testimonies of all the saints who have gone before us, many of whom died for their faith. They put their beliefs into action.

Faith takes belief to the next level. You can believe that your chair will hold you up. But until you sit down on it, you are not putting your belief into action; you are not demonstrating faith. Paul lists faithfulness as one of the fruits of the spirit. In his letter to the Romans, he writes, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). And he reiterates in his letter to the Ephesians, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Faith is simple, but it is not easy. The father witnessed Jesus performing a miracle of exorcising an unclean spirit from his son, and still he prayed “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24). If you have doubts, pray to God. He will answer your prayers. And pray that He will guide you to put your beliefs into action according to His will.

“Beyond all question, the mystery from which true godliness springs is great: He appeared in the flesh, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory” (1 Timothy 3:16).

In Christ,

Judy

“His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of Him who called us by his own glory and goodness.Through these He has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love” (2 Peter 1:3-7).

I love lists. I am a list-maker. Lists help me to organize my thoughts, my agenda, my daily and life-time goals. I like to think I am organized, and I need to believe that I am productive and progressing. My husband just calls me obsessive.

Anyway, for that reason, I have always been attracted to this passage in 2 Peter, because it is so logical and progressive. One way to read it would be: Do not just have faith but demonstrate the fruit of your faith by doing good things. Do not just do good things but gain knowledge. Do not have knowledge just to have knowledge but use it wisely and be self-controlled. In being self-controlled, be persistent and constant; and in doing so, be godly. In being godly, have good relationships with others; and last but certainly not least, do all in love.

It is assumed that we start with faith, which is the gift of God for those who believe. In the first part of this passage, Peter tells us that through the power of the Holy Spirit, we have everything we need for a godly life. By knowing God and Jesus Christ our Lord, we can participate in all His promises and overcome the corruption of the world. Who would not want that? Our part is to make every effort to pursue a godly life; in other words, follow Jesus as His disciple, obedient to His will.

All this sounds basic, fundamental, and therefore, perhaps a “no-brainer.” However, when we ponder God and His great love for us, along with and his Holy, Holy, Holiness, we might begin to see some contradictions in ourselves. Especially if we are honest with ourselves and really seek to be convicted of anything that would be displeasing to God. That is because God, who loves each of us with an unfailing love, absolutely hates—cannot tolerate—sin. And we are all sinners.

My husband, our sons, and several of our grandchildren like to bow hunt, and in doing so they practice with targets. In shooting an arrow into a target, the goal would be to hit the bullseye, the very center of the target. Anything off center is missing the target, the mark. That is a particularly good definition of sin. The target is perfection, holiness, and sinlessness. Anything off center is missing the mark; it is sin. It can be sin of commission—doing something you should not do, or it can be a sin of omission—failing to do something that you should have done. God is three-fold holy, perfection. He says to us: Be holy, as I am holy.

Speaking to believers now: if we love God, and if we desire to pursue holiness, we must, therefore, hate sin just like He does. We must, as Paul explains, make every effort to put off our sin. But it is important to distinguish between the sin and the sinner. As believers in and followers of Christ, we are sinners saved by grace. We are covered by the blood of Jesus. When the great day of the Lord comes, as described in Matthew 25, we will be counted among the sheep, destined for heaven, only because of the grace and love of our God and Lord and Savior. And when we come before Jesus at the Great White Throne of Judgment, we will not be at risk of eternal damnation, but we will be accountable for what we have done and we will be eligible for rewards, crowns, again because of His love and mercy.

To circle back around, all this is not a pass. We cannot freely sin, make up our own rules, rationalize our behavior, or condone sin in any way, just because we have received Christ as our Savior. Paul writes in Romans 6:15 “What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means!”  So, in our pursuit of holiness, obedience, and desire to please God, I am beginning a series on the topic of godliness. And my prayer is that everything that I write will be truth, that it will be written with love for God and love for each reader, and that it will be received in love, for that is my intention.

In Christ,

Judy

“Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord” (Psalm 27:14).

Two weeks ago, the Chaplain’s Corner devotional was on the topic of waiting: “Wait for It!” Waiting assumes a space in time between two events. I have finished my grocery shopping and now I am waiting in line to check out. I have had medical tests and now I am waiting for a diagnosis. Sometimes waiting is just that: some space in time. Today is Wednesday, and on Friday you will get paid. The difficulty here may be that you have bills to pay in the interim and you do not know how you will manage. The really challenging kind of waiting assumes some unknown factor. I know that some of you reading this have been told that you or a family member will be receiving medical test results in a few days, but you do not know what the diagnosis or follow-up treatment will be. That’s a particularly demanding situation requiring waiting.

The question is: what will we do while we wait? In the devotional two weeks ago we talked about prayer, the first and foremost way to ensure we are living God’s plan for our lives, even during the waiting.

In the interim, we struggle to know what, when, and how to speak and act. When is it best to listen, and when should we speak up? When is it best to act, and when should we wait patiently? When should we accept the situation, and when should we fight? All questions, and no ready answers. So, when we pray, we pray for discernment. When we have these choices to make, we should ask ourselves:  Would our words or actions align with biblical teaching. For example,

1. Praying that God be glorified in our words and actions is never wrong.
2. Showing compassion and kindness is never wrong.
3. Sitting with and listening is never wrong.

In many cases, it is in the waiting that real leadership surfaces. When everyone else is just sitting around complaining and being anxious, the real leader assesses the situation and takes charge.

In Acts, we see Peter begin to demonstrate his “take charge” approach that will lead him into a leadership role in the early church. “During these days, Peter stood up among the ‘brothers” – the number of people who were together was about 120 – and said: ‘Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled that the Holy Spirit through the mouth of David spoke in advance about Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus. (Acts 1:15-16). Taking his direction from the Book of Psalms “Let his dwelling become desolate; let no one live in it; and let someone else take his position” (Psalms 69:25, Acts 1:20), Based on the Scriptures, Peter proposed that they choose someone to take Judas’ place to round out their number once again to twelve.

Finally, it is all about perspective. Actually, when are we NOT waiting? Isn’t life all about waiting, in a sense? Parents learn that they are pregnant. Waiting. It is an expectant time, full of preparation for the new life to be born. We look at a gravestone with a date of birth and a date of death. The dash in the middle—waiting. Sometimes waiting with expectancy, sometimes with dread, sometimes with impatience, sometimes with resignation. We are always waiting.

Let us resolve not to waste a minute on unproductive waiting. God has made us fruit-bearers. So, whether we have just been planted, the flowers are blooming, the buds are setting, or the fruit is maturing, let us be productive. Praying, praising God, teaching, modeling, showing love and compassion.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22-23).

In Christ,

Judy

On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 1:4-5).

According to the church calendar, we are currently midway between Jesus’ Resurrection and Pentecost, which occurred 50 days after Easter (May 24 this year). Jesus has commanded his disciples to stay in Jerusalem to wait for their baptism with the Holy Spirit. In hindsight, we understand what Jesus meant. However, the disciples must have been filled with quite a bit of uncertainty. They asked questions, but Jesus told them “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority (Acts 1:7). And then Jesus did promise them “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). What???

What must it have felt like to the disciples during that time? Their beloved leader said he was leaving, but they needed to stay in Jerusalem, a dangerous place for them. Jesus told them just enough to give them hope. He told them to wait for the gift he had promised. Apparently, they would be traveling soon. And they would have power from the Holy Spirit, which perhaps they had some idea about but not fully. And Jesus gave them the ultimate ambiguous command: Wait!

Does anyone like to be told to wait? Indeed, does anyone like to wait? For sure, there are rare circumstances where waiting is better than the alternative. But mostly, waiting is painful. We wait for the doctor, the diagnosis, the treatment date, to recover. We wait for the plane to take off. We wait for the interview, the offer, the start date. We find ourselves in the middle of waiting: for someone to show up, for someone to leave, for the show to start, for the game to be over. Waiting is a fact of life. It is not if we will wait, it is how we wait.

In truth, on an earthly level, we are waiting for all those things I listed above—health, financial, job, relationships; all have a waiting component. However, on a spiritual level, we are also waiting. And although it might not be obvious, God is working while we are waiting. We are on his timetable, rather than the other way around. God is working out his plan for his good pleasure. He has a role for each of us, and he will put us in at just the right time. He will give us our directions and ensure that we have just what we need when we need it. So how do we wait for it?

1. We wait in humility, with the perspective that God is God, and we are not. “You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Everyone is but a breath, even those who seem secure” (Psalm 39:5).
2. We wait with trust in God. We know that He is able, and that He is loving. “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us” (Ephesians 3:20). “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love” (Psalm 103:8).

The apostles gave us the best example of how to wait, and their example is applicable for most any circumstance. We read in Acts 1:13-14 that after Jesus ascended to heaven, they returned to Jerusalem together (as instructed), and “When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James, and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers” (Acts 1:13-14).

The next time you find yourself waiting, remember these words. Find some prayer partners and devote yourselves to prayer. Prayer is not what we do as a last resort. It is the first and foremost way to participate fully in God’s plan for our lives.

“Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, ‘The Lord is my portion; therefore, I will wait for him.’” (Lamentations 3:22-23).

In Christ,

Judy

“Mary Magdalen went to the disciples with the news: ‘I have seen the Lord!’ And she told them that he had said these things to her” (John 20:18).

Easter Sunday was just a little over two weeks ago. Now it seems that we are all back to “business as usual.” Was Easter just another day on the calendar? No! Not for believers. Knowing that Jesus was crucified for our sins, buried, risen from the dead, and ascended to Heaven to be with his Father demands a response from us. And do not be deceived: no response is a response. In His words: “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters” (Matthew 12:30).

Reflecting on the events preceding Easter, I cannot imagine the roller coaster ride the disciples took from the day they entered Jerusalem during Passover Week on a high note, enjoying intimacy with Jesus during the Passover supper, then seeing him arrested, beaten, humiliated, and then crucified and buried. And then to see him risen from the dead! How could this be?

What emotions! We would expect joy, but there was also fear, for very good reason. In fact, the first thing the angel in the tomb said to Mary was “Don’t be alarmed. He is risen! He is not here.” “Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid” (Mark 16:6b,8).

I am sure Jesus’ family and friends were experiencing a variety of emotions from grief to disbelief, to fear. They had aligned themselves with a man who had become an enemy of both the Jewish leaders and the Romans, to the point where he had been cruelly murdered. They thought they had chosen to follow the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, but their guy had been hung up on a cross in between common criminals. What was to be their own fate? They were hiding, trying to figure out what to do. Leaderless, unaffiliated, unemployed, in a hostile environment. The situation could not have been worse.

Not only that, unbeknownst to them, the guards and priests were devising a cover story to put the blame on the disciples for stealing Jesus’ body. They were afraid that they would get in trouble with the governor of Judea, so now any punishment for “losing” Jesus would fall on the disciples. Where do you hide, now? Just try to absorb all this and put yourselves in their shoes. It has gone from bad to worse. But then!

“On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you!’ After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. Again, Jesus said, ‘Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.’ And with that he breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.’” (John 20:19-23).

What a roller coaster ride! Jesus is with them. Now He is blessing them and giving them the power of the Holy Spirit as He sends them forth. And they are obedient, even at risk of personal, financial, and physical harm. Jesus loves his followers; He calls us to tell the story of the Good News to all who would believe. What a story! What a Savior! Like those first apostles, how can we keep this Good News to ourselves, especially when the only real risk in our day and time is perhaps some unpopularity.

Easter represents the Resurrection of Jesus to all believers. As believers, we identify with Jesus and his message. He sends us forth to tell the Good News of forgiveness of sins through his atoning sacrifice. When we believe, we must share this Good News!

In the words of Martin Luther: “Here I stand, I can do no other, so help me God. Amen.”

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

In Christ,

Judy

“I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead” (Philippians 3:10-11).

The opening verse for last week’s Chaplain’s Corner was from Job 19:25 “I know that my Redeemer Lives.” This is a powerful verse. Because this is the Truth—the Redeemer lives, and one day every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. But, can you say, “I know Christ?”  Because being able to say you know your Redeemer puts you on the right side of Jesus—where you can speak this truth knowing you will be living forever with your Redeemer, rather than acknowledging this truth from a position of forever looking on but not being with.

Here’s an example: For a long time, I knew that deep sea diving would be fascinating, but I didn’t know about it personally until I tried it for myself. Not until I jumped into the ocean to swim among the fishes and coral reefs could I really know the incredible seemingly infinite wonders of the deep sea. That’s just a sliver of an example of the difference between knowing that Jesus lives — there is historical proof of his life, death, and resurrection — and knowing Jesus Himself.

How can we go beyond knowing the fact to actually knowing the Saviour?

1. We must trust our equipment. When I dive, I am equipped. I cannot dive without my equipment, especially my tanks which supply oxygen for breathing. When Jesus walked the earth, those around him could physically interact with him. They could actually touch him, speak with him, eat with him, and get to know him personally. But now that he has ascended to the right hand of God, we must have equipment, and in our case, it is the Holy Spirit and the Scriptures, to access Jesus. Jesus speaks to us through the Scriptures, and he resides in our hearts through the Holy Spirit. And trust me, this equipment is as life supporting as are my oxygen tanks. Trust the Scriptures and the Holy Spirit when they tell you Jesus died for your sins and that receiving this gift means eternal life (Romans 6:23).
2. We must practice regularly. It is easy to get out of the habit of knowing what to do when you go for a long time without actually doing it. You get rusty. If you go too long between dives, you should take a refresher course. Jumping back in without regular practice is not impossible, but it is not as easy either, and you never get better at it (2 Timothy 2:15).
3. We must go all in. You can’t just half-way dive or be casual about it. Your head is either under water or it’s not. And if it’s not, then you are not scuba diving (Romans 12:1-2).

Granted, this is not the best analogy because I no longer dive, but I’m still all-in with Jesus. I gave up on diving, so it gave up on me. But thank God, Jesus will never give up on me! There’s really no comparison with knowing Jesus, because once you really know him and accept him as your Saviour, then He knows you and the relationship cannot be undone. It is forever!

“I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand” (John 10:28).

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39).

In Christ,

Judy

“I know that my Redeemer lives!” (Job 19:25)

We just celebrated Easter, exulting in the fact that Jesus rose from the dead and lives at the right hand of God. He is our living LORD!! This is the good news of the Gospel, but maybe in the reality of your actual life, this good news doesn’t always seem to be enough?

Do you know about the Job of the Bible? Job experienced terrible physical pain, absolute financial ruin, and the tragic deaths of all his children at the hand of Satan. I honestly have never known anyone who has had it worse than Job; he lost everything except for his wife and a few “friends.”  And for the first half of the book about him, Job in utter misery cursed the day of his birth, complained about his problems, and wished for death; in fact, he said he wished he had never been born. This is a picture of someone who is completely hopeless (he said his spirit was broken). Perhaps you can identify with Job, at least at some level. To add to Job’s problems, his friends tried to “counsel” him and just made it worse. Maybe you can even identify with that.

However, about halfway through the book, Job arrives at this wonderful statement of faith: “I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!” (Job 19:25-27).

When Job acknowledged his trust in God and proclaimed the sovereignty of God, his life changed. In the end, Job’s fortunes were restored. Not all of us start out rich, and even if we trust in God we may not end up with earthly riches. But when we trust in God and acknowledge that our Redeemer lives and that He holds our future in his hands, we will have the life that God intends for us, and it will be worth living. The words of this song by Matt Maher speak to this truth. Read this (click on the link to hear it).

Because He Lives (Amen)

I believe in the Son
I believe in the risen One
I believe I overcome
By the power of His blood

I was dead in the grave
I was covered in sin and shame
I heard mercy call my name
He rolled the stone away

Because He lives
I can face tomorrow
Because He lives
Every fear is gone
I know He holds my life my future in His hands

Amen, Amen
I’m alive, I’m alive
Because He lives

Amen, Amen
Let my song join the one that never ends
Because He lives
Because He lives!

I pray that you will know the perfect peace that comes from really knowing your living Savior and trusting in Him. Amen.

In Christ,

Judy