The Exchange

 

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to … provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.

—Isaiah 61:1, 3

We all remember the story of “Jack and the Beanstalk,” ¹ which began with Jack going to market for his mother to sell their old cow that no longer gave milk. On the way, Jack met a man who sweet-talked him into trading the cow for five “magic beans.” And, you likely remember how that opened Jack up to a whole lot of trouble, including being chased by a giant.

Now, not all of the exchanges we make in our lives end up quite the way that one did. But, as Christians, we have actually entered into an agreement with God that will forever result in an unequal exchange. Ephesians 2:4 explains:

Because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions.

So, the very first unequal exchange God has made with us involves Him giving us life for death. If we look truthfully at ourselves, we must say that God has given us everything in exchange for our nothingness. Scripture tells us that we have nothing to offer Him in payment for our sins and in exchange for our new life, except the gift of ourselves.

As we grow in God’s grace, we realize that God wants to give us:

• His strength in exchange for our weakness
  
  
• His infinite knowledge in exchange for our confusion
  
  
• His clear vision in exchange for our blindness
  
  
• His health in exchange for our hurts
  
  
• His answers in exchange for our questions
  
  
• His power in exchange for our powerlessness
  
  

In the verse quoted at the beginning of this blog post, we see that God wants to give us joy for our mourning and a garment of praise for a heaviness we can’t take off ourselves. Christ has taken our rags of sinfulness from us, in exchange for His robe of righteousness. He has exchanged our life of futility for a new life of usefulness and for an eternal future with Him. What a terribly lopsided exchange!

When we pray, we should allow ourselves to picture two columns: the first with all our needs, and the second with everything that God can provide us in exchange. May this exercise cause us to thank Him for all He has to give us and exclaim, with the Psalmist, the words in Psalm 103:2:

Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.

 

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1 The story—“Jack and the Beanstalk,” originating from the 19th century—with versions by Benjamin Tabart in 1807 and by Joseph Jacobs in 1890—is in the Public Domain. Though this citation is noted to be in the Public Domain, in the case of someone claiming Copyright protection of this material, please note that, in each case, whenever a citation of any Copyrighted material is made within a post on this blog, such a citation is made strictly for Educational Fair Use illustration purposes only. All Rights Reserved by the original Copyright Holder.

 

 

Frail

 

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.

—2 Corinthians 4:7

She knocked at my classroom door and stood waiting with her mom and older sister. I was overjoyed to see Joanna. Her loving nature had once made her one of my favorite students in the two years that I had known her. But then, her family had suddenly decided to go back to Puerto Rico, and I thought I’d never see her again.

Now she had traveled back for a visit, and wanted to thank me for teaching her. She gave me a tiny pitcher, hand made out of clay, and decorated with a pretty floral design and the words “Puerto Rico.”

How thoughtful of her to remember me and bring me this tiny reminder of her. Every time I look at it, it reminds me of more than Joanna. It reminds me that when I seem as frail as that little pitcher, Christ can show His power within me. Many times I have felt hard pressed, perplexed, persecuted, struck down. This little clay pitcher reminds me that even in my frailty, I have the treasure of the glory of God in my life.

Let me remind and encourage each one of us. Whenever our backs and legs ache, our nerves fray, we’ve had sleepless nights, and we have more to do than we can possible handle, let us remember the testimony that the Apostle Paul gives us in this Scripture verse from 2 Corinthians 12:10:

For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Yes! Through our times of weakness, God wants to pour out a great blessing on us, and in so doing, reveal His all-surpassing power.

 

 

Sufficent

 

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

—2 Corinthians 12:9a

Have you ever felt so weak in the face of trouble—physically, emotionally, intellectually, or spiritually—that you knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that you couldn’t handle the situation in front of you? I have. And, I think God brings us through such times, maybe frequently. Yes, all of us, whom He intends to sanctify for His purposes, He brings through such times.

Young and inexperienced believers often think of themselves as capable of doing, in their own power, anything the Lord asks of them. Confident in their own physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual strength and capabilities, they sometimes look trouble in the eye with confident presumption, and think they are exercising faith.

“I presume my parents will get me out of any financial jam I can’t deal with.” Or: “I presume the medicine will take care of the problem.” Or: “I presume my talents and gifts will get me through tight spots at work.”

It usually only takes a few times, when these presumptions are proven wrong, that we begin to realize how insufficient we are to handle the things that assail our lives. And, what does God hope to accomplish by allowing us to “swim without a life preserver,” or to get sick with a deadly disease? The Apostle Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 12:9b, after He made the statement in the Scripture that appears at the beginning of this blog post:

Therefore, [because God’s grace is sufficient] I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.

He’s saying with a chuckle:

“Bring it on! I can’t handle this, but God, You can!”

Here’s what beloved preacher, Charles Haddon Spurgeon, said about this verse: ¹

Our weakness should be prized as making room for divine strength. We might never have known the power of grace if we had not felt the weakness of nature … God’s grace is enough for me! I should think it is. Is not the sky enough for the bird, and the ocean enough for the fish? The All-Sufficient is sufficient for my largest want.

Similarly, Joni Eareckson Tada points out that God becomes what we need: 

In Isaiah 54 he becomes the Husband to the divorced woman. In Psalm 10 he becomes the Father of the orphaned. In Zechariah 2 he becomes the Wall of Fire to those who need protection. In Isaiah 62 he becomes the Bridegroom to the woman who grieves that she’ll never marry. In Exodus 15 he becomes the Healer to the sick. In Isaiah 9 he is the Wonderful Counselor to the confused and depressed. In John 4 he becomes the Living Water to the thirsty. In John 6 he’s the Bread of Life to those who are hungry for more than this world can give.

I suspect most of us will have the experience of weakness and insufficiency when facing trials of all sorts. God wants to show in us His strength and His sufficiency. Do we willingly face our troubles with a trust that allows Him to work His power through us?

Though we often learn slowly and painfully, He will patiently bring us to a place where He can trust us with such pain. Let us rejoice in His over-abiding presence, His over-abiding love, and His ability to prove His sufficiency in and through us.

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1 Spurgeon, Charles Haddon, Faith’s Checkbook. Chicago: Moody Press, 1980. Entry for November 8th.

2 Tada, Joni Eareckson, More Precious Than Silver. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1998. Entry for August 30th.

Please note that, in each case, whenever the citation of any Copyrighted material is made within a post on this blog, such citation is made strictly for Educational Fair Use illustration purposes only. All Rights Reserved by the original Copyright Holder.

 

 

Spare No Expense

 

If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?

—Romans 8:31-32

Some men will stop at nothing to buy their bride-to-be the most expensive engagement ring that they can afford, either using cash-on-hand or borrowing a significant amount of money. Likewise, those with plenty of financial means will stop at nothing to provide their children with the best education in the world.

In contrast, not long ago, we watched thousands of children marching across the U.S. southern border. Their parents have given all their meager funds to “buy” a chance for freedom and a better life for these young ones. They have paid unscrupulous gangsters to transport their children, not knowing for certain whether or not their loved ones would actually arrive safe and unharmed.

Perhaps you know parents who have sold everything, in order to allow their child to receive the very best medical treatment possible to cure cancer. You may know parents who have sacrificed for years, in order to send their children to top-rated colleges or universities. Or, perhaps you know ordinary hard-working people who have taken out a second mortgage on their houses. in order to save their businesses during a stressful economic time. Certainly, we can find plenty of examples of desperate people spending all they have to achieve some goal, or to acquire almost impossible things.

In 1 Kings 17:7-24 we read of the widow of Zarephath who had only a handful of flour and a little oil for herself and her son. But, on Elijah’s request, this poor woman baked a small cake for Elijah to eat. In her obedience of faith, she gave everything.

Likewise, in Mark 12:41-44, we read the account where Jesus watched a widow place her meager offering of two small coins into the temple treasury. She gave all the money that she had on which to live, in order to be faithful to the God whom she knew loved her.

Of course, the greatest example of sparing no expense comes from the sacrifice of our God in giving the best He has, His one and only Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. In giving this Sacrifice to die a cruel death on the Roman cross of torture, the Father gave the only person who could achieve the blameless and sinless standard of righteousness that He requires. God did this amazingly sacrificial act, in order that He might bring “many sons to glory.” He gave all! And, He did this for us—for those whom He loved. And, what does this Greatest Sacrifice require of us? Read here the words of Jesus from Matthew 10:37-39:

Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

God expects His children to spare no expense in following Him, in using our means and our money, in giving our time and our obedience. I remember a little ditty from childhood that captures these thoughts: ¹

After all He’s done for me,
after all He’s done for me,
How can I do less than give Him my best,
and live for Him completely,
After all He’s done for me.

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1 Daasvand, Betsy and Loveless, Wendell. “After All He’s Done for Me.” Carol Stream, Illinois: Hope Publishing, 1940. Please note that, in each case, whenever the citation of any Copyrighted material is made within a post on this blog, such citation is made strictly for Educational Fair Use illustration purposes only. All Rights Reserved by the original Copyright Holder.

 

 

Clenched Fist or Open Hand?

 

“If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?”

—the words of Jesus found in Luke 9:23-25

With a cleanched fist, perhaps the toddler held a penny tightly in his palm, or a piece to a puzzle, or a tiny animal from his barnyard play area. Any adult trying to get the toddler to release the dangerous-when-swallowed item knows the war of wills this entails.

We like to hold on to things, opinions, and plans that we have made, too. Although we don’t shout “MINE!” when confronted with the loss of such items, we feel it deep down. We want our own way. And, we clench our fists all the more when we get challenged to surrender what we hold tightly.

Jesus knew the struggle we have when He asks us to surrender control, and comfort, and those things that we think will make us happy. Yet, He wants us to look beyond what we can see—what we experience in the moment—so that we can get a look at the eternal things He has planned for us. God wants to give us so much. He wants to see us come to Him and humbly present our open hand, in order to receive what He wishes to give us. And, He wants us to extend that same open hand of love to others, so we may give them what we possess.

God knows the dangerous things we shouldn’t have in our possession. He knows that these dangerous things will take us down the wrong paths. He know that these dangerous things will try to take over the mastery of our time and energies. He sees what would happen if we were to “swallow” such things and own them. He knows they will bring us to our ruin.

During this Season of Lent, when others urge us to “give up” something, in order to deny ourselves some pleasure, we ought to focus our attention, not so much on the things that would fulfill the obligations we feel, but rather on those things God wants to take from us: the sins that so easily beset us, our unsurrendered wills, and the things that crowd Him out of our hearts.

Jim Elliot, the missionary to the Ecuadorian Huaorani people, who suffered martyrdom in 1956, famously said:

“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.”

Let us so live that we will not make God pry our fingers open, so we will release the dangerous things we hold onto so tightly. Instead, let’s freely open our hands and allow Him to take from us what He wishes to take, in order that He can give us all that He chooses to give us. If we do so, we will surely find the way to blessing!

 

 

Tools of the Trade

 

I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death.

—Philippians 3:10

Dr. Helen Roseveare, a missionary physician and itinerant speaker of the mid-20th century, has written in her book, Digging Ditches, ¹ about the three tools that she believes serious followers of Christ need to use. She suggests Jesus used a yoke, a towel, and a cup to symbolize the work of Christ’s ministry, and our own.

In Matthew 11:28-30, Jesus invites us with these words:

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you shall find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

To most of us—a yoke—this heavy, clumsy object looks more like a mechanism of torture than something that will give us rest. In reading about yokes, I have learned that cattle wearing yokes spend a long time getting used to the idea of working alongside another cow, or even a farmhand.

From the Scripture verse above, it appears as though Jesus, too, wants us to spend time with Him, in order that we may learn how to conform more easily to the pressure of “wearing” this way of life. Quietly giving ourselves to Him enables us to submit fully to Christ and allows Him to share more than half the load, as He directs us in His pathway.

We read about Dr. Roseveare’s second tool of the trade—a towel— in John 13, during the Last Supper. Jesus took a towel to use in washing His disciples’ feet. He used this opportunity to teach His disciples about serving. In John 13:14, Jesus said:

Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.

This second tool serves a most practical need. Dirty, smelly feet needed cleaning before a person reclines to begin eating a meal. Jesus saw the need and got to it. He never thought about this as below His dignity as the Son of God. Nor, did Jesus see this task as demeaning in any way. He put the towel around His waist, got down on His knees, and served the men in attendance by carefully, lovingly, and thoroughly washing their feet. Jesus wants us also to serve without counting the cost. He looks for servants who see a job that needs doing and who will get to work doing it.

The third tool—a cup—suggests true suffering as Christ did. During the last meal, He “took a cup.” After He gave thanks, Jesus explained to His friends that the cup represented the blood of the covenant given for them. They must have assumed this cup indicated fellowship with Him. “How wonderful!” they must have thought to themselves. Yet, as recorded in Mark 14:36, a few hours later in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus prayed:

Father, everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.

This cup Jesus took did not represent fellowship. Instead, it represented the terrifying cup of suffering, as He bore our sins in our place on the cross. Yet, Dr. Roseveare explains in her book, these “cups” are one and the same.

The Apostle Paul obviously understood this truth when he wrote of desiring the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings (see Philippians 3:10), as quoted at the beginning of this blog post. In this statement, we find the true heart of the gospel: for others to feel, as Christ feels, for the lost in our world and to suffer with them and for their sake.

How do we respond to the use of these three tools? Have we taken them up? Or, have we set them aside and allowed them to rust, or rot, while we go about our selfish way? We should all take a look at our hearts and compare them to Jesus’ examples for us. May He teach us to use the tools He grants us, that we may become united in fellowship with Him.

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1 Roseveare, Helen. Digging Ditches. Ross-shire, Scotland UK: Christian Focus Publications, 2005. Amazon Kindle eBook location 1870-1901. Please note that, in each case, whenever citation of any Copyrighted material is made within a post on this blog, such citation is made strictly for Educational Fair Use illustration purposes only. All Rights Reserved by the original Copyright Holder.

 

 

Watching or Sleeping?

 

“Are you asleep? Could you not keep watch for one hour? Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”

—Mark 14:37-38

As the time of His crucifixion drew near, Jesus knew the terror that lay ahead for Himself. He needed His closest friends to stand with Him. He needed them to watch over Him and pray with Him for the strength that only God could give.

Yet the disciples, while they had heard Jesus speak of the danger coming, never really took it to heart. They never comprehended the suffering that Jesus would have to endure, as He gave His life on the cruel Roman cross of torture to pay the penalty for our sins. Yes, Peter made bold promises about his loyalty to Jesus. But, when it really came time to show up and stand firmly at Jesus’ side, Peter failed.

Over and over in the verses of Scripture, Jesus has warned us, too, of the days to come. These days will not be days of ease, but of deep trouble. He has said that bad times will come upon the world before He returns to earth for the second time.

Sadly as Christians, we largely follow the direction of the culture in which we live. We watch awhile for Christ’s return and feign interest in and devotion to Him. But then, like the rest of the society in which we live, we fall asleep. Rather than standing guard over our lives, warning others, and preparing for Christ’s appearance, we go about our daily lives seemingly blind to what is happening around us.

In a Lenten Devotional, Biola University Emeritus Professor of Art, Barry Krammes, likens the Western Church to a cruise ship, where professionals entertain those on board and meet their every desire, rather than to a battleship engaged in prayer and spiritual warfare. He writes: ¹

These days I often feel like a drowsy disciple, or a virgin without any oil, sleepwalking through thick fog—trying to make sense of what’s happening around me. Yet, in moments of clarity I realize that now is the time to wake up and put my house in order. Hebrews 12:1-2 admonishes us:

“Stripping off every unnecessary weight and the sin which so easily and cleverly entangles us, let us run with endurance and active persistence the race that is set before us, [looking away from all that will distract us and] focusing our eyes on Jesus, who is the Author and Perfecter of faith.”

At the beginning of His ministry, when Jesus fasted in the desert for 40 days, He engaged in spiritual warfare. Near the end of His life, when He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, He also engaged in spiritual warfare. In like manner, Jesus has given us the task of preparing ourselves for the days ahead by engaging our minds and hearts and churches in the warfare battle against evil in our world. He has made it clear that He does not want us falling asleep.

If Jesus returned to earth today, would He find us watching, praying, and then moving out onto the field of spiritual battle? Or, would Jesus find us asleep and unaware of the dangers, behaving more like His twelve disciples behaved in the Garden of Gethsemane?

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1 Krammes, Barry. The Lent Project—Online Devotional: “The Spirit is Willing, but the Flesh is Weak.” La Mirada, California: Biola University, Center for Christianity, Culture and the Arts, February 27, 2021. Please note that, in each case, whenever citation of any Copyrighted material is made within a post on this blog, such citation is made strictly for Educational Fair Use illustration purposes only. All Rights Reserved by the original Copyright Holder.