Day by Day Grace

[Boanerges]

May 20

The Power within Redeemed Earthen Vessels

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. (2Co_4:7)
In our previous meditation on this same verse, we saw that God has placed extraordinary heavenly treasure in ordinary earthen vessels. "But we have this treasure in earthen vessels." This is true of every person who has been redeemed by the blood of Christ. The Lord has arranged it this way so that the vessels (you and me) must rely upon the treasure (Jesus Christ), not upon ourselves: "that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us." Also, this arrangement is to bring attention and glory to the Lord, not to the vessels.
The Lord is the treasure in the "clay pot" of our redeemed humanity. He is to be the "excellent power" in our lives. He is the one we are to trust in as our strength for daily living. When the battles grow fierce, trust in the Lord. "You have armed me with strength for the battle" (Psa_18:39). When we need patience or endurance, trust in the Lord: "Strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering" (Col_1:11). When we need strength for our latter years, trust in the Lord. "The LORD has kept me alive . . . here I am this day, eighty-five years old . . . yet I am as strong this day as I was on the day that Moses sent me" (Jos_14:10-11). Even in times of extreme personal weakness, His strength can be especially apparent. "I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me . . . For when I am weak, then I am strong" (2Co_12:9-10).

The temptation is to trust in our "sturdy structure" (or in those who claim to be able to strengthen or reinforce weak vessels). Our personal resources will fail, but the Lord who dwells in our hearts will not fail. "My flesh and my heart fail; But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever" (Psa_73:26). The world system with all of its impressive riches calls us to place our confidence in their resources. The Lord warns us that such misplaced trust becomes our downfall. "Woe to the rebellious children . . who . . . go down to Egypt . . . to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh . . . the strength of Pharaoh shall be your shame" (Isa_30:1-3).
We are to trust the Lord to be our strength. "The LORD is my strength and my shield" (Psa_28:7). Then, we are to give the Lord glory for the strength He supplies. "My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart greatly rejoices, And with my song I will praise Him" (Psa_28:7).

O Lord, the strength of my life, forgive me for relying upon myself and for looking to worldly resources. I want to place all of my trust in Jesus, the treasure who lives within me. May all glory be unto Him, in His mighty name, Amen.

Bob Hoekstra

 

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The Process that Magnifies the Treasure

May 21

The Process that Magnifies the Treasure

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. We are hard pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed. (2Co_4:7-9)
New covenant servants (followers of Jesus Christ) are "earthen vessels" (ordinary clay pots). Yet, in the container of their redeemed humanity dwells "this treasure" (the Son of God Himself). This arrangement calls for the treasure (Jesus), not the vessels (you and me) to be the object of all trust and the recipient of all glory: "that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us." Appropriately, the Lord has also arranged a process that magnifies the treasure.
This process involves the every day pressures of life, which come from all sides. "We are hard pressed on every side, yet not crushed." Clay pots cannot withstand much pressure, but the treasure within us (Christ) is able to keep is from being smashed. "Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus" (2Ti_2:1)
The process that draws attention to the treasure also involves many perplexities. "We are perplexed, but not in despair." We face difficult decisions and impossible issues, but our Wonderful Counselor protects us from hopelessness: "in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (Col_2:3).
Persecutions are included in the process: "persecuted, but not forsaken." People accuse us, misunderstand us, or lie about us. Still, we know we are not abandoned by our Lord who lives within us. "For He Himself has said, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you' " (Heb_13:5).
Even catastrophes are a part of the process that magnifies the treasure who indwells us: "struck down, but not destroyed." Circumstantial upheavals and overwhelming heartaches occur, but the Lord stabilizes our souls, so we don't "tip over" under the weight of circumstances. "They confronted me in the day of my calamity, but the LORD was my support" (Psa_18:18).
Thus, life comes at us like an overpowering military tank, ready to flatten us. There is no natural hope, because clay pots can't handle tanks. Yet, as the dust clears, the flower pot of our lives can remain intact (if we are trusting in the able and faithful one who lives in our hearts). There is no attacking tank that can overcome the Lord Jesus Christ. "He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world" (1Jo_4:4).

Lord Jesus, You are my indwelling treasure. When pressures, perplexities, persecutions, or catastrophes come my way, teach me to trust in You. When others ask how I am sustained through these difficulties, remind me to give all glory and honor to You. In Your name I pray, Amen.

Bob Hoekstra

 

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An Attitude Carried About by Earthen Vessels

May 22

An Attitude Carried About by Earthen Vessels

Always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. (2Co_4:10)
As earthen vessels, we are to live by trusting in the treasure (the Lord Jesus) who dwells within us: "But we have this treasure in earthen vessels." (2Co_4:7) Also, we are to give Him all honor and glory as He sustains us day by day through the trials of life: "that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us." In addition, to help us magnify the treasure who lives in us, there is to be an attitude (an outlook) carried about (embraced) by the earthen vessels.
The particular attitude that results in magnifying the treasure is the perspective we hold concerning the death of Christ: "Always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus." This is about dying in order to live. Jesus taught this. "For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it" (Luk_9:24). Those who hold on to the life they received from Adam lose what they are trying to guard and develop. They never find true life. However, all who renounce their sinful natural life and trust in Jesus find a new life from Him. This is the attitude that followers of Christ are to carry with them. "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me" (Luk_9:23). Day by day, our perspective is to include a rejection of any life that we could produce on our own ("deny himself"). We are to agree with God that the self-life always deserves the cross of Christ ("take up his cross daily"). This leaves us with only one option: pursue after Jesus for the life that He alone can provide ("and follow Me").
Such confessions are in harmony with what actually happened to us at the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ. "Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism [that is, through identification] into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life" (Rom_6:4). When we placed our trust in the Lord, His death and resurrection became our death and resurrection! This is to be our confidence continually. "Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Rom_6:11).
When we carry about this attitude, we are actually trusting the Lord Jesus (the treasure who dwells within us) to live in and through our "earthen vessels," our humanity: "that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body."


Dear Lord, I want to carry about with me Your dying. I want to embrace all that Your cross proclaims and provides. Thank You for dying in my place. I rejoice that I died there with You. Now, I ask You to live in and through me day by day, Amen.


Bob Hoekstra

 

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An Action Carried Out toward Earthen Vessels

May 23

An Action Carried Out toward Earthen Vessels

For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus' sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. (2Co_4:11)
The treasure who lives within us (Jesus) is to get glory and honor as we trust Him to live in, and be manifested through, the vessels of our humanity. "But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us" (2Co_4:7). Our previous meditation reminded us that we are to embrace an attitude of "death to self" that facilitates this plan: "Always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body" (2Co_4:10). In addition, there is an action carried out toward earthen vessels that also advances this great purpose of God. This matter is also about dying in order to live.
This action is taken toward earthen vessels: "we who live." We who have found new life in Christ are the ones who are "delivered to death." Our God places us into (or allows us to be put in) situations that are far more than we can handle. Even the Apostle Paul had to undergo this action taken toward him. "For we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of our trouble which came to us in Asia: that we were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life. Yes, we had the sentence of death in ourselves" (2Co_1:8-9). This was not an isolated incident. Paul was frequently in such impossibilities. "From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep" (2Co_11:24-25).
Since we are earthen vessels, this is the way life unfolds. Clay pots are characteristically inadequate and vulnerable. Consequently, the situations that our all-loving and all-wise God leads us into are consistently like being "delivered to death." However, this action toward us is "for Jesus' sake." In our continual impossibilities, Jesus has repeated opportunities to manifest Himself. Our heavenly Father places us in circumstances we cannot handle by our own resources. We cry out to the Lord, putting our hope and trust in Him. He faithfully goes to work in us. The result is "that the life of Jesus [is] manifested in our mortal flesh."


Dear heavenly Father, forgive me for the many times I resist Your delivering me over to death. You know that I prefer it when I can handle the events that come my way. Remind me to view my impossibilities as Jesus' opportunities to manifest Himself in and through the vessel of my life. This I humbly ask, in Jesus name, Amen.


Bob Hoekstra

 

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Encouragement for Others, Glory for God

May 24

Encouragement for Others, Glory for God

So then death is working in us, but life in you . . . For all things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God. (2Co_4:12 and 2Co_4:15)
We who live under the new covenant of grace are earthen vessels. We have no true spiritual life in ourselves. "You have no life in you" (Joh_6:53). The treasure who lives within us (Jesus) is our daily source of spiritual life: "Christ who is our life" (Col_3:4). Consequently, we must always be dying in order to live. We must be embracing the cross of Christ so that our bankrupt self-life will not be our resource for living. We must look to the Lord as our sufficiency.
The Lord helps us in this process by putting us into impossible situations that necessitate our dependence upon Him. He faithfully responds to our trust and manifests Himself through us. "For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus' sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh" (2Co_4:11). Others observing this receive encouragement to look to the Lord for the life they need. Thus, Paul could write to the Corinthians (who were aware of this process in his life): "So then death is working in us, but life in you."
Every difficulty that God brings into our lives not only has significance for us, but it can also have an impact on those to whom we are ministering. "For all things are for your sakes." How important it is to have a perspective on life that includes God working in us that He might touch others. Paul certainly viewed life and ministry in this manner. "I now rejoice in my sufferings for you . . . Yes, and if I am being poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all . . . Therefore I ask that you do not lose heart at my tribulations for you, which is your glory" (Col_1:24; Phi_2:17; Eph_3:13).
As the Lord works His grace into and through our lives, grace can be spreading to many other lives: "that grace, having spread through the many." When God's grace is at work in people's hearts, thanksgiving is so often the beautiful fruit that results. Such thanksgiving brings much glory and honor to God: "may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God."

My God and Father, teach me to handle trials in a way that will encourage people to trust in You. I want to touch others with life, as I am dying circumstantially. Please make my life a vessel through which You cause Your grace to spread to many lives. May much thanksgiving result, all to Your honor and glory, Amen.


Bob Hoekstra

 

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Momentary Light Afflictions, Eternal Weight o

Sorry for my absence the last few days- I had family issues to resolve.

May 27

Momentary Light Afflictions, Eternal Weight of Glory


For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. (2Co_4:17)
Believers in Jesus Christ are "ministers [servants] of the new covenant" (2Co_3:6). We serve God by His grace, experiencing it and passing it on to others. "For all things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God" (2Co_4:15). One astounding privilege of living and serving by grace is that our momentary light afflictions can be producing for us an eternal weight of glory!
Having our temporal difficulties "working for us" is a new, heavenly perspective on afflictions. People generally consider their afflictions as something that is working against them, not for them. Yet, afflictions can work for good, and the good is even eternal! What a gracious plan is revealed in this contrast: "light affliction . . . for a moment" and "eternal weight of glory."
First, consider that heavenly enjoyment of God's "glory" can result from our earthly experiences of "affliction." The difficulties that we endure here on earth can prepare us for opportunities to enter into more glorious fellowship, worship, and service of the Lord in heaven. (Our next meditation will examine when this occurs.)
Then, consider that our afflictions are "light" compared to the "weight" of the glories that lie ahead. This does not mean that our trials on earth are trivial. Note the "light afflictions" that Paul encountered. "In journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness — besides the other things, what comes upon me daily: my deep concern for all the churches" (2Co_11:26-28). Yet, Paul counted these as light when compared to the "substantial magnitude" of the glory awaiting him in heaven.
Lastly, consider that the difficulties of life are "but for a moment." Whereas, the resulting heavenly blessings are "eternal." Trials often seem like they will never end. Yet, they eventually pass away. Actually, it is the heavenly glory that results from the trials that will never end.
What an amazing plan God has! He wants to use the trials of our lives to enlarge our spiritual capacity to enter more fully into the glory of knowing Him, worshiping Him, and serving Him forever and forever!

Eternal Father, give me more and more of this perspective on afflictions. Help me to see them as potentially productive in an eternal sense. Remind me that my trials are momentary and light, considering the eternal weight of glory they can produce, Amen.


Bob Hoekstra

 

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Temporary Visible Things, Eternal Invisible T

May 28

Temporary Visible Things, Eternal Invisible Things

For our light affliction . . . is working for us . . . [an] eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. (2Co_4:17-18)
Our gracious God wants to use the trials in our lives ("our light affliction") to produce for us eternal blessings ("eternal weight of glory"). He intends to use our daily difficulties to enlarge our spiritual capacity to experience more fully the glorious eternal realities of knowing, worshiping, and serving God forever! The Lord desires a full, rich inheritance to await us in heaven: "For so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (2Pe_1:11).
A life of great difficulty here on earth does not guarantee enriched experience in heaven. The process of earthly trials producing heavenly blessings is not automatic for God's children. Verse 18 tells us exactly when this process is occurring: "while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen." The difficulties of life are turned to eternal blessings "while" we turn our attention upon unseen realities.
Many believers waste their afflictions by focusing upon "the things which are seen." They set their minds on themselves, their circumstances, or some conventional human wisdom. Such an approach to life's problems fosters temporal frustrations, not eternal blessings. To accrue eternal benefits from temporal situations, we must look to unseen eternal resources, because "the things which are not seen are eternal."
What are these unseen things? They are the resources of the grace of God. This includes grace for consolation and hope: "Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and our God and Father, who has . . . given us everlasting consolation and good hope by grace" (2Th_2:16). This also includes grace for endurance: "My grace is sufficient for you" (2Co_12:9). It actually includes "grace upon grace" (Joh_1:16) for whatever is needed.
All of this is available through daily dependence upon the Lord. "For we walk by faith, not by sight" (2Co_5:7). The Christian life is lived by faith in the Lord, not by mastery of observable circumstances. God's people enter into His blessings by trusting in Him. It is by looking to the grace of God during our difficulties that afflictions are turned into an "eternal weight of glory."

Lord God of abundant grace, I confess that I have frequently wasted my afflictions by concentrating upon temporal things — very often focusing upon myself. Please help me to look to the resources of Your unfailing grace, that my trials might have eternal, heavenly significance. Through Christ Jesus, I pray, Amen.


Bob Hoekstra

 

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Obedience under the New Covenant of Grace

May 29

Obedience under the New Covenant of Grace

For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace. (Rom_6:14)
Obedience is a vital issue for every believer. Throughout the scriptures we see that God's desire is for His children to walk in obedience. Moses wrote of this truth. "You shall obey the voice of the LORD your God, and observe His commandments and His statutes which I command you today" (Deu_27:10). Samuel confirmed this truth. "Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice" (1Sa_15:22). Likewise, the Apostle Peter declared that God's children are to live "as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts" (1Pe_1:14).
Our lives are to be under the rule (the dominion) of God's will revealed in His word. When we are disobedient to God's will, sin is dominating our lives. The Lord certainly wants us to get out from under the domination of sin and to live obediently. The only path for such liberation is the grace of God. "For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace" (Rom_6:14). Man might think that the law could free us from the dominating influence of sin. If we had laws with radical standards and severe consequences, surely man would not go on sinning. Of course, this approach does not work. No standards are as lofty as the holy law of God. No consequences are more severe than violating God's law. Yet, men still are dominated by sin. Grace is God's remedy.
A reactionary apprehension can develop against God's liberating remedy of grace. Some people think that proclaiming grace as the solution will only encourage people to sin all the more and even wrongly assume that this will unleash more grace. The opposite is actually true. When God's children embrace the wonder of what His grace provides (an effective rescue from sin through our identification with the death and resurrection of Christ), we see the folly of continuing in sin. "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life" (Rom_6:1-4). By God's grace at work, growing in this new life means growing in obedience.


Lord God of liberating grace, I want to grow in obedience. I long to be increasingly free from the influence of sin . Lord, I know that my best effort to be holy will not be sufficient. Strengthen me by Your grace to walk in Your will, in Jesus name, Amen.


Bob Hoekstra

 

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The Old Covenant Demand of Obedience

May 30

The Old Covenant Demand of Obedience

And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments of the LORD and His statutes which I command you today for your good? . . . This day the LORD your God commands you to observe these statutes and judgments; therefore you shall be careful to observe them with all your heart and with all your soul. (Deu_10:12-13 and Deu_26:16)
As we saw in our previous meditation, the grace of God provides what we need for growing in a life of obedience. Now we will begin to see that God's law demands obedience (whole-hearted obedience), but it does not provide the necessary spiritual resources for living an obedient life.
When Israel was about to enter the Promised Land, Moses restated what God's law required. "And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but . . . to walk in all His ways . . . and to keep the commandments of the LORD . . . therefore you shall be careful to observe them with all your heart and with all your soul." Remember, the commandments of God called for holy living. "You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy" (Lev_19:2). The measurement for this required holiness was God Himself. This represented a high and lofty standard, far beyond what man could reach on his own.
Additionally, God was not calling them to an external religious behaviorism, but to wholehearted obedience: "keep the commandments . . . observe them with all your heart." From deep within their innermost being, the children of Israel were to fully obey the Lord. They were to truly and sincerely observe all that the Lord had commanded. There were to be no inner reservations or hesitations.
What the law demanded was good. "The law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good" (Rom_7:12). Yet, the resources were lacking. Man could not measure up on his own. "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Rom_3:23). Furthermore, this perfect law offered no help to change man into what it required. "The law made nothing perfect" (Heb_7:19). Praise God, there is a provision that can accomplish what the law cannot do. "On the other hand, there is the bringing in of a better hope" (Heb_7:19). That effective hope is the grace of God.

Lord God of holiness, I bow to Your holy law as good and just. I desire to live what the law demands. Yet, I confess my failures, as well as my inadequacy to improve myself. I rejoice in Your better hope. By Your grace, please shape my heart into a life of growing obedience, Amen.

Bob Hoekstra

 

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Israel's Response to the Law's Demand

May 31

Israel's Response to the Law's Demand

Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read in the hearing of the people. And they said, "All that the LORD has said we will do, and be obedient" . . . Today you have proclaimed the LORD to be your God, and that you will walk in His ways and keep His statutes, His commandments, and His judgments, and that you will obey His voice. (Exo_24:7 and Deu_26:17)
God's law demands wholehearted obedience. "This day the LORD your God commands you to observe these statutes and judgments; therefore you shall be careful to observe them with all your heart and with all your soul" (Deu_26:16). When the Israelites heard this summary requirement of the law, they confidently promised that they would obey. "Today you have proclaimed the LORD to be your God, and that you will walk in His ways and keep His statutes, His commandments, and His judgments, and that you will obey His voice." Forty years earlier, when the Lord first gave His law to His people, they responded in a similar fashion. "Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read in the hearing of the people. And they said, 'All that the LORD has said we will do, and be obedient'."
Their intentions were certainly commendable. However, their performance was definitely unacceptable. Even before they had departed from the mountain where the law was given, they plunged into disobedience. "They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them. They have made themselves a molded calf, and worshiped it" (Exo_32:8). Soon after the death of Joshua (who led them into the Promised Land), they repeatedly rebelled against the Lord their God. The book of Judges documents this clearly: "And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD" (Jdg_3:12); "And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD" (Jdg_4:1); "Then the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD" (Jdg_6:1); "Then the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD" (Jdg_10:6).
Twelve hundred years later, Stephen would summarize Israel's history of disobedience. "You stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you" (Act_7:51). What a sobering evaluation of those who were so confident of obeying the law of God.

Dear Father, I humbly bow before You, confessing that I am so often like the children of Israel. I confidently promise to live in obedience to Your will. Then, I quickly stray from Your path and indulge my own will. Thank You for Your forgiving grace. Yet, I earnestly cry out for more. I need Your transforming grace to renew my inner man unto increasing obedience to You, through Jesus, my Lord, Amen.

Bob Hoekstra

 

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The New Covenant Promise of a New Heart

June 1

The New Covenant Promise of a New Heart

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. (Eze_36:26)
To live in obedience to the will of God, man needs more than his own best efforts and intentions. The history of Israel emphatically demonstrates this. God gave His law. He commanded them, saying,"Walk in My statutes, keep My judgments, and do them" (Eze_20:19). Israel had promised to obey. "All that the LORD has said we will do, and be obedient" (Exo_24:7). Nevertheless, they failed miserably. "Notwithstanding, the children rebelled against Me; they did not walk in My statutes, and were not careful to observe My judgments" (Eze_20:21).
In order to live obedient lives, people need a new life from God, followed by understanding in how to develop that new life. Here, we see a promise from God to supply that new life. "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you." These promises are related to the new covenant of grace that the prophets proclaimed for Israel some day. "Behold, the days are coming . . . when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel . . . not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt" (Jer_31:31-32). The book of Hebrews elaborates on this new covenant of grace and applies it to the church today: "Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us" (Heb_10:19-20).
When anyone embraces the grace of God offered in Jesus Christ (the mediator, the great High Priest of the new covenant), that person is born again by the Spirit of God. "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit" (Joh_3:6). This is a necessity. "Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God" (Joh_3:3). Human "flesh-birth" brings with it a hard spiritual heart (a dead spirit). Spiritual new birth from God replaces this hard heart (this dead, non-responsive spirit). "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you."
Think of our desperate need for this work of God that brings us a new heart, a new life. Those not born again are described as living "in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God . . . because of the hardening of their heart" (Eph_4:17-18). Yet, whoever relies upon the grace of God offered in Jesus Christ becomes a newborn child of God. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new" (2Co_5:17).


Dear Lord, giver of new life, I praise You for replacing my old, hard, dead heart with a new, living, responsive heart. Now, I long to grow in the newness that is in Christ, Amen.


Bob Hoekstra

 

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The Work of the Holy Spirit unto Obedience

June 2

The Work of the Holy Spirit unto Obedience

I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. (Eze_36:27)
When we placed our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, we were born again. We were made new in Christ. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new" (2 Corinthians 5:17). We received a new spiritual heart, as promised of old. "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you" (Eze_36:26).
Now, how does a new creature in Christ grow in a life of obedience? Our natural thinking might assume that a Christian could grow in obedience by simply doing his best to walk in the will of God. The next verse in Ezekiel's prophecy reveals that God has a better plan in mind. "I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes." The born again follower of Jesus is not designed to operate on his own best efforts. The Holy Spirit is to be the heavenly dynamic developing a life of obedience.
A disobedient life would include attitudes and actions that our fallen physical bodies naturally crave. These are to be taken to the cross, to be rendered as crucified with Christ. "Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience" (Col_3:5-6). The Holy Spirit wants to enable us to respond properly concerning such carnal desires. "If by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live" (Rom_8:13). These fallen, natural cravings are described as the "lusts of the flesh" in Galatians. They are overcome as we yield to the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. "Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh" (Gal_5:16).
Again, this work of the Holy Spirit is not automatic or "robotic." Rather, it is a relational matter. It is realized in our lives through humble dependence. It is possible to resist the work of the Holy Spirit in us. "You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit" (Act_7:51). It is when we depend upon the Holy Spirit to lead us in the path of obedience that we will truly live as obedient children of God. "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God" (Rom_8:14).

Lord God of my salvation, I desire to walk in obedience to You. I confess that I often rely upon my own resources, attempting to produce obedience. Lord, please work deep in my heart by the power of Your Holy Spirit and lead me in paths of righteousness, in Jesus name, Amen.


Bob Hoekstra

 

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Obedience and the Lordship of Jesus

June 3

Obedience and the Lordship of Jesus

But why do you call Me "Lord, Lord," and do not do the things which I say? . . . Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them . . . [and] teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. (Luk_6:46 and Mat_28:19-20)
As servants of the new covenant of grace, the Lordship of Jesus is part of our message. "For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord" (2Co_4:5). The early church proclaimed Jesus as Lord. "Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ . . . The word which God sent to the children of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ — He is Lord of all . . . believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved . . . Then Paul dwelt two whole years . . . teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ" (Act_2:36; Act_10:36; Act_16:31; and Act_28:30-31).
The scriptures often emphasize the fact that Jesus is our Lord. The opening verses of Paul's first letter to Corinth are a clear example. "Paul . . . to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus . . . with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord . . . Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ . . . you come short in no gift, eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ . . . who will also confirm you to the end, that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ" (1Co_1:1-10).
Clearly, it is right for followers of Jesus to call Him Lord. Yet, to call Him Lord and then disobey Him is a contradiction. "But why do you call Me 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do the things which I say? " After believing in Jesus and identifying with Him in water baptism, disciples are to be growing in obedience: "teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you." As we are learning to walk in obedience, Jesus is ever present with us. "I am with you always." Day by day, He offers the grace we need for obedience: "Declared to be the Son of God with power . . . through whom we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith" (Rom_1:4-5).


Lord Jesus, I long for my verbal confession of Your Lordship to be validated by my daily growth in obedience. You are my Master. Grant me grace each day to be obedient to the faith, in Your sovereign name I pray, Amen.


Bob Hoekstra

 

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Obedience and the Life of Jesus

June 4

Obedience and the Life of Jesus

And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him . . . Christ in you, the hope of glory. (Joh_8:29 and Col_1:27)
Our Lord Jesus wants His followers to live in obedience to His will: "teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you" (Mat_28:20). Our Lord is also with us every step of our pilgrimage, granting us His grace unto obedience. "I am with you always . . . through whom we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith" (Mat_28:20 and Rom_1:4-5). This is also the way that Jesus lived here on earth in relationship with His heavenly Father. "And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him." The Father was with the Son, as the Son lived to please the Father.
Jesus came to earth to live in humble dependence upon, and full obedience to, the Father. "And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross" (Phi_2:8). Even though obedience led to the cross, Jesus obeyed the will of the Father. In the garden of Gethsemane, the obedient Son wrestled with the implications of the impending cross. The holy, eternal One was to taste the cup of sin and death for all of us. His entire being was repulsed by that which was so contrary to His nature. "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death . . . O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me" (Mat_26:38-39). Yet, He obediently yielded to the Father's will. "Nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will" (Mat_26:39). This is the ultimate example of obedience.
This same Jesus (who always pleased the Father, even unto death) now lives in us. This same Jesus is our "hope of glory." He is our hope (expectation, confidence) of making it to glory (heaven) some day. He is also our hope of walking in any heavenly reality here on the way to glory. He is our hope of an obedient life.
Obedience is essentially related to the life of Jesus. The life Jesus lived on earth is our perfect example of obedience. The life He now wants to live in and through us is our glorious hope of obedience.


Lord Jesus, I look at Your life on earth and I see the obedience that I yearn to experience. I know that I can not produce such a life on my own. I think of You living in me, and I have hope that I can grow in obedience. So, I place my hope in You to express Your obedient heart in and through my choices, my words, my actions, my entire life, Amen.


Bob Hoekstra

 

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God Working in Us Unto Obedience

June 5

God Working in Us Unto Obedience
Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. (Phi_2:12-13)
We have been considering from various perspectives the great truth that God wants us to grow in obedience to His will. The lordship of Jesus makes disobedience unacceptable. "But why do you call Me 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do the things which I say? " (Luk_6:46). Also, our Lord taught His early disciples to be instructing all future disciples concerning obedience: "teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you" (Mat_28:20). Our present passage offers profound insight on this matter by describing God working in us unto obedience. "It is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure."
This subject is introduced by a call to "work out your own salvation." Notice, we are not called to work for our salvation. Salvation is a gift of God's grace, freely received by faith. "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast" (Eph_2:8-9). Still, this gift of salvation that God has placed within us by His grace is to be worked out (developed outwardly) unto an obedient life, a life that fulfills "His good pleasure."
This calling is to be approached in "fear and trembling." Initially, our temptation may be to approach this request with unabashed self-confidence. Eventually, we begin to understand that we must respond in "fear" [a reverential awe] and "trembling" (a profound sense of inadequacy). The next phrase explains why we are to engage this responsibility with such unusual attitudes: "for it is God who works in you." If the salvation that God has placed in our inner man is to ever become a visible walk that pleases Him, it will always be a result of us allowing Him to do an ongoing work deep within us. "I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts . . . you are manifestly an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart" (Jer_31:33 and 2Co_3:3). This is the wonder of true Christian living. It is based upon God working within our hearts.

Dear Lord, I praise You for the precious gift of salvation You have poured into my heart. I earnestly desire that this gift be worked outwardly unto a life that is pleasing to You. Lord, please touch and shape the depths of my heart that I may obey You in all things, in Jesus name, Amen.

Bob Hoekstra

 

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God Working in Us Both to Will and to Do

June 6

God Working in Us Both to Will and to Do

Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. (Phi_2:12-13)
Again, our meditation is from Phi_2:12-13. Yesterday, we saw that God must be allowed to work within our hearts, if we are to walk in obedience. "It is God who works in you . . . for His good pleasure." Today, we will consider the extent to which He desires to work: "both to will and to do." In order to fully obey the Lord, we need His work within us for both the willing and the doing.
First, the Lord wants to affect our willingness to obey Him (to fulfill "His good pleasure"). So, He invites us into His word to learn of His will. "Oh, that My people would listen to Me . . . [and] walk in My ways!" (Psa_81:13). Then, His word goes to work within our hearts, convicting us of our need to obey it. "But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves" (Jam_1:22). All the while, He is nurturing in us a love for His word. "Therefore I love Your commandments more than gold, yes, than fine gold!" (Psa_119:127). Increasingly, we become willing to (we desire to) obey His word. "I delight to do Your will, O my God" (Psa_40:8).
After working in our hearts a willingness to obey Him, the Lord also wants to work in us until we are doing His will. Yes, willing and doing are two different matters. We easily forget this distinction. We wrongly assume that once the willingness is present, the doing will inevitably follow. Jesus revealed the fallacy of this thinking in a well-known warning to His disciples. "Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak" (Mat_26:41). Even when our hearts are willing to obey, our flesh is inadequate to bring the willingness on to obedience. Thus, we are to be alert to our need for prayer that we might obey and not yield to temptation. The word even teaches us how to cry out to God for the internal inclination from Him that we need to actually obey His will. "Make me walk in the path of Your commandments . . . Incline my heart to Your testimonies" (Psa_119:35-36).


Dear gracious Lord, how wonderful You are to want to work in me unto obedience. What a gift of Your grace that You desire comprehensive involvement in this vital process — from the willing to the doing. Lord, draw me day by day to Your word. Work in me a growing willingness to obey You. Also, strengthen me to actually do Your will, in Jesus name, Amen.


Bob Hoekstra

 

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The God of Peace Making Obedience Available t

June 7

The God of Peace Making Obedience Available to Us
Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do His will. (Heb_13:20-21)
These powerful verses continue our inquiry concerning a life of obedience. They conclude with what results when God is allowed to do His work in our lives. We become "complete in every good work to do His will." This hope is made available to us by "the God of peace."
We all started out in life at war with God. Although we may not have been aware of this fact, we were enemies of God: "You . . . were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works" (Col_1:21). We were disobedient by our very nature: "the sons of disobedience . . . by nature children of wrath" (Eph_2:2-3). Yet, through His Son, God reached out to offer us peace. "For He Himself is our peace, who . . . abolished in His flesh the enmity . . . making peace . . . through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity" (Eph_2:14-16). This sacrifice on the cross was effective, because the Lord Jesus was raised from the dead with victory over sin and death: "the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead."
At the cross of Christ, the blood was shed that brings eternal blessings to all who believe in Him: "through the blood of the everlasting covenant." The Lord promised these eternal benefits to His people through the prophets of old. "And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from doing them good; but I will put My fear in their hearts so that they will not depart from Me . . . Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them, and it shall be an everlasting covenant with them" (Jer_32:40 and Eze_37:26).
The blood of the new covenant of grace secures these benefits: "This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you" (Luk_22:20). This shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ is able to cleanse and forgive forever all who humbly trust in Him. Also, that shed blood of the new covenant (God's new arrangement for living) supplies the adequacy we need from God for the obedient life He has called us to live: "Our sufficiency is from God, who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant" (2Co_3:5-6).


Dear God of peace, I praise You for the shed blood of Jesus, changing me from Your enemy to Your friend. I thank You for also making obedience available through this new covenant of grace. I humbly ask that You teach me to live in dependence upon Your sufficiency, Amen.

Bob Hoekstra

 

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God Equipping Us to Do His Will

June 8

God Equipping Us to Do His Will

Now may the God of peace . . . make you complete in every good work to do His will. (Heb_13:20-21)
Again, our devotional study is from Hebrews 13:20-21. In our previous meditation, we saw that the God of peace makes obedience available through the shed blood of the crucified, risen Christ. That shed blood forgives our sins, making friends out of formerly disobedient enemies. Furthermore, that shed blood establishes the new covenant of grace, which supplies God's sufficiency for all our needs, including, the developing of an obedient life.
Now, we will reflect upon God being the one who uses His heavenly resources to equip us to do His will. What a hope and joy this is! God Himself is willing to undertake the task of shaping us into His obedient servants: "Now may the God of peace . . . make you complete in every good work to do His will."
This term, "complete," is exceedingly insightful. It speaks of equipping people for their intended task, getting them ready to do what they are called to do. To equip means to furnish whatever qualities are necessary to perform the task at hand. To equip means to supply whatever is needed for an assigned purpose. Our calling and purpose in the will of God is that we engage in a great variety of good works. God is willing to equip us "in every good work to do His will."
Long ago, David was inspired of the Holy Spirit to speak boldly in similar terms. "The LORD will perfect that which concerns me" (Psa_138:8). In light of David's calling to obedience (and our own calling to the same), many things concern us. We are called to serve, to sacrifice, to pray, to worship, to love, to evangelize, to edify — and the list continues. How are we to expect progress in such a broad range of obedience? Our confidence is that "The LORD will perfect that which concerns [us]."
As we have asked previously, is this work of God to equip us unto obedience an automatic issue? Not at all! Remember, we can resist (Act_7:51), quench (1Th_5:19), and grieve (Eph_4:30) the work of the Spirit of grace in our lives. So what is to be our response? Since the Lord is the one who must be equipping us to do His will, we are to be seeking Him. We are to be humbly dependent upon Him. We must not look to ourselves, to formulas, or to any other hope.


O God of peace, please do what only You can do. Equip me to obey You in every type of good work that is in Your will. I do not have what it takes to fulfill Your will for me. I often put my hope in vain places. Lord, I now look to You alone, in Jesus name, Amen.


Bob Hoekstra

 

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God Working in Us What Pleases Him

June 9

God Working in Us What Pleases Him

Now may the God of peace . . . make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. (Heb_13:20-21)
Once again, our attention is focused upon Hebrews 13:20-21. In the two previous devotionals, we saw that the God of peace makes obedience available to us through the blood of Christ and then equips us to do His will. Now we will see that this involves God working in us what pleases Him.
Obedience is about pleasing God, doing "what is well pleasing in His sight." This is why Christ died for us. "He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again" (2Co_5:15). Living to please self is the ultimate disobedience to God. As God's children, we want to live for His approval. "Walk as children of light . . . proving what is acceptable to the Lord" (Eph_5:8-10).
The means ordained for us to actually live pleasing in His sight is God at work in us: "the God of peace . . . working in you what is well pleasing in His sight." We cannot properly live obedient, pleasing lives for God, unless we look to the Lord to be working within us. If we are to be faithful representatives of the Lord here on earth, we need Him working through us. "Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God" (2Co_5:20). This is how the early church effectively pleased the Lord in their service. "For He who worked effectively in Peter for the apostleship to the circumcised also worked effectively in me toward the Gentiles" (Gal_2:8).
Ultimately, pleasing God by doing His will is an internal matter of the heart. "That He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints" (1Th_3:13). When our Lord returns, He wants to find obedient children. He wants His followers to be "blameless in holiness before our God and Father." This is only possible as we allow our God to do a spiritually stabilizing work deep within us: "That He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness."
Not surprisingly, all of this working of God within us is done "through Jesus Christ." It is all based upon who Jesus is, all that He has done for us, and all that He alone can accomplish as He lives in us!


Lord God of peace, I long to live pleasing in Your sight, holy and true. Please do Your effective work deep within my heart, through Jesus Christ, my Lord, Amen.


Bob Hoekstra

 

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God Glorified by Working Obedience in Us

June 10

God Glorified by Working Obedience in Us


Now may the God of peace . . . make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. (Heb_13:20-21)
Let's make one more visit to these tremendous words in Hebrews 13:20-21. When the Lord works in us unto obedience ("what is well pleasing in His sight"), He Himself is the one who appropriately receives the glory ("to whom be glory forever and ever").
Throughout eternity, God is to be glorified and magnified by all. "I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice: 'Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom, and strength and honor and glory and blessing!' And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying: "Blessing and honor and glory and power be to Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, forever and ever! " (Rev_5:11-13).
Here in the midst of time and space, God is also to be glorified in and through our lives. "Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God" (1Co_10:31). That which the Lord wants us to do for His glory is clearly revealed in His commands. In the New Testament, our Lord commands His new covenant servants in many areas. He calls us to genuine love, godly service, earnest prayer, and habitual hospitality: "Let love be without hypocrisy . . . serving the Lord . . . continuing steadfastly in prayer . . . given to hospitality" (Rom_12:9, Rom_12:11-13). He instructs us to be truthful, hard-working, kind, and forgiving, "each one speak truth with his neighbor . . . let him labor, working with his hands what is good . . . be kind to one another . . . forgiving one another" (Eph_4:25, Eph_4:28, Eph_4:32).
These commands are the things that are "well pleasing in His sight." These are also the things that He wants to bring forth by His work in us: "working in you what is well pleasing in His sight." When we seek the Lord to do such work in and through us, He is certainly the one who should get all the glory and honor.


Glorious God of peace, may You be glorified in my life by making me complete in every good work to do Your will, working in me what is well pleasing in Your sight through Jesus Christ, Amen.


Bob Hoekstra