The truth about sin

 

Reading for today: 2 Corinthians 5:14-21

Christians have a tendency to talk about how bad sin is and how Jesus has saved us from our sin. But what is sin? And why did we need saving from it?

Fill in the blank: Sin is _______________________.

I asked my kids to define sin for me. They had a variety of answers. Sin is: “Bad stuff.” “Not loving.” “Doing something wrong.” “Something that is not right in the sight of God.” And, “Doing something God has rejected.”

Put together, their definitions could be summarized as something like this: “Sin is breaking God’s rules. And that’s bad.”

While that’s true, sin is more than simply breaking rules. There are plenty of people in this world who live very moralistic, upright lives, yet are stilled defined as sinful and spiritually lost.

That’s because sin is more than simply doing bad things, sin is putting yourself in the place of God. It’s making yourself King, making yourself Savior, and making yourself Judge.

The bad news about this definition of sin is that no one is exempt. The good news about this definition is that likewise, none of us are exempt from God’s transforming love and His call to a new life.

Dear God, I have no idea how to be perfect, how to stop sinning, or how to save myself. But I do know that I need you. Forgive me, renew me, and lead me. Amen.

Sin is a complicated subject. Let’s dig in a little deeper this week.

Day 2 – Genesis 3 (How sin entered the world)

Day 3 – Isaiah 14:12-15 (The truth about sin)

Day 4 – Romans 5:12-17, 6:23 (God’s solution to sin)

Day 5 – I John 1:9, 2:2; 2 Corinthians 5:17-21; Ephesians 1:7-10 (How does God help us with sin now?)

*Recommended reading – The Prodigal God by Timothy Keller

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Steps to contentment: Step 4 – Center

Welcome to week 4 in our study on contentment. Contentment in the biblical sense is peace with God and satisfaction in the circumstances where God has placed you.

Read Genesis 2:8-9, 15-17; 3:1-24 and Matthew 26:36-42

There were two gardens. In the first garden, everything was perfect. God had planted the garden. The plants were lush and filled with fruit. In the center of the garden grew the tree of life. A couple lived there. They trusted God and were content and satisfied, having everything they needed.

The second garden, on the other hand, was dark and dangerous. Although familiar, it was not a happy place that night. In the center of this garden a distressed man lay praying fervently for help to the God he, too, trusted. This isn’t what I want to do. This doesn’t feel good to me. I am not happy about this. Please, please take it away, Lord. He had found himself in that garden because he had come to restore the tree of life that had been lost to the couple in the first garden.

You see, they had stepped out of the master Gardner’s will. And as a horrible consequence, their rebellion brought sin, death, and sadness into a once perfect garden. Ever since that fateful day, we have been chasing down the peace and contentment that was lost.

But God did not abandon that first couple or us. He promised a Savior. One who would become for us the new tree of life.

In the midst of this unhappy, imperfect garden, a sorrowful Jesus taught us one of the most important steps in our path toward contentment. He finished his earnest prayer by saying, Not my will, but Yours be done. Jesus stood in that dark, scary garden and centered himself on God’s will. He completely trusted God. Even though it meant taking on all the sin, all the death, and all the sadness of this world.

Contentment has never really been about our happiness, our comfortableness, or our desires being fulfilled. Contentment is simply about being in the center of God’s will.

The only time we should feel discontent, is when we are in a situation that is pulling us away from God’s will. And in those dark moments, cry out to God, like Jesus did in the garden. And then remember that Jesus is for us the new tree of life at the very center of God’s garden. Center your garden on Him.

Step 4 in the pursuit of contentment: Center your garden on God’s will.

Dear Lord, Let Your will be done always and bring me into the center of Your will. Make me content. Amen.

This week, let’s read about what it looks like to center yourself on God’s will.

Day 2 – 1 John 2:16-17; Matthew 6:10

Day 3 – Proverbs 3:5-6; James 1:5

Day 4 – John 10:7-11; Hebrews 13:20-21

Day 5 –  1 Timothy 2:4-6; Proverbs 13:12; Revelation 22:14

Next week we will conclude our study on contentment by talking about the harvest!

 

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Steps to contentment: Step 3 – Water

Welcome to week 3 in our study on contentment. Contentment in the biblical sense is peace with God and satisfaction in the circumstances where God has placed you.

If contentment is a lush garden, then being and staying content is a constant battle for turf. Gardening is not simply planting and enjoying. While those are aspects of a good garden, successful gardening requires constant nutrition.

Reading for this week: John 4:3-26; 39-42

In terms of gardening, the nutrition formula for growth is pretty basic: soil, sun, air, and water. And of those 4 basics, I really only have to take care of one – water. The sun, the soil, and the air are not necessarily in my department. So maintenance of my precious garden shouldn’t be that hard. Get a bucket or find the hose and water those plants. But like the woman at the well, it’s the continuous need to come back for water that can get monotonous and wearisome (v.15).

In the spring, my momentum is going. I am happy to finally be outdoors. I am motivated with visions of red tomatoes and full baskets of flowers. But then after awhile, I get a little bored and start skipping the only job I have – the watering.

Unfortunately, my inconsistent watering inevitably leads to fewer tomatoes. And it makes other vegetables – like my cucumbers and lettuce – taste bitter. My flowers are dried out. My herbs are limp and thirsty. And the life my garden had, slowly dies. There is nothing more devastating then coming to the end of a growing season only to realize I have wasted it.

That’s why I am very interested in installing a drip irrigation system. I have no idea how to do that, but with my handy husband and pinterest at my disposal, I think we can come up with something. Knowing my plants could continuously get exactly the right amount of water could make gardening so much easier and more productive.

Trying to maintain contentment or happiness on my own is like having to go out looking for water sources everyday. It may bring temporary contentment, but I need to keep going out for more to maintain that contentment. And when I can’t find a good source or I stop looking, I inevitably become dry and bitter and unproductive. Contentment is no longer within my reach.

That’s the amazing thing about what Jesus offers us through the Holy Spirit. It’s like a drip irrigation system for my soul. It is a truer, more consistent source of watering that I can tap into daily. And as Jesus told the woman at the well, with the water that Jesus offers, it’s like a spring welling up to eternal life, and I will never be thirsty again.

It’s time to water.

Step 3 in the pursuit of contentment: Water your garden by tapping into the only everlasting water source.

Dear Lord, I am constantly thirsty for something. But I spend a lot of valuable time looking for water from other sources. Help me to tap into Your everlasting water. Quench my thirst and bring me contentment. Amen.

This week, let’s read about those deep waters that God offers through His Spirit.

Day 2 – Psalm 1:1-3

Day 3 – Jeremiah 17:7-8

Day 4 – John 7:37-38

Day 5 – John 6:35-40

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Faith: This is not as good as it gets.

We’re back in business! After the summer off, I am ready to study the Word with you again! But before I start posting, I wanted to showcase a bit of Toby’s thoughts. The following devotional is an excerpt taken from his sermon, preached yesterday (August 7, 2016). If you would like to hear his full sermon, it will be posted this Tuesday at http://www.crossview.net/sermons/

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1

Faith is difficult for so many reasons. Belief in Jesus Christ? How many of you here have ever seen this Jesus guy? And you believe he is the very Son of God come in the flesh? That he did all those miracles mentioned in the Bible? That his getting crucified somehow covers all the sins of the whole world?  That he then rose from the dead on the third day? Tell me, when was the last time you saw someone rise from the dead? And you believe this?

You see, this whole faith thing should be impossible. Yet you believe. You’re staking your life, and your life after death, on this Jesus guy you’ve never met. Your ability to believe all this has to be a miracle. Or else you’re crazy, we’re all crazy. All the millions and millions of us Christians who have believed the gospel and held the faith, in spite of all the things we haven’t seen. It’s crazy.

But just like God created and still sustains the universe, He created us in the faith, and sustains us in the faith. And all the problems that we have in this life are there to remind us that in spite of what the world might say, THIS ISN’T OUR HOME.

It’s not our home because Jesus told us we have a new home. Right before he was arrested he made a point to tell his believers, “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe in me, too ² My Father’s house has many rooms; if it wasn’t so, I wouldn’t have told you that I’m going there to prepare a place for you? ³ And if I go and prepare a place for you, I’m gonna come back and take you to be with me so you’ll be where I am. ⁴You know the way to the place where I am going. Before long, the world won’t see me anymore, but you’ll see me. An because I live, you also will live.” (John 14)

That’s the promise that all this faith stuff is based on. It’s what we all rely on. It’s what gives us hope in the middle of everything that goes wrong, every day. It’s the firm substance that we believe gives our life meaning. We believe that one day, Christ will come again and that he’ll bring us to the home he’s preparing for us. And that we are going to live like we’ve never lived before!

Dear God, Give me faith! Amen.

Readings for this week:

Day 1 – Hebrews 11:1-16

Day 2 – Hebrews 11:17-12:3

Day 3 – 2 Corinthians 1:21-22

Day 4 – John 14:1-14

Day 5 – John 14:15-30

 

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The Power to Save: A six-week study on the powers of Jesus: Week 6

“Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen.” ~Luke 24:5-6

Resurrection Morning by James Martin

Reading for today: John 20:1-18, 30-31; 21:25

The power over disease, evil spirits, and nature. The power to forgive sins and the power over death. And then, on Easter, Jesus’ revealed his ultimate power and purpose – the power to save.

Easter Morning by He Qi

For all humanity, Easter morning was the dawning of a new existence. New life offered at the very moment that Jesus rose from the dead.

For all the power he had, Jesus chose to save us. To save us forever from the clutch of sin, to save us from the fear of death, and to save us from the overwhelming darkness that pulls us away from our Creator God. We are saved for eternity, by the power of Jesus.

But underneath all this power, there is yet a deeper power that courses through the veins of God himself. It is the power that drove, from the very beginning, his unwavering commitment to our salvation. It is the basis of God’s every action through the person of Jesus. This underlying power is love –God’s steadfast love for us.

It is God’s love that first created us. It is God’s love that set his plan of salvation in motion at the Garden of Eden when humanity first sinned against him. It is God’s love that heard humanity’s cry, “Lord save us!” It is God’s love that sent Jesus as Immanuel – God with us – to earth. It is God’s love that set Jesus’ face towards Jerusalem and the cross, as people shouted Hosanna – God save us. And it is God’s love that sacrificed his only Son, to be the answer to our cries.

In love, God sent Jesus, with all authority and power, in order to make a way for us to enter back into his perfect love. And God desires that you not only accept his love in faith, but also extend it outward to those who have not yet felt its warmth. For he who is mighty to save, has given his power to us. God’s loving promise to save is now upon us and we have the power to share his love with those around us.

I want you to know all about Christ’s love, although it is too wonderful to be measured. Then your lives will be filled with all that God is. ~ Ephesians 3:19 (CEV)

This week, spend some time basking in God’s love for you.

Day 2 – John 3:16-17; Ephesians 3:14-21

Day 3 – 1 John 4:7-12,16

Day 4 – 1 Corinthians 13

Day 5 – John 15:9-17

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The Power to Save: A six-week study on the powers of Jesus: Week 5

Jesus said to Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” ~ John 11:25-26

Quick review: Over the past four weeks, we have been studying Jesus’ powers. In week one, we looked at Jesus’ healing power over disease and affliction. In week two, we studied his power over demons and the devil. Week three, we saw Jesus demonstrate his power over nature. And last week, we read about his power of forgiveness of sin.

This week as we prepare for Good Friday and Easter, we will study his power over death.

Reading for today: John 11:1-46

Jesus stood at the burial site of his recently deceased friend, Lazarus. As he stood among the mourners, he was deeply moved and he too wept (11:33-35). In the original Greek, the term “deeply moved” also suggests that Jesus felt anger.

A weeping Jesus seems appropriate, but an angry Jesus? Anger seems an odd response, since Jesus had purposefully delayed in coming (he could have saved his friend from death – claimed Lazarus’ hurt sisters). And he had just told his disciples “this illness does lead to death. It is…so that the Son of God may be glorified” (11:4) and then later, “our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him” (11:11).

But anger is an appropriate response to death. Because unlike popular notion, death is not a natural stage in the life cycle. Death is the exact opposite of life. God didn’t create us to expire, he created us to live.

And if God created us to live, then that makes death our greatest adversary. It’s why Jesus came to earth in the first place. It’s why he stood in front of his friend’s grave and felt deeply disturbed. For he was face-to-face with the very enemy he had come to conquer. The thing that constantly threatens God’s miracle of life.

Yet in that moment of quiet anger and deep sadness, Jesus demonstrated his greatest power. “Take away the stone,” he said. Lazarus’ sister, Martha, objected, “Lord! He’s been dead for four days!” Jesus replied, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” So they rolled away the stone and Jesus thanked the Father who had sent him and then called Lazarus out. The Bible says, “The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, ‘Unbind him, and let him go’” (John 11:44).

Jesus confronted death and commanded life. That’s what Jesus came to do, he came to conquer death and grant new life. But this new life isn’t just a rebirth into our broken, expiring world. It’s actually an eternal life, one that’s saved for us in Jesus. A life without the threat of death. A life full of God’s perfect glory.

Dear God, We praise and thank you for your power over death through Jesus. Create in us new and everlasting life. Amen.

Welcome to Passion Week! This week we observe Jesus’ battle with death and we celebrate his victory on Easter. As we prepare, let’s take a look at more scripture pertaining to Jesus’ power over death.

Day 2 – Romans 5:12-17; 6:9; Hebrews 5:7; 2:14-15

Day 3 – Acts 2:23-28

Day 4 – 1 Corinthians 15:19-26

Day 5 – Revelation 21:3-6

 

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Why Christmas is so important: Week 4

Reading for today: Luke 2:15-20 (Click on the passage to read online.)

“The shepherd returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.” ~ Luke 2:20

Why is Christmas so important? During week one, we discussed that Christmas is important because it was the day that Jesus, the incarnate promise, was born. Giving us…

HOPE.

In week two, we studied that Christmas is important because Jesus was God’s greatest gift to us. Showing us God’s abundant…

LOVE.

Last week, we understood Christmas as important because this promised child born was God’s ultimate peace offering to our broken world. Bringing us back to God and granting us…

PEACE.

This week, take some time to ponder the final answer in our series: Why is Christmas so important? It is important because it is a story of hope, love, peace, and finally…

JOY.

You see, the Christmas story is still being written. Christmas is the day that God’s long awaited action plan was set in motion. God’s plan to bring us back to himself started in the promise of a Savior. When that Savior Jesus was born, his very existence on earth set into motion a series of events, each strategically leading up to his necessary death and resurrection.

But the Christmas story doesn’t end there. Jesus said, “I will come back.” In Jesus, we have hope. We have his love. We have his peace, but we have yet to find full relief from the sin and death that pulls us away from God and from those around us. When Jesus returns to finish his story, when he returns to bring us fully back to God, the final result, the final ending to his story will be perfect, unending joy. And on that day, our hope will be fully realized. Our love will be complete. Peace will be permanent. And no one will take our joy away from us.

Merry Christmas.

Come, Lord Jesus.

Dear God, Thank you for Christmas. Thank you for your hope, love, and peace. Please give us glimpses of joy as we patiently await your return. Come, Lord Jesus. Amen.

This week, spend some time understanding God’s plan. (Click on the passages to read online.)

Day 2: Isaiah 25:6-9

Day 3: Philippians 3:12-14; 20-21

Day 4: Philippians 2:5-11; Hebrews 12:1-3

Day 5: John 14:1-7

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The secret of life

Reading for today: Matthew 19:16-30  (Click on the passage to read online.)

“With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

~ Matthew 19:26

You have suspected for some time now that there is more to this life. You have felt it. You’ve seen it between the lines. Maybe you’ve seen it in the birth of a child. Maybe after a mountain climb as you reached the peak and turned around. Maybe you saw it in something or someone else. You just can’t put your finger on it. Is it peace? Is it an afterlife? Is it something bigger than you? Is it a legacy? What more is there?

And if there is more to this life, than don’t we need to discover it? Don’t we need to do something to unravel the mystery? And once we unravel the mystery, don’t we need to start working to achieve it?

When God created the world, perfection and eternity were a part of our nature. But ever since sin and brokenness entered in and dissolved our perfection and damaged our eternity, we have been striving to get it back. We are looking for something more because there is more. We strive for perfection and for goodness in ourselves and in others. We yearn for eternity, for oneness and peace with our creator and with others. But so far, we have had difficulty achieving it.

In our reading for today, a young, wealthy, religious man has been working hard at achieving what was lost. But he senses there is something more he needs to do to achieve it. And he believes that Jesus can tell him the answer.

So the young man asks, “What good deed must I do to have eternal life?” And Jesus, after a short conversation with the man, answers the heart of the question directly, “If you want to achieve eternal life, then be perfect and follow me.”

And with that shocking answer, the man sadly walks away, not waiting or asking for Jesus’ explanation or his help. (This very successful and very religious man has seemingly been turned away and the disciples are beginning to realize they can’t measure up either.) They anxiously voice, “This is madness! Who can possibly be saved?”

“Exactly,” says Jesus. “No one can.” No one, by their own deeds, by their own resourcefulness, by their own merit can get back that part of their nature that’s missing. No one. Jesus says, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” The answer to the rich, young man and the disciples’ question is not a to-do list, but a person. Jesus.

Jesus was perfect so that we could become perfect and find peace with our creator again. He conquered death so that we could live eternally with God. He achieved what we could not. He is the mystery unraveled. And he is not just the answer to the question: what’s more to life, he is life itself.

Dear God, As we struggle in this imperfect life, give us faith in a perfect Jesus. Amen.

As you go about your week, think about the following passages and what they say about the importance of Jesus. (Click on each passage to read online.)

Easter Morning by He Qi

Day 2: John 14:1-6

Day 3: 2 Corinthians 5:17-21

Day 4: Acts 16:25-34

Day 5: Romans 3:22-28

 

 

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