December 1, 2012
“… much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.” (Romans5:17)
Here the Apostle Paul describes the fourth in a series of four conquerors. Each of these conquerors does three things: they enter, abound, and reign. The first one is King Sin. He sounds like a Chinese King. He enters this world and our lives. Paul doesn’t get into a heavy discussion here of how this conqueror entered this world. He just makes it clear that his intent when he enters is to abound and reign. We can’t co-exist with him. Like a malignant tumor his intent is to kill us.
A second conqueror that always follows King Sin is King Death. Even in these days of economic downturns the wages paid by King Sin are always the same. They are death, or the pits. We might say these first two conquerors are the bad news.
The third conqueror Paul presents is Queen Grace. And the fourth conqueror is King You and King Me. We can definitely say that these last two conquerors are the Good News. Just as Kings Sin and Death enter our lives to abound and reign, it is possible for Queen Grace to enter and reign in us in such a way that we can reign in life through Jesus Christ.
In these four conquerors Paul is telling us what God has to do that we might be justified or declared righteous. Then he tells us how God makes it possible for people who have been declared right to get right, be right and do right ‘til the stars fall.
We can enter, abound and reign in Christ and in life.
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Posted by Dick Woodward
November 22, 2012
“… although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were they thankful…” (Romans 1:21)
In the first chapter of Paul’s letter to the believers in Rome he gives a resume of the fall of the human race. Paul does the same thing Moses did in the third chapter of the book of Genesis. They both describe the fall of man as it was and as it is. By that I mean they are not merely describing an historical event in the past but they want us to understand what is happening in our culture right now.
In Paul’s account of the fall of the human race he traces the origin of our fall to two things: we did not glorify God as God, and we were not thankful. He then continues to describe how God gave us up to what we wanted and we became guilty of every imaginable kind of sin. As he vividly describes what happened to the human race after God did not give up on us but gave us up to what we wanted, the result became what Paul described as “all unrighteousness.”
If you track with Paul as he itemizes what he means by “all unrighteousness” it’s intriguing to realize that all that horrible sin began with the hard reality that we were not thankful. There are so many exhortations and prescriptions in the Word of God for us to be thankful but here in the first chapter of Romans is a great warning about the price of not being thankful.
Like it was and like it is, appreciate the value of an attitude of gratitude. And, like it was and like it is, do not underestimate the price of an attitude of ingratitude.
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Posted by Dick Woodward
November 16, 2012
“In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity consider: surely God has appointed the one as well as the other” (Ecclesiastes7:14)
Many devout people are confused about prosperity. Some preach and teach a prosperity theology that is pure heresy. It could only receive a hearing in a place like America. It will not receive a hearing in places where devout people suffer poverty and persecution because they believe. Others believe we should feel guilty when we experience prosperity.
Solomon writes that in the day of prosperity we should rejoice and know that our God has given us all things richly to enjoy. And he informs us that in the day of adversity we should consider the profound reality that God has made the one as well as the other. A truth that means much to me is that God is our personal Mentor and He does His most effective mentoring when things are difficult for us.
Now that I am old I spend time looking back over a long life. As I reflect on my relationship with God over more than eight decades I realize that my times of spiritual growth have been times of adversity and my times of spiritual regression and stagnation have been times of prosperity.
Paul wrote that he knew how to be abased and he knew how to abound. He presented a challenge to us. That challenge is that it takes more grace and wisdom to know how to abound than it takes to know how to be abased.
If you are enjoying prosperity I hope you do not feel guilty but rejoice. If you are experiencing adversity let it be a time of effective mentoring from God and a time of growth for you.
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Posted by Dick Woodward
October 24, 2012
“But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.” (Luke 8:15)
This verse is taken from a very familiar parable of Jesus called “The Parable of the Sower, “ but I call it – “Four Men in a pew, which one are you?”
Jesus is claiming that when the Word of God is taught, seventy-five percent of the time nothing happens. The first man who hears is wearing a hard hat – the Word does not penetrate his mind. When the word is not understood, nothing happens.
The second takes his Word on the rocks. The seed of the Word does not penetrate his heart, or his will. If the Word of God does not penetrate the will, nothing happens.
The third man understands and fully intends to obey the Word but he loses the Word in the weeds of riches, pleasures and worries. Again, nothing happens.
The fourth man understands, obeys and overcomes all the weeds above the soil and the rocks under the soil. He perseveres through all this and produces a crop that is more than one hundred percent what was planted.
Jesus is giving us a formula for hearing when the Word of God is being taught or preached. We must understand, obey and overcome all the obstacles that are trying to defeat us as we hear the Word of God.
Jesus is also challenging His disciples to realize that as they teach the Word of God unless they penetrate the understanding, the will, and the opposition of the evil one nothing happens.
He concluded this teaching with the challenge to be careful how we hear His Word and how others hear when we teach.
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Posted by Dick Woodward
October 16, 2012
“He must increase, but I must decrease.” (John 3:30)
Who was the greatest prophet who ever lived? Who was the greatest man who ever lived? According to Jesus the answer is John the Baptist (Luke 7:28; Matthew 11:11). Having studied the Scripture for six decades I find that answer to be intriguing because very little space is given in the Bible to record this man’s life and ministry.
As I meditate on the Scriptures that describe him I have come to a conclusion about his greatness. At least one key to his greatness was that he accepted the limits of his limitations and the responsibility for his ability.
As we attempt to discover who we are and what God wants to do through our life it is a good rule of thumb to accept the limits of our limitations and the responsibility for our ability. When a degenerative disease of the spinal cord took away my physical abilities, it was critical for me to accept my increasing limitations and continue to be responsible for my abilities.
After about two years of illness when the acceptance came, it was so profound I decided it was a form of inner healing. Using speech recognition software on my computer I received the grace to write about ten thousand pages of what I call a Mini Bible College. These 782 studies of the Bible have been translated into twenty eight languages in sixty countries.
It fills me with grateful worship to realize that the formula for greatness I have learned from John the Baptist has guided me to the most important work I have done for God and Christ.
Are you willing to accept the limits of your limitations and the responsibility for your ability?
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Posted by Dick Woodward
October 6, 2012
“… the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him.” . (Acts 5:32)
The purpose of a compass is not just to give us knowledge about where we are when we are lost but to also guide us into the way we need to go. If you think about it – a compass is worthless if we do not comply with what our compass shows us.
In the Gospels Jesus introduces the apostles to the Holy Spirit. He tells them the Holy Spirit will guide them into all truth. He calls the Holy Spirit the “Paraclete.” This word means: “One who comes along side us and attaches Himself to us for the purpose of assisting us.”
Jesus tells them that if they will love Him and keep His commandments He will ask the Father to give them the Holy Spirit (John 14: 15, 16). So many believers miss this. The operative word when it comes to implementing salvation is “believe.” But the operative word when it comes to knowing God through the Holy Spirit is “obey.”
In profound simplicity the hymn writer expressed it this way: “But we never can prove the delights of His love until all on the altar we lay. For the favor He shows and the joy He bestows are for them who will trust and obey. Trust and obey for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey.”
Jesus said it even more simply and profoundly when He offered this invitation: “Follow Me and I will make you.” (Matthew 4:19) That’s why the last point on this compass is the most critical of all.
Are you willing to comply with what your compass shows you?
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Posted by Dick Woodward
October 3, 2012
“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is…” (Colossians 3:1)
To follow up on the application of the second point of the jet pilot’s compass to our own compass of life we must ask: what does it mean to “climb?” Since we are all different it means different things for different folks. For me personally it means to get deeply into the Word of God. A holy man named Thomas a’ Kempis wrote in words of his century that he found spiritual retreat and peace in ‘a little corner with a little book.’
For you climbing could mean meeting with a mentor if you are blessed to have one. Ideally every believer should have one but realistically very few actually have a mentor or a disciple maker. If you are a spiritual person a short or long private retreat could be a good way to climb. While solitude works for some, a small group could work for others. Simply being with spiritual people is moving in the right direction.
If you love worship music, getting immersed in meaningful worship music is a good way to climb. This of course could happen in corporate as well as a closet worship experience.
Many people climb by reading the great old souls who have left us with their great expressions and “how to’s” of worship by example and precept. Getting deep into devotional classics is a good way to climb. I must repeat, however, that for me nothing replaces the Word of God for climbing.
The first letter of John tells us to track with the attributes of God. According to John if we look where the love is, where the life is, and where the light is we will find ourselves climbing big time.
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Posted by Dick Woodward
October 2, 2012
This week I’m blitzing daily blogs to unpack each point of yesterday’s Jet Pilot’s Compass for you. The first point is: CONFESSION…
“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)
In the original Greek language, what we translate as confess is a compound Greek word: to say and the word for sameness. It literally means to say the same thing God says or to agree with God. If you know the Word of God and are in the Spirit enough to be convicted by the Holy Spirit, you can know what God says and how He feels about what you have done.
Your confession is to agree with Him. Our responsibility is to agree with Him. He does all the rest.
He knows when we are lost. Because He loves us He very much wants us to agree with Him that He might recover us and lead us into the green pastures and still waters that lead to a table of provision and a full cup that never empties. That’s why He wants us to confess our sins and start climbing in the right direction spiritually.
He is not a divine policeman with a huge club just waiting to crack us over the head when we step out of line. The ministry of Jesus is summed up in the Gospel of Luke this way: “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost” (19:10). That Gospel shows us in beautiful ways the blessings that came into the lives of lost people because Jesus found them and led them to the blessings of salvation.
Agree with Him and He will guide you to the blessings He has just for you.
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Posted by Dick Woodward
August 31, 2012
“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you…” (Acts 1:8)
The mercy of God withholds what we deserve and the grace of God lavishes on us countless blessings we do not deserve. As we appreciate what the mercy of God withholds and the grace of God bestows when we believe the Gospel, we should be filled with grateful worship of our gracious and merciful God.
When Jesus gave His Great Commission He instructed the disciples to wait until the power of the Holy Spirit came upon them before they obeyed His Commission (Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1: 4, 5). After that happened to them on the Day of Pentecost, we read: “Great grace was upon them all” (Acts 4:33). This use of the word “grace” means there is such a thing as the anointing, or the energizing unction of the Holy Spirit upon us as we serve Christ. I am using the word in that sense when I tell people that His grace outweighs my challenges.
Paul was declaring this dimension of grace when he wrote: “God is able to make all grace abound toward you so that you, always, having all sufficiency in all things may abound unto every good work” (2 Corinthians 9:8). This is the most emphatic verse in the New Testament regarding the anointing and energizing grace of God.
Check out the superlatives he uses in this verse: All grace – abounding grace – each and every one of you – he repeats all of you – all sufficiency – in all things – abounding unto every good work – always! According to Paul we should all be able to make the claim that His grace outweighs our challenges!
Do you believe the grace of God can outweigh your challenges today?
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Posted by Dick Woodward
August 28, 2012
“Surely Your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life…” (Psalm 23:6 NLT)
Mercy is the unconditional love of God. This beautiful word is found three hundred and sixty-six times in the Bible. (Perhaps God wants us to know we need His unconditional love, every day of the year – and He even covers Leap Year!) Many people think we don’t hear about the mercy of God in the Bible until we get to the Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew. However, two hundred and eighty of these references to the mercy of God are found in the Old Testament.
My favorite Old Testament reference to the mercy of God is found in the last verse of the Twenty-third Psalm. David ends his greatest Psalm with the declaration that he is positively certain the mercy of God will follow him all the days of his life. The Hebrew word he uses here for “follow” is a word that can also be translated “pursue.” David brings the most profound and eloquent description of the relationship between God and man ever written to a conclusion by making the declaration that the unconditional love of God will pursue him all the days of his life. By application, this is true for any of us who will confess our sins.
There are so many ways to fail. When we understand the meaning of the mercy of God, however, we should realize that we cannot possibly out-fail His mercy. As I place my failures on a scale, I like to place all those times the Bible uses the word “mercy” on the scale opposite my failures. I invite you to do the same thing no matter how horrible you think your sins are.
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Posted by Dick Woodward
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