Our Radical Need For Rest

The world we live in is filled with anxiety, stress and tension. And we don't know how to get rid of it. As a result so very many of us cannot sleep. And that can indeed be a very, very serious problem. Lack of sleep, even for one night, can reduce your daytime alertness by as much as a third and impair your memory and ability to think. Studies indicate that sleepiness doubles the risk of getting hurt on the job. In the U.S. the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that each year drowsy driving is responsible for 100,000 automobile crashes, 71,000 injuries and as many as 1,550 fatalities.

Sleep is not an option. Lots of studies support what our bodies tell us. We have to sleep. But there is an even deeper need. The writer to the Hebrews calls it God's Rest ! After pointing out that the first generation descendants of Israel led by Moses out of slavery in Egypt never received it, the writer continues.

Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it. For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened. For we who have believed enter that rest, as he has said, 

"As I swore in my wrath, 'They shall not enter my rest,'" although his works were finished from the foundation of the world. 

For he has somewhere spoken of the seventh day in this way: "And God rested on the seventh day from all his works" (Gen. 2:2). 

And again in this passage he said, "They shall not enter my rest" (Deut. 1:34-35).  

Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience, again he appoints a certain day, 

"Today," saying through David so long afterward, in the words already quoted, "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts" (Ps. 95:7-11). 

For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on. So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. - Hebrews 4:1-10 ESV

The entire OT points to God's promised Sabbath-rest. We learn from Scriptures that God created the week of seven days and decreed that His people should rest on the seventh as He did. Some Rabbis in days gone by asked if God did anything before He rested on the seventh day. Yes, they replied, He had one more thing to do. Before He could step back to exult and delight in His work of creating, He created peace, joy and happiness. He did this because He wants His children to celebrate with Him the perfect balance and marvelous wonder of all He has created. He wants to bless them with an entire day in which to rejoice and be happy as they ponder upon and celebrate His wisdom and goodness.

This is what the LORD promised Israel when He led them out of slavery under Moses' leadership. In essence He was promising, "Trust Me, follow Me, obey Me and I will bring you into the land I promised to your forefather Abraham. It is a land overflowing with good things, food, drink and all you need for life. I will make you secure. You will become the mightiest nation upon earth and no enemies will ever harm you again. I will put my name upon you and bless you, for you are My children."

But they blew it. They threw it away. They hardened their hearts, complaining and chasing after idols. And so they all perished in the wilderness. No rest for the wicked. No rest for unbelievers. But . . .

"there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from his" (Hebrews 4:9-10 ESV). 

Rest is still waiting for you today! God holds it out: perfect peace, happiness, security, fullness and joy.  It awaits you and you have nothing to do to gain it other than to trust Him. More on this next time.

Our Daily Prayer: Thy Will Be Done

It disturbs me to realize that my will is often opposed to God's will. Even the great Apostle Paul wrote in deepest humility about this fact as he said,

For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? - Rom 7:15-24 ESV

Find it to be a law? Always? Captive to the law of sin in my members? How can this be?

There are those among us Christians who claim to have conquered sin. They claim to be holy. Among Protestants this movement and set of convictions can be traced back over a hundred years to John Wesley, founder of Methodism, who called for Christian perfection. When you examine the teachings of holiness churches today it is not unusual to see statements such as these:

We believe In the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit by whose indwelling the Christian is enabled to live a holy life.

Likewise among Roman Catholics there is still the cult of saints, the belief that some Christians have attained to such Christian perfection in their walk with Christ that they may be called holy and without sin. They are the heroes of faith, if you will. Thus it is appropriate to ask these heroes to help us, assuming that they have special influence with the heavenly Father. And for their sakes, the Father intervenes, sometimes in a miraculous manner, bypassing the usual laws of nature.

Both ways of thinking are quite dangerous ways of approaching the Christian life. More needs to be said about these dangers another time.

For today we return to the LORD's prayer,

Our Father in heaven . . . Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven? 

Are we also not praying that He fill us with His Spirit and grant us the power and strength to submit our wills to His in all things? Are we not praying that He empower us to be holy, even as He is holy? And does He not hear our prayers? Indeed we are and indeed He does answer prayer. Do the so-called Catholic saints know what we do not? Do the holiness Christians have insights that we have overlooked?

Return to what Paul says to us: "I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand." This is what Paul means by the flesh that still dwelled within him and dwells within each of us even after the Holy Spirit has come to make His home within and give us a new birth in Christ Jesus (John 3:3-6). The Spirit empowers us to say yes! to Christ and to His sacrifice for us, but . . . the flesh remains. And within that sinful flesh there is ever the desire to reject the will of God and seek my own instead. Paul warns about this as he writes,

Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. - Gal 6:7-9 ESV

We hear that Word. We ponder it in our prayers. And we strive to do good, believing that sowing to the Spirit will ultimately reap eternal life. But, but, but we fail again and again.

At that point it is ever and always important to remember that our good is good only because God is gracious and merciful in Christ, for none of our good is, in the strict sense of the term ever good! Even our so-called good deeds are infected by the imperfection of our sinful flesh. So Paul reminds us when he says,

"For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what  I keep on doing." 

This is why the entire life of us Christians is hidden in Christ, as Paul says,

For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. - Col 3:3 ESV

And this is why we flee again and again to the truth given to us in Christ as taught by John,

My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. - 1Jo 2:1-2 ESV

John knew himself. He knew us. Through his writing the Spirit warns that the flesh remains and that we will not be perfected until Christ returns to grant us a new body like His (Phil. 3:20-21). Hidden fleshly desires, ambitions and unbelief remain within even the most dedicated. Aware of the power of this law of sin that ever wages war with our reborn life in Christ, we return each and every day to our Baptism and to the wonder of what that means. Each day we remember that Christ and Christ alone is the complete and full atonement for all of our sins (1 John 2:1-2). When He died and was buried, we were buried with Him. And so we are certain that we who died with Him will be united with Him in the resurrection from the dead. In that faith we rise again each day to give battle to the sin that remains within us and in the world around us. And in that faith we find confidence, victory and hope in this day, as Paul also teaches,

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. - Rom 8:1-2 ESV

Begin each day then in peace and hope. Put your life into the hands of Jesus and live that day in the joy of your Baptism and under the guiding of His Spirit within. Tomorrow is in His hands.

The Greater Works Of Proclaiming The Gospel

We continue to ponder Jesus' strange saying about doing greater works:

"Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it. - Jhn 14:12-14 ESV

There are those who believe that the works of Jesus were his miracles. And since there are many, many disciples of Jesus around the world, a greater number of miracles can potentially be done through the power of the Holy Spirit, thus confirming the Gospel of Christ. So they write,

In John 14:12, Jesus makes an amazing claim “I tell you the truth, anyone, who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater works than these, because I am going to the Father.” How? Jesus says it will be done through the power of the Holy Spirit. In John 14–15, Jesus speaks often of “another Counselor,” the “Spirit of truth” (John 14:16-17), which we know the disciples received at Pentecost (Acts 2:4). The Holy Spirit is the mechanism through which Jesus said His believers “will do even greater works. . . Now, billions of disciples exist worldwide, and through belief in Him and the agency of the Holy Spirit, many more miracles occur today than did in Jesus’ time.

But is this emphasis upon miracles what Jesus meant?

In John 5 we read about Jesus miraculously healing a cripple beside the pool of Bethesda in Jerusalem. The Jews wanted to kill him for doing this work on the Sabbath. Jesus responded that he was but doing the Father's work. And, says Jesus, greater works than these will the Father show his Son, so that you may marvel.

For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel. For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will. The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. - John 5:20-24 ESV

The greater works that Jesus did were to free us from judgment and grant us eternal life by his cross. These were far, far greater than healing a cripple. Jesus' greater works were accomplished on the cross when he cried, "It is finished!" Now the Spirit works through the Gospel to create faith in Jesus and his cross, as he said, "This is the work of God that you believe in whom he has sent" (John 6:29). This work of God is indeed a wonder and a marvel. Faith in Jesus means new birth, forgiveness of all sins, past, present and future. Forgiveness means that we are alive in Christ and that we who are in Christ will never die! Though our sinful bodies die, we confidently trust that Christ will raise us up and give us new bodies, filled forever with the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 15:20-57).

In the light of this, what greater works can we possibly do? Greater (Greek meizon) means greater in degree: more in number, not in quality. Nothing can possibly be qualitatively greater than Jesus' works by which he rescued all mankind from judgment and eternal death. Jesus has accomplished these greater works. They are finished, complete! "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (Rom. 8:1). But now we who have been made alive in Christ carry this Good News around the world. And as we proclaim this Gospel the Holy Spirit is working to create faith and new life.

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. - Rom 1:16 ESV

To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. - 2Th 2:14 ESV

Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. - Jam 1:18 ESV

Pray for an opportunity to share this Good News. Pray that the Holy Spirit will use you to proclaim the greater works Jesus completed on the cross. More on this next time.

No One Does Good, Not Even One

As part of my Lenten journey I am making my way again through the Psalms. Today I come upon Psalm 53 and it makes no sense whatsoever. It is quite irrational. Listen to the words of David.

"God looks down from heaven on the children of man to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God.
"They have all fallen away; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one" (Psalm 53:2-3).

Consider the recent disaster in Haiti, for instance. The arguments fly back and forth in the media as to why Haitians were not prepared for the devastation caused by the earthquakes. Some blame Americans totally. Yet the facts remain. In this instance Americans are giving generously to help them restore their lives and homes.

Is this not doing good? How then can I believe King David when he claims that there is not even one who does good in this world? How can I accept the Scriptures as God's Word? Or must I accept some things written therein and reject others?

In this matter we Lutherans have had many arguments with non-Lutherans as well as among ourselves. Yet there is a way though it if one distinguishes between temporal or external affairs and spiritual matters—as indeed David does in writing his Psalm.

Of course Americans do good! The proof of this is found in the deeds. Billions and billions of dollars are given, both privately and publicly every year to hundreds of good causes, more than any other people on earth. No one can question this. Yet, as is clear from Scripture, these are external affairs. And in external matters, Americans—Christian, Muslim, Buddhist or whatever, are people who are generous. But we speak about external matters. We are not exploring inner, spiritual questions of belief and faith.

So what IS the Psalm talking about? Answer: people who "seek after God." And who is this God? Well, certainly not some nebulous someone, somewhere. No, indeed. David's God is the God who has plainly made Himself known to His people, the people called Israel, the people brought out of Egyptian bondage and into this land over which David rules (Deuteronomy 26:1-11).

And to us now, He is this same God who has made Himself known as the Son of David, born of David's lineage, the One known as Jesus, the anointed king, anointed with the Holy Spirit in His baptism and declared by His Father's voice to be His beloved Son with whom the Father is well pleased (Matthew 3:13-17).

Conclusion: the children of men do not seek this God who has revealed Himself in the person of the God-Man, Jesus of Nazareth. Instead they make gods out of every other thing or spirit imaginable. If you have no faith in this same God who came to bear our burdens and die our death (Isaiah 53:1-11), you do not understand what it means to believe—nor can you. You are, as David writes, corrupt. What you do is not done in faith, but rather in unbelief, in idolatry, pride, fear, guilt or for any number of other reasons. Therefore it is not, nor can it be good, even if you give all you have to the poor of Haiti or any other group.

Jesus calls, in spite of our unbelief. He seeks to gather all to Himself as a mother hen gathers her chicks. Then, cleansed of our unbelief and all other sins by Him, He sends us back to do good, but now in His name.

Jesus is Alive in His branches

We used to have three beautiful plum trees growing alongside our driveway. I watered them, trimmed and fertilized them with tender, loving care. They, in turn, produced every spring. The plums were so very delicious. I only wish we had not moved or when we did that we could have taken those trees with us.

Christians often get into long discussions about fruit bearing. I don't mean trees, but people. How necessary is it for a Christian, one who has accepted Jesus Christ as his/her Savior and Lord, to do good works? And can one be a Christian without some evidence that the Spirit of Jesus lives within?

Jesus commented about this and John recorded it in John 15:1-17. There our Lord pointed out that we are not the tree, but rather branches. The tree he spoke about was a grape vine. Like my plum tree, the grape vine in all its wondrous varieties, puts out branches from which those great clusters grow. Harvest the grapes and turn them into jelly, juice and wine. Ah, the joy.

Check it out. Wherever there are believers, there are good works. People care for the sick in Rochester, adopt orphaned children of Haiti, drill wells in Africa so people can water their crops and start food banks for unemployed in Cleveland. The varieties are endless, but the evidence is everywhere. The Spirit of the living Christ is at work in His branches.

The whole discussion about whether believers must do good works begs the question. I never got into any such discussion with my plum trees. It would have been pointless even if I could. They'd simply reply, "Master, that's what we are and that's what we do."