Standing Before God 17th Day in Lent (Monday) Read: Romans 5:1-11 “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.” Romans 5:1-2a (NIV) ‘Grace is the basis for our standing before God’. What does it mean to ‘stand before a King’? I enjoy reading the historical fiction books by Philippa Gregory. It is obvious in these books that there was a hierarchy in society in the Middle Ages. There was the upper class consisting of the kings/monarchs, nobles, knights, and clergy. Then the middle class tended to be the merchants, doctors, and those with important jobs; and then there was the lower class – the peasants and serfs who performed all the menial tasks and jobs. Firstly, to see the king you had to get through all the secretaries and make an appointment – only if you had an important issue. If it wasn’t important or considered necessary or beneficial to the kingship, there would be no way to stand in the king’s presence. Through the saving action of God in His Son Jesus Christ, God has allowed us to come directly into His presence and talk to Him freely. Back in the Old Testament times, the common people had to talk to God through the priests and offer sacrifices to make themselves worthy. Now we are reconciled with God. Reconciliation is talked about quite freely in society and between cultures and nations, but the essence of reconciliation is to bring people together with differences or conflicts and help them understand each other. Being reconciled with God means that He has come to us directly and made us clean through the act of Jesus on the cross. He opened Himself up for us to understand more of the nature of God. So, we can stand in His presence – the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. We don’t have to ask for an audience from a priest or secretary. Through the grace of God, we can stand in His presence and ask Him for whatever is on our minds. We can understand and accept the grace and love that He offers us every day. Jesus’ act of suffering allowed us to stand before God. Prayer: Dear Lord God, thank you for your reconciling love and act of grace toward me. Being able to stand in your presence is humbling, helps me always to be appreciative. Amen. 2
Blessed Hope 33rd Day in Lent (Friday) Read: Titus 2:11-14 “… while we wait for the blessed hope – the appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ...” Titus 2:13 (NIV)
The story is told of a young girl who left work early so she could have some uninterrupted study time right before a final exam in religion class. She studied all night. When she arrived at class in the morning everybody was cramming as much last-minute info as their minds could handle. The teacher walked in and said, “Let’s do a quick review before the test.” They followed him through the review that was laid out on the study guide. As he covered item by item, he finally jumped to issues the young girl had never heard covered in class. Several hands went up, “We never had that information before.”
The teacher picked up the textbook and held it in his left hand and said, “Everything is in the book, and you need to know everything in the book.” Finally, it was time to take the test. The assistants passed out the test and the professor said, “Leave your test face down on the desk until everyone has one. I’ll tell you when to turn your paper over and start.” Two minutes later the class heard, “OK, you may start.” When the young girl turned her test over, every answer was filled in! A note at the bottom of the last page said: “Your Final Exam is now over.
All your answers are correct. You are blessed with an ’A’ on the final exam.” Every student read the same thing and looked up at the professor in utter astonishment! When the professor was sure all eyes were on him, he said, “You passed the test for one reason only – because the creator of the test took the test for you. All your study time, class time and hard work in preparation for this exam did not help you get the “A”. You have just experienced – GRACE.” [author unknown] God does the same thing for us. No matter what we have done in this life to try and achieve salvation, it is all in vain. God has done everything for us through the death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus, so we can have eternal life. Through Jesus we have this blessed hope!
Prayer: Lord Jesus, you are my Saviour and the Lord of my life. Thank you for your grace and the gift of salvation you have blessed me with. Help me to always remember it is in only you that I have this blessed hope. Amen.
Sanctified Life 32nd Day in Lent (Thursday) Read: Titus 2:11-14 “For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people.” Luke 23:42-43 (NIV) ‘Grace drives our sanctification.’
This last year, my husband Mark and I went travelling to the USA to visit family and friends for six weeks. As well as organising what to take, the house also needed to be prepared – friends organised to take out bins, pick up mail, water gardens, pets, etc. The last thing done was closing all the windows, pulling down the blinds and locking the house. While we were gone the air in the house became stale and musty.
The first thing I did when returning home was open all the windows and doors, allowing the fresh air to flow in. I didn’t have to force the fresh air to flow in, it just did! When our lives are open to the saving action of Jesus, the Holy Spirit just flows in and through us. God has set us apart for His purpose to be loved and filled with grace and forgiveness. Sanctification is recognising that our redemption has been fulfilled by Jesus Christ’s actions on the cross, and the Holy Spirit then works in and through us.
We are in Christ by faith, and He is in us by the power of the Spirit. Through all this we have been made holy and set apart as His beloved children. Living in this state with our Heavenly Father is living in freedom. Because we have this power of the Holy Spirit, we are empowered to live in a new way as the verse from Titus 2 suggests. This is not a quick and easy process of transformation but takes time as we mature in our faith and in living a holy life.
Our relationships with one another, with the communities in which we live, and with the world, should reflect the love we have of God in Jesus Christ. This comes when Jesus enters our lives in humility and love bringing salvation to all. It is through God’s grace that we are made holy in His sight. Jesus died and rose to make us His people.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for making me holy and sending your Spirit to work in and through my life. May your Spirit also work in the hearts of those I meet and work with. Amen
Redeeming Action 31st Day in Lent (Wednesday) Read: 1 Peter 1:18-21 “So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.” Galatians 3:26-27 (NIV) “Grace is Jesus Christ in redeeming action.” ~ Michael Horton Tom carried his new toy boat to the edge of the river. He carefully placed it in the water and slowly let out the string. How smoothly the boat sailed! Tom sat in the warm sunshine, admiring the little boat that he had built. Suddenly a strong current caught the boat. Tom tried to pull it back to the bank, but the string broke. The little boat raced downstream. Tom ran along the sandy bank as fast as he could. But his little boat soon slipped out of sight. All afternoon he searched for the boat. Finally, when it was too dark to look any longer, Tom sadly went home. A few days later, on the way home from school, Tom spotted a boat just like his in a store window.
When he got closer, he could see - sure enough - it was his! Tom hurried to the store manager: “Sir, that’s my boat in your window! I made it!” “Sorry, but someone else brought it in this morning. If you want it, you’ll have to buy it for ten dollars.” Tom ran home and counted all his money. Exactly ten dollars! When he reached the store, he rushed to the counter. “Here’s the money for my boat.” As he left the store, Tom hugged his boat and said, “Now you’re twice mine. First, I made you and now I bought you.” This is God’s redeeming love in action. Firstly, He made us in His image, truly beautiful children of God. Due to sin and wanting to get away from God, God’s people went their own way and were lost unable to make up for all their wrongdoings. Jesus came to earth with His redeeming action through His death on a cross when He defeated Satan, then rose again freeing humankind from separation from God.
Through Jesus we have been forgiven and have the promise of eternal life. God has now bought us back with the precious and redeeming blood of Jesus Christ. You have been claimed by God – twice!!
Prayer: Loving God, you have always loved me, and I know how much you love me in sending your beloved Son to die for me. Thank you for redeeming me. Amen.