Grow 2

Matthew 5:48

As our children grow up we have fewer and fewer instances where my wife and I have to tell them, “You’ll understand it when you get older.” They are getting older and indeed understanding more and more of what goes on around them and what goes on in society.

Like children, we as believers need to grow up in our faith. Complete understanding, the ability to trust whole-heartedly, complete dedication to serving God and sharing the good news of Jesus does not come automatically but must increase over time. As Christians we should be growing day by day.

In Matthew 5 we have the famous “Sermon on the Mount,” a profound set of teachings from Jesus. What does Jesus call us to be? Who should we imitate?

As mentioned before, the idea of being perfect may not exactly mean that we are completely holy as Jesus was holy. The perfection we are called to may not enable us to heal the sick and walk on water. The word “perfect” as it is used here can be translated as “mature, whole, complete.”

So, we are called to be mature in the same way that God is mature. We are called to be whole and complete just as God is. Such a command seems harder to define than the more familiar definition of “perfect.”

To be as mature and whole as God would mean that we have a complete confidence in the goodness of God. It would mean having a broader world-view, the ability to see the world as a whole and not just as separate pieces with one group fighting against another (This comment comes at the end of the command to love our enemies).

To be perfect as God is perfect would mean that we have the ability to love all people. To be complete would mean that we have reached spiritual maturity, able to live a life in complete faith and trust to God, and able to commit ourselves completely to His kingdom.

DAILY CHALLENGE: What new strength has been added to your faith?

Grow 1

Jonah 2:8-9

I was discussing the work of writing sermons with a group of pastors a few months ago. One of them, Bob, said that after preaching his first sermon he asked his wife what she thought about it. She offered a few constructive criticisms, suggesting ways it could have been better. Bob said, “That was the last time I ever asked for her opinion.”

Taking correction and criticism can be very difficult, even if the suggestions are well-intentioned and aimed at making us better people. But changing and growing is all part of becoming more mature, and it is no less important than in our faith life. We are called to grow in our faith, to mature, to reach completeness – which the Bible sometimes calls “perfection.”

Most are familiar with the story of Jonah. He is a prophet called by God to preach to the city of Nineveh so that the people might repent and be spared God’s wrath. But Jonah is immature in his faith and runs away from where God wants him. Eventually he ends up in the belly of a big fish, usually referred to as a whale.

While in the big fish Jonah matures. What realization does Jonah have? What does he pledge? What is his final comment?

Being swallowed by a big fish is pretty bad, but it could have been worse. He could have drowned. The fish actually saved his life.

And in that realization Jonah grows spiritually. He realizes that if he had been obedient he wouldn’t be in a tough spot. He realized that even though he is in a tough spot, it could be worse. God has spared him death.

The thought of being called to perfection can be intimidating. But if we see “perfection” as spiritual wholeness it might not be quite so daunting. Like Jonah we need to be spiritually mature enough to repent, mature enough to obey God and mature enough to submit to His will. In that we will grow to a more developed and complete faith.

Then, as spiritually whole and mature believers, we can fully recognize the grace and salvation that comes from God. As mature believers we can sing songs of thanksgiving to God and be willing to make good on our vows and pledges to the Lord.

DAILY CHALLENGE: How will you make your faith grow?

Burnt Offering 5

Hebrews 10:12-14

When one of our neighbors finished off his basement and turned that large, empty space with concrete walls and exposed rafters into a very nice family room, laundry room and office space many of his friends and neighbors stopped by to see the finished work. He enjoyed giving little tours of the new space, but as he went around the rooms he pointed out all of his mistakes, all the tiny flaws in his work. I always wondered why anyone would do that. Why point out what is wrong and take away what is good?

The author of Hebrews continues with his commentary on ritual offerings. Who is “this priest” mentioned in verse 12? What has he done? Who is being made holy?

Jesus has become our high priest. The sacrifices that had to be repeated over and over again are no longer necessary because Jesus, in his perfection and in his sacrifice, has eliminated the need for them. The sacrifices made to remove sin are no longer needed because Jesus has made all who accept him to be perfect.

We are perfect when we are saved through the death and resurrection of Jesus. We are made clean and whole when we confess Jesus as our Savior and when we live according to God’s laws and Christ’s teachings.

True, we cannot remain perfect as mortals. As human beings we have a tendency toward sin, and even when we are purified we will again fall into sinful behavior.

But there is no need to focus on our flaws. We should recall these words from Hebrews. “He has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.” We are the ones who were made perfect and we are the ones who are being made holy.

We do that by confessing Christ as Savior and by living – or at least trying to live – a holy life. Through our obedience to God we are sustaining our perfection and developing holy lives.

DAILY CHALLENGE: How can you be made more holy?

Burnt Offering 4

Hebrews 10:3-7

One day as a teen-ager I was wasting time with a friend of mine, the two of us playing pool and talking. While we were “hanging out” he took a chain and heated it in the flame of a candle (I know it doesn’t make sense! We were teen-agers!) When the chain was good and hot my friend pressed it down on my hand. It hurt – and it left a scar.

To this day, about thirty-five years later, I can still see the marks of that chain. No amount of time, washing or lotions will take away the mark and the reminder.

The author of Hebrews spends some time discussing the rituals and practices of sacrifices among the Jewish people. What does he say about such things as burnt offerings and wave offerings? What is the comment on their effectiveness? How was Jesus different?

While it may be important to remember the reasons behind the offerings called for in Leviticus, and while it may be interesting to know how these offerings were given, we need to remember that they have no point at this time. These sacrifices, although well-intentioned, have no ability to remove sin. In fact, they serve as a scar – a reminder, a recollection that wrong has been done.

In their place we have a true and perfect sacrifice that has removed our sin. Christ himself came, not to give a burnt offering, but to have a mortal body that would itself become the sacrifice.

Sometimes in our faith we can fall into the mistaken thinking that if we do something long enough and good enough we can be acceptable to God. If we keep saying our prayers the right way, if we attend worship enough, if we give enough money, we can have our sins washed away. But there is nothing we can do on our own to achieve salvation. Only the sacrifice of Christ – and that is the accepted sacrifice of Christ – can save us.

DAILY CHALLENGE: What can wash away your sin?

Burnt Offering 3

John 3:16-17

One year for the holidays my cousin surprised me with a couple of Christmas gifts – a framed picture, a personalized mug and a bag of chocolates. I was dumb-founded and a little embarrassed at first. I had not gotten him anything – after all, we had never exchanged gifts before. He was quick to explain that the gifts were given just because he wanted to give them. He expected nothing in return.

Today’s passage is the keystone to the Christian faith, the central foundation to what we believe. What did God do? Why did God do it? What happens when we believe and accept it?

Jesus was God in human form, God here on earth. And he came for a reason. He came so that we could believe in him. And through believing in him we are given the promise of eternal life. We are given the promise of eternity in heaven.

It is a gift from God.

Jesus was an expression of the love of God, plain and simple. Jesus did not come so that he could point out who was wrong and who was condemned to hell. He came as an expression of grace and mercy. He came to benefit us.

And one of the key issues is that, like the burnt offering of Leviticus, Jesus offered himself of his own volition. He came out of his own choice, his own desire to be that gift of salvation to each one of us.

He was neither motivated by judgment nor requirement by God. Jesus came out of love to save us all from an eternal death, a death not only of the body but of the spirit as well.

We have been presented with the perfect offering, the unblemished sacrifice of Jesus. How will we respond?

DAILY CHALLENGE: How can you show gratitude toward God?

Burnt Offering 2

Leviticus 1:3

I recall getting very angry one holiday when I had to go to the store the day after Christmas to exchange one of our children’s gifts. The toy we had purchased and wrapped, the gift that our child received, was broken inside its packaging. It was very disappointing to me and our child to have this long-awaited gift delayed even more because somehow the quality of the item was not where it should have been.

If we will give a gift to another we usually expect and hope that the gift will not only be acceptable, but be of excellent quality. In the Book of Leviticus God outlines exactly what type of offerings are acceptable and which ones are not. What are the specifications described for burnt offerings?

God has decreed that certain sacrifices should be made to Him. These sacrifices are signs of penance, or of commitment, or of gratitude. Commentaries describe the first such sacrifice – the burnt offering – as the oldest and most common offering made. In my mind it is also the most important.

These sacrifices are suggested by God, and are not mandatory. They are made on the decision of the one offering the sacrifice, made by choice and not by requirement. The person making the sacrifice was also to present the best of his animals, a perfect and unblemished creature, a flawless offering to God. It was not to have defects or problems.

The sacrificed animal then takes the place of the person making the sacrifice. The burnt offering suffers the punishment and destruction due to the person, and the one making the offering is cleansed of guilt through the perfect sacrifice.

Sound familiar? It should. Jesus Christ became the perfect offering to God, presented through his own decision, willingly destroyed on our behalf. And Jesus was a gift of the highest quality, flawless and without defect.

How do we react to such a sacrifice? First, we must accept it and embrace it. We must cherish such a sacrifice. And then we should strive to offer ourselves to God – flawless and without defect – in our faith and in our actions.

DAILY CHALLENGE: How can you become a perfect offering to God?

By Faith 5

Psalm 119:9-12

Whenever I am supposed to travel someplace that I am not familiar with I turn to the Internet and look up directions on how to get there. Many times, as I read through the directions, I doubt them. I question their accuracy.

Yet time after time I have found that if I simply follow these instructions, even if they don’t seem right, I get where I am going. Amazing!

In Psalm 119 we have directions on how to get where we are going. How does a young man (or anyone) keep his ways pure? What does the psalmist desire? What does the psalmist do with God’s instructions? What is the final comment and request?

The question which guides me, the question almost always on my lips, is “Why?” Why am I in ministry? Why do we attend church? Why do we do what we do?

Why?

The answer, I believe, should be that we do all that we do to glorify God. We do all that we do to serve God. We do what we do to grow toward perfection.

John Wesley believed in three graces. The first is all about the love God has waiting for us. The second is God’s forgiveness. The third is God’s guidance for us, a perfecting grace, grace that helps us move from who we are to who we should be.

How do we get from here to there? How do we grow in perfection?

By living according to God’s word. We grow in perfection by hearing the teachings of God from the Bible. We grow in perfection by taking these lessons and making them who we are – what we do, how we act, how we feel. We hide God’s words in our hearts.

When we can learn the lessons of God, the lessons of Jesus Christ, and use them to guide our every thought and action, then we move toward perfection. We begin living out holy lives, sharing God’s love with a hurting world. We change ourselves and we change the world by bringing love and peace, comfort and hope.

This seems to be the perfect summation of faith. We should earnestly seek God’s decrees, His instructions. We should internalize them, hide them in our hearts. And when we do this, we live a life of holiness.

DAILY CHALLENGE: How can you hide God’s decrees in your heart?

NOTE: This is the final 10/2 Grow devotion this spring. We will resume on August 25. We truly pray that these devotions have been a blessing and benefit to each of you, and we pray that God will be with you to guide and protect you now and always. May He be praised. – Roger and Peggy