John 9:15
So the Pharisees again asked him how he had received his sight. And he said to them, “He put mud on my eyes, and I washed, and I see.”
Earlier in John 9, Jesus healed a man who had been born blind. Once the man was healed, he was brought before the Jewish religious leaders for examination. The Jews ask the formerly blind man how Jesus healed him. They do not actually believe anything about this story yet, but they are gathering their data. And the man, for his part, tells his story simply and clearly. He was blind. Jesus made mud and put it on his eyes. He went and washed off the mud, and he came away seeing.
I love that the man told his story so well. In fact, the way he tells his story is an excellent model for you to follow as you tell your story.
· Tell who you were.
· Tell what Jesus did.
· Tell what you did.
· Tell how things are now different.
This is a great pattern for giving a Christian testimony, even when sharing with skeptics.
I was a sinful person who was rightly under the judgment of God. I was headed for hell for my sin with no hope. But God sent his Son to pay the price for my sin, taking my place, and offering me his perfection in exchange for my imperfection before God. I believed in Jesus and asked him to forgive me of my sins through is work done on the cross. I entrusted my soul to him and committed my life to follow him. Now I am forgiven by God, headed for heaven, and living the life that I was created by God to live.
Can you tell a story like that? If not, you need to come to know Jesus today. If you are a Christian, you should be able to tell that story to anyone who might listen. Tell a true story of who you were, what Jesus did, what you did, and how things have changed.
Life as a Canvas (John 9:1-3)
John 9:1-3
1 As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3 Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.”
Do you believe that, if a person sees true art in the form of a remarkable painting, they are likely to comment on the canvas itself? If a person is looking at an original Picasso or Van Gogh, do you think it likely for them to look at someone nearby and say, “Boy, that’s really an amazing piece of canvas behind all that paint”? Of course they wouldn’t. While the canvas might be a very nice canvas indeed, it is crazy to think that the canvas should be the focus of the person who sees the beautiful art painted on it.
Of course, we all think together, none of us would be silly enough to elevate the value of the canvas over the art itself. But, we often do; not necessarily in a museum, but in our lives. When left to ourselves, we tend to focus on background issues and make them out to be of primary importance. In doing so, we take the things that should be of first importance, and push them aside.
Look with me at verse 3 above. Jesus gives us the answer to the disciples’ question as to why a man was born blind—was it his fault or his parents’—and it is not either of the two options they gave to him. Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.” Neither the man nor his parents are directly to blame for his blindness. Instead, something much more grand is behind this man’s suffering. As strange as it may seem for us to believe, the reason that this man was born blind was in order that the works of God might be displayed in his life.
The man’s suffering was for the purpose of glorifying God. Is that offensive? Yes, if you believe that human happiness is the highest good. However, if you believe that God is our Creator and has the right to do with us as he pleases, and if you believe that the glory of God is the ultimate good, then you have to conclude that it is OK and even good that the Lord would allow this to happen.
Genesis 1:1
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
God is our Creator. He created all things. Therefore all things that exist do so at God’s whim, for his pleasure.
Isaiah 43:6-7
6 I will say to the north, Give up,
and to the south, Do not withhold;
bring my sons from afar
and my daughters from the end of the earth,
7 everyone who is called by my name,
whom I created for my glory,
whom I formed and made.”
And God created us for his glory. It’s there, plain as day in the scriptures. And, if it is true that God created us and has the right of ownership over us, and it is also true that he created us for the purpose of displaying his glory, then there is nothing wrong whatsoever with God allowing even our suffering if that suffering will display his glory.
All of our lives are for the glory of God. Your strengths and your weaknesses exist for God’s glory. Your happy moments and your greatest tragedies exist for the glory of God. Your greatest joys and your greatest sufferings are all testimonies in one way or another to the glory of God.
You know what this teaching makes you? It makes you a canvas. You are a canvas that God has created in order to display the beautiful art of his glory. Sometimes the colors that he uses to create that art are dark and painful. Sometimes the colors that he uses are bright and lovely. In either case, they are painted onto your life in order that you will, when all is said and done, truly display for the world to see the glory of God, the divine artist.
What we must do, after thinking about the words of Jesus in verse 3, is change how we think. We must think of ourselves as the canvas onto which God paints. We exist for his purposes and for his glory. We must not ever allow ourselves to think that we are of the utmost importance. God is of the utmost importance. His glory is of the utmost importance. Our purpose for existence is to display that glory of God for all to see. If you cannot stomach that, then you are at odds with God and his purposes. Let me urge you to fight to change that way of thinking, because you will never defeat God. Recognize that your life is a canvas for the displaying of the glory of God.
A God-Centered God (Ezekiel 20:40-44)
Ezekiel 20:40-44 (ESV)
40 “For on my holy mountain, the mountain height of Israel, declares the Lord God, there all the house of Israel, all of them, shall serve me in the land. There I will accept them, and there I will require your contributions and the choicest of your gifts, with all your sacred offerings. 41 As a pleasing aroma I will accept you, when I bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you have been scattered. And I will manifest my holiness among you in the sight of the nations. 42 And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I bring you into the land of Israel, the country that I swore to give to your fathers. 43 And there you shall remember your ways and all your deeds with which you have defiled yourselves, and you shall loathe yourselves for all the evils that you have committed. 44 And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I deal with you for my name’s sake, not according to your evil ways, nor according to your corrupt deeds, O house of Israel, declares the Lord God.”
Are we God-centered or man-centered? This question is one of great importance that we should often return to. We know, of course, that we are to be centered on the name, the person, the glory of God. Yet, when we examine our lives, our language, and our thoughts, we often find that it is very easy to slip back into a more man-centered philosophy.
Passages like the one above help us to remember that, while God may do us great good and show us wonderful kindness—kindness that we could never give thanks enough for—he does such things for a greater purpose.
Look again at verse 44 which reads, “And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I deal with you for my name’s sake, not according to your evil ways, nor according to your corrupt deeds, O house of Israel, declares the Lord God.” Twice in that single verse, God puts the focus of his actions squarely and rightly on himself. God says to Judah, “You shall know that I am the Lord.” At the center of what he is about to do is that the people shall know that God truly is God, the supreme, the Lord, the King. God also tells them that he will deal with them “for my name’s sake,” again putting the emphasis of the action on the person of God and not on the people.
Before we find ourselves wonderfully offended at God for making himself and not us the center of the picture, look at what God is doing. God is rescuing the people from their captivity. He is bringing them to proper conviction of and repentance from their sins. He is renewing his relationship with them, rescuing them from Babylon and returning them to the Promised Land. God is giving them both earthly benefits and spiritual, heavenly benefits. They will see God in action. They will see god’s glory. They will be God’s people. They will have the greatest blessing people can have. The people in no way lose in this deal.
While the people get wonderful joy in the actions of God, we must be careful not to assume that the people are the central reason behind it. God is displaying his character. God is defending his name and his glory. God is supreme. God cannot pretend that the people are the highest value in this event, for to do so would be for God to set them above himself. To set something above God is idolatry, and God will not be guilty of that. However, God displays his glory, focusing on his own name, and in doing so, he gives the people the greatest of blessings. They get to see God’s glory, which is the supreme good, and they are rescued by God’s mighty hand.
So, are you God-centered or man-centered. God is God-centered, and this is the best thing for mankind.
A Praying Life – A Review
In A Praying Life: Connecting With God in a Distracting World, Paul Miller offers us a different kind of book on prayer. This book has things that I found wonderfully encouraging and helpful. At the same time, this work is not an exhaustive work on the doctrine of prayer.
Positives
So many books on prayer offer lists of how to pray without seeming to be a part of real, modern, human life. Miller’s book does not fall into this trap. Paul Miller is about as real in his description of his prayer life as any author I have read.
Miller’s work is full of helpful stories and illustrations that help us to connect with him in his prayer life. Paul and his wife have an autistic daughter. As you might imagine, his stories of praying with his wife for the benefit of their daughter are touching and helpful to others who have experienced prayers that were answered by God in different ways than they expected.
I personally found myself encouraged by the way that miller talked about prayer in such a non-mystical way. Sometimes, in books on prayer, readers may get the impression that those who do not pray for hours at a time are missing the point of prayer. Of course, there is nothing wrong with long seasons of prayer. Yet, Miller shows how prayer can be beautiful for a Christian in the middle of the confusion of daily life.
Negatives
While I enjoyed this work, it was not the deepest handling of the issues of prayer. Miller teaches us more from his experience than from a systematic theological strategy. Miller cautions readers against being mislead by their own impressions while “listening to God,” but then does not offer a deep theological defense of how this issue is to be handled.
Conclusion
I enjoyed A Praying Life, and would certainly recommend it to Christians who are struggling with their own lives of prayer. I think many will find the ideas present in this work encouraging and helpful. While the book is not as theological as some might want, it certainly has much to recommend it.
Audio
The recording of this work that I received as a part of the reviewers program from Christian Audio.com was well done as usual.
An Explosive Claim of Jesus (John 8:12)
John 8:12
Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
During the evenings of the Jewish feast of tabernacles, the people participated in a light ceremony. If you remember, when the Hebrews went through the wilderness wanderings, God led them through the desert via a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. Since the feast of tabernacles is a feast that reminded the Jews of that time in their history, they made their own pillar of fire in the evenings. They accomplished this by lighting two enormous candelabras in the temple courts. It is said that those candelabras were so bright that their light shined over all of the city of Jerusalem. When the fire was lit, the people would dance, sing, and remember how God led them with his marvelous light.
As the people celebrate that God, God himself, led the Israelites through the desert by being their light, Jesus stands up and makes a huge claim, “I am the light of the world.” He’s not telling them that he will show them the light. He is not claiming to be a guide to lead them to the light. Jesus simply says that he personally is the light of the world.
How significant is it that Jesus says that he is the light of the world? What is Jesus claiming to be by being the light of the world?
By claiming to be the light of the world in this setting, Jesus is claiming to be God. He is not claiming to be a little lower than God. He is not claiming to be like God. Jesus is claiming to be God.
Exodus 13:21
And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night.
Exodus 14:24
And in the morning watch the Lord in the pillar of fire and of cloud looked down on the Egyptian forces and threw the Egyptian forces into a panic,
Psalm 27:1
The Lord is my light and my salvation;
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?
Notice that, in all those verses, God is the light. It was God who led Israel as a pillar of fire. It was God who confused the Egyptians as the pillar of cloud. It is God who is called my light and salvation in Psalm 27:1. So, if Jesus, in the context of the feast of tabernacles is claiming to be the light of the world, Jesus is claiming to be God. He is claiming to be God the Creator. He is claiming to be God who rescued Israel from Pharaoh. He is claiming to be the great I Am. He is claiming to be Jehovah, Yahweh, the one true and living God.
Is it a significant thing for a man to claim to be God? You bet it is. And so, as C. S. Lewis challenged us years ago, we must do one of three things with what Jesus said. Is he a liar, a villain, and totally deceiving us for evil purposes? We don’t think that about Jesus. Or, perhaps he is a fool, confused, insane? Perhaps he is like a guy in a mental institution who claims to be the Pope or Michael Jackson? No way, not the Lord Jesus. No one thinks that of him. There is only one alternative left. Jesus really is God. He knows who he is and he is telling us. And, if this is true, if Jesus really is God, we have no alternative in life but to worship him, honor him, and obey him.
God’s Words, A Big Deal? (Ezekiel 13:1-3)
Ezekiel 13:1-3 (ESV)
1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel, who are prophesying, and say to those who prophesy from their own hearts: ‘Hear the word of the Lord!’ 3 Thus says the Lord God, Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing!”
Often in conversation about theological and methodological differences, we try to figure out what is really a “big deal.” Think of the different kinds of messages that pastors preach. Think of the different kinds of advice and teachings that Christians share with each other. How can we tell if, when they are different, is it a big deal?
In Ezekiel 13, God pronounces woe on a group of teachers. God declaring woe on you is a big deal, a very big deal. Remember, there are really two categories of major life change pronounced on you by God. God either gives you blessing or woe. If it is blessing, it is wonderful. If it is woe, it is unthinkably terrible.
God pronounces woe, in Ezekiel 13, on men who claim to have a message from God, but who really have no words from God. How can we tell if the words of a teacher or preacher or Christian friend are really from God? There is only one way to know for sure. God’s words are recorded for us perfectly in the Bible.
Be extremely careful when dealing with a person who tells you “God told me…” and then follows it up with words that are not in Scripture. Be careful when you hear a man stand in a pulpit and offer teaching that does not come directly from the word of God. Of course I’m not saying that preachers should only speak Scripture and never explain it; however, the substance of the message should be the clear interpretation and application of the Scripture and not an expounding of the teacher’s opinion.
God makes it plain that, when a man or woman claims to have truth from him, they had better know that the “truth” they speak really comes from him. The only sure way for us to know if someone is giving us God’s word is when it comes from the word of God, the Bible. Claiming that words are from God is a very big deal, so make sure that those words are truly words from the Lord who recorded his word for us faithfully in the Scripture.
Remember the Gospel (2 Peter 1:12-15)
2 Peter 1:12-15
12 Therefore I intend always to remind you of these qualities, though you know them and are established in the truth that you have. 13 I think it right, as long as I am in this body, to stir you up by way of reminder, 14 since I know that the putting off of my body will be soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me. 15 And I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things.
By the time that he wrote this letter, Peter was already becoming an old apostle. The brash younger man who had, in one evening, both flashed a sword and denied the Lord was now a much more level-headed older saint. In fact, according to verse 14, Peter believed that he was soon to die.
The key for us is not in Peter’s outlook on dying—though that is incredible—the key is for us to see what Peter makes sure he does until he dies. As he looks forward to a time when the church would be without his presence, Peter makes his mission one major thing. He will, no matter what happens, no matter what they should already know, he will remind the church of the truths of the gospel and of the call to sanctified living.
Peter said in verse 13, “I think it right, as long as I am in this body, to stir you up by way of reminder.” He wants them to live strong in the hope of Christ. He wants them to live lives that begin to match the glorious gift of righteousness in Christ. So Peter simply reminds them of the message of Christ. He reminds them of the gospel. He reminds them of the central truths of the faith. And he will remind them again and again and again until the day he dies.
Paul seemed to have a similar focus. In Galatians 6:14, he wrote, “But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” In 1 Corinthians 2:2, Paul declared, “For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” Paul was as brilliant as any man who has ever picked up a pen. He could have focused on a thousand things, but he chose to regularly focus on one central thing: the gospel.
Do you want to contend for the faith? Do you want to contend for your faith in the middle of a difficult and doubting generation? Remember the gospel. This is not about steps and clever points in a tract; remember the gospel. Remember the holiness of God. Remember your sinfulness before that God. Remember how you deserved his wrath. Remember how God, by his will and for his glory, chose to make a way to not have to destroy every last man, woman, and child on earth because of our sin. Remember how Jesus died and rose from the dead, fully paying the penalty for the sins of all of god’s children and fully assuring their eternal life. Remember your own salvation. Remember how you saw your sin in the light of God’s holiness. Remember how you cried out to Jesus for mercy, and how Jesus granted you that mercy.
If you will remember the true Gospel, speaking its truth to yourself again and again, you will find strength to stand strong. You will find courage to counter the lies and temptations of this culture. If you will preach the gospel to yourself daily, you will contend for the faith as you contend for your own faith.
Everything You Need (2 Peter 1:3)
2 Peter 1:3
His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence,
Here is a place in Scripture where we see the glory of our salvation and how sufficient it is for life. For those who have been forgiven of their sins in Jesus Christ, the glorious thing about salvation is that in Christ, God has already granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness. I suggest you highlight this verse in your copy of the Scriptures, because this is a fabulous promise of God.
God’s divine power has granted something to us. That is to say that God, by his unmatched, unlimited, unfathomable power has given something to us as a gift. We did not earn it, because it was granted. Whatever God has given us is all from him. It is given by him, for his glory, and out of his love for us.
God tells us here in his word that he has given us, through his power, everything we need for life and godliness. Everything pertaining to life and godliness tells us that God has given us—past perfect tense, completed action that has effects in the present—everything, every last thing, pertaining to life and godliness. Do you have all that you need to live a life of godliness? Yes! You have everything! If you are saved, there is nothing lacking in your salvation. You have everything, absolutely everything, that you need to live a godly life. You do not need to uncover some spiritual secret power that you do not currently possess. You do not need the knowledge of any secular expert. You do not need God to give you something new or something more. If you are saved, you have from God everything you need pertaining to life and godliness. It’s yours already, and nothing here indicates that there is any possibility of it going anywhere.
How did God grant us all things that we need to live a godly life? He did so through the knowledge of Jesus. AS we get to know Jesus, we learn more and more about living a life that pleases God. And, let me make it absolutely plain, you get to know Jesus more and more as you spend time with him in his holy word. God reveals Christ to us in the Scriptures, and so it is the Scriptures that we search to get to know Jesus.
Notice Jesus’ own words proving that the Scriptures point us to him in his rebuke of the religious leaders in John 5:
John 5:39-40, 45-47
39You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, 40yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.
45Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you: Moses, on whom you have set your hope. 46If you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me. 47But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?”
What points to Jesus? The Scriptures point to Jesus. To read the Scriptures and miss that they are showing you Jesus is to read the Scriptures with the kind of spiritually blinded eyes of the hypocritical Jewish leaders for whom Jesus had incredibly harsh words. But when you read the Scriptures with eyes to get to know Christ, you gain more and more knowledge of him; in turn, you will also gain more and more of the everything that you need pertaining to life and godliness. To look to the Scriptures to know Jesus is to gain all that you need to live a life of godliness in the here and now.
Promised Suffering (1 Peter 4:12)
1 Peter 4:12 (ESV)
Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.
As I read this passage, I am honestly surprised. I am surprised at how easily I forget this passage. When things go well, I get so excited and feel so close to God. But, when things do not go well, I somehow forget what God has written in his word. I ought not be surprised when, though I try to follow his word, life is still hard, sometimes very hard.
Christians will face trials. If you don’t believe that, you need to reread the New Testament. God never promised us lives of ease. God never even promised us success. Sometimes men and women of God gave their all and never saw the kind of fruit they wanted to see. Sometimes men and women of God have been faithful to the Lord and his word, and all they received for that faithfulness in this life was persecution and death.
Oh, I’m not trying to be so gloomy as to ruin anyone’s day here. However, we need to be realistic. Christians will suffer. The world does not like the cross of Christ. The world does not recognize God as their Creator and Ruler. The world wants to be freed from God’s reign, and that desire will lead them to oppose Christians. So we ought not be surprised when our lives are marked by hardships. In fact, Gods’ word, above, tells us not to be surprised if we face fiery trials. Hard times will come if we try to take the gospel to the nations. If we try to please God, the world around us will not like it.
We must not be surprised when hardships come, but neither should we give up. Hardships are sometimes signs that we are going in the right direction, swimming against the current if you will. If the world around us thinks we are just wonderful and that we are no different than them, we are missing something. Let us remember also that God promises great rewards to Christians who suffer as they strive to faithfully serve their Lord.
Exposing Iniquity and Restoring Fortunes (Lamentations 2:13-14)
Lamentations 2:13-14
13 What can I say for you, to what compare you,
O daughter of Jerusalem?
What can I liken to you, that I may comfort you,
O virgin daughter of Zion?
For your ruin is vast as the sea;
who can heal you?
14 Your prophets have seen for you
false and deceptive visions;
they have not exposed your iniquity
to restore your fortunes,
but have seen for you oracles
that are false and misleading.
We live in a world in which people want to hear, well, what they want to hear. People love to sit and be encouraged. I know that I certainly like to hear that I have done something, anything, good. We like to think about positive things. We like to fill our lives with positive thoughts.
Unfortunately, positive messages, if that is all we hear, are not nearly enough. We need more, far more. We need messages of truth. If we hear the truth, we will hear great messages of love and encouragement from God; but we will also hear messages that call us to repentance and life change.
The book of Lamentations is a poetic section of the Scripture in which a prophet of God has witnessed the judgment of God falling on the city of Jerusalem. The people of God in Judah had not obeyed God’s constant calls to repent. Thus, God allowed the Babylonians to come into the land and raze Jerusalem to the ground.
Notice one of the major causes of Jerusalem’s destruction. God, through the prophet, says to the people about their teachers, “they have not exposed your iniquity to restore your fortunes.” Get that point: if the people of God want their fortunes to be restored, they need teachers and leaders who will expose their iniquity. If the people of God want to please God, they need prophets who will make plain their sin.
It is not popular to discuss sin these days. It is not well-received by the masses. People want to be told they are good. I want to be told that I am good. Yet, if we ignore sin, if we do nothing but build self-esteem, we fail ourselves, our people, and our God. We must have the light of God’s word shined on our sin. We must learn to repent of sin and seek God’s restoration. We must learn to turn from what will never satisfy in order to be satisfied by the glory of our God.
Do you have a pastor who will, from the pulpit, call you by the word of God to turn from sin? Do you truly have someone who will show you what the Scripture says about what you do or how you think? If you have such a preacher, praise God for him and thank him for his work. If you do not have a preacher who will expose your iniquity, go to him and tell him you would welcome the honest, piercing, painful, yet powerful light of the word of God in your life. You need, you truly need, a person who will speak the truth to you. You need someone who will tell you of God’s great love and of his great holiness.
Pastor Travis Peterson 