God is Love…. Is God only Love?

In love a throne will be established;
    in faithfulness a man will sit on it—
    one from the house of David—
one who in judging seeks justice
    and speeds the cause of righteousness (Isaiah 16:5)

Today’s Old Testament passage is a prophetic preview by Isaiah of what Jesus is really like.   First and foremost, and very thankfully for us, his throne is established in love. That is huge, because of how we often mess up—-it’s Christ’s love that overlooks our many foul-ups. I’m thankful for that – I know how often I mess up.

But Jesus is not only love. Because, at the same time, Jesus is also righteous and just—qualities that are almost as important as God’s love. As I encounter the enthroned Jesus, he wants me to be not only loving but empowered to live a righteous and just life. If God were only love, we could do what was right in our own eyes and God would say “No problem …. whatever”.

Scripture says that God does not overlook what is unjust and unrighteous. But, really, aren’t we the same?  When we see something that is not just, don’t we want it set right?  Even a child knows when to say, “No fair!”

A bamboozling big bank bigshot is too big to jail, but a dishonest underling is sent to prison for a long time. A whistleblower gets fired for exposing how their company is ripping off people. What injustices! If God were only love, these types of rip-offs would never be set right.

But we have a God who does want to set things right! And as we follow the Lord, then in our own areas of influence, we keep pursuing righteousness and justice empowered by love. Living that way, we can overcome evil significantly, but not yet totally.

Scripture teaches that the day will come when God will say “No more.” A world where righteousness and justice fully prevail will arrive.  Imagine that day — no more rip-offs, no more deception, no more favoritism. God will get rid of the garbage.  We look in hope to that promised day when all evil will be wiped out forever.

 

 

 

Jumping Through the Window

sneaking-out

A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. They gathered in such large numbers that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them.  Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them.  Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on.  When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” (Mark 2:1-5)

When I was a student at Rutgers, Muhammad Ali once came to give a talk in Records Hall. The Hall quickly filled; then the entrances were guarded, and no one more could enter. However, one enterprising young man slithered through an open side window, jumped in and landed on the floor. Unfortunately for him, he was grabbed by a dean, who asked him, “Is that how you usually enter a building?” and promptly escorted him back outside….

Now, the usual moral of this kind of story would be something like “If someone was that excited about just seeing Ali, you should be at least that excited about Jesus!” But I think that kind of exhortation is counter-productive. It might pump someone up for a little while, filling them with an excitement for “All that I will do for Jesus” — but that would peter out and would not lead to lasting change.

Let’s consider what Jesus says in today’s passage. See what he compliments the men for: not for what these guys did, but for their faith. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” Jesus did not say, “Since you guys worked so hard—sure I’ll heal the guy! You guys earned it! You have my approval—big time!”  No, it was their faith that led the friends to do the hard work of lowering the guy down.

We do know that Faith without works is dead (James 2:17)
But don’t forget:  the works themselves earn you squat.

So, today, we do not  think that our being pumped up and doing extra stuff will get us extra points from Jesus. Instead, we ask God to give us greater faith. Then, our good deeds will be based on our trust in a Savior who already fully accepts us.

Light for the Dark Days

Today I am posting a guest post from my wife Nancy.

She blogs at http://www.digdeeperdevotions.com/

She says : “It’s Saturday. Must have been horrible for the friends of Jesus. Even though he’d told them he would die, be buried , and then rise again, they could only see his dead body being put into a tomb. Here’s a devotion I wrote about the dark days between Friday and Sunday ”

Light for the Dark Days

Jesus said, “I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness.” John 12:46

My husband and I once took an overnight cruise to Nova Scotia. We boarded the ship just before sunset. When we’d sailed far from the harbor, I was struck by the sky’s intense blackness. We saw nothing beyond the soft lights on the deck.

We awoke to a white fog in the morning. In a way this whiteness was like the darkness of the previous night. Normally daylight helps us to see, but that foggy day revealed nothing but whiteness. I was glad the boat’s pilot had instruments to warn him of what he couldn’t see and to indicate the right way to go.

While Jesus was dying on the cross, the sky was dark as night from noon until three in the afternoon. As His lifeless body was removed from the cross and placed in a tomb, His followers must have felt the darkness creep into their souls. The daylight returned after 3:00, but the darkness remained in their hearts.

We can only imagine what the disciples experienced between Friday and Sunday. Memories of promises Jesus had made to them were blotted out by grief. Later the angel at the tomb reminded them of what Jesus had said about being resurrected (Luke 24:5-8).

When the world around us seems to grow darker and darker each day with sinfulness and evil, we may experience a spiritual darkness similar to the grief and bewilderment Jesus’ followers felt after He had died. We may feel like the passengers on that boat in Nova Scotia–engulfed by the dark of night or a blinding morning fog. But like the pilot of that boat, we have a guiding instrument. God placed the Holy Spirit in us to warn us of what we cannot see and to tell us the right way to go.

Do we let the darkness overwhelm us or do we rely on the Holy Spirit? Do we cling to the light provided by the resurrected Jesus Christ?

DIG DEEPER:

Read John 12:35-38. What does Jesus call those who put their trust in the light? How does He describe those who choose to walk in the darkness? How can we tell if we are walking in the light?

According to Psalm 139:11-12, what should we remember when we are tempted to feel overwhelmed by the darkness?

Read John 20:1-18. Mary Magdalene went to Jesus’ tomb on Sunday. What time of day is it? How do you think she felt as she approached the tomb? What did she discover at the tomb? How did she feel after she spoke with Jesus?

What did Jesus tell His disciples about His imminent death in Matthew 17:22-23 and 20:17-19? What additional promises does Jesus make about the future in Matthew 16:21-27?

Nancy J. Baker

Easter : Times of Refreshing

times-of-refreshing-1080x675

Before him all the nations are as nothing;
they are regarded by him as worthless
and less than nothing. (Isaiah 40:17)

If you take today’s opening verse in isolation it sure sounds like God is just mad and hates us. Often in Scripture, before people can hear the good news, they need a warning about the bad news.

So, this is not going to be a downer blog post.  There will be good news today:  despite God’s rant in this verse, God still loves us and calls out a redeemed people!

Today’s verse, while not a permanent condemnation by God, is a caution against pride. What if a nation or an individual think that they are self-sufficient, superior, and have succeeded at doing life their own way? They need a healthy dose of divine pessimism about what happens when you try to stand on your own. So, today’s divine correction brings us to the good news:

Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and that he may send the Messiah, who has been appointed for you—even Jesus.  (Acts 3:19-20)

Repentance brings us out from under God’s stern warning, and into something delightful. What a picture the word “refreshing” gives of the Christian life. How different from the erroneous idea that being a Christian is a grim, ascetic grind. Indeed, Jesus said I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly (John 10:10b)

As we look forward to Easter, if you do not know him yet, turn to Jesus the Messiah, who loves you and is for you! And if you do know him, may your own joy in him keep increasing and abounding.