Joy in Our Faith

We often use emoticons in our text messages, emails, and status updates to convey a mood for whatever we’re writing. Often, we’ll use a smiley face to lighten the mood, to show happiness in something we’re sharing. Can we then put a smiley face on the cross? Are we drifting toward simply being a feel-good religion, evangelizing a God who will commiserate with us when we do things that fulfill self-interest. Instead of having a Father in Heaven, do we encourage the image of a Grandfather who just wants to spoil His grandkids and see the young people enjoy themselves.

What we have to do is balance the joyful Christian life and the serious commitment required in the face of the cross. In avoiding a feel-good faith, we may go to an extreme of negativity, demonstrating joyless lives. Where is the balance? There must be a sense of sorrow and remorse for our sins that sent Jesus to His death upon a cross. He bears the guilt we should be burdened under, and he takes our sorrow upon Himself so we can have joy.

Finding Joy in the Cross

Matthew 13:8-23 records Jesus explaining his parable about a sower planting seeds. Verses 20-21 explains that struggles, sorrow, and trials can remove God’s word from our hearts, and Jesus says we should receive that word with joy. In verse 44, Jesus goes on to compare God’s kingdom to a treasure, found and obtained in joy. Acts 8:8 describes the joy people had in receiving God’s word, even amidst persecution, and verse 39 shows a new convert departing his conversion rejoicing. Finally, Acts 13:48 shows Gentiles rejoicing that the gospel has been made available to them.

Salvation comes from the cross. Guilt, sorrow, and sin are removed forever. Paul, in Romans 10:17-18, calls God’s kingdom one of righteousness, peace, and joy. Where sorrow and guilt may have initially brought us to the cross for salvation, our lives should be ones of joy after our redemption. Instead of walking away from our rebirth in Christ with bitterness over the difficulties we will face in our service to Christ, we should be like the eunuch who goes away rejoicing.

Romans 5:5-13 reminds us of the peace and comfort found in God, concluding that we should be filled with peace and joy from God. Galatians 5 even enumerates joy as one of the fruits of the spirit. Philippians 3:1 simply calls on us to rejoice in the Lord. Paul repeats this in Philippians 4:4. This is a quality of character we should possess and that others should see in us.

Placing Joy in the Eternal

There are many things in this life that are distressing, sad, and unfulfilling. These are not the things in which we should rejoice. We search for joy in this world. We are looking in the wrong place. Instead, we rejoice in the love, the hope, the salvation, the promises we have in our God. Even if our life circumstances bring no joy, we can always place hope in the eternal promises of our Father.

We should also be taking joy in our brothers and sisters in Christ. Remember Paul’s attitude toward Titus in II Corinthians 7:13, rejoicing in Titus’ presence and in the refreshment he had among the congregation at Corinth. In I Thessalonians 2:20, Paul calls that congregation a glory and a joy, and Philippians 4:1 expresses the joy Paul takes in his brethren. What have we done to bring joy to our brothers and sisters in Christ? Joy is a characteristic we possess, and it is a thing we give to others.

Conclusion

Ultimately, our joy is in the hope of Heaven. Hebrews 12:1-2 reminds us of the endurance Jesus had in the face of the joy set before Him. We have that same hope. We have that same joy. Bringing joy to our Christian lives does not mean sugar-coating the message of God. We are not putting a smiley face on the cross, but we should understand the great things provided us and promised us in God, living joyfully for the hope set before us. Once we fully commit ourselves to walking in Christ’s footsteps, we can take joy in the knowledge of where that path leads if we stay focused on the goal.

lesson by Tim Smelser

A Faithful Hope

Hope is what directs our footsteps toward our heavenly goal. It drives our faith and our service. I Peter 3:15 encourages us to be able to answer for the hope within us, encouraging us that we must be living as if we do indeed have hope, a hope others will see in us. In Titus 2:13 tells us we should be looking forward to a hope of glory. Our hope is an earnest expectation, a desire whose realization we earnestly wait.

A Confident Hope

Addressing those who did not believe in the resurrection, Paul writes in I Corinthians 15:13-19 that Christ’s own resurrections serves as a foundation for the hope we have in our own. This hope is more than a vague notion. It is something exercised in our faith and our service to God, driving that faith and being reinforced by faith in turn. According to Galatians 5:5, this hope is something we should be eagerly awaiting.

Hebrews 12:1 assures us with a great cloud of witnesses that we can reach for our hope, just as Jesus did in his own lifetime. Hebrews 6:1 encourages us to press on toward our completion, and verses 17-19 reminds us that God has promised us, has sworn to us, that our hope is real and attainable. Our hope in Heaven is not something abstract or fantastical. It is a real hope. It is something in which we can place confidence.

Images of Our Hope

In Revelation 21-22, John sees three pictures of Heaven in his vision. Beginning in verses 1-5, John sees a holy land with the gulf of separation between man and God forever removed. It is pictured as a place of joy and life. It is a tabernacle, the dwelling place of God. It is a place where God lives with His created in perfect fellowship.

Then, verses 9-27 picture a new city, an emblem of perfect protection for God’s people. He describes the beauty and majesty of the city, the strength of its walls and gates, the security of its foundations. This is a city no man can siege or overtake. The gates are pictured as pearls, objects of beauty created in pain just as our hope may cause us to face pain ourselves before we can enter those gates.

Finally, Revelation 22:1-5 describes a tree of life surrounding a life-giving river. It is an image of a garden. It provides perfect provision for God’s people. This is a picture that returns to the beginning – to Eden. The curse of sin is gone. There is no darkness, no pain, and no sorrow. It is a place filled with the light of God’s love.

Conclusion

The tabernacle provides perfect fellowship. The city offers perfect protection. The garden provides perfect provision. Our hope is one where God provides for our every need and where we live with Him in eternity for all eternity. In contrast to those of Ephesians 2:12 who have no hope, we can be made near to God in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ (verse 13). He invites us to draw near in Him. He offers us a hope that this world could never equal. Will you accept the gift of that hope?

lesson by Tim Smelser

A Dependable Faith

In I Timothy 6:11, Paul encourages the young preacher to feel carnality and worldliness, encouraging him to seek after things like meekness, patience, and faith. Then, in II Timothy 2:22, Paul calls on Timothy to flee youthful lusts but to rather pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace. Then, in Galatians 5 draws a contrast between the fruits of the world and the fruits of the spirit, and verse 22 describes these good fruits as peace, love, and faithfulness. Having faith and being faithful repeatedly appear as necessary elements to our godly walk.

The Necessity of Faith

We understand the importance of faith from passages like Hebrews 11:6 that tell us we cannot please God without having faith in Him and being faithful to Him. I Timothy 4:12 records Paul calling on Timothy to be an example of faith. James 2 draws a contrast between the shallow faith of demons and the active faith of true believers. John 12:42 tells of those who believed in Jesus but would not profess their faith. In Matthew 6, during the sermon on the mount, Jesus speaks to our basic trust in God leading up to verse 30. Our faith defines our lives, motivates our actions, and informs every decision we make. This is complete faith.

How do we grow this faith?

• Romans 10:17 reminds us that faith comes from our exposure to God’s word, by teaching and by study.
• Returning to James 2, verse 23 exemplifies Abraham as one who practiced his faith, whose experiences served to strengthen the faith he put into action.
• In Matthew 9:24, a man seeking Jesus’ intervention cries out to Him to, “Help my unbelief.” Prayer is another avenue for developing faith. Wisdom comes from asking.

We should be doing more reading and studying. We should be living our faith more actively. We should be asking for God to strengthen our faith.

A Dependable Faith

Where having faith is a living testimony of our belief in God, being faithful as God is faithful implies reliability and dependability. I Thessalonians 5:23-24, II Thessalonians 3:3, Hebrews 10:23, Hebrews 11:11 – these passages and more emphasize God’s faithfulness. We can rely on Him. We can depend on Him. If we are living to emulate the qualities we see in His nature, He should likewise be able to depend upon us.

The ultimate sign of God’s faithfulness is in the resurrection of Christ. In Psalm 16:10, the psalmist prophecies that God’s holy one will not see corruption. There is a difference between Jesus, being alive and well, raising others from the dead and Jesus going Himself to death, trusting in the Father to raise Him up on the third day. How then do we commit ourselves better to our faith?

• Our duty as Christians. II Timothy 2:21 describes us as set apart and useful to God’s work, and I Thessalonians 1:2-3 speaks to our endurance, our steadfastness, and our love in doing God’s work.
• The spread of the gospel. I Peter 3:15 calls us to be prepared to speak about our faith, and II Timothy 2:15 calls on us to be diligent in our preparation to share God’s word.
• Being Good Stewards. The parable of the wedding feats, the parable of the talents – these illustrate the faithfulness and reliability we should have with our resources and opportunities in this life.

Conclusion

Not only should God be able to rely on us, but our fellow Christians should see us as equally dependable. Hebrews 11:39-40 admonishes us that all those who came before us depend on us to continue the work they have started. When we are unfaithful in our service, we invalidate the efforts of our predecessors. When we are faithful, however, we create an unbroken chain between those assembled on the Day of Pentecost and those we pass God’s work to who will come after us.

Can God count on us? Can the saints count on us? We should be working daily to develop our faith in God and our faithfulness to God. We trust in Him so much. We depend on Him to fulfill us, to redeem us, to save us. The question to us is simple: Can He depend on us?

lesson by Tim Smelser

Fret Not

Psalm 37 is a Psalm of David that contrasts the ways of the wicked with the ways of the righteous. David is in a good position to comment on the things listed in this Psalm, for David really did face almost every high and low a person can experience in their life. He faced trials, violence, poverty, betrayal, and hunger alongside the wealth and power he would have later in his life. Many wanted him to fail. Many wanted him dead. Still, time and again in the psalm, David admonishes his readers to “fret not.”

We worry about the harm we perceive as possible from others. We sometimes become envious when we see those we perceive as less righteous succeeding financially where we struggle. Other times, we may feel we have no choice but to become like the wicked if we are going to be successful ourselves. Still, our admonition is the same: “Fret not.”

Purging the Stress of Comparisons

David first suggests to us that God is ultimately in control. We may look around and see a world spiraling out of control, but verses 7, 12-13, 17-18, 25, and 40 reinforce God’s involvement in upholding and preserving the righteous. It may be hard to remember, but our God is in control of eternity.

David also encourages us to take positive action. Verses 3 and 27 admonish us to actively do good. Instead of dwelling on all others are doing wrong, we can make an effort to be a light of goodness in this world, just as Peter tells Jesus did in the face of detractors (Acts 10:38). Romans 12:21 encourages to overcome evil with goodness, and Galatians 6:10 tells us to work good toward all. Finally, I Peter 2:12 reminds us that our good works glorify God, even in the face of persecution and discouragement. When we are engaged in active good, it’s all the harder to waste our time fretting over the evil we see in others.

We also to direct our minds to higher goals and higher ideals. Instead of focusing on succeeding in this world, we should be lifting our eyes higher. Psalm 37:4 tells us to delight in Jehovah, and Colossians 3:1-2 reminds us to set our minds on things above instead of upon this world. Our aim is not to get ahead in this life. Rather, it is to achieve a heavenly goal. If our eyes are lifted to Heaven, the burdens of this world way much less.

Psalm 37:5 encourages us to commit ourselves to God, just as Jesus said to seek God’s kingdom first above all things. Philippians 1:12-14, verse written by Paul while in jail, speaks of the progress Paul makes in the Lord’s work while in captivity. Instead of looking upon all he had lost, Paul focuses on the accomplishments he can achieve for God in the circumstances he is in. Regardless of our own circumstances – perhaps pressured to compromise morals, loss of income or friendships, alienation of peers – we can remain committed to God’s work.

In the end, we have to fall back on a foundation of patience in God. We are used to instant gratification, but God’s timetable is not our timetable. In Psalm 37:7, David encourages on us to wait in the Lord. We need to trust in Him and not let impatience derail our spiritual peace.

Conclusion

In Romans 5:3, Paul says that endurance is sometimes developed in times of trial. When we face difficulties, we find out what we are really made of. Paul goes on to remind us that those trials redirect our minds toward the hope we should have in Christ. When we are in pain, when we are worried, when we are facing trials, it is easy to lose sight of this. Our hope is in Him, though, and we can be patient in Him, keeping our eyes on things above.

Proverbs 3:5 encourages us trust God. Verse 7 admonishes us to reverently honor Jehovah, and verse 9 calls on us to honor Him. He will uphold us and protect us if we seek refuge in Him. Our minds should be set on Him, honoring and trusting in Him, rejecting the strains of this world so we can reach for a home above.

lesson by Tim Smelser

Fulfilling the Whole

Many Christians are familiar with the general outline of Ecclesiastes. The first couple chapters follow the author – very likely Solomon – searching for fulfillment in the accomplishments and possessions of this life, and none of these bring satisfaction. He then turns to various states of emotion, of intelligence, of sorrow, and ignorance. Throughout this, we see glimpses of the conclusion he comes to at the end of his book:

The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.

Why should we fear God and keep His commandments? Why should we honor and revere Him, and what does it mean to be the “whole of man?”

An Unfulfilling Relationship with God

Some might serve out of a base fear of punishment. It is less an act of reverence than an act of self-preservation, much like a child might follow certain rules – not because they understand the rules or respect the authority behind them, but because the fear consequences. Others may serve God because they inherited it from their parents, blindly following a tradition passed from generation from generation. Finally, we may follow God for selfish reasons, for the benefits and blessings we believe we have in Him. None of this, however, is what Solomon speaks of in his book, and none of these attitudes will satisfy our relationship with God.

Nothing in this life completes us the way our God completes us. Until we recognize that, until we stop superficially serving while seeking other answers, we will never achieve true contentment and peace in this life.

Finding Fulfillment in God

Our Emotional Needs

God fulfills our emotional needs. All of the feelings given to us by God, those emotional needs and responses given by Him, are fulfilled by His presence in our lives. Take Noah, in Genesis 6:9, who is described as man who “walked with God,” implying that God also walked with Him. Job, like Noah, is pictured as a perfect man. Abraham and God, chapter after chapter, have a close relationship in the book of Genesis, and David, the man “after God’s own heart,” shares a mutual love with God. To these individuals, God is not pictured as a distant being. They commune closely with their God.

John 3:16 begins with “God so loved the world,” and when we read that, we should see ourselves in that. God so loved me that He gave His only son. Romans 5:6 describes the mercy with which God looks down upon us and His willingness to love us even when we are unloving. Where it is easy to love those who reciprocate our love, God continually loves us even when we do not love.

We love because He first loved us.

- John 1:19

Our Intellectual Needs

Mankind is an inquisitive and curious species. We are always trying to do more, discover more, accomplish more. Genesis 1:26-27 records God placing Adam and Eve in the garden, He affirms that all He has made is for the fulfillment of His Creation. There is so much to enjoy in this world; there is so much to pursue and try to understand; so much to create and discover; but none of these things can ultimately fulfill us.

Hebrews 1:1 reminds us that God has always spoken to man, and II Peter 1:2-3 encourages us to grow intellectually, learning more of His word, understanding all things pertaining to life through Him. It is a knowledge of God that leads to a deeper understanding of who He is and who we are. No other wisdom can satisfy our minds like God can.

Our Spiritual Needs

Returning to Genesis 1:27, we see ourselves created in God’s image. This is not a reference to God’s physical appearance. Instead, as reinforced in Genesis 2:7, it is a reference to our living souls. Our spiritual nature reflects God’s spiritual nature, and that eternal spirit longs for a fulfillment that this world is unable to provide. Every human being has eternity in their hearts.

Romans 6:23 tells us God’s gift to us is eternity for our souls. Luke 10:25 and Luke 18:18 both demonstrate individuals who are contemplating the fates of their individual eternal souls. Romans 1:19-20 even reminds us of the eternal nature testified by the world we see around us. Our souls long for something we cannot find in this world.

Conclusion

God’s sacrificial love for us should elicit a response from us. He fulfills us as spiritual, intellectual, and emotional creatures in a way nothing physical can. We can return His love; we can know His plan and intentions for us; We can accept His gift of eternity. In Him, we find the only true answer for the deepest needs of our souls. His word, His love, His gift – these complete mankind. He is, as Ecclesiastes states, the whole of man.

lesson by Tim Smelser

The Faithful Thief

We often study Christ’s crucifixion, its import, its cruelty, its significance. It is seldom, however, that we take the time to consider those two others crucified with Him. Matthew 27:38 tells us these were thieves and political criminals, and Luke, in chapter 32:33 records them being put to death with Christ. We only have one recorded conversation between Jesus and these two, but there is much we can learn from the exchange between Jesus and those put to death with Him.

One of these, in Luke 23:39, turns to Jesus, ordering Him to save Himself and them from their fate (Remember the amount of effort it would take to talk while hanging from a cross). The other rebukes the first speaker, though. The second reminds the first that Jesus is innocent while they are guilty. Then He asks Jesus to remember him before the Father. Matthew tells us that both of these criminals are initially involved in mocking Christ, but we see one of them turn his heart.

Lessons from the Faithful Criminal
In these last moments of Luke 23, one thief exemplifies a few characteristics we should also have if we desire Jesus to say to us, “I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”

• Penitence. In Matthew 27:44 records both criminals mocking Christ, but, in Luke 23:40, he demonstrates a change of heart when he asks his counterpart, “Do you not fear God?” He goes from arrogant mocking to humbly asking for intercession.
• Standing Up for Jesus. In this environment of mocking and cruelty, this criminal is one voice of compassion for Jesus. Had the two witnessed any of Jesus’ trial? Had they seen the crowds turn on Him? He speaks up on Jesus behalf, even in dire circumstances.
• Understanding Justice. That humble criminal recognizes that he deserves his fate. He understands that justice cannot save him. He needs mercy.
• Turning to Jesus. Finally, instead of demanding salvation from Christ, he simply asks for Jesus to remember His soul.

Having the Faith of the Thief
This nameless criminal is an example of faith – the faith we should have in our own service of Christ. He comes to believe in Jesus in a few short hours, and he has faith in Jesus’ power to forgive and deliver Him. He recognizes Jesus’ sovereignty, and he expresses faith in something beyond this life. There is much in that statement: “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

Because he had a faith the other prisoner did not have, he gains one more thing his counterpart would not have: hope for salvation. In Matthew 27:50-54, we see individuals who realize Christ’s divinity after the cross, but this lone thief becomes faithful before those great events. He stands in contrast to the other criminal and to those surrounding the cross.

At points in our lives, we become like one of these two thieves. We will either go with the crowd, refuse to humble ourselves, be defiant in self-confidence or arrogance, and refuse to turn to Jesus for help. In contrast, we may see our Savior, grow humble, recognize our guilt, stand up for our Lord, and ultimately turn to Him for salvation. Like these thieves, we have a death sentence upon us. Unlike them, we may not know the timeframe of our own lives, but we face the same choice. Which one will you be more like?

lesson by Tim Smelser

Choosing Life

Every day we are faced with many choices. Many are trivial, and we make them out of habit. Others are more difficult. Paper or plastic; coffee or juice; main roads, side roads, or back roads; narrow path or broad path; life or death. Recently, I had to make a choice between an emergency surgery or letting a pet die. The choice was quick and easy. When given the choice between life and death, I chose life.

When there is hope, when there is an option, we choose life. In Deuteronomy 30, Moses sets a choice before the people between good and evil, between life and death. He commands them to keep God’s commandments and live but calls nature as witness that disobedience is a choice of death. Moses encourages them to choose life.

In John 4:14-15, Jesus invites a Samaritan woman to drink of spiritual water leading to eternal life. Seeing that hope, the Samaritan woman chooses life, and she leaves Him to share that life with others. In contrast, Matthew 19:16 records a man coming to Jesus, expressing an interest in choosing life. When faced with reordering his physical life, however, the young man rejects the message of life.

Every day, we have decisions that affect our spiritual life or death. We are continually faced with the same choice Moses presented before the children of Israel. We can choose obedience and life, or we choose the alternative. Some choices we face matter little in the long run, but other choices have heavier implications to our souls. When there is hope, we choose life. Seize the hope presented by our Savior, and choose spiritual life in Him.

lesson by Tim Smelser

High Expectations

What do we expect of one another? What do we expect of ourselves, and what do we think God expects of us? Sometimes we grow frustrated with one another because we expect so much of each other. We can be very hard on those around us; we can be hard on our families; we can be hard on our brothers and sisters in Christ; and we can be hard on ourselves. Is the alternative, however, to simply lower expectations to avoid disappointment?

When we lower our expectations of each other and ourselves, we may decrease potential for disappointment, but God will never lower the expectations He has in us.

God’s High Expectations
I Peter 1:13 admonishes us to prepare ourselves for God’s service, and he concludes, in verse 16, that this service is to be holy as God is holy. He is our standard for righteous living. This is nothing new in God’s word either; Peter is referencing Old Testament passages in this sentiment. In Exodus 19:5-6, God prefaces the giving of His law by calling His people holy and a nation of priests. Likewise, we are to be holy in every aspect of our lives.

Romans 12:1-2 has Paul calling us living sacrifices, transformed from the world, perfected and good. Paul deals with holiness in Colossians 3:1-17 – our mindset, our morality, our behaviors, our attitudes, our identity. I Timothy 4:12 calls on us to be examples, even in youth, in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.

In God’s Image
Where does this originate? In Genesis 1, God makes man after His image. He created us after His likeness. This is not a physical resemblance. We are created after His nature. Ecclesiastes 3:11 assures us God has put eternity in our hearts. See, when Satan tempts Eve by saying the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge will make her and Adam like God, he omits something – that Adam and Eve were already created to be like God. God knows what we are and what we are capable of. He has a right to expect our best from us, for He knows what we can be.

We this reflected in the sacrifices of the Old Testament where God’s people are continually expected to sacrifice the best of their crops and the best of their flocks. We see Malachi 1:6-13 criticize the people of the Levitical Code for bringing substandard sacrifices while entreating God’s mercies. Jesus touches on this concept in Matthew 5:20 where He calls on His audience to surpass the standard of righteousness to which they have become accustomed. He then address our conduct and our attitudes toward others, raising our expectations for ourselves. He concludes by saying, “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Again, God is our standard.

In James 2, in the context of describing how faith is put into action, the author reminds us that even demons have a belief in God in verse 19. He reinforces that our faith must be one that is active, always giving our best. Then, in Hebrews 6:9, we are reminded that “we expect better things of you.” Earlier in the chapter, the author is pressing us to grow in maturity, and he warns against those who start faithful but become complacent or fall away. He states those will be cast away from God, but “we expect better things of you.”

Those Who Failed Expectations

• In II Kings 10, Jehu is a failure because he does not do all of God’s will with all of his heart. He does some, but he does not give his best.
• In Acts 15:36-41, Paul doesn’t want John Mark as a companion at this point because Paul sees him as uncommitted, as not living up to expectations.
• In Galatians 2, Paul recounts rebuking Peter for falling short in conduct toward the Gentiles.
• In Matthew 25:14, Jesus tells a parable of servants given money to invest while the master is gone. Two put their best into their investments, but one falls short of expectation, having done nothing with what he had.

Conclusion
One reason we may have high expectations for each other is that we know one another’s potential. Yes, at times, our expectations can be unrealistic or held too stringently, but high expectations can be good when we are holding each other and ourselves to the standards we know we can achieve. In our service to God, He knows our potential, and His expectations are built around that potential. Where we are content with mediocrity, God holds us to a standard of His holiness. He knows what we can be. We should see that in ourselves as well, constantly striving to do our best and give our best, to be holy as He is holy.

lesson by Tim Smelser