The New Year

When we look back at 2014, we should see how faithful the Lord has been to us. Here are a few ways He has shown His faithfulness.

1. God is faithful in sending the Saviour
2. He is faithful to complete the work of sanctification in us
3. God's work in creation reveal His faithfulness
4. God shows us His faithfulness in His tender mercies toward us
5. He shows His faithfulness by keeping His promises to His people

There are many more things that could be added to this list. To me, this is a reminder that Christ is all we will ever need. The 2015 will bring many new things our way--disappointments and joys.

The unknown can make our heart grow anxious but it shouldn't. When we see how the Lord has taken care of us and sustained us we don't need to worry. It is a great reminder for us to dwell on what is known. And above are five things we already know about the Lord.

Friends, let this be the year we keep our eyes fixed on Christ. He is the one leading and taking care of us. He is the one that is making us into the image of His son. 

Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blames a the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1Thessalonians 5:23

Happy New Year!!

Merry Christmas

I can't believe Christmas is almost here and I'm so excited to celebrate the birth of Christ.

This one will be short but sweet. I hope.

May Christ be at the forefront of our thoughts this Christmas. And may He be at the forefront of our thoughts everyday. We rejoice in His birth, death, and Resurrection. He came to save sinners that would believe in Him.

He is our joy and praise. And He is coming back again.

Here is a great quote from R.C. Sproul

"What we celebrate at CHRISTMAS is not so much the birth of a baby, but the incarnation of GOD Himself."

Holiness

Pursuing holiness isn’t a suggestion but a command from the Lord. In the previous verses, we see that we need to rejoice in our salvation and even though we will go through trials, it is to test the genuineness of our faith. It also allows us to fix our eyes off the world and onto Christ.

As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” 1 Peter 1:14-16

With this knowledge, we have a race to run, a journey to go on, and a warfare to battle. So the pursuit of holiness should be our desire as we follow and emulate Christ. We must pursue holiness in all aspects of our lives on a daily basis. This isn’t an easy task as sin clings to our hearts and can makes its home there if we aren’t deliberate in uprooting it.

We must not clothe ourselves with the old way of living, the old way of doing things, and the old way of thinking. We are a new creation and being conformed into the image of our Lord.

Christ shed His blood so those that repent and believe in Him would have everlasting life.

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:1-2

We must watch and pray against the sin for which we are inclined. We must follow Christ and as stated earlier imitate Him in holiness and righteousness.

What about you? Are you pursuing holiness? Do you yearn to be more like Christ? Are you obeying the scriptures or ignoring what God has to say?

We need to wrap His written word around ourselves like a cloak. Just as God is clothed in splendor and majesty we need to clothe ourselves in the truth so our hunger is for Him and not our old way of life.

As we draw closer to the Saviour, our old way should become a distant memory. The help of the Holy Spirit can only do this and we thank the Lord that He is working in us. We will fail but as my pastor says, “It’s not the perfection but the direction."

When my friend found out she had cancer, and I gave her a hug. She looked at me and said, “I just want to be holier.”

Yes, I can’t believe she said that either. I’m sure there were moments where there was fear, anxiety, and doubt. But she still returned her gaze to Christ. When she was in pain, she would quote scripture. When I stayed overnight in her hospital room, she asked me to give her a verse. She looked like a Skeleton with skin but she still praised God. She stayed focused on Him. She pursued holiness.

And we should want this too. Whatever trials or joys that come our way our goal shouldn’t be for happiness (which isn’t a bad thing) but more importantly we should long for holiness. 

Live Out What You Believe

If you've ever read Psalm 139, there is a sudden transition in thoughts for David in the next four verses. He goes from the mind of God to the wicked. 

O that You would slay the wicked, O God; Depart from me, therefore, men of bloodshed. For they speak against you wickedly, and Your enemies take Your name in vain. Psalm 139:19-20

One commentator thinks it is because David was thinking that God is everywhere. He searches the heart of people, He knows all their conduct, and he was suddenly struck with the idea of the condition of the wicked in the presence, and under the eye, of the Lord. 

As David points out, there is no fellowship between light and darkness, between the wicked and God-fearing. The Lord has seen all the sins of the wicked, which have been done in His presence. He will punish the crimes committed before His face unless the sinner repents. 

Those who delight in wickedness are not fit companions for those who walk with God. As we delight to have the Lord always near us, we should eagerly desire to have wicked men removed from us or not engage in what they do. 

David wasn’t in danger when he tells us about the men who shed blood. He wanted nothing to do with them, he didn’t want to partake in their conduct or share their fate.

The sinners that reject God will be called into account the words they have said against the Lord. They are His enemies and declare their enmity when they take His name in vain. They speak against His perfections, His purpose, His providence, His doctrines, His wisdom, His faithfulness, His Word, His ministers, and His people.

Some think this is a description of hypocrites. They speak and talk of God, but their hearts are far from Him. They pretend to love and obey Him, but a cloak of maliciousness covers their souls. Pretending to be His friend, they take His name in vain. They carry themselves with arrogant and false pride and utter poisonous words against the Lord.

If it is the ignorant sinner or the hypocrite, they will have to give an account to the Lord for rejecting Him and choosing to follow their own path.

It is clear that there isn’t fellowship between dark and light. And some even say shun those who reject the Lord. However, we were once the wicked. We once spoke against the Lord and rejected His Son. We once wanted self to rule in our hearts and not the Saviour. It is clear the Lord hates sin and will punish those who don’t repent. As those who fear God, we should mourn over our sin and the sin of unbelievers too. We should be different from the world.

In reality, we can’t flee the wicked and live in a bubble. There are women and men that are married to unbelievers. Some have parents or siblings that don’t know the Lord. We have people we work with that are not saved. So shunning them won’t help. We need to live out what we believe. We need to pray and be a living example to the lost. They don’t know any better and neither did we.

This quote by R.C Sproul is a great reminder of why we need to evangelize the lost. “This should be our witness. We should say, ‘I am here to show that you need a Saviour and to point you to the One you should worship.’”

We don’t have to have eloquent words but point them to Christ and let them see something different in us. Let them see Christ. May our lives, may my life be a living testimony to the world. May we never ruin our testimony by gossiping or lying. May we never ruin it by out bursts of anger or bitterness. May we never ruin it by  our lack of compassion or selfishness. My friend said it well about her mom when she was a child. "She got upset with us but the one thing she always did was ask for forgiveness and that was what I have always remembered."

That is a great testimony. We will fail but we need humility to cover our hearts not our pride. 

And remember with the Lord conversion and salvation is possible even for the darkest heart. 

Rejoice in Your Salvation

Sometimes when things are difficult, I can forget to rejoice in my salvation. I can forget what Christ has done for my soul.

Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. 1 Peter 1:8-9

I love that Peter put these verses in the Bible because it reminds me of my salvation. And this salvation should bring me great joy that one day I will see the face of my Saviour  One day my faith will become sight.

I was once blind to my sin and didn’t have ears or eyes to hear or see the truth. I was once like the world without any hope. But now, that God has saved me, my hope is living. This hope comforts all distresses and allows me to get over all difficulties because my eyes are fixed on Christ. Does my gaze fall away from my Saviour? Yes, but I’m thankful that I can go to Him and repent and know that He has forgiven me.

I am going to have trouble. I’m going to get anxious and fearful. I will cry out to Him and ask why or no more or that isn't what I asked for but I have to trust Him because I love Him and I know His word is true. I’m thankful for the trials even though they are painful. Trials remind me to take my eyes off the world and onto my great Comforter. It makes me long for heaven. The trials give God the glory. It humbles me. It makes me pray. It refines me to look more and more like Christ. It makes me hate my sin so Christ becomes even sweeter to me. And it teaches me to be joyful.

My pastor said this. “True joy is a gift from God to those who believe the gospel of Christ, being produced in them by the Holy Spirit, as they receive and obey the Word, mixed with trials, and keeping their hope fixed on the glory which is to come.”

When I go through trials, I want patience to speak in my heart and not my passions. Ha! I wish I could say that I always do that but I don’t. My heart will get discouraged but I must go to my Father and ask for help.

Trials are good things. Even though it may look ugly to me, it is a beautiful gift from the Lord. When I open the box, I see His grace, mercy, kindness, love, sovereignty. When I open the box, I know He will comfort me with His word though it can take time.  I know He will heal the hurts, disappoints, and anger. He will heal the wounds. And when I open the box, I know it is the voice of God speaking to me.

He is telling me through the pages of scripture to trust and cling to Him. He is telling me not to fear but be strong and of good courage. He is reminding me to hide His word in my heart. He is showing me how faithful He is and has been over the years. He is rooting out the sin in my heart that the trial exposes. He is the one holding my right hand and He is the one that will always help and guide me.

This is something that I struggle with daily and I hate it. ButI have to trust Him daily, I have to worship Him daily, I have to give him thanks daily, and I want to love Him more than I did yesterday.

Trials can scare me or the what if’s. But I can rejoice in my salvation because the truth is I don’t want a shallow faith or a shallow joy. I want a deep faith and a full joy. I want to come out looking more like Christ and less like myself.

Friends, may we let His word strengthen our souls each day. May we remember the patience to endure the trial only comes from Him. May we remember He is our joy and praise. May we always thank the author, perfecter, and giver of life. Me we remember the nearness of God is for our good. May we tell those who fear and don’t fear the Lord what He has done for our souls. And may we never forget that He redeemed us, called us by name, created us, and is with us.

We are His and He loves us.