Tag: grace

Don’t Lose Heart

On By Bp. Justin ElwellIn Applied Theology, Inspiration1 Comment

In 2 Corinthians 4:7-10, the apostle Paul writes, “But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.  We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.”

The apostle encourages us as to this transformation by pressing, further exhorting us, “So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day” (2 Cor. 4:16). How are we conformed to the image of Messiah (Ro. 8:28-29)? Pressed: crowded, pressed as grapes, tribulated; but not crushed, not caught in the narrow place (Egypt). Perplexed: no way out, to be at a loss, but not in despair, not utterly lost. Persecuted: put to flight, pursued, but not forsaken or abandoned. Struck down: thrown to the ground, but not destroyed, perishing, ruined.

Here is Paul’s “this but not this”: we are pressed, perplexed, persecuted, stuck down, yet we are not lodged in a narrow place, utterly lost, abandoned, or perishing in this condition. Rather, we are “carrying around” (2 Cor. 4:10) the death of Messiah, in our bodies (the witness of His death) in order that the witness of His life be also in us. Paul urges us to trust in the Father, Who raised Messiah from the dead, in order that “the grace that is spreading through more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow – to the glory of God” (2 Cor. 4:15).

Still, this pressing, perplexing, persecuting, cast down position may at times cause us to doubt, to even wonder in doubt, whether we have been cut off from Messiah. Paul writes to those being renewed in Messiah (Ro. 8:30), “Who shall separate us from the love of Messiah? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? … But in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us form the love of God that is in Messiah Yeshua our Lord” (Ro. 8:35, 37-39).

Twice in 2 Corinthians 4, Paul writes, “We do not lose heart,” Why? “We have received mercy.” The mercy of Messiah. The stamp of God’s righteousness (justification), and the seal of the Holy Spirit on us (sanctification) sets everything of this world against us. The Good News of salvation by grace through faith in Messiah Yeshua (Eph. 2:8), brings the pressing of sins gravity into our lives; even as the hand of God reforms this clay.

James exhorts us to “count it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance” (Jas. 1:2-3). Peter writes, “By faith, you are being protected by God’s power for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. You rejoice in this greatly, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials. These trials are so that the true metal of your faith (far more valuable than gold, which perishes though refined by fire) may come to light in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Messiah Yeshua” (1 Pet. 1:5-7).

Both James and Peter speak about the joy of experiencing “various trial” that produce endurance, revealing the substance of our faith. Various trials, in the Greek is ποικίλος/poikilos/various, meaning “many colored trials.” How do we understand this? In 1 Peter 4:10, he writes, “As each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of the many-sided grace of God.”

Those who have received a “charis,” a gift, are to use it to the benefit and blessing of the other, because you have received of the “many colored grace” of God. Peter writes of the “many colored trials” (1 Pet. 1:6), then he writes of the “many colored grace” of God. As Paul warned us, we will be “crowded” by tribulation appearing in many ways, coming from all sides; but as Peter wrote equal to, and greater than the broad spectrum of trials, fiery though they be, God’s grace is greater, and is also “coming from all sides.” Why do we not lose heart? His grace.

Grace begins the faith life, as we are saved by grace through faith. Grace is with us on the journey. Grace is with us as we enter eternity. Where is His grace working in your life today? Will you take hold of His grace today? His grace is where He is, and He is right here as our Emmanuel, Yeshua/Jesus.

Faith, “for we walk by faith and not by sight” as we journey to the unseen things, is the disciplined action that hangs the body on what the mind has agreed to and what the heart has responded to; by the grace – the favor shown us undeserved – of God reaches to rescue the ungodly, holding them justified in the blood of His Son, unto eternal rest. The trials we face today are not unto eternity; rather, they are displaying the radiance of His manifold grace overcoming the manifold trails and temptations of sin. His grace lights the door of escape: Yeshua.

The tribulation in our lives will produce fruit for endurance, and by His grace working in us, a track record of His faithfulness. Paul says, “do not lose heart,” and what he is saying is “do not lose faith.” If you are in Messiah, the broad spectrum of trials will press in, as death believes it is victorious; but the broad spectrum of the grace of God is bearing witness to the victory of Messiah, and our position, in Him, as more than conquerors.

Maranatha. Shalom.   

The Giving Itself

On By Bp. Justin ElwellIn Applied Theology, InspirationLeave a comment

In the Torah portion of רְאֵה/see or behold, the Lord addresses the issue of giving, charity. It is expressed תִּפְתַּח אֶת-יָדְךָ, “open wide your hand,” as opposed to וְלֹא תִקְפֹּץ אֶת-יָדְךָ, “do not close your hand” (Deut. 15:7-8).

Charity, giving as God instructs is contrary to human nature, as it appreciates wealth and possession differently than the world around us. The references above are set in the context of the שמיטה/shemitah, the year of release. Do not close your hand when it should be open, and do not withhold what should be released.

Charity, giving, and the Shemitah speak to the heart of stewardship. How are we caring for people, possessions, and the world around us? The Lord is helping us to see, רְאֵה/see or behold, the vastness of life beyond our own need, our own desire, or, our own want.

How do we understand stuff? Things? Are things what defines us? As a minister, I have yet to see anyone take their possessions with them when their expiration date has come. I have, however, witnessed far too many arguments in families about the stuff left behind, especially wealth.

The Lord is, by this instruction, helping us to see ourselves, and our lives differently than our culture has defined it. He has entrusted each of us with blessing, wealth that can be financial, intellectual, emotional, physical, spiritual, or all the above. How do we understand this?

“But who am I, and who are my people, That we should be able to offer so willingly as this? For all things come from You, And of Your own we have given You” (1 Chron 29:14).

Read that closely. It recognizes that all things/stuff come from God, and all that we can give to Him came from Him.

In giving to God, all that we actually give is the giving itself; and this speaks to the heart. Can we release back to Him what He released to us? Can our hearts trust Him enough to do so? Simply: we give because He gave.

We open our hand, and release what we have held. The Lord gave it in order to teach us His stewardship: of us, His creation, and ultimately our destination.

The inspired words of Paul, and the teaching and example of Messiah Yeshua/Jesus, challenge us (Lk. 12:32-34). Yet, they are speaking to the same heart attitude. There are too many biblical references to include that speak to their intent in teaching us proper stewardship of God’s giving toward us, and our giving the giving back to the Giver (1 Tim. 6:17-18; 2 Cor. 8-9; Ro. 12:8).

Why? The giving expected of God’s people speaks to the reality of the reality beyond this world. Stewardship changes the mind fixated on self-fulfilling desires, to service unto God. It is worship, not just with words and actions, but with stewarded possessions.

Messiah said, “Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give” (Matt. 10:8).

The lessons of stewardship in finances, possessions, even time itself, teach us to look past assets and belongings to the human other. By giving unto the Giver of what He has given, we learn yet another lesson in stewarding, safeguarding, and all that Messiah spoke of in Matthew 10:8. Healing, cleansing, raising, and casting from the well of freely given and received grace, grace waiting to be released into the lives of the those around us.

All that the Father gives is of grace, and from this grace received, we open hands and hearts that would otherwise be closed.

Be well. Shalom.

What Does Faith Look Like?

On By Bp. Justin ElwellIn Applied Theology, InspirationLeave a comment

There are days when I feel that I don’t quite have this faith thing figured out; and yes, the wording is deliberate. As we are often prone to do, we look to the right, and to the left; to what he, she, or they are doing better that we, etc.

Perhaps you don’t have this type of experience, but I often feel like others have figured out something that I have yet to stumbled upon, as they seem to have the look of faithfulness.

It begs the question, what does faith look like?

In Hebrews we read:

“But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one. Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. For, “Yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay; but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him. But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls” (Heb. 10:33-39).

Continuing:

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation. By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible … And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him” (Heb. 11:1-3, 6).

We often evaluate the effectiveness of faith by outward appearances of good things, ignoring or not recognizing the negative. We assume that the absence of apparent struggle means better life, and therefore better faith, read Hebrews 10:33-34 above closely again.

I do not, however, find that appearances make an accurate barometer of what faith looks like.

The author of Hebrews reminded his audience of the trials they experienced after they came to faith in Messiah. They endured reproaches and tribulations, and often joined with others in their challenges.

He reminds them of the first things of faith, which often run contrary to public opinion and accepted intellectual ideas. He reminds them of others who have come before (Heb. 11); and finally, he explains that faith, the hoped for evidence of the things not yet seen, is the only way to please the Lord God.

He reminded them of where, and from whom they had come.

Yet, what if my experience of faith looks different than that of others? What if my life is altogether fine? Or, I seem to face trouble at every turn? What if I fall somewhere between?

I would say there is no perfect picture of what the life of faith looks like: save for Yeshua/Jesus himself. See, faith is lived within the framework of life, and life is a place of both challenges and joys, victory and setback.

In life we need endurance. The author of Hebrews reminds us that in faith we need endurance (Heb. 10:36). Endurance in faith grows as faith is exercised in every circumstance life offers, until that day, when He graduates us to glory.

Read Paul’s testimony:

“Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one—I am talking like a madman—with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches” (II Corinthians 11:23-28).

If we were to measure the fruit of Paul’s faith from his own testimony, according to the expectations often applied today, he would be found wanting; but Paul was able to testify that he had run and finished the race, he had kept the faith (II Tim. 4:6-8).

See friends, faith endures because it is coupled with the hope that keeps us going when giving up would be easier: hope takes hold, and faith holds on.

Faith is not about how we feel in it, but Who we have trusted in: Messiah. He is, and must remain the object of our faithing.

So do not measure your life, or faith according to the standards of this world, or those well meaning saints who make you feel less than. Look to the examples provided in Scripture, with their ups and downs (I Cor. 11:1), remembering that your faith is in Messiah Yeshua/Jesus, and in Him, our every need is met (Phil. 4:19). As He said: “follow Me.”

If you haven’t figured this “faith thing” out, don’t worry, as we follow Him, we learn it from Him (Matt. 11:28-30).

What does faith look like? Jesus.

Be well. Shalom.