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1 Peter 1:17-21 Since you call on a Father who judges each man’s work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear.  For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.  He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake.  Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God. 

A Chinese convert to Christianity gave an account of His salvation this way:

I was in a very deep well. I was sinking deeper and deeper and couldn’t find any way out. As I looked upward, I saw a face peering down at me. A voice said, ‘My Child, I am Confucius, the father of your country. Had you obeyed my teaching, you would never have landed where you are now.’ He waved his hand and left, saying ‘If you ever manage to get out of this well, be careful to follow my teaching.’

Then came Buddha, and looking down the well he shouted, ‘My child, you have to quit the condition in which you find yourself. Rest down there where you are. Fold your arms and begin to think. You will find nirvana, the peace which all of us desire.’ I called back and said, ‘Father Buddha, if you could help me get out of here, I would be so thankful. Then I shall with great ease follow your instructions. But in this horrible place, how can I rest?’ But Buddha did not get me out of the well. He left me in despair.

But there came another Man over to the well, a Man full of goodness and interest. And on His face there were marks of great sorrow and suffering. He wasted no time in offering words of comfort from up there but came down to where I was and pulled me out of that terrible clay in which I was wallowing. He lifted me up to the surface. He didn’t forsake me, but brought me to a place of safety. He took off my dirty clothes and dressed me in clean clothes. Then He invited me to follow Him, saying, ‘I will never leave you or forsake you.’ That man was Christ. And that is why I am a Christian. Christ was the only one who descended to the depths where I was. He saved me and has never ceased to have fellowship with me and be my companion.”

That is exactly what Christ did for you and me. To show how intimate His relationship with men would be, He entered the womb of the Virgin Mary and was born as we are. He subjected Himself to all the physical needs of humanity. He lived the life we should live but do not. And then He offered that spotless life as the only sacrifice acceptable for the sins of all men. It is through Jesus Christ and Him alone that we receive forgiveness of sins and eternal life. He did not tell us to obey Him and then He would help us. He did not say that we must earn His love before He would save us. No, He came to save us, and did so freely. All of the false religions of this world make salvation contingent upon man’s actions. But Jesus tells us that He has done everything needed to make us righteous.

I wonder if we can ever fully appreciate what Jesus went through in order to accomplish our salvation?

Yesterday’s devotion got me thinking about stewardship. It is easy to get a mixed-up attitude about our possessions.

One of my favorite movies is Shenandoah. There is a scene that shows the wrongheaded attitude we sometimes have about “things.” You can watch the clip here. The family has gathered at the dinner table for a meal and the father offers this prayer:  “Lord, WE cleared this land, WE plowed it, sowed it and harvested. WE cooked the harvest. It wouldn’t be here, we wouldn’t be eatin’ it if we hadn’t done it all ourselves. We worked dog-bone hard for every crumb and morsel, but we thank you just the same anyway, Lord, for this food we’re about to eat. Amen.”

Is that how you feel? Is that how you act? Sometimes we seem to think everything we have is only because we worked for it. We did it. We leave God’s goodness out of the equation altogether. We discount His involvement in our lives.

For our entire married life, Cheryl and I have tithed of our gross income to our local congregation. Often times, we gave more than 10% of our earnings to carry out the mission and ministry that God has entrusted to all of us. And that does not include the gifts we give to other entities outside our congregation. And God continued to bless us. Tremendously. It all comes from Him anyway, and He keeps giving us more. We don’t miss what we give to Him with grateful hearts.

I’ve heard some say, “I don’t make enough to tithe.” That’s a ridiculous argument. If you can’t trust God and return 10% when you’re making $100 a week you won’t give 10% when you’re making $1000 per week. It comes down to whether or not you believe God’s promise.

It saddens me to think that so many are depriving themselves of the blessings you could have if you would just trust God in this matter.  It also saddens me when I think of how a lack of first fruit giving limits congregations in what they are able to do ministry wise.

After all, that is what we are really all about. We are people who know and believe without a doubt that when Jesus came to this earth, He did it for us. We know that all of our sins and our failings and our shortcomings make us deserving of death, but Jesus took care of that for us. We have been led by the Spirit to believe that the life and death of Jesus paid for our sins and His resurrection from the dead guarantees us life everlasting. We have this faith. We want to respond to this good news with new lives, holy lives, good stewardship lives.

But things keep getting in the way. Our fears. Our uncertainties. Our doubts. Don’t let your fears and uncertainties and doubts rob you of the blessings God wants to give you, the blessings that come from living the new life to which He calls His children. Remember, He is the one who gave you His Son, gave you forgiveness, gave you salvation, and gives you everything else you have. It all belongs to Him.  How are you using what God has given you for Him?

Years ago a lady sat down to write out her church contribution check at the kitchen table. Her five-year-old son came in, looked at the offering envelope and asked, “Mom, who are you sending that envelope to?” Trying to be a model parent and hoping to be a good example to her son, she replied, “This is a special envelope. We are sending money to God.” That little five year old thought about that for a moment like only a five year old can, and then said, “Mom, I hate to tell you, but everything already belongs to God. This is just the part you’re giving back.” If only more of God’s children had that crystal clear understanding of what it means to be a steward and put it into practice.

I pray that all of you will grow in your faith, in your lives as disciples of Jesus, as stewards who recognize that it all belongs to God and who administer it accordingly. God help each of us to live as He would have us live.

This past Sunday morning, Cheryl and I woke up in our own bed after being on the road for a while. We laid there a few minutes before getting up and ready to go to worship. Cheryl asked me, “Why have we been so blessed?” I know what she meant. We have a great home on a small acreage with a pond and wildlife and everything we dreamed about while living in town most of our married life. We are able to travel to see things all over this country, including our children and grandchildren. We have even taken a few trips out of this country before the pandemic and hope to do more of that when things calm down. God continues to shower His blessings upon us. We are very aware that what we have and enjoy comes from Him. David had this same mindset as he was passing the kingdom of Israel to his son, Solomon.

“David praised the Lord in the presence of the whole assembly, saying, “Praise be to you, O Lord, God of our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, O Lord, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all. Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all. Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name. “But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand.” (1 Chronicles 29:10–14)

When we remember and acknowledge that our blessings are from God, it is a reminder that anything we give to Him or to others come from the Lord in the first place. That is an important understanding to have as we live our lives. We are to be good stewards, good managers of what the Lord has entrusted to our care. That includes not only what we give back to the Lord and His church, but also the way we use the rest of our blessings.

And I cannot think of blessings without remembering the greatest blessing of all I have received through the life and work of my Lord Jesus.

“he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit,” (Titus 3:5)

That is the best news ever, what keeps me grounded, what strengthens and empowers me to live every day. I am a forgiven and redeemed child of the living God. He did it all. For me.

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy. (Psalm 103:1–4, ESV)

The Gospel lesson for the Second Sunday of Easter is John 20:19-31. It tells us how Jesus appeared to His disciples on that first Easter evening when Thomas was not present, and then again the next Sabbath when Thomas was with them.

On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you!” … A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” (John 20:19-21,26)

Jesus greeted His disciples three times in this passage with “Peace be with you!” The Greek word for peace is “Eirene.” It was used to translate the Hebrew word “Shalom,” which was a common greeting among Hebrew speaking people. While “peace” is an accurate translation of these words, we don’t fully grasp the Biblical use of “peace” if we simply understand it to mean the absence of war or chaos. Both words refer to a state of being, the one referenced in that hymn refrain “it is well with my soul.” But there is even more to it than that.

The Children of Israel understood Shalom/Peace to be something God gives, and it has to do with our relationship with God. Peace with God is what we need more than anything else. Our sin and rebellion put us outside of God’s kingdom, but He promised to establish peace with us by sending a Messiah, a Savior. The prophets constantly spoke of the eternal peace God would establish with His people.

He did this when He sent Jesus. His life and death and resurrection earned our forgiveness and salvation. So when He came to the disciples and said “Peace be with you!” it was not just a wish. He was stating an accomplished reality. We have peace with God, a state of being, rest, that was given to us as a gift. Paul knew this and shared this message.

“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,” (Romans 5:1)

Even though we live in a world of problems and heartaches and uncertainty, when you have faith that Jesus is your Savior, you have peace with God. He is telling you that, what He did for you, as you listen to Jesus say “Peace be with you!”

People often try to emulate the ones they admire. Unfortunately, we do not always select the best role models. Would you want your sons to behave the way Will Smith did at the Oscars? How about using Kanye West or Charlie Sheen as examples of how to live? Would you be happy to have your daughters act like Britney Spears or Miley Cyrus?  We need to be discerning about the ones we admire and use as the pattern for our lives. Paul gave some wonderful advice to the Ephesians.

“Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” (Ephesians 5:1–2)

I have seen this lived out by many Godly men and women in my life. People who follow Jesus strive to show His love to others with their words and actions. They know they have been rescued from sin and death by what Jesus did for us all, so they live lives of love in response. They try to live the way Jesus did. The apostle John spoke about this a lot in his letters as well.

“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.” (1 John 4:7)

This is always important. Love one another. It is how we let His light shine in this world, and this world desperately needs that light. Every age and location has its struggles and difficulties. You know it is true in your life and situation. That is why it is necessary for those of us who know and believe in Jesus to let the world see the way He has changed us. The days in which we live are evil. Without Christ, people are perishing eternally.

“For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a man is an idolater—has any inheritnce in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient. Therefore do not be partners with them. For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said: “Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.” (Ephesians 5:5–16)

Be very careful how you live and who you chose to imitate. What can you do to help people see Jesus and His love in these evil day?