Category: Righteousness

Beyond the Cross

suzieinglis

Today is Good Friday and it seems unfitting to call a day when Jesus was crucified on a cross after being severely beaten, “Good.” What Jesus experienced that day and what led up to it, epitomizes the concept of suffering, which we rarely, if ever, label as good. However, when we zoom out and see what God does after Jesus’ death on the cross, our perspective changes, doesn’t it?

God RAISED Jesus from the dead!

Romans 4 tells us:

23 “The words ‘it was credited to him’ were written not for him alone, 24 but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. 25 He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.”

Did you notice what verse 25 does? It gives a reason for Jesus’ death AND a different reason for His resurrection. His death was for our sins, however, His resurrection was for our justification.

Romans 5:1 gives us some additional insight, “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we[a] have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,…” 

What justifies us? Faith. Faith in what? In the resurrection!

According to the bible

It’s easy to believe that someone died but believing that someone was raised from death to life – that’s hard. Remember “Doubting Thomas?” He didn’t doubt Jesus died, he doubted that He was raised from the dead. See John 20:24-29.

Believing Jesus was raised from the dead requires faith – faith that the One who created the heavens and the earth and the sea and everything in them, raised Jesus from the dead. This is the faith that was, and still should be, proclaimed.

Paul, in Romans 10, explains the message of faith that he and his companions proclaim:

8 … “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,”[d] that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: 9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. 11 As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.”[e] 

Not only does Paul speak of these things but notice what Peter does as he begins to preach the Gospel. Acts 1:21-22 stresses the need for finding someone to replace Judas, the betrayer, to “become a witness” of Jesus’ resurrection. There is no indication in the Bible that every apostle saw Jesus die on the cross, in fact, only John is mentioned by name. However, we do know that all of them saw Jesus after God raised Him from the dead.

21 “Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus was living among us, 22 beginning from John’s baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.”

Acts 10:39-43 emphasizes what we just read in Acts 1.

39 “We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a cross, 40 but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. 41 He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen—by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. 42 He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead.”

So as we think about “Good Friday,” let us remember that Jesus was crucified for our sins but He was raised for our justification. If Jesus had not been raised from the dead, the apostle Paul writes that we would still be dead in our sins.

1 Cor. 15:17, “And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.”

Let us rejoice that our faith is NOT futile, that we are NOT still in our sins, for us who believe, because God raised Jesus from the dead and it is no longer we who live, but Christ in us!

Let us go be radiant, reflecting this truth as we celebrate Easter this Sunday. Wishing you a very joyful Easter!

The Path We’re On

suzieinglis
Photo by Markus Spiske on Pexels.com

When I worked in Costa Rica, my team and I would often host groups. During their stay, we’d take them to a rural area to a steep hiking trail with some rustic steps.

Those of you who know me well know that I’m not a huge fan of hiking. Why, then, would I take people on difficult hike? Because of what awaited us at the bottom of the trail…a huge, fast flowing, heart pounding, awe-inspiring waterfall.

The waterfall empties into a large pool of water surrounded by rocks. Not only is it a sight to behold, it’s a place where people can swim and feel the force of the falling water.

It such a beautiful place that it makes the hike down (and back up) the path worth it.

The idea of a path is such a great analogy to our lives, isn’t it? It represents the different directions we’ve taken and will take over the years based on our decisions and circumstances. It’s full of symbolism as we imagine it being smooth or rough, straight, or crooked, well-lit, or dark.

As you think back on your life, you might observe that some of the things on your path are the result of things that God did and some of the things are a result of decisions you made.

The Bible talks quite a bit about different “paths,” sometimes translated “ways,” and the more I studied the topic, the more I saw a pattern – God’s part and our part.

Our part

Like the Psalmist, we ask God to show us His ways and teach us His paths.

“Show me your ways, Lord, teach me your paths”. Ps. 25:4

“Direct me in the path of your commands, for there I find delight”. Ps. 119:35

We don’t always know what those next steps are in our life, so we ask God to show us.

God’s part

He makes known and gives understanding.

“You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand”. Ps. 16:11

“I run in the path of your commands, for you have broadened my understanding”. Ps. 119:32

When we ask God to show us and teach us, He does.

What else does God do?

He LIGHTS our path.

          “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path”. Ps. 119:105

  • How does God light our path? By HIS WORD. His word is what illuminates the way before us.
  • As we spend time in His Word, we will know the way we ought to go. It’s not about what the WORLD says, it’s about what His WORD says.
  • When I worked in Costa Rica, we never took people to the waterfall at night, and you can imagine why. It was pitch black. There would be no way to see or safely make our way down the rock and dirt laden path.

What is our part/our response to a lighted path?

We walk on and stick to the path on which we know we ought to go.

  • “My steps have held to your paths; my feet have not stumbled”. Ps. 17:5
  • “The path of the righteous is like the morning sun, shining ever brighter till the full light of day”. Prov. 4:18

That’s the path of the righteous. Do you want to be on that path? I do! How do we do that? How do we keep our way pure?

  • Ps. 119:9  “How can a young person stay on the path of purity? By living according to your word.”

What else does God do? What’s His part?

He does the Guiding and the Leading

  • Why? Because He knows the way – just like in Costa Rica, we, who lived there, led the team to the path toward the waterfall.
  • He has done the leading for a very long time.
  • Neh. 9:19 reminds us how God led the Israelites:  “Because of your great compassion you did not abandon them in the wilderness. By day the pillar of cloud did not fail to guide them on their path, nor the pillar of fire by night to shine on the way they were to take.”
  • We see something similar in the New Testament in Luke 1: 76-79 in Zechariah’s prophecy about his son, John the Baptist which reveals:

And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;
    for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,
77 to give his people the knowledge of salvation
    through the forgiveness of their sins,
78 because of the tender mercy of our God,
    by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven
79 to shine on those living in darkness
    and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the path of peace.”

Barnes Notes on the Bible gives us some insight on the cultural, historical context to help us see the meaning of “to guide our feet”:

“The figure in these verses is taken from travelers, who, being overtaken by night, know not what to do, and who wait patiently for the morning light, that they may know which way to go…. So (man) sat in the shadow of death. So he knew not which way to go until the Sun of righteousness arose, and then the light shone brightly on his way, and the road was open to the promised land of rest – to heaven.”

Barnes Notes on the bible
  • Are you familiar with the song, Same God?  The same God who led the Israelites out of Egypt and in the wilderness, is the same God who leads us today. He gives us direction. He guides our steps, just like He did in Biblical times.

I think we know that in our minds, but do we practice that as we make decisions? Do we seek His will, direction, and guidance? And do we wait for it before we act?

You know what else God does?

He Straightens our Path.

  • Prov. 3:5-6

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight“.[a]

The Psalmist asks God in Ps 27 to lead him in a straight path. If you’ve ever been hiking or on a winding trail, you know how daunting it can be. You can’t see what’s ahead, what obstacles there might be, what the terrain is like…

But when you have a straight path, you can see far beyond your location. You know what’s coming – you have a clear path before you.

The caution is to stay on that straight path. Prov. 2

My son, if you accept my words
    and store up my commands within you,
2 turning your ear to wisdom
    and applying your heart to understanding—
3 indeed, if you call out for insight
    and cry aloud for understanding,
4 and if you look for it as for silver
    and search for it as for hidden treasure,
5 then you will understand the fear of the Lord
    and find the knowledge of God.
6 For the Lord gives wisdom;
    from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
7 He holds success in store for the upright,
    he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless,
8 for he guards the course of the just
    and protects the way of his faithful ones.

9 Then you will understand what is right and just
    and fair—every good path.
10 For wisdom will enter your heart,
    and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.
11 Discretion will protect you,
    and understanding will guard you.

12 Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men,
    from men whose words are perverse,
13 who have left the straight paths
    to walk in dark ways,
14 who delight in doing wrong
    and rejoice in the perverseness of evil,
15 whose paths are crooked
    and who are devious in their ways.

Those who have left the “straight paths” have made choices to do that.

The choices we make determine the paths we take.

What is our response to God as He straightens our path? What is our part?

Let’s CHOOSE TO TRUST AND RUN!

Photo by Tirachard Kumtanom on Pexels.com
  • Run? Yes!  We get on our running shoes.
  • Ps. 119: 32, “I run in the path of your commands,
        for you have broadened my understanding.”
  • We trust God so much that when He:
    • shows us our path, the way we should go,
    • and He lights it up,
    • he GUIDES us,
    • AND He STRAIGHTENS the path before us,
  • we don’t have to be afraid. We can go WHOLE-HEARTEDLY ahead!

Maybe that means boldly sharing your faith with your neighbor, or praying for something bigger than you’ve ever prayed for before, or stepping up to serve in a way you know God has called you…

Now I’m not saying your path won’t have challenges at times. I’m not saying it will be easy or smooth all the time. But remember why I endured a rough hike in Costa Rica. It was all about that amazing waterfall that awaited me at the end.

Remember what awaits you at the end of your path – eternal life with our God – it’s worth it.

Let us go be radiant on our path this week!