June 2: Getting answers from God

Therefore let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and find grace whenever we need help.   (Hebrews 4:16  NET)

Faith is not only being sure of what we hope for, it’s also having the confidence and boldness to approach God and ask for what we need. In the Old Testament, people could not enter the Most Holy Place in the temple, only one priest one time a year could do that. When the Israelites were camping at the base of Mount Sinai they were ordered not to approach the mountain under penalty of death. But everything changed with the Lord Jesus.  Now we’re asked to approach God boldly, believing that He will hear us and answer our prayers. 

When we do not have this confidence, when we’re afraid to approach God and ask for what we need, we’re reverting back to the Old Testament and acting as if the Lord Jesus has done nothing for us. It’s normal to fear approaching important, powerful people when we feel that we are not on the same level of importance, but in the case of God, He asks us to approach Him. If we insist on being afraid to approach, feeling that being that bold would be insulting and wrong, we are being disobedient to God and ignoring His command.

In the original Greek the last phrase of this verse, translated “whenever we need help”, actually means receiving help “in a timely manner”. If we accept God’s challenge and approach Him boldly, we can expect Him to answer us at the right time, exactly when we need it.

June 1: Stomping out temptation

 

Therefore he had to be made like his brothers and sisters in every respect, so that he could become a merciful and faithful high priest in things relating to God, to make atonement for the sins of the people. For since he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are tempted.  (Hebrews 2:17,18  NET)

Jesus’ experience of life on earth was in every respect like ours, except that He was continually in contact with the Father and never sinned in any way — action, thought, or word. Though He was a man and lived in a body just like ours, a body that felt weak, hungry, and tired, He exhibited perfect self-control in every situation. Because of this, His sacrifice on the cross was all-powerful and effective, and He was a High Priest like no other high priest before Him.

Imagine if the CEO of a multi-billion dollar company decided to come and work alongside you for a year, eat what you ate, live in your neighborhood, get paid what you get paid, and drive the same make and year car that you drive, all because he wanted to better understand the situation of his employees and fight for better working conditions… you would be blown away! Though there are CEOs who take interest in their company and in their employees’ welfare, no one has ever gone that far.

But what the Lord Jesus has done for us is light-years beyond this example. He didn’t visit earth for a weekend, a week, or even a month. He lived on earth in a body just like ours for 33 years and went through everything that we go through. In fact He experienced much more pain and suffering than any human that has ever lived. So whenever you’re tempted to feel like God doesn’t care, doesn’t understand, or is unwilling to help — you are way out of line! Jesus knows exactly what we go through. Everything He accomplished, He did by the use of faith, courage, and sacrifice — the same exact tools that we have at our disposal. He loved and forgave His enemies, and offered help to those who were trying to kill Him. Even His own brothers and sisters refused to believe in Him while He was alive on earth.

Because of all this, today’s promise says that He is qualified and ready to help us in our temptations. This means that we need to decide that we can overcome them, that no temptation is too much for us, and that He is continually at our side ready to offer the help we need to overcome. The problems is that many of us listen to the words the devil when he tells us that we can’t overcome. It all comes down to whose voice we listen to. The choice is ours.

May 31: The proper way to ask

Ask and it will be given to you… For everyone who asks receives.  (Matthew 7:7,8  NET)

Jesus must have intended for us to understand this promise to mean that a person should ask, and keep on asking until he receives what he is asking for. Clearly, asking once is not always enough. Elijah on Mount Carmel prayed seven times before it rained, Jesus Himself prayed a second time for a blind man, Hannah had prayed countless times for a son and had gotten nothing, until one day she prayed like she had never prayed, and there are the examples of the Syrophoenician woman, the persistent widow, and Bartimaeus. So whenever we approach God to ask Him for something, we should be prepared to persist in our prayers. Instead of giving up after one try and assuming that what we have asked for is not God’s will because we did not immediately receive it, if it is something that falls within the general will of God, we should be bold and tireless in our asking. At times God is intent on testing our character in the process.

Isn’t it interesting to note that Jesus places no conditions on the asking; whoever has the faith to ask will receive. Faith is a great leveler. Rich, poor, handsome, ugly, old, young, educated, uneducated, holy man, sinner… all have to use the same means to get what they want from God — we all have to ask in faith. The rich man does not have an advantage over the poor, nor can the well-spoken assume he will be heard before the stutterer. All are required to manifest a bold, audacious faith, being sure that what they do not yet see is already theirs. Though billions of people pray every day, many do not even come close to the type of asking that God is looking for.

“Everyone who asks receives” is a wonderful guarantee that if we persist in asking, and have an unwavering faith, our request will be granted. Remember, God wants us to receive more than we want to receive. He loves to give, it’s just that He wants us to develop character along the way, not just receive the blessing.

May 30: Called to be pioneers

For indeed he who makes holy and those being made holy all have the same origin, and so he is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters.  (Hebrews 2:11  NET)

The first phrase of this promise says that we have the same origin as Jesus. This can be understood in two ways: Jesus was fully God and fully man while He was on earth. Though He was God, He left behind His power and glory when He became a man, and lived exactly like any one of us, except that He was sinless. In this way, we have the same origins. The Lord Jesus lived on earth as a human, just like us. But the other meaning of this phrase is that Jesus is God (no less and no more than God the Father and the Spirit) and each of us has been made in the image of God. Though we are flesh and blood and have many failures and weaknesses, we have godly qualities that have the ability to utterly transform our lives if we use them.

Today’s promise continues… Jesus is NOT ashamed to call us brothers and sisters. When we grab a hold of faith and surrender our lives to Him, we become a part of God’s family. No matter where we’ve come from, or what we’ve done, no matter what the world thinks or what it says about us, God welcomes us into His family. Jesus calls us His brothers and sisters. Few, if any of us, will ever have the honor to visit the White House as the President’s guest, and sleep in the Lincoln bedroom. Few have had the opportunity to study at the best schools or get prestigious degrees that cause us to be acknowledged by others.  Yet all of us can become brothers and sisters of Jesus. The poor and uneducated will be raised up to positions of honor, and the rich and highly educated will have to humble themselves and find fulfillment in God’s honor and not the world’s.

In the verse leading up to this promise, Jesus is referred to as a “pioneer”. This Greek word can be translated as "prince,” “captain,” or “leader.” But the word communicates more, it also means a person who does what has never been done before, who breaks new ground… a trailblazer or pioneer. This word is used 35 times in the Greek Old Testament and 4 times in the New, and always in relation to the Lord Jesus Christ.  Because of that, it’s logical to say that we are called to be pioneers like Him.  By faith we need to do what no one has ever had the courage to do before. Because our origins are the same as the Lord Jesus’, we should be spiritually audacious like Him, and determine great things for the glory of God. 

Let’s be the first, the pioneers, the ones who lead the way.

May 29: Time is short

But woe to the earth and the sea because the devil has come down to you! He is filled with terrible anger, for he knows that he only has a little time.  (Revelation 12:12  NET)

This negative sounding promise is actually very positive for those of us who take it to heart. The devil is fully aware of how little time he has left, and is filled with terrible anger, but can we say the same about Christians and the Church? Christians as a whole overemphasize peace — don’t rock the boat and just hold on until they reach heaven — but are not worried about accomplishing great things for God in this world. How many of the top 100 billionaires in the world are Christian? Probably not even one. But if there was, imagine what a difference he or she could make in spreading the gospel, not only monetarily, but through his or her testimony and example of faith.

Feeling too much peace makes us complacent.  It causes us to take our foot off the accelerator; it makes us weak. We should be worried and frustrated about how little time we have left to save souls, and to make an impact in the world. Does anyone doubt that drug dealers and prostitutes are bolder in pushing their products than Christians are in evangelizing to the lost? A person can risk his life over and over while serving the devil, change his life and get saved, and then be embarrassed to stand up for what he now believes. This is wrong. If the devil is filled with a terrible anger and knows that the time is short, we as God’s children should be angrier at the state of a suffering world, and even more conscious of how little time we have.

On the other hand, when the full force of the devil’s anger comes against us, we can’t become discouraged.  It’s just a sign of the devil’s frustration at being on the losing side, knowing that he only has defeat and punishment waiting for him. Whenever the devil shows he’s angry against us, we should celebrate — that’s a great sign!  It means that our faith makes him frustrated, threatened and afraid of us, and few things in life are better signs than that.

Let’s determine to make better use of the time we have, saving the lost and making a difference in this world.

May 28: We have not seen Him…

You have not seen him, but you love him. You do not see him now but you believe in him, and so you rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, because you are attaining the goal of your faith — the salvation of your souls.  (1 Peter 1:8,9  NET)

Isn’t it amazing how we who believe, are absolutely sure that Jesus lived on earth, died, and rose again over 2000 years ago, even though we were not there to see it? Many have never been to Jerusalem, to see the Upper Room where the last supper was held, the hill where He was crucified, or the tomb where He was buried, yet are certain that those things occurred just like the Bible says. Ordinarily we only believe what we see and touch.  Yet when it comes to faith, an important spiritual law comes into play — we become certain of what we do not yet see.

Many wish they could have lived when Jesus was on earth, to have actually touched Him and heard Him speak. But John 20 says that people who believe in Him, though they have not seen Him, are more blessed that those who believed because they saw Him. Intrinsic to faith is the ability to be sure of something before it has come to pass, only because God has promised, because it’s His nature to do such things. It’s not wise to wish we had lived in another time and had other opportunities. God in His wisdom decided to have us live at this very moment.  We need to accept that and be determined to make a difference now. To have never seen Jesus and yet believe only makes us more blessed — our faith is of a purer quality because we don’t depend on what we have seen.

Do you rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy? Are you filled with joy when you think about how you’re saved and bound for heaven? Do you even think about heaven? When we do think about heaven and the blessings that are waiting for us, we receive strength and courage to fight against problems and the devil. Those who don’t spend time meditating on their salvation are not listening to the Holy Spirit, and may not be as spiritually mature as they think they are.  They are living dangerously. This indescribable and glorious joy about our salvation is what Paul means when he mentions salvation as part of the armor of God — our helmet. Meditating about it protects our head, our thoughts from the devil and sin, and helps us to keep perspective in this confusing world. This joy is not automatic, we have to choose to experience it, to focus our thoughts on it.  And when we do, we become strong.

May 27: Undeserving of God’s great mercy

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he gave us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, that is, into an inheritance imperishable, undefiled, and unfading. It is reserved in heaven for you, who by God’s power are protected through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. This brings you great joy, although you may have to suffer for a short time in various trials. (1 Peter 1:3-6  NET)

Peter wrote this letter to the men and women of faith “living abroad” in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, the province of Asia, and Bithynia — modern day Turkey. These believers had fled the Christian persecution in Jerusalem and settled in other parts of the world, but were still undergoing persecution. But Peter was no different, he wrote this letter from Rome — using the code word “Babylon” for that city — and was about to be martyred himself. And yet he was brimming with faith and encouragement, far from being depressed, negative, anxious, or bitter. It is abundantly clear that he considered the Lord Jesus his greatest treasure.

The fact that our salvation is based on God’s great mercy, not on our goodness and holiness is a truth that we cannot forget. God has compassion on us in spite of our sins and failings, which are many. Not one of us deserves God’s mercy, but when we turn to Him in faith and have pure hearts, He treats us much, much better than we deserve. Anyone who thinks that he has very few sins is far away from God; the closer we get to Him the more we understand how sinful and unworthy we are, and the more grateful we are to Him for considering us worthy of His mercy. Only when we continually remind ourselves of this truth will we be shielded from the pride and laziness that causes so many to fall away from the Lord Jesus.

Peter mentions an interesting concept in today’s promise: we have been given new birth into a LIVING HOPE through the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Our hope is not wishful thinking. It is not static and passive, it is alive. It is a strong, living conviction about God’s promises — our blessings now and our future in heaven — that develops and grows as the years go by. Once more, when we have this type of hope we guard ourselves from falling away from Him.