Tag Archive | christianity

Chaplain’s Corner – To Be or Not to Be

Jun30

Chaplain’s Corner – To Be or Not to Be

“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 several weeks ago, looking at Peter’s instructions about growing in our godly life. After building on faith, goodness, knowledge, self-control, and perseverance, we now come to the main objective: godliness. We are to add the pursuit of godliness to our efforts.

Just how are we to do this? What does this even mean? When I start down a line of questions like this, I can get hung up on seemingly trivial things. Take the word “am” for example. That is a small word, but oh, so deep! God calls himself, “I am who I am.” How can you get more essential, more fundamental than that?

That brings me to another small word: “be.” Ponder that one! “Be” could mean a state of being. It can also mean a continuing pursuit. For example, how many times has a loved one told you to “be careful” or to “be good.” My grandmother used to tell me to “be sweet.” Are they telling us that careful, good, and sweet are states of being, or are they telling us to pursue these things? Likely both. If you are like me, I did not immediately take steps to be careful, good, or sweet; however, those admonishments did linger in my ears as a sort of reminder or conscience-pricker when I strayed off the path.

In Ephesians 4:1-2, Paul tells the Ephesian church “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.” Paul picks up in verse 20 with a set of instructions for how to be Christ- (or God-) like. He says “That, however, is not the way of life you learned when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. You were taught, with regard to your former way of life:

  • to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires;
  • to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 
  • and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
  • Therefore, each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body.
  • In your anger do not sin.
  • Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry;
  • do not give the devil a foothold. 
  • Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need.
  • Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 
  • And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 
  • Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.” 

And Paul sums it up in verse 32: “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”

All these challenges are ultimately a call to holiness. God declares that he is holy. The simplest and most accurate definition of holy is “set apart, separate, different, dedicated, consecrated.” Think about it like this: the word “holiday” is a corruption of “holy day.” Whether it is holidays or holy days, we know these days are different from the other days, they are set apart from the rest of the calendar. So, to be godly is to be holy. And God calls us to be holy as he himself is holy. All those challenges listed above call us to be different from the world, to be holy, to pursue godliness.

“Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.” (1 John 3:2).

In Christ,

Judy

Chaplain’s Corner – Mercy Triumphs!

Mar31

“And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion, and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished….” (Exodus 34:6-7).

The verse quoted above is how God described Himself to Moses. We know that God has many attributes, and among those we celebrate most especially during this Holy Week are God’s Justice, God’s Love, and God’s Mercy.

God is a God of justice: He is holy, so he cannot abide sin. The verse above says that “he does not leave the guilty unpunished.” God gave the law to establish the Hebrews as his people and to set standards for how his people should live. The tablets upon which God’s hand wrote the Ten Commandments were physically located in the Ark of the Covenant in the Holy of Holies. God commanded us to “Be holy, because I the Lord your God am Holy.”  Any time we are less than perfectly holy, we are in sin. And Paul tells us that “…all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

God is a God of love: In the opening verse, God tells us that he is “abounding in love in faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands.” And the New Testament reinforces this attribute. “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” (1 John 4:8). “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).

God is a God of mercy: God knows that as humans we are incapable of perfectly keeping his laws, of being free of sin. So, in His infinite mercy, when giving the law, he also set up a system of sacrifices which were the shedding of blood to atone for sin. And He placed a mercy seat on the ark of the covenant in the Holy of Holies to receive these sacrifices. “In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness” (Hebrews 9:22).

When Jesus was crucified and died on the cross, an amazing thing happened. The curtain in the temple tore, from top to bottom (humanly impossible). This represented the opening of the Holy of Holies. Jesus replaced the annual sacrificial lamb with his own life, once for all, to atone for the sins of the world. He figuratively entered the inner sanctuary as the Great High Priest, with this body as the atoning sacrifice; and we now have the privilege of following him there as priests, able to meet with God personally through Jesus’ sacrifice. Mercy Triumphs!

Mercy is an element of God’s grace by which he gives His son as the as the atonement for our sins.   “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). Mercy is God’s kindness and compassion as He forgives us for our sin (see the opening verse). Mercy Triumphs!

What are we to do with this gift of love, this great mercy? James tells us to “Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment” (James 2:12-13). In other words, we are to show to others the same mercy that we have been shown—the same patience, love, kindness, and forgiveness. There is a warning in this passage—don’t miss it! Don’t forfeit the gracious gift you have been offered by withholding grace, mercy, patience, love, and kindness to others.  “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:35).

“This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, others will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else.  And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!”  (2 Corinthians 9:12-15).

In Christ,

Judy