How To Be Satisfied in Jesus (Part 1 of 2)

You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. (Psalm 16:11, ESV)

God sends no one away empty except those who are full of themselves.- Dwight L. Moody

In society today, more forms of pleasure are accessible to us than ever before. Whether it be food, music, television, film, relationships, cars, physical fitness or any thing else- we all enjoy the things that give us the most pleasure. So, it might seem strange to say one can be, “satisfied” in Jesus, when that word is usually used to describe pleasures we think can only be obtained apart from Him. Notice I said, “we think.” We think God is not a God of joy, or wants us to enjoy the things He has given us. We’ve painted pleasure so often on the canvas of sin, that it is difficult to see God’s design, because we’ve been the one’s holding the brush for so long.

The conscience is distorted and weakened by sin (1 Tim. 1, Rom. 1). For those who have committed sexual immorality in the past, the intimacy of marriage can be a difficult experience (weakened conscience, misplaced source of satisfaction). I have heard Pastors discuss how men and women feel, “dirty” in marriage, even though the true fulfillment of those desires was designed for marriage. It’s horrifying. Even if we deny such a claim (that we see God as anything but a God who satisfies), there must be a reason why we don’t pray as often as we need to (notice I didn’t say, “feel” or, “think”), or study God’s word from an honest heart. It’s because we terminate our pleasures in either the creation, or perverted version, of God’s creation, rather than in the provider of those pleasures.

So, let’s find the solution. I’d like to share with you what being satisfied in Jesus is, and is not.

What being satisfied in Jesus does not mean:

1) It does not mean that you can make excuses for your sin, and say that God will be glorified either way. Yes, God will be glorified in everything (Rom. 11, Hab. 2:14, Rev. 22), but what attributes He demonstrates to the creature determine in which way the creature is used to God’s glory (i.e. Justice towards them directly on their sin, sending them to Hell. Or grace, saving them in Jesus). But by believing the lie that what you do doesn’t matter, you believe you can do what you want and God is still content and unwavering. He seems obligated to help any of His, “children” if they go too far chasing their wants. This is a lie. Paul even tackles this same objection for both the believer and unbeliever in Romans 3 and 6. There were unbelievers who claimed that if God was glorified because He judged their sin, then it doesn’t matter what they do and they did not need to repent.

But if our unrighteousness serves to show the righteousness of God, what shall we say? That God is unrighteous to inflict wrath on us? (I speak in a human way.) 6 By no means! For then how could God judge the world? 7 But if through my lie God’s truth abounds to his glory, why am I still being condemned as a sinner? 8 And why not do evil that good may come?—as some people slanderously charge us with saying. Their condemnation is just. (Romans 3:5-8)

On the other hand, the believers would ask, if we sin so that God’s grace can be shown, why not continue in it? God made good out of my sin, so this means He’s always going to get me out eventually, and even though I’ll have done wrong, it was worth it? The ends justify the means?

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 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 6:1-4)

This is a serious and deadly error, because living as a Christian doesn’t mean that what you want is the same as when you were an unbeliever. In fact, this might be a sign that you were never a believer to begin with! Therefore, being satisfied in Jesus means that not only are your actions different, but even the very motivation behind those actions is aimed at another target. You don’t want the same things as you did before, as we’ll see in tomorrows post.

2) Being satisfied in Jesus does not mean that you must let go of your personality, job, family, and live in a spiritual monastery. It’s about sanctification: becoming more like Christ.

Jesus was a Jew, a carpenter; he knew how to live a first century lifestyle. So, does becoming more like Jesus mean taking on a lifestyle similar to a first century Jew? Or are we talking about something deeper, intrinsic, and worshipful. If Jesus is your source of identity (Col. 2:10) and satisfaction (Psalm 16:11), then clearly your job, marriage, personality traits and unique qualities are submitting to and flowing from that satisfaction. Jesus doesn’t erase your identity; He redeems it (Eph. 4). The prayer of Jesus in John 17:3 is that we would know eternal life, which is knowing God and Jesus Christ, who was sent by the Father to purchase us. Clearly, we’re not called to model the culture of Jesus, however, according to 1 John 2:4-6, we are to imitate the obedience of Jesus. He lived an example that transcended His culture while on this earth, because His primary goal was rooted in an eternal call to glorify God in every way (John 6).

Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, 5 but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: 6 whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked. (1 John 2:4-6)

In late February of this year, I heard John MacArthur speak, and one of the best lines I heard in one of his sermons was this: “It’s not about perfection; it’s about affection and direction.” Where are you aiming your thoughts, your focus, your strength? And secondly, where do you draw this strength from? Deuteronomy 6:4-9 also instructs us on the mode of worship: it comes from the heart (intentions, decisions), loving God is a priority of the mind (disciplined), and the very person (the soul). In the gospels, we see the word strength is added as well; even when you are weak, frustrated, and ready to collapse, God will use your weaknesses for His recognition and praise (2 Cor. 12:9-10). Don’t give up. Surrender those weak desires. and ask God to strengthen them in Him.

Tomorrow, we will discover what being satisfied in Jesus is.

God Bless!

Take a Breath Today: Breathing and the Sovereignty of God.

then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. (Genesis 2:7, ESV)

Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath! Selah (Psalm 39:5 ESV)

Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! (Psalm 150:6 ESV)

The Bible has a lot to say about breathing. In Genesis, we read of God breathing into Adam, “the breath of life,” then man became, “a living being.” And, after man fell into sin, we read many more times of men and women “breathing their last” and dying; it’s famously stated that Genesis chapter five is significant because most of the chapter talks about the lifespan of Adam’s family, and after outlining the years of Adam’s sons, they all “died.” This may sound depressing to any person. Why read of death? Don’t we only live once? Isn’t YOLO a corny acronym, but true statement?

Over the centuries, the world has created a lot of different words to explain how we should see the world. “Fatalism,” which may sound similar to what I wrote about in the last paragraph, says that everything is going to end. We all die. Fate will reach us all. In other words, the end is the means to determining your life right now. But, the Bible is not a book about fate the way fatalism describes- it’s not a book that ties history together in a little bow. In between the return of Christ is sin, destruction, judgement, and yet, there we find the beautiful, resurrected Christ who came to save sinners.

In other words, the world only has pieces of what the Bible truly tells us. What does this have to do with breathing? Breathing is a reminder to us that God is in control of our lives. It’s a reminder that we are dependent, and need supply for everything in this life. Without breathing, we’re dead; when we die, we stop breathing.

Let’s strand together the meaning of the three verses I quoted at the top of the page:

1) It was the creating power of God that gave breath, and ultimately life, to Adam. And not just Adam, but as we read in Acts 17, God has given to all men, “life and breath and everything (Acts 17:25).” We don’t think about it much, but nothing that we have in life is ours without it first being given to us by God. He’s in control of our beginnings and blessings.

2) According to Psalm 39, God has also determined our ends. We are allotted (given) a set time on this earth; if our beginning is a gift, so the Giver has the right to return “the spirit to the God who gave it (Eccl. 12:7)“. 

The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away. (Psalm 90:10)

But what is the purpose for which we must use our breath? If it will be gone, shouldn’t we let free reign to what we want to do? What constrains us, what should be do?

3) Psalm 150 calls everything that has breath to praise the Lord! 1 Corinthians 10:31 tells us to do everything in honor of God: whether it is drinking, eating, or anything, it is to be to God’s glory and praise. In fact, the Apostle Paul calls us to not make the sinful mistakes that Old Testament Israel made. Let’s make the best use of the time with every breath (Eph. 5).  

Two applications today I hope you take away from this:

1) Yes, Genesis 5 points significantly to the deaths of Adam’s sons. But, what we discover in the midst of death is also one who did not see death: 

²¹ When Enoch had lived 65 years, he fathered Methuselah. ²² Enoch walked with God after he fathered Methuselah 300 years and had other sons and daughters. ²³ Thus all the days of Enoch were 365 years.²⁴ Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him. (Genesis 5:21-24)

Enoch did not waste his life; he didn’t fall into the sin that would lead God to destroying the earth. We are told in the New Testament that Enoch was an example of faith. He’s the only one listed in Genesis 5 who was given the incredible declaration that he, “walked with God.” Don’t waste your life!

2) Your body is going to die, but not your soul. In fact, C.S. Lewis famously said, “you are a soul, you have a body.” The world has gotten it all wrong. According to the Bible, death should be one of the Christians greatest assets. Because if we all lived forever on this fallen world, why evangelize? Why live for Christ? There is a clock ticking, and the proverbial bomb is going to go off. You will survive, so stop worrying about you! You’re God’s child, He’ll take care of you, you are born again (John 3). The question is, have you told someone else, “you must be born again!”?

Until next time, be blessed!

Austin Thompson

Day Three, the Gospel: God’s story (Part 1 of 4)

1 Corinthians 1:30 (ESV)
And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption.

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth”: this is the first verse of the Bible, and the foundation for how we should understand the gospel (“good news”) of Jesus. It’s very easy to make the gospel so much about our sin, and our need for forgiveness that we miss the point of the gospel: it is the good news about a person. It’s about driving us to God, not to a state of contentment without Him.

What is the gospel? Growing up in church, I’ve heard many different answers to this question. There are the “needs-based” answers: the gospel is what you need to have a better marriage, better relationships, and a more successful life. In other words, the gospel is about how Jesus gives you the “best life now.” Some false teachers go a step further to say that the gospel is about how Jesus wants you to have a bigger house, more influence, more money, and a personal kingdom here on this earth. Some teachers paint half the picture: they say Jesus came here for us and died on the cross to free us from sin. But then they miss the Forgiver of those sins. Now that we’ve heard the incomplete gospels, what then is the true gospel?

First, the gospel is God’s gospel. So in order to know the gospel, we must get to know this God: the God of the Bible. According to Genesis 1, this God created everything: the universe and the earth. Without Him there is no light, no air, no water, and no life: and without Him we would not be here. He is your Creator, and therefore He deserves your worship. Worship means giving glory, praise, respect, and reverence to someone or something. Because no one is higher than God, He therefore deserves all worship.

In Exodus 20, God says to Israel, “you shall have no gods before me.” He deserves first place in our lives because He is Lord whether we believe in Him or not! He’s a mighty God, but he’s also a relational one.

You can know this God through Jesus Christ. As we will learn tomorrow, mankind broke their relationship with God, yet God did not leave us hopeless. There is good news, stay tuned!

‘We need to hear the gospel everyday because we forget it every
day.” – Martin Luther

Day Two, What a Christian is not: Examining your heart.

1 John 5:12 (ESV)
Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of
God does not have life.

So, do you know what it means to be a Christian? Let’s take a look at the person who is not a Christian. You see, if being a Christian is about going to church, reciting hymns, being baptized, and behaving yourself once a week, then not being a Christian sounds easy. Just don’t go to church, sing hymns, be baptized, or behave…but that doesn’t sound right, does it?

But if a Christian is someone who depends entirely on Christ’s work on the cross, is transformed by the grace of God, loves other believers, shares the gospel, hungers after God’s word, and finds satisfaction in Christ alone, then an unbeliever would be someone whose qualities demonstrate they’re not a believer. This means Christians are different from the rest of the world, but how does the world look compared to this?
The “world” is characterized by sin: that is, a diverting from God’s original design. Each person is born with a sinful nature that produces a sinful life: this means lying, lusting, stealing, pride, murder, and other evils all stem from this. As Paul tells us in Romans one, “They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless”. (Rom. 1:29b-31 ESV)
The unbeliever has no interest in Jesus Christ or the gospel, however there’s more: people who aren’t Christians by nature can still pretend to be Christians (though God knows their hearts), though this will only last for a time. People like this can often deceive themselves because they have never truly heard or understood what the gospel demands: denying yourself, and giving up everything for Christ. They fool themselves by thinking they are saved. This is why examining yourself is so important!

Self-centered “Christianity” is what is hidden in today’s church, and you should not let yourself fall into this trap. If you believe Jesus Christ wants you to have expensive clothes, a large house, big shiny rims, and lots of success, clearly you don’t believe the gospel. As Jesus said, “not everyone who says to me ‘lord, lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. (Matt. 7)” You submit to the Lordship of Jesus, knowing that there’s a penalty for your sin, and only Christ can grant eternal life. Without Christ, you do not have life as John explained it. Repent and cling to Christ!

NOTES:

Introduction-Day One: What It Means to Be a Christian

(Read a chapter in Romans each day throughout this devotional)

Acts 11:26 (ESV)
And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians.

When you hear the word, “Christian,” what comes to your mind? Is a
Christian someone who goes to church, votes Republican, doesn’t use
foul language or neglect tithing? Is Christianity something you believe, or
something you do? Is there a Christian only a part of a person, or is the whole
person Christian?

In our society, Christianity can be like going to a candy shop: lots of
flavors, all different kinds, and all used to satisfy that little thing called
our conscience every once in awhile. Christmas and Easter are the days
when “non-practicing” Christians show their respects to God. Yet Jesus
does not ask for empty worship, but real living and a walk with Him. The
only problem is, this is not Christianity, but an empty shell of what it once
was.

Christianity is first of all about Christ, the work of Jesus in coming to
this world and the good news that He saved us from our sin. It’s real,
and therefore it should have real evidence in our lives. When a family
member dies, a funeral is held; people show up, mourn, go through
the motions of burial and learn to cope with the loss. Death impacts
the world, both around the family of the loved one who died, and each
person as they will die one day. But Jesus died, bearing our punishment,
and yet His death was not the end. He rose again, defeating Hell, the
grave, and the Devil. He gave us a living hope because He is alive. We
can be free from sin by trusting in Him alone.

The word “Christian” comes from two different words: “Christos” in Greek
(Which means Christ or Messiah) and “ianos” in Latin, which is used to
describe the possession or slave of someone else. A Christian then, is
someone who is “possessed” or owned by Christ. Your allegiance to Him
as Lord and King is shown in your words and actions, to show you are
of the Kingdom of God. If you met someone from India, everything about
that person, from the way they dress and talk to the way they act, proves
their citizenship. Their life was shaped around where they are from.
Likewise, we are citizens of Christ’s Kingdom, and this means our life
is first of all to become more like our Savior by following in obedience.
As we go on this journey for the next two weeks, I challenge you to ask
yourself:

1) In what ways have I made my life about Christ?
2) Have I seriously grasped why He came to this earth?
3) Have I been living knowing Christ is real, or more like an idea?
NOTES:

God’s Will (Not always a mystery).

John 7:17 (ESV) If anyone’s will is to do God’s will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority.

 What is God’s will? Is it a feeling? Is it an action? Is it a secret that we don’t find out until later in life? Do we have four doors open before us and play “eenie-meenie-minie-mo” hoping God’s will is behind the one we picked? Well, none of those really describes God’s will to us. The first thing we need to know about God’s will is that it’s the will of God. So in order to know God’s will, we have to know Him. He’s not a genie that pops out if we rub the lamp the right way; or the fortune teller who demands a fee for “guidance.” No, God is not clueless. He knows how dumb we are without guidance, which is why He has given us His will in His word: the Bible. He’s written it down for us in Scripture. You don’t have to pray hard and ask God to give you the right “feeling” about where to go to school. Rather, you go to the one that makes sense, because you read God’s word and know what pleases God. God’s word is important for everything in life, and everything in your Christian walk (see 2 Peter 1).

We are told something very important in Deuteronomy 29:29:

The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.

 If God has revealed something, it’s for us to know and take practice of in our own lives. He has revealed Himself in nature, so clearly we know God is a Creator. You don’t need a feeling to understand that. He tells us in His word that what is written is a “testimony”, so it tells us something important about what He has done. And we understand in His word that everything we need is in it. Why then should you try so hard? Go to His word! Look for answers. Dig for gold, not dirt. Mine for the diamonds, and swim for the lurking treasures; seek after eternal truths, not the temporary lies of this world.

On the other hand, God always has kept things secret that we can never know about while on this earth. He reveals to us the mysteries, but not every single one. Trust that He knows what’s best, and learn from His word. And when life seems hard, trust that He’s designed it for the best.

 

Surrender Day 15: If you want to know good, know God.

Psalm 19:1-7, 2 Peter 1:1-7, 2 Timothy 3:15-17.

Psalm 19:7 ESV

The law of the Lord is perfect,
reviving the soul;
the testimony of the Lord is sure,
making wise the simple;

Have you ever had a moment in life where you messed up? Maybe you said the wrong things, or you failed to do the right ones, and you got into trouble with your parents or best friend. You realized then how imperfect you are, and that your sin caused another person to be hurt. Sin dismantles God’s work in our lives, but the Bible is there to restore us and make us complete. That’s what perfect means: complete. Not boring, or unreal, but complete. And what this verse is telling us today is that God’s word is there to complete us on our journey with God.

The word of God is “perfect”, this means we can trust it and rely on it more than what we hear on the news (which can often be wrong on reporting things), or what we heard our friends tell us about somebody else (which can often be gossip). God can be trusted, and if He is trust worthy, we should trust Him with our lives too. Just like David trusted God when he went to face Goliath or Jesus right before He faced the Cross, wherever we are in our lives we can trust God and His word.

The Bible is also there to provide for us wisdom: the ability to make decisions that honor God. If we want to honor God, we must hear what He has to say about what pleases Him and does us good as well (not only for our salvation, but for how we handle life’s daily tasks and responsibilities). Without God’s word we are simple, or foolish. We will run to sin without hearing what God has to say about its dangers.

Today, ask yourself three things:
1) What does it mean to trust God?
2) If your trust God, why should you trust His word?
3) How has the Bible impacted my life since I’ve started reading it. Or if you haven’t read it before, why should you go and begin reading it?