Category: devotional

  • Big Foot and Good People

    At least one and maybe both are mythical

    I did it; I captured Bigfoot on film. Not the Yeti, the American Coot, whose big feet enable it to walk atop water vegetation with ease. Similar terms, but with completely different meanings. 

    That happens all the time in discussions of faith and religion. Someone will say, “I believe in God,” but what God? The God of the Bible or from another faith or even something you’ve crafted in your head? Christians, Muslims, Mormons, Buddhists, Jehovah’s Witnesses, pantheists, and more would give you a different definition of God but use the same word.

    Someone will tell you that they are a good person. What is good? By whose definition are you good? Do you mean you think you aren’t as evil as someone else, or that you make fewer mistakes than someone else? Do you mean you do enough good things to make up for the bad?

    I don’t know if Bigfoot is real or mythical, but most think it’s mythical. If so, it has more in common with good people than you might think.

    The Bible has some hard teaching on that subject.

    And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. Mark 10:17-18

    The rich young ruler wasn’t a particularly evil man; in fact, from what follows, most people might say he was good.

    You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’” And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. Mark 10:19-22

    He seemed to have at least tried to keep all the rules of the Law. It would have been impossible, but at least he made the effort. Still, he wasn’t a good person.

    Or perhaps you can say, I keep all the commandments, and I don’t love wealth like the ruler, so I’m good. Still, Jesus would say you aren’t good. Only God can say that.

    The bible says we are all sinners (Romans 3:23), and if we say we are without sin we are liars deceiving ourselves (1 John 1:8). That’s totally contrary to what the world teaches. Other than Jesus, God made flesh, no one has ever been good, at least in God’s eyes.

    That doesn’t mean we are without hope. The gospel clearly proclaims that if we trust in Jesus by faith, we will be born again and forgiven. We are covered in the righteousness of Jesus until we get to glory, where we will be without sin.

    If you haven’t come to Christ yet, open your heart today. If you are already His, rejoice that He loved you even when you were far from God and came to set you free.

    Kevin

    SUMMARY

    I finally caught ‘Bigfoot’ on camera, but it was an American Coot, not a legendary creature. That same kind of mix-up happens when someone says they believe in God or that they’re a good person.

    TAKEAWAY

    If you think you’re a good person, ask yourself by what standard you’re measuring “good.”

    You can keep every rule you know and still fall short, because Jesus said only God is truly good.

    If you’ve trusted Jesus, you’re covered by His righteousness, not by how good you’ve managed to be on your own.

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  • Hope for the walking wounded

    Hope for the wounded spirit

    I stood talking with a Christian acquaintance who said, “God gave me a wonderful opportunity to do something special, and I didn’t take it. Now I’m afraid He won’t ever use me anymore.” 

    I’ve sometimes heard variations on that theme, “I fell back into terrible sin, and I’m afraid God won’t ever forgive me again.” “I wandered away from my faith for a while, and now I’m sure He won’t take me back.”

    Sometimes they are nonbelievers who have never been inside a church. They believe the lie “I’m too wicked for even God to save me.”

    These are ordinary people in great pain. If you saw them, you probably wouldn’t know they feel like they’re dying on the inside

    They might be sitting next to you on a Sunday morning; they might be ministering in your church, or they might even be part of your family. They might be workmates or neighbors. Often, they slowly and quietly slip away from the church, or never come near it because of self-imposed shame.

    When we’re physically injured, we usually get some form of medical help to heal our bodies. When we’ve been injured spiritually, we often run from the source of healing. Satan lies to us and tells us we can’t ever be forgiven. We’ve been hurt in the past by sharing with someone in the church when we shared our pain. Maybe our church doesn’t condone sharing.

    Like a bad physical wound that doesn’t receive attention, a wound to the spirit that doesn’t receive tending just keeps on bleeding. Infection sets in and makes the wound even messier. The pain festers, our spirit weakens, and we fall further and further away from the one who can heal us.

    Our healing comes from the Lord.

    But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. Isaiah 53:5 ESV

    I’m going to go out on a limb here and probably offend some people because there are different interpretations for this verse. If you disagree with me, I’m sorry, but that’s life sometimes. This verse isn’t a promise that God will heal all our physical ailments in this lifetime. Yes, He can do that and often does, but it isn’t a guarantee.

    It means that for our sin He brings healing. He heals our wounded and battered spirit. That’s the mot important healing there is, to be made right again with God. That’s an eternal healing not simply a transitory physical healing.

    God heals, and God forgives.

    If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9 ESV

    He makes us new again.

    Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV

    If you’re one of those people who is wounded in the spirit and wondering if you can ever go back, YES, YES, GOD LOVES YOU. HE’S WAITING WITH OPEN ARMS. RUN INTO THEM.

    Until next time, if you’re wounded in the spirit, run to our great healing God.

    Be blessed

    Kevin

    SUMMARY

    I’ve met people who believe they’ve messed up too badly for God to ever use or forgive them again. Scripture shows that no matter how deep that wound runs, God heals it, forgives us, and makes us new.

    TAKEAWAY

    If you’re carrying an old wound over something you didn’t do or a way you failed God, hiding it only lets that wound fester, the same way an untreated physical injury gets worse.

    Isaiah 53:5 promises that Christ’s wounds bring you spiritual healing first, restoring your standing with God, even though total physical healing isn’t guaranteed in this life.

    1 John 1:9 and 2 Corinthians 5:17 promise that when you confess, God forgives you completely and makes you a new creation, so there’s no version of your past that keeps His arms closed to you.

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