Speak Out

A believer once told me that it wasn’t his desire to proactively share his faith, but if someone were to ask him what he believed, he’d be happy to tell him that he is a Christian; a follower of Christ. Don’t get me wrong, I understand why any believer, especially at this time in our history, would be afraid to share their heart about the gospel of Jesus Christ; to proclaim that they are a believer and to associate what they believe with biblical truth, but that is what God wants us to do even if it costs us something. I believe that our heart should reflect the heart of Jesus who spoke openly about the Father’s faithfulness and the salvation that can only be found in himself. And I believe king David would agree. He wrote these words in Psalms chapter 40, verse 10:

“I do not hide your righteousness in my heart; I speak of your faithfulness and salvation. I do not conceal your love and your truth from the great assembly.”

It is human nature to fear rejection and persecution, but these things can, and often do, accompany the open proclamation of God’s word. Only in settings like church or Bible study is speech about Jesus expected and accepted. It is when we share about him outside of the context of a church or a Christian event do we typically encounter rejection. But Jesus both operated within the synagogue and in the houses of sinners and unbelievers. He spoke about salvation in love and grace, not with judgment and condemnation. But he spoke about it all the same. And I believe that we should strive to follow his example.

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When it comes to sharing about your salvation to those who don’t believe, I encourage you to be like David. Do not hide Jesus’ righteousness in your heart; Speak of his faithfulness and salvation. Do not conceal his love and his truth from the great assembly. If believers remain silent, how will the lost learn about the salvation Jesus offers? In his word Jesus told his disciples to “go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.” I believe that command is for us as well. So I would encourage you to be bold, to share about Jesus in love much in the same way Jesus modeled for us in the Bible. I encourage you not to hide Jesus’ righteousness in your heart, but to speak out concerning his faithfulness and salvation.

Holy Justice

The Bible tells us that it isn’t for us to judge, because only God has the authority to judge. If we judge others, then we will be judged ourselves. The Bible also tells us that it isn’t for us to avenge. That too, we are to leave up to the Lord because in Romans we’re told, “‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay’, says the Lord”. In our flesh we may want to judge as if we know what a person deserves. We may also want to avenge as if we are the ones who have the right to deal out our form of justice. But we should never forget that the Bible tells us to leave these things to the Lord. And when we do, we should take comfort in knowing that these decisions are left in good hands, because we serve a just God. We’re reminded in Proverbs chapter 29, verse 26:

“Many seek an audience with a ruler, but it is from the Lord that man gets justice.”

And in chapter 17 verse 15, it says:

“Acquitting the guilty and condemning the innocent - the Lord detests them both.”

Our God is a God of justice. He hates when the guilty are acquitted and when the innocent are condemned. And we are encouraged that it is from the Lord that a man gets justice. Our earthly justice system may be flawed. Jurys may be coerced, judges may be bribed, and people may lie on the stand. And even if our system does what it is designed to do, those who are innocent may still be condemned and those who are guilty may still be acquitted. But when we rely on God, justice will ultimately prevail, even if it is only in God’s timing and only in God’s way. If you are crying out for justice, I encourage you to bring it to the Lord - the only one who can truly give you justice. I encourage you to trust him to do what is right.

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I don’t mind confessing that I hate seeing the guilty go free or the innocent condemned. But I’m happy to know that our God feels the same way. In my strength and with my wisdom, I couldn’t make someone pay for their crimes nor could I righteously sentence someone. For that, we are called to rely on the one who does have the power, wisdom and authority to give us justice when we have been wronged. I encourage you to trust him. It would do us good to leave justice in God’s hands while we focus on forgiveness with the help of the Holy Spirit. If you are in that place today, I hope that you are willing to trust God for justice, as well as emotional healing and forgiveness with the help of the Holy Spirit.

Never

If you are a believer in Christ today; if you’ve put your trust in him and have given your life to him, and if you call yourself a Christian and a follower of Christ, you should realize that you are who you are in Christ only because the Father drew you unto himself. Sure, he may have used an event, another person, or an experience in your life as a catalyst, but the Bible reminds us that no one can come to a saving knowledge of Jesus unless the Father draws them. Jesus reminds us in John, chapter 6 verse 37, that after that happens he will never drive you away. It says:

“All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.”

In this verse Jesus attests that it is God the Father who gave him those who have come to believe. And Jesus says that he will never drive them away. Isn’t that a comforting feeling? God wants to draw near to us. It is never his intent to drive us away. We may choose to leave him, turn away from him, or distance ourselves from him, but he will never drive us away. So I encourage you to have the same heart toward him as he has toward you. As it is his intent to never drive us away, let it be our intent to never leave him. Remember, God chose you even when you were lost in your sin and drew you to himself. Now that he has, he will never drive you away.

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When you were young and forced to play sports in gym class were you ever the last person chosen? If you were, that probably made you feel like you weren’t chosen at all. You probably thought, since you were the last one left, your team was forced to take you. Well, it isn’t that way with God. If you are saved by God’s grace, remember that God chose you. Not because you were the last one left. He drew you unto himself because it was his good pleasure to do so. And now that you are his, he will never drive you away. There are more people throughout human history who will find the wide path that leads to destruction than the narrow one that leads to salvation, and you are on the right path because God chose you. I encourage you never to forget that.

Trust Him

I have a friend who immediately left a ministry and job that he loved, to move several states away to a place that he’d never been because he believed God was telling him to do so. He didn’t have anything set up at his new location; no job, no house, and no contacts, but he knew - even though it didn’t make sense to him at the time, that God was calling him. And he knew that even though he didn’t understand God’s plan at the time, that he should trust him. Have you ever been in that place? Have you ever felt God calling you to do something that made no sense at the time? Simon Peter did. And if God ever calls you to trust him by doing something that doesn’t seem to make sense, I encourage you to do what he did. It says in Luke, chapter 5, verses 4 and 5:

“When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, ‘Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.’ Simon answered, ‘Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.’”

To Simon, it made no logical sense to follow Jesus’ command. He’d already fished all night with no results. Neither did it make any logical sense for my friend to leave everything he’d known and move to a strange place. But they did. And as a result of their obedience, God led my friend to a new ministry calling and when Simon obeyed, he caught such a large number of fish that the nets began to break. We might not understand God’s plan when he asks us to do something that doesn’t seem to make sense, but even still, we need to trust him. He has a plan. He sees what we can’t see, and he knows what we don’t know. Our job isn’t to question God. Our job is to obey him, even when it is difficult, and even when it doesn’t make sense.

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If you went back in time and warned your younger self about something you wish you would’ve avoided or handled differently during your life, chances are that your younger self would trust your advice, follow your instructions and ultimately choose a better path than the one you originally chose, even if it didn’t seem to make sense at the time. Likewise, we need to trust God if he calls us to do something that doesn’t make sense on the surface. For Simon, God had in mind a miraculous outcome from his obedient act. What might God have in store for you if you choose to trust him even when it doesn’t make sense at the time? It’s hard to say, but I’m sure whatever it is, you wouldn’t want to miss out.

Extreme Mercy

I’m always learning, and I’m always being reminded, what it means to be like Christ. Being Christ-like is what we are called to pursue, but it is an effort that is difficult to do, and impossible to maintain, without the help of the Holy Spirit. One area that I find particularly difficult is when he calls us to be extremely merciful toward our enemies. He calls us to be extreme in our mercy because he has poured out extreme mercy on us. Remember, the Bible tells us that, “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us”. So, even when we were his enemies he showed extreme mercy, and he calls us to do the same. In Luke chapter 6, verses 27 through 28, Jesus says:

“But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.”

And in verses 35 through 36 he says:

“But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.”

God is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked, so we should be too. I don’t think he is calling us to be a doormat, but he is calling us to be extreme in our mercy, extreme in our forgiveness, and extreme in our love toward those who are extreme in their hate towards us. When I think of extreme mercy, I’m always reminded of the persecuted church; believers who are imprisoned, tortured, or killed because of their faith in Christ. Often times, I read stories of how they pray for their persecutors, and how they genuinely show love toward those who are expressing hatred. They are not doing this in their own strength. The Holy Spirit helps them. And likewise, we need the help of the Holy Spirit if we choose to love our enemies as well.

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Jesus tells us to “love our enemies, do good to those who hate us, bless those who curse us, and pray for those who mistreat us.” That is extreme mercy. But Jesus isn’t asking us to do anything he didn’t do himself. He showed us that kind of mercy, and that, I believe, is why he asks us to do likewise. Not every day do we have the opportunity to love our enemies; at least that is the case for me. But when you have the opportunity, I challenge you to show them extreme mercy. If you do, you will be taking on the likeness of Christ. And not only that, Jesus assures us that if we show extreme mercy then our reward will be great.