Batteries Not Included

And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. – Luke 2:10

Have you ever watched a child open a Christmas present that they were anticipating and full of excitement over? One that promised them endless possibilities for enjoyment? However, upon opening it, they discover that it requires something more. Batteries, and none are to be found. Quickly, expressions of joy fade into frustration, sadness, and all around depression.

It is a sad reality when what promised to bring joy, is now found powerless to do so.

In all honesty, this has become my view concerning the celebration of Christmas. I use that term celebration intentionally. I love what Christmas is, I have just become withdrawn in my heart from how it is celebrated. Here is the celebration that is supposed to be wrapped up in joy, even great joy to the whole earth, (Luke 2:10) yet it feels like it is celebrated so often with things that are joyless. It got me thinking this year on this question. Without Christ, where do people find joy to sing about or pursue at Christmas?

A few that I could think of are beautiful decorations, amazing light displays, presents to give and receive, celebrations and parties, time with family and friends, and charity. Sure, each of these things can put a smile on your face and a smile on another's, and they should make us smile. However, you can have these things without Christmas. I also believe deep down inside we know these are not the source of great and all-satisfying joy in our lives.

Beautiful decor can make a room fun to be in, but time will coat it with dust and next year’s trends will make it look outdated. Christmas lights are always a pleasure to see, but they burn out and also create massive tangled messes to deal with. Presents rust, break, and fade from interest within minutes. Parties end, and for some with great regrets. When it comes to family and friends, we should enjoy them, but what of those who celebrate alone, remember lost loved ones, or wrestle with great discord in their family? Giving to the poor does great good for the giver and the receiver. Yet what of the other seasons of the year? Is this brotherly love the spirit of Christmas? Does it just come near winter, then our minds jettison the idea until we see snow again? Do the poor have to wait until then to have our concern and compassion?

Don’t get me wrong, all these celebrations can be wonderful and are good things to do, yet are they the source of joy? Great joy? For all the earth?

Every celebration in Christmas, though it may be fun and warm your heart, is like a toy labeled, “Batteries Not Included.” They promise fulfillment, yet are powerless to fill you with lasting joy. After Christmas, and many other holidays, people wrestle with post holiday depression. You now have debt and buyers regret to deal with, you’ve gained weight, the house is empty and silent again, and you have frustration that you didn’t get what you wanted, or you feel guilt that you didn’t give enough. The list can go on and on.

Christmas does not meet our heart’s need for decor, gifts, family time, or brotherly love and charity, because those things are not what our hearts need. However, the joy of Christmas is that God came down from heaven to meet our heart’s deepest need. A savior from our sin who can reunite us with God (1 Peter 3:18), and it is there my friend, that unending joy is found! (Psalm 16:11). Then it is out of that joy that we celebrate.

Christ is the joy of Christmas! Every celebration of Christmas is joyless if it is not flowing from and pointing you to the source of true joy. However, when you root every celebration and act in Christ, you will find it can overflow with great joy. Let your gift giving, parties, decorations, charity, proclaim one resounding anthem. Christ has come to bring us life!

So this Christmas, I plead with you to look at God and his holiness, then look at yourself and see your sin. Look at the manger and see his gift. Look at the cross and see his sacrifice. Look at the empty tomb and see his victory, and then find great joy in calling him Lord!

A Question Worth Asking

And Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us, or for our adversaries?” – Joshua 5:13

One of the most intriguing scriptures in the Bible to me is found in the old testament. It is found as the children of Israel are preparing to go into the promised land and they encounter the city of Jericho. Before attacking the city, Joshua has a very strange encounter.

When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing before him with his drawn sword in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us, or for our adversaries?” And he said, “No; but I am the commander of the army of the Lord. Now I have come.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped and said to him, “What does my lord say to his servant?” And the commander of the Lord's army said to Joshua, “Take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so. – Joshua 5:13-15

Here we have Joshua encountering a strange figure who is prepared to fight with his sword drawn in his hand. He asks the man who he is for, for him or his enemies, and the figure replies, “No.”

No I am not for you, no I am not for your enemies. I am for the Lord.

What a statement! Here is the commander of the Lord’s army, the preincarnate Christ, appearing to Joshua and saying that he is neither for him or his adversaries, but for the will and glory of God.

That can be a very difficult pill to swallow. What do you mean God, that you are not for me? Don’t you love me?

These can be tough questions and thoughts. But I want to take some time to dwell on them and try to think them through. You may ask why, because there are going to be times when we are feeling pressed in on every side, times when we look on the horizon and see your own personal Jericho standing before us, and we will go to God and say, “Hey! Are you for me or my enemies?” There will be times when we feel like the disciples on the stormy sea, and run to Christ in our trials and hardships and say, “Do you not care that we are perishing?” (Mark 4:35-41)

These are very difficult topics. So, in looking at them I want to show two things. One is to show that from scripture, God is undivided in his passion for his own glory. Then secondly, to show that his passion for his own glory is the most loving thing he can do for us.

God Works For His Glory

I have here a few scriptures for us to consider on this thought. However, if you want to see a more complete list of scriptures about God being God centered, you can find a good collection here: God’s Zeal For His Own Glory.

As you read these, I pray you see in them just how much God works for his name, and for his glory.

“For my name's sake I defer my anger;
    for the sake of my praise I restrain it for you,
    that I may not cut you off.
Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver;
    I have tried you in the furnace of affliction.
For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it,
    for how should my name be profaned?
    My glory I will not give to another.” – Isaiah 48:9-11

For you who believe and trust in Christ, why does he defer his anger? Why does he restrain it? For his name. Why does he refine you, and try you through afflictions? For his name. He will refine you so that his name is not profaned, and he will do the refining so that he is praised for it, rather than your strength being praised for refining yourself.

…even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. – Ephesians 1:4-6

Why has he adopted you? Why has he chosen to pour his love on you? What was the purpose of his will in doing these things? The praise of his glorious grace. He will receive every ounce of glory for your salvation.

I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins. – Isaiah 43:25

Why does God forgive sin in those who trust and follow him? For his name’s sake.

In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. – Matthew 5:16; also see 1 Peter 2:12

Who receives glory for your good works? Is it you? Is it your commitment? Is it your strength, wit, creativity, wisdom, effort? No. God receives glory. Why? Because he, not you, created you to do them. You are his workmanship. (Ephesians 2:10)

All this talk of God centering on his own glory, brings up a valid question. Doesn’t he love me? The answer, he absolutely does! In fact, his dedication to his own glory is the most loving thing he can do for you.

God’s Love For His Name & His Glory, Is His Love For You.

I hope to do this truth justice as it can be a difficult one to articulate. But I want to start with an illustration. Let’s say you have two bowls before you. One is a bowl of your favorite ice cream and in another bowl are big fat juicy grub worms.

The bowl of ice cream calls out to you, “Hey! I’m delicious, and will taste great! In fact, I’m amazing! I promise, you want to eat me! I mean, I’m the most amazing tasting thing you will ever experience!”

But you say, “You’re so full of yourself, you cannot be interested in me.”

The worms say, “You’re so amazing, you’re so smart and awesome! You know the right choice here. I’ll make all your dreams come true. By the way, did I tell you that your looking great today!”

“Wow, these worms really love me! I’m going to choose them,” and then moments later you're puking your guts out.

Was the ice cream totally committed to its own glory? Yep. Was its declarations of its glory to you a loving thing to do? Absolutely!

The truth is, we will never be satisfied by anything this world offers us, because we were designed to be satisfied by God. By his glory. So when he stands up and cries out, “Look at me, see how beautiful I am, see how glorious I am, see how majestic I am. Know me, cherish me, love me, worship me,” he is in fact doing the most loving thing he can do for you. Because he calls out in love that he is the one who will make your heart overflow with joy!

If you are a believer in Christ, when you die and stand before God in all his glory and splendor, would you like to block all that beauty out with a mirror? Would you rather spend all eternity staring at yourself, or basking in the awesome majesty of God? Would you like to look at the one who breathed out stars and all creation, or look at yourself; the one who was made from dirt?

If the joy of heaven in your heart is centered around you, I would say there is a good chance you will not be there. There will be much to rejoice about in heaven. No sin, no pain, no death, reunion with loved ones, but if in your heart those are not seen as manifestations of God’s glory, it will be a worship of you, and not him.

I take my kids through this little Q & A regularly.

“Who made you?”

“God.”
“Why did he make you?”
“For his glory.”
“Why else did he make you?”

“To enjoy his glory forever.”

You were made to enjoy him forever! To enjoy his glory! And for his name’s sake, he will do everything needed to get you there. He will pull down the walls of cities, he will calm raging seas, and if necessary he will allow you to be grieved in the heat of the furnace.

In [your salvation] you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 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 1:6-9

He will receive glory, as you are fully satisfied in him as you find joy in his presence. Both now in this life, and in the life to come. And he will do everything to make sure that happens, even if it means having some years of struggle and pain in this life. We don’t like that idea, but in reality, it is the most loving thing he can do for us.

In the end, the question you must wrestle with is not if he is here for you or for your enemies, because he will always be for himself. Rather the question is are you for him, or are you his enemy? Matthew 12:30 says that if we are not for him, for his glory, for his name, then we are against him.

But the good news, is that while we were his enemies, he came to us.

For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. – Romans 5:10

You see, God being centered on his own glory, yet also full of love for sinners, made it impossible to simply overlook our sin. So to keep his glory, he showed the greatest love for us, in that while were were sinners, Christ died for us.

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. – Romans 5:8

I hope you know that love he has for you, and I hope that you love his glory more than anything.

The Healer's Touch Part 5: The Cure

"...your faith has made you well; go in peace.” – Luke 8:48

This will be the final post in this series, The Healer's Touch. If you haven't read the whole series, I really encourage you to do so!

Part 1: The Crowd
Part 2: The Women

Part 3: The Healing
Part 4: The Question

As we get things started in Part 5, I want to remind us that as we look at this story in Luke 8:40-48 of Christ healing the bleeding woman in the crowd, that we are looking beyond the miraculous physical healing that takes place, and seeing how it paints the picture of the miraculous healing Christ can give to our hearts. How he can save us from the penalty of our sin (Romans 6:23).

So with that, lets get started. 

The Cure (Saved by faith) 

He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.” – Luke 8:48

What healed this woman? Was it her journey through the crowd? Was it the touching of his robe? Was it something she did? No. It was the power of Jesus that went out and healed her. We see that in Luke 8:44-46. But in 8:48, we see Christ says, "Your faith has made you well." So what healed her? Was it her faith or Jesus? I think the answer to this is not a simple one, and I do not claim to fully understand it. However, as I have been thinking on it, I want to share a connection that I see forming between these two.

Her faith did make her well, as the scripture says, but why? I believe the reason Christ says that her faith has made her well, is because he was the object of her faith. The fact that Christ was the object of her faith, caused her to journey though the crowd and reach for his robe. This woman had tried having faith in herself and others for twelve years. She had faith in physicians, possibly home remedies, maybe even just trusting that if she ignores it, it may go away. However it didn't. It got worse and her situation grew more critical, and that is when her faith changed from herself and others, and turned to God.

Many deal with their sin in the same way. Some ignore it or deny it, having faith that God doesn't exist. Some fight with all their strength to do enough good to counter it, having faith in their good works. Some have faith in someone who can bless them and pronounce them forgiven. These all have one thing in common, the object of their faith is powerless to forgive sin, and powerless to heal their heart.

This woman's faith however, was placed upon the one person that could meet her need. It was placed on Christ. This is saving faith, that by grace is given to us.

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. – Ephesians 2:8-10

And what is the result of such a faith, and of such a healing? The God given freedom to go in peace! If you have read Part 2 in this series, taking a look at the woman's condition, you know she was in no way at peace. She was reminded every day that she was unclean and that she could do nothing to stop it. This is the same spiritual state of every person before God saves them. Have you ever felt that in your life? Waking up every day with guilt from the day before, feeling the weight of your sin bearing down on you? Exhausting yourself with your own efforts to find peace and satisfaction, yet nothing gives it?

Then, in that state, the work of God takes place on your life, and you see him for the first time, and the holy glory of God overwhelms you! You see him as the most desirable thing in the world, yet at the same time, the most unobtainable thing in the world because of your sin. Then you look at the cross of Jesus and see within his wounds just how deep God's wrath against your sin is, and at the same time how deep his love toward you is. God came in flesh, lived the sinless life you could not live, died the death you owe, and then overcame the grave to give you the life you do not deserve. That is the beautiful glory of God!

We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. – Romans 6:4

That is the love of God, to heal you on the deepest level of your heart, and give you a life both now in this life, and forever in the life to come! Jesus did not come to help you be more moral, or to let you get away with whatever you want, he came to take what was dead and make it alive! He came to give those that will follow him life! So come to him in faith, repent from all that you have tried to satisfy yourself with, realize he is more desirable than anything in this world, then reach out for him and find the healing you have always needed, and then go in peace knowing you have been made new.

It is as if you look up from the broken glass of water that has always left you thirsting for more, to see a never ending waterfall that will quench your every need now and forever. John 4:1-42

The Healer's Touch Part 4: The Question

"...your faith has made you well; go in peace.” – Luke 8:48

Today we are continuing in the series titled The Healer's Touch. Here in Part 4, we will look at the question Christ asked of those around him and the answers given him, and what it means for us. Remember, in this series we are looking at this event, the healing of the bleeding woman found in Luke 8, and pulling back the layers. Our goal is to see beyond the physical event of this women's healing, and think on the great spiritual truths on display in this moment.

Here are the other parts in the series if you need to get caught up.

Part 1: The Crowd
Part 2: The Women
Part 3: The Healing

Now, lets get into Part 4.

The Question & Two Answers (The denial and the confession) 

Who was it that touched me? – Luke 8:45

It was a very simple question that Jesus asked, however the answers given and the reactions of the people around him carry some great truths for us to think on. Lets take them one at a time.

The Denial 

…they all denied it. – Luke 8:45

Even though they were all touching him, as Peter says, why did they all deny it? One reason that I believe we can see here is that those who are around Christ, yet still unbelievers, refused to be connected with Christ.

...everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven. – Matthew 10:32-33

So what are some reasons that people who are all over Christ, end up denying him? I think two of the primary reasons are persecutions and unmet expectations that we have placed on God that he never promised to fulfill.

We see both of these commented on in the parable of the sower explained from Matthew 13:20-22 

As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away. As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. – Matthew 13:20-22

Lets look at these two a little more from scripture.

Persecution:  

Then he said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences. And there will be terrors and great signs from heaven. But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name's sake. This will be your opportunity to bear witness. Settle it therefore in your minds not to meditate beforehand how to answer, for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict. You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and some of you they will put to death. You will be hated by all for my name's sake. But not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance you will gain your lives. – Luke 21:10-19

Those that are the Lord’s will overcome, and will have the words to say, and the perseverance to endure even when put to death.

Cares of the world: 

What are the cares of the world? Money, success, positions, fame, prestige, etc. Basically the lust of the flesh, eyes and the pride of life.  

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. – 1 John 2:15-17

For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. – Revelation 3:17-18 

There is nothing wrong with having things. The problem is when those things are what we want more than God. To desire the blessings of things, rather the One who is the giver of the blessing.

These are the reasons people will deny Christ. It basically boils down to the fact that they never saw Christ as more valuable than the things of the world, including their own life.

The Confession 

And when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling, and falling down before him declared in the presence of all the people why she had touched him, and how she had been immediately healed. – Luke 8:47

She could not remain hidden. What an interesting way of saying it. The truth we see here is that salvation always brings about public confession. True salvation always becomes public and declares the work of God in our lives. 

Let's look at some examples of this from scripture:

Isaiah - Encountered God - Sent 

In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: 

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory!”
And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” 

Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.” 

And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.” And he said, “Go...  – Isaiah 6:1-9 

Moses - Encountered God - Sent

Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” He said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.” – Exodus 3:10-12 

Disciples - Lived with Christ - Sent

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” – Matthew 28:18-20 

Paul - Encountered Christ - Sent 

So Ananias departed and entered the house. And laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized; and taking food, he was strengthened.  

For some days he was with the disciples at Damascus. And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.” And all who heard him were amazed and said, “Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem of those who called upon this name? And has he not come here for this purpose, to bring them bound before the chief priests?” But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ. – Acts 9:17-22

Among the prophets and teachers of the church at Antioch of Syria were Barnabas, Simeon (called “the black man”), Lucius (from Cyrene), Manaen (the childhood companion of King Herod Antipas), and Saul. One day as these men were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Appoint Barnabas and Saul for the special work to which I have called them.” So after more fasting and prayer, the men laid their hands on them and sent them on their way. 

So Barnabas and Saul were sent out by the Holy Spirit. They went down to the seaport of Seleucia and then sailed for the island of Cyprus. – Acts 13:1-4

From what we see in scripture, and modeled by this women in Luke 8, is that a transforming encounter with God will produce a life sent confessing the encounter.

The question you have to ask yourself, is am I living a life of confessing the Healer's touch in my life? If the answer is no, it may be worth asking yourself if you have been touched by the healer, or are you a member of the crowd denying Him?

The Healer's Touch Part 3: The Healing

"...your faith has made you well; go in peace.” – Luke 8:48

Welcome back to the blog and the series The Healer's Touch. In this third part we will continue looking at the healing of the bleeding woman in Luke 8. If you have missed any of the other posts in this series, I really encourage you to check them out! You can find them here:

Part 1 - The Crowd
Part 2 - The Woman

Now lets jump into part three.

The Healing (The Transformation)

…immediately her discharge of blood ceased.

The amazing and supernatural physical healing God gave to this woman was complete and full, and so is the miraculous healing Christ accomplishes in the hearts of those he saves!

Our God is not a hopeful savior. He is not standing around like a parent with fingers crossed hoping their child succeeds at some sporting event or recital. However he is confident of his children’s success, because as the almighty and powerful God, his grace will not fail to accomplish it.

For me as a believer, this is a very comforting truth! There are too many times when I start to wonder if God will ever use me, if I am any value to him, or if there is any real hope for me to become something more for him.

It was not too long ago that I was wrestling with these very thoughts and decided to spend the afternoon drawing. It usually helps me think. The drawing I was working on had many fine details and intricate pen marks. While working on it my son came to me at the kitchen table and said that he liked my drawing and that it looked great. He then quickly followed up with, "it looks like it's finished."

I told him thank you, but that the drawing still had a long way to go. That it may look done, but in my head I can see the full picture, and it is not finished yet. He shrugged his shoulders and went back to playing.

As soon as he left tears started to well up in my eyes, as I heard my Father whisper to me, "Shawn, I'm not finished with you yet, I see what the full picture looks like. I'm here and I'm still working."

What a comfort that is! God's healing and work in us will not fail! Consider these words by F. B. Myer:

We go into the artist’s studio and find there unfinished pictures covering large canvases, and suggesting great designs, but which have been left, either because the genius was not competent to complete the work, or because paralysis laid the hand low in death; but as we go into God’s great workshop we find nothing that bears the mark of haste or insufficiency of power to finish, and we are sure that the work which His grace has begun, the arm of His strength will complete. – F. B. Meyer (19th Century Commentator) 

There is no haste or insufficiency of power to finish his work, I love that! Now let's drive this idea home with a walk through some of God's word to see this idea fleshed out.

When Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished.” And bowing His head, He yielded up His spirit. – John 19:30

When Jesus died on the cross, he did not partially accomplish something. It was finished. He completed the work that he was sent to do. So what did he come to do?

...Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. – 1 Peter 3:18 

His work was finished! His work to bring you to God is complete! If your rejoicing and praise to God stops at your forgiveness of sin, you need to ask yourself, “Why am I rejoicing over that.” Is that the end? Is the removal of your guilt the greatest thing to rejoice over? No, rejoice that you are being brought to God! That is the end, your forgiveness is just the means. Yes, be glad and shout for joy that you are forgiven, but don't stop there! The forgiveness is not what satisfies your needs, it is God who completely satisfies your needs, and for his glory he lived a perfect life, suffered, and overcame sin and death to ensure that you are brought to the one who satisfies completely!

He who began a good work in you, is faithful to complete it. – Phil 1:6 

Your healing is as good as done. You still walk daily in a struggle, in a fight, but you are completely healed! Why? Because God will see it through. The completion of your healing, your growth, your conformity to Christ, is not your doing. He began it, and he will complete it.

I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. – Job 42:2 

No one in this world, a friend, enemy, or yourself can stop the purposes of God. So if he has purposed to bring you to God and to complete the good work in you, it is as good as done!

For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. – Romans 8: 29-30

Romans 8:29-30 is the unbreakable chain of security for the believer. If you are his, you will be glorified with him, and he will conform you into the image of Christ! That is the the beautiful goal of every believer, to be made into the image of Christ! It is not about our ease or our comfort, but about our conformity. And that transformation is what brings us true joy in our lives, and God will accomplish it in you!

Your salvation is complete. Under the umbrella of grace Justification is accomplished (saved from the penalty of sin), Sanctification is being accomplished (saved from the power of sin), and Glorification will be accomplished (saved from the presence of sin). For the believer all three will happen! Some will try to say that we are justified and glorified by God, but it is by our own power and strength that we fight sin. My friends, you have no hope to find victory over the power of sin in your life apart from the grace of God!

We see this in Ephesians chapter two.

 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. – Ephesians 2:8-10

No one has been saved by works, but everyone who is saved will display works. Why? Because we are his workmanship, not ours. How do we know that? Because God prepared beforehand for those who would follow him, good works for them to walk in. But why? Because he is the one conforming us into his image, and that transformation is by his plan and his power and is our necessary evidence of salvation. That is why God will do whatever it takes to conform us into his image, because it will bring him glory and satisfy us fully, and leave us lacking nothing.

Count is all joy my brother, when you meet trails of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. – James 1:2-4

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. – 1 Peter 1:3-7 

God will do everything necessary (and will do nothing unnecessary) in you and to you, to ensure that you make it to him. That you endure. That you overcome. He is working, and his plans will not fail, and his plans are good. You can trust and rest in that your healing is complete and full, because God has declared it as such. That is why we walk in a manor worthy of the gospel today, looking forward to the reality to come.

The Healer's Touch Part 2: The Woman

"...your faith has made you well; go in peace.” – Luke 8:48

Just in case you are jumping on the blog, first I'm glad your here! Second, in case you didn't know, this is the second post in a 5 part series looking at the miraculous healing of the woman within the crowd found in Luke 8. If you missed the first post, you can get caught up here: The Crowd

I think a short recap of what we are doing before continuing could also be helpful. We are walking through this story and pointing out the different people and events, and looking at it the through the lens, or facet, of how Christ's miraculous healings are a picture of his ability to overcome the deadly results of man's fallen nature. The first post looked at the crowd, and now we will turn our attention to the woman.


The Woman (The Believer) 

There was a woman who had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and though she had spent all her living on physicians, she could not be healed by anyone. – Luke 8:43

What we see here is a woman who is at the end of herself. She has exhausted every effort to try and find healing. Everything she had is gone, her savings emptied on multiple physicians who were unable to help her. Nothing worked. Nothing freed her of her condition.

That is what we see physically, however there is a huge spiritual truth being displayed here for us. For us to really grasp hold of what is on view here, we need to see her as the culture did. As one who is unclean.

In the Old Testament, the menstruation cycle is often used as a symbol of unrighteousness and a filthy state of the heart. To see this, lets start where her condition is described in the law.

“If a woman has a discharge of blood for many days, not at the time of her menstrual impurity, or if she has a discharge beyond the time of her impurity, all the days of the discharge she shall continue in uncleanness. As in the days of her impurity, she shall be unclean. Every bed on which she lies, all the days of her discharge, shall be to her as the bed of her impurity. And everything on which she sits shall be unclean, as in the uncleanness of her menstrual impurity. And whoever touches these things shall be unclean, and shall wash his clothes and bathe himself in water and be unclean until the evening. But if she is cleansed of her discharge, she shall count for herself seven days, and after that she shall be clean. And on the eighth day she shall take two turtledoves or two pigeons and bring them to the priest, to the entrance of the tent of meeting. And the priest shall use one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering. And the priest shall make atonement for her before the Lord for her unclean discharge. – Leviticus 15:25-30 

I hope we feel the weight of this woman’s burden! For 12 years she was unclean! Every night for 12 years she went to bed, and woke up in the bed of her impurity. 

What a vivid picture of our sin! Everywhere we go, filth following us. Everywhere we sit or lay, marked unclean. We carry nothing good with us, and leave nothing good where we go. This is what this woman felt physically, and what every believer has felt spiritually concerning their sin. 

Let's look at some other examples from OT that use this condition to express uncleanness.

Zion stretches out her hands, but there is none to comfort her; the LORD has commanded against Jacob that his neighbors should be his foes; Jerusalem has become a filthy thing among them. – Lamentations 1:17

“A filthy thing among them” as used here in the original language is to become a menstruating woman. The illustration is used to show how Jerusalem was sinful and worthy of judgement. That they, like a women in this situation, was separated from her husband and the temple. We see ourselves in this as the bride, unclean and separated from Christ our groom.

Behold, you were angry, and we sinned; in our sins we have been a long time, and shall we be saved? 

We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. – Isaiah 64:5b-6

Polluted garment in the original language is referencing menstrual rags. For 12 years this woman had been producing filthy rags. Her attempts at healing herself went no where, just as our attempts at righteousness without the work of God in our lives. As much as she tried to find healing, as much as she used to absorb the blood, she could not remove the label of unclean, and neither can we.

This is our state before Christ and seeing it brings about the most beautiful result. Spiritual poverty. 

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. – Matthew 5:3

The poor in spirit know they are bleeding, dying, and they know nothing is going to make them better. They know their sin is there to destroy them and have fought it endlessly, yet have never won.

They have made countless vows of “Never again!” only to never find success. They have woken up morning after morning in shame and guilt, and have traveled the same paths and alleys so many times, unsure of why their feet cannot deny themselves returning to the same place that the day before they promised never to return to. They have been to counselors, they have put up restraints, yet they rebel against the advice of others and tear down their own barricades to return to that which will kill them.

They have pummeled their sin down, have stricken it with their fists, have laid it in its grave, only to awake the next day tired and fatigued from the fight to see it standing again facing them, lacking any bruise or wound and full of vitality to attack them once more. 

The spiritual poor are those who are exhausted from the fight. They understand their state and are aware of their inability to change it. 

It is when you realize that you cannot heal yourself that you will come to the only one who can heal you. Humility comes when no matter how much you bind and clean your wounds today, you will only awake to find them still seeping and infected tomorrow. This women spent all she had trying to heal herself, only to wake up still in her condition morning after morning. 

It is when you are humbled by seeing yourself in light of who God is, that you will come to him. He is all powerful, he is beautiful, he is holy. You are weak, you are bruised and bleeding, you are sinful. Then you are willing to give up your efforts, then you know you cannot change yourself and are willing to say, "crucify me with you Christ, kill this sinful man inside me and raise me to live with you." Galatians 2:20.

I hope you have experienced this painful, yet glorious reality in your own life. That you are unable to heal yourself, but there is someone who can.

The Healer's Touch Part 1: The Crowd

"...your faith has made you well; go in peace.” – Luke 8:48 

The story found in Luke chapter 8 about a woman healed of her bleeding is one that most people from a church background are familiar with. We have heard it referenced in sermons, and maybe have read through it a few times.

I was in the same boat, never really giving pause to this story, until after I was saved. I remember reading the story's account in the gospel of Mark a few months after my salvation and it hitting me like a glorious ton of bricks. What I saw in that moment was that I was once just a person in the crowd, but now I'm the one who has been healed!

It was not long ago that I finally sat down and dove into this passage and spent some time studying and writing on it. What a joy it was and I'm very excited to get to share it here in a 5 part series.

The Intro

Now when Jesus returned, the crowd welcomed him, for they were all waiting for him. And there came a man named Jairus, who was a ruler of the synagogue. And falling at Jesus' feet, he implored him to come to his house, for he had an only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she was dying.  

As Jesus went, the people pressed around him. And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and though she had spent all her living on physicians, she could not be healed by anyone. She came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, and immediately her discharge of blood ceased. And Jesus said, “Who was it that touched me?” When all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the crowds surround you and are pressing in on you!” But Jesus said, “Someone touched me, for I perceive that power has gone out from me.” And when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling, and falling down before him declared in the presence of all the people why she had touched him, and how she had been immediately healed. And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.” – Luke 8:40–48 

When we read these verses in Luke 8:40–48, we can see them on the surface for what they are, Jesus using his divine power to heal a women's physical suffering.

This woman has been suffering for 12 years from a condition that could not be corrected in her body, and Jesus simply altered her physical state to heal her. He did not preform a surgery or prescribe a medication, but by His power, changed her from incurable to cured. What a display of his power over creation!

While this event alone is enough to capture our awe, I believe there is something beyond the miraculous physical healing for us to see displayed here. That is what I aim to draw out and show in this series. To turn the diamond of scripture and let us see this story through a different facet. To look at this, we need to take a moment and think on what Jesus's ability to physically heal means.

In the gospel accounts of Jesus’s life we see several times his power to heal and restore physically by overpowering sickness, infirmities, and disease. But why is he showing us this?

It is certainly an affirmation of his divine nature, but I think there is another layer to it. Think of where sickness, infirmities, and disease come from? In the beginning death was not part of God's creation. Then in Genesis chapter three we see death introduced as the world is broken by the effects of sin.

Do people die from sickness and disease? Of course they do. Every sickness and death faced in this world is a direct result of a broken world that our sin has created. The effects of sin start to kill us from the day we are born, and in this story we see Christ’s power over those effects in the physical healing of this woman. That is the facet that I want to look through as we walk through this story. To see God's power to heal the brokenness our sin creates.

As we do this, I will go through the various elements of this story and try unpack the people involved and the events that took place as we look at this story in a way that perhaps we have not before.

The Crowd (The Unbelievers) 

The crowd welcomed him, for they were all waiting for him… As Jesus went, the people pressed around him.

Why were these people here? 

Perhaps the crowd was intrigued and curious about Jesus. Perhaps they came to be entertained or maybe it was fascination. Perhaps some wanted something from Jesus, or to see him do something miraculous.

There is a good chance these people had heard of or even seen some of the amazing things that Jesus had been doing, and for whatever reason they were there, I'm confident in saying it was not out of a desire for Christ. Rather it is likely out of infatuation with his power or a desire for what he may do in their midst.

Why is this important? Because we see the same situation today. Many people are intrigued by Christ and are interested in him. Some even see him as the potential relief of their ailments. Perhaps he is a salve to comfort their guilty conscience. They see him as a social experiment, or an additive to their existing philosophy or belief system. 

There are many people that want the benefits and awe of Christ, without wanting Christ himself. RC Sproul's sharing of Thomas Aquinas' observations expounds on this:

"Thomas Aquinas [observed] that to the naked eye it may seem that unbelievers are searching for God or seeking for the kingdom of God, while they are in fact fleeing from God with all of their might. What Aquinas observed was that people who are unconverted seek the “benefits” that only God can give them, such as ultimate meaning and purpose in their lives, relief from guilt, the presence of joy and happiness, and things of this nature." – RC Sproul

In this world, and within our churches, there are many people that are all over and around Jesus. People standing right next to him, but with hearts and minds far from him. They seek nothing of him for the sake of who he is, only for what he can offer. They worship his promises and provisions as their idols, and could do without the provider of them.

I've seen this type of thinking first hand, not only in my life, but in my son's also. It used to be that every time he was going to see my parents, he knew some sort of gift or toy was sure to be there also. It was not long till his excitement to see them was not to be with them and enjoy them, but to receive and enjoy a thing. His love for going to see them, was not a love for them, but a selfish love for himself.

There will be many people in churches this weekend that want to sit and play with a shinny new toy, one that will likely be losing its appeal within a day or two after leaving, rather than sitting, standing, singing, listening, or praying in awe of the one who loves them. The one who can meet the deepest needs of their heart and satisfy them forever!

One of the main reasons for this is we see ourselves as the most beautiful and desirable thing in the universe. But when your eyes are opened to see the glory of God, in his holiness, you see how undesirable, sinful, broken, and dead you are. That is when Christ's beauty shines forth, in his ability to forgive sin, and make us alive!

Sadly however, the North American church is full of people that have never seen Christ. But they come wanting his benefits, just as this crowed in Luke 8 did. We see people who were the same way in the scripture.

And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’” And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. – Mark 10:17-22 

The rich young ruler did not come wanting Christ, he came wanting to gain eternal life while also keeping his idol close to his heart. Jesus does not call people to come to him and bring their idols along for the ride. He calls us to repent from their sin, to destroy the things that will never satisfy us, and to run to that which will forever meet our deepest needs.

As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” 

Jesus turned away the half hearted. We cannot come to him on our own standards, telling God what following him will be like. We do not assert ourselves over him, no, we come to him willing to abandon all for him, because he is everything to us!

Whom have I in heaven but You? And besides You, I desire nothing on earth. My flesh and my heart may fail, But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. – 
Psalm 73:25-26 

This is the attitude of the believer! The one who says I don’t long for the benefits that help me here on this earth, I long for you Christ!

There is nothing wrong with enjoying the benefits of a relationship with God, however if you want the benefits without the relationship, there is huge problem. And that relationship with him is not one that we enter in on our own terms. It is through a genuine repentance from our sin, and following of Christ for who he is, the glorious King of Kings!

Finding Freedom In Prayer To A Sovereign God

“My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me;

nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”—Matthew 26:39

I love God, and I love how big and massive and beautiful He is. I also love how He is in control of all things. (Psalm 135:6) However, as God began to deepen and widen my view of His sovereignty, something started to happen in my prayer life. A tinge of fear started to arise when praying certain things. If God is over all things and is accomplishing His will through everything, are my prayers an attempt to assert my will over His? When I pray, “God please heal them of their sickness,” what if it’s not God’s will do to that? Am I trying to tell God what to do? Shouldn’t I just be quiet and trust He is doing everything according to His good and perfect plan? This really bothered me. But I knew that in His word, God asks His children to bring their requests to Him, (Philippians 4:6) and there was the beginning of a change in my prayer life. The Phrase My first response to this tension in my heart and mind came through a phrase I began using in my prayers. Any time I would bring a request to the Lord that I uneasy about, I would follow it with something along these lines: God let your will be done, and give us the grace we need to walk through it. As I saw more and more of God’s sovereignty in His word, the more this phrase felt so necessary in my prayer life. And honestly, I welcomed it, felt comforted by it, and still do. I felt too uncomfortable coming to God and asking Him to alter mine, and even someone else’s situation in life. How am I to know what God may be working in that person’s life through that? How am I to know that the pain and struggle they are experiencing isn’t exactly what God has for them? (James 1:2-4) So I would still make my requests to the Lord, but this phrase kept coming with them. I didn’t fully understand it then, but God was shaping and growing my own heart in this struggle. He was shaping my desires in prayer to be more focused on changes of the heart, rather than changes in circumstances. More on being made into the image of Christ, than on being made comfortable. (Ephesians 3:14-19) When your prayers start changing from only asking God to do or change something for you, to including more of asking God to do or change something in you, I think that is a good thing. The Family Prayer This simple phrase eventually evolved into a prayer for my family. My wife and I went through some really rough times at the end of 2014, and in the months that followed a prayer arose that I would pray often for me and my family.

Lord, give us a desire for your will,

and the grace within it to be still.

Knowing that in unknowns that be,

glory is given when we trust in Thee.

This prayer is very special to me. God gave it to me in some of the darkest days I’ve experienced so far in my life. Still today I say it to myself when things arise that I don’t understand, cannot comprehend, or that I don’t know what the outcome will be. Every word and phrase in this prayer is packed with meaning. A confession that I don’t naturally desire my Lord's will, and in my own strength I’m restless when things fall apart; and without God’s power in my life I am unable to be still and rest in His control. That I need Him to help me know, KNOW with certainty of mind and heart that He is holy and trustworthy and in control, to the point that His name is made great by the peace He gives me in the unknowns. While I love this prayer, and I think it is God honoring and I still pray it often, at times I found it replacing my requests to God to do something specific. There was still this unsettled fear in my heart that I did not want to come to God telling Him what I think He should do. Thankfully God is a gracious and patient God. He kept working on my heart till it finally clicked. Using a scripture I had read and heard several times God opened my eyes to this reality, that Christ prayed like this! The Model Oh the beautiful example of our Lord. Everything finally fell into place to remove the tinge of fear of bringing these specific requests to God by seeing that in His prayer in the garden, Christ brought His requests to God. He humbly made his pleas, and God denied them. Yet in that denial Christ submitted to the perfect will of the Father.

Then he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.” And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” 

Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.” 

...he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words again.—Matthew 26:38-39, 42, 44

If Christ can go to God the Father in His moment of deepest anguish and cry out for God to do something to change His circumstance, and be sinless in that cry, I do not need this burden of tension in my heart in doing the same thing! Oh the freedom this brings! Oh to come to God with no fear, bringing my requests before Him and still saying, "your will be done, and I need your grace to walk in it.” Because the truth is, if He alters my circumstances to remove suffering, or if he keeps me while I walk through it longer, I will need His grace to glorify Him in either outcome. The key we see from Christ is confidence in His relationship with God, and also humility and faith in God’s will. Oh God cultivate our hearts more to that of Christ, and may we boldly come with our requests, and also humbly submit to Your will for us.

Truth Vs Opinion

...These words that I command you today shall be on your heart.

You shall teach them diligently to your children... Deuteronomy 6:6-7

A few nights ago after dinner an odd conversation came up. I cannot remember exactly how it did, as are many of the conversations around the table with a 4 and 6 year old, but the one for that particular night involved armpits.

Yes, armpits. But at least this one did not involve food going in them.

So joining in this intriguing discussion, I threw out a comment to my 6 year old son. I told him that arm pits are like opinions, everyone has at least two of them and they are all trying to make them smell better. He didn’t get it. But he did better than most adults do when they don't get something. He asked questions. On of which was, “What’s an opinion?"

That’s a good question to ask. I told him that an opinion is what you think about something and gave him a few examples. You think pizza tastes good. You think green is the best color. You think Batman is an awesome superhero. You think playing in the dirt is one of the best things ever.

As we talked a little light popped on. It’s the light that clicks on when there is a chance to teach something bigger. He was understanding what an opinion was, so I grabbed an apple and showed it to my son and we had this short conversation:

“What is this?"

“An apple."

“Right, and that is not an opinion, that is the truth. You can have an opinion about apples, that you like the way they taste or their color, but you cannot have an opinion on what it is. What if told you this is an orange. What would you say?"

“No, it’s an apple."

“But what if I believed it was an orange?"

“It’s still an apple."

“Right! What we believe about something does not change the truth. We can have different opinions about something that is true, but we cannot change what is true by our opinions."

And I left it at that for now, and hopefully in the future I can build on that and attach other truths to it.

I share this little story for two reasons. One is to show that even a child can understand this concept that our world has abandoned with its relativistic thinking.

The second is to encourage other dads. This conversation was not hard to have, you just have to look for them. If teaching your child about truth, God, or the gospel, is at the front of your mind then the light will click on when you're in a situation or when your kids say something you can use. Jump on it and use those moments to help teach your kids the things they need to hear most. As a dad, this is one of your most important and rewarding jobs.

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.—Deuteronomy 6:4-9

Is Your Hunger Being Satisfied? - Part 2

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,

for they shall be satisfied. – Matthew 5:6

This post is the second part in a two part series looking at the idea of spiritual hunger and spiritual satisfaction. In Part One I shared some thoughts on spiritual hunger. What it looks like, ways we respond to it, and how it can never be satisfied by our own efforts. If you missed it and would like to check it out, you can find it here: Is Your Hunger Being Satisfied: Part1

Now in Part Two, I would like to share some thoughts on the idea of our hunger being satisfied. But before jumping into that, let's recap a few things so they are fresh on our minds. In Part One we discussed how we try to satisfy ourselves with self-glorifying pleasure and self glorifying praise. However those attempts never leave us truly satisfied.

We also discussed that righteousness is the true, deep longing of our souls and that we are unable to satisfy that hunger for righteousness ourselves. So again, what is righteousness?

Righteousness:

1. acting in accord with divine or moral law :  free from guilt or sin

2. morally right or justifiable

This is a good definition, yet it does not stop there. You have to take the next step and see that those who have righteousness have a right relationship with God. This is due to the fact that sin separates us from a holy God and places us under His judgment. So if you are free from the guilt or punishment of sin, then you have a right relationship with God.

Now if you hunger for righteousness—if you hunger to be right with God; and if you hunger to act in accord with His divine law—then how is that hunger satisfied as Matthew 5:6 says it will be?

As we concluded in Part One, it is satisfied only by Christ! He satisfies our hunger for righteousness by being the only source of our righteousness. But how does He do that? That's what I want to talk about, and I see in scripture three ways that He does it.

1. Christ satisfies our hunger for righteousness by giving us His righteousness, and paying the penalty for our lack of it.

As I mentioned in part one, when we hunger for something it is because we do not have it. Our stomachs rumble because they don’t have food in them. Our souls rumble because they are not right with God.

We were made to be with our creator. We were formed to find our joy through fellowship with Him. However, our sin has severed that connection with Him. We have made ourselves His enemy by rejecting Him as the only one who can satisfy us, and choosing to try and satisfy ourselves with the things of this world. (James 4:4) That is the very nature of sin, that we are dragged away from God by our own desires to reject Him and place our ourselves, our desires, our ways, over Him. (James 1:13-15)

Everyone of us has done this. We have all desired our way over God’s. We have all separated ourselves from God by our sin. This is the very reason our souls cry out in hunger and thirst. They long to be reunited with the one who can satisfy and our soul will not be satisfied by more money, more stuff, more power, more sex, more popularity, a more picture perfect family, or even more morality. It will only be satisfied by being brought back to a right relationship with its Maker.

And getting back to that right relationship with God, becoming righteous, is nothing we can do for ourselves. It is here in that moment, when you realize that your soul will only be satisfied by God and that you are incapable of getting to Him, that Christ suddenly radiates with glorious beauty!

Why does He shine so brightly in that moment? Because He is what you hunger for. He is righteous, you are not. He is sinless, you are not. He is right with God, you are not. It is because He is everything you want to become, and He has made the way for you to become those things.

To the homeless man who is dying of starvation and longing to be fed, how beautiful to him is the one who offers everything they have to feed him? (Luke 15:11-24) We are that starving beggar, and Christ offers us everything we need, and that need is to be right with God.

Jesus Christ, God Himself in human flesh, lived a life void of any sin. A righteous life. Therefore He had no penalty of death on Him (Romans 6:23), and He offers to credit that sinless and righteous life to you. He offers to give you His right relationship with God, and take away all your unrighteousness. It requires humbling yourself, admitting that you have rejected Him in choosing your way over His, leaving that behind and desiring to follow and trust Him as Lord of your life.

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.—2 Corinthians 5:21

And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption—1 Cor 1:30

"The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!"—Mark 1:15

Your heart longs to be satisfied by its Creator, repent from your sin and trust Him!

2. He satisfies our hunger for righteousness by being the power within us to taste righteousness now.

The second way Christ satisfies our hunger for righteousness, is  after we have repented and trusted Him, He empowers us to taste and experience practical righteousness in our life. There is a lot that could be said on this, however I’ll try to keep it brief.

Let's consider one of the greatest realities of a true Christian.

The fact that Christ comes to dwell in his followers.

I am crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me.—Galatians 2:20

Now let's consider this truth’s implications. In Part One we talked about how all we desire is to satisfy ourself by the pursuit of self glorifying pleasure or self glorifying praise. This is all a person can do before coming into a saving relationship with God. Even what we would call “good works” are tainted by the underlying selfish motivations of fear or pride in the unbeliever. (Titus 1:15-16)

However Christ, God in flesh, lived a perfect life without sin. This means that He not only did all the right things from an outward perspective, but did them from the right motivations in the heart also. We see this mentioned in places like John 6:38 and John 17:4. Christ wanted to accomplish the will of the Father, and that will is that God be glorified.

If this same Christ now lives in us, and the life we live is no longer ours but Him living in us, then what is to be expected? God will be glorified in us, because Christ will live for God’s will and God’s glory within us! So how does that take place? Our eyes are opened to see that our self glorifying pursuits do not satisfy, only God does. Christ in us empowers us to desire God more than our sin, which glorifies God!

So practically, how does that enable us to be satisfied by tastes of righteousness now?

In Part One I used the example of a lie, let's look at it here too. Look at these two responses to avoiding telling a lie.

Response 1

“I chose not to lie because I am satisfied by God and I love Him! I want to stay close to Him and I know a lie will be disobeying Him and will hurt my relationship with Him.” With this response, God is made to look beautiful and satisfying as you choose to act in righteousness by telling the truth. His beauty and glory is made great as your enjoyment of Him is made the motivation for your obedience.

Response 2

“I don’t want to lie because I know I would get in trouble if I was caught. Besides, I am not the kind of person who lies.” With this, you are made to look beautiful, and you sinfully rob God of His glory, and you live bound by pride and fear.

One glorifies you and displays your slavery, and one glorifies God and displays your freedom. One is a righteous choice, one is sinful. When Christ dwells in you, He gives you the power to desire God’s glory over yours, because He makes God more satisfying to you than yourself!

No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God.—1 John 3:9

We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin.—Romans 6:6-7

Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.—Romans 6:12-18

After salvation, it is Christ in you that frees you from the slavery of continually being unsatisfied by unrighteousness and allows you to finally taste the sweet beauty of true righteousness in your life! We still fight and struggle with sin, but the believer is now equipped by the Holy Spirit to fight their sin by desiring what is more satisfying. And we find what is more satisfying by God’s promises in His word.

3 . He satisfies our hunger for righteousness by providing the means to one day be perfectly righteous.

The last way Christ satisfies our hunger for righteousness should leave your soul’s mouth watering for it! He will one day lay out a never ending feast of righteousness for your heart to dine on forever. And that feast will be His glory!

Christ has promised that He will return, and when He does, those who have repented of their sinful attempts to satisfy themselves, and have accepted Him as the all-satisfying desire of their soul, will be made perfectly righteous with Him!

All will be resurrected, with a physical body, and those who continually rejected God as the only one who can satisfy them, will be resurrected to suffer under His judgement. However those who repented and long to be with Him will be glorified and will never struggle with sin again. For the follower of Christ, our sinful hearts will be made new and right, and we will see God’s glory completely unveiled. Christ will be radiating with such beauty that we will long for nothing more than Him! No longer will we be lured away by our sinful desires. No more will self-glorifying praise or self-glorifying pleasure take the place of God in our lives, because we will be glorified and we will see Him in His full glory! (Rev 22:3-4)

The curse will be gone, there will be no more death, no more sickness, no more pain. All of these things are the result of sin (Romans 6:23) and if God (who cannot lie Titus 1:2) has promised that they will be done away with (Revelation 21:4), then we can conclude that in heaven we will be incapable of sin! What a glorious rest from the fight those who trust Him endure every day! (Romans 8:13)

We will be glorified and enjoy the righteousness of Christ forever, as we live in perfect righteousness, in a right relationship with a God of infinite glory who satisfies us forever!

Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.—1 John 3:2

...those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.—Romans 8:30

So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. –2 Corinthians 5:6-9

For he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things – Ps 107:9

If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again.—Philippians 1:22-26

I hope that you, in the depths of your heart and being, long desperately for Christ’s return. To look in the face of the only one who can fulfill the deepest desires of your soul, and be satisified by Him forever. Come quickly Lord Jesus!

I hope that you have enjoyed journeying with me in my thoughts on this. If you have any comments on how you find God satisfying your heart, or questions about anything I’ve shared, I’d love to hear them!