God knows what life holds in store for us

In one theology class, I offer students the opportunity to do some sort of creative or artistic project, also providing their own artist’s description of the work.  Mikayla Hodkiewicz offered the vivid testimony of faith posted here.  As we come to the end of a year, reflecting on what has happened and wondering about what lies ahead, we have confidence that God is overseeing all things for us.

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Pieces of our Lives
by Mikayla Hodkiewicz

Our lives are a puzzle to us.  The whole puzzle is our life. The individual puzzle pieces are pieces of our lives.  As depicted in the illustration, the portions that have pictures and words on them are the parts of our lives that we know already.  The plain, light blue spaces are covered at the moment from our eyes, known only to God, until the proper time comes for us to know those things.  It is easy to become too focused on what our future might hold. We need not worry. God has everything under his control, even when it may not feel that way to us.

We walk forward in our lives by faith and not by sight. We trust God to reveal to us everything we need to know, when we need to know it.  We pray to God, asking for his guidance about our future. But also, we need patience to wait for his answers.  And most of all, we strive always to keep the center of our attention on Jesus.

The top left picture is a field full of flowers, by a river. This is a scene that makes me feel calm and peaceful, and I am reminded that I need not worry.  “Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these” (Luke 12:27).

The top right picture shows mountains. The word faith is painted there, because we hope for a strong faith, even one that could move mountains.  As Jesus said to us, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you” (Matthew 17:20). 

The bottom left puzzle piece shows a mother duck leading her little ducklings. The ducklings trust completely that their mother knows what she is doing and where she is leading them.  We walk in God’s path, trusting him to lead us – and trusting his promise:  “He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge” (Psalm 91:4).

At bottom right is a very close-up image of a flower.  Too often, too easily, we get ourselves so focused on one thing that we lose sight of the true picture. Therefore, we ask God’s Spirit to keep our eyes, hearts and minds focused on Jesus. Patience is also on this piece because when we get so focused on the wrong thing, it is easy to get frustrated. We pray for patience and listen to God calling us back to him.

Jesus is at the very center of my painting because he is the very center or our lives, the heart of everything we do.  When we lose sight of this, our faith begins to falter.  Our trust fails, and we forget to pray, and we are no longer patient. This is when our lives fall out of balance.  But Jesus remains solidly at the center for us always, and calls us to refocus on him.  “Let us throw off everything that hinders … and run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith” (Hebrews 12:1-2).

God with Us: What Immanuel Means to Us

by Erik Lund

Our Savior has many names: Wonderful Counselor, Prince of Peace, Almighty God, Everlasting Father, and Jesus Christ, to name a few (cf. Isaiah 9:6). All of these names are fitting for our Savior, describing him in his true glory and his purpose. Immanuel is among these appropriate names, perfectly describing who Jesus is and what he has done for us. Immanuel, or Emmanuel, is a Hebrew name meaning “God with us.” This name is fitting of our Lord God in general. He is always with us in times of joy and elation, as well as in times of pain and suffering. But its meaning goes deeper than God’s omnipresence.

Matthew’s Gospel reports how Joseph was encouraged by an angel of the Lord to stay with Mary, despite the fact that the coming child was not Joseph’s own.  The angel said:  “What is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 1:20).  Thus the child is of a dual nature, being both true man and true God. Matthew noted that this is the fulfillment of the words of the prophet Isaiah. The LORD had commanded Ahaz to ask for a sign, but Ahaz had refused to “test the LORD,” as he put it.  A sign was given nonetheless:  "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel" (Isaiah 7:14). 

Christ’s dual nature gives the name Immanuel an even greater meaning, as it is central to our salvation and the fulfillment of many Old Testament prophecies. At the same time, the dual nature goes beyond our understanding. Ever since the Christian church began, it has faced a great challenge in explaining Christ’s dual nature. How can a person be both a human being among us, and yet be God over us at the same time?

The key to seeing what Christ’s nature is and why it is important lies in the Old Testament. In order for God to fulfill his promise of salvation to Adam and Eve and their descendants, he chose to conquer Satan through their offspring. Thus, only someone who was true man could defeat the devil.  The only way to be saved in God’s eyes was by the perfect fulfillment of his law, but no man was able to do this.  So “the Son of God appeared … to destroy the devil’s work” (1 John 3:8) – and he did so by his perfect life, his death, and resurrection in our place.

We take caution in explaining Christ’s nature, lest we lead others to a wrong idea of who Christ is. If we treat Christ as if only God and not man, we take away from the promise of the virgin birth, and discredit everything that Christ did on earth by claiming it never happened as actual events. However, if we regard Christ only as a man, we discredit his death and resurrection and make him out to be just a good prophet through whom God worked. When Christ is only regarded as one or the other, he is not truly “God with us.”

God has always been with us, even before the birth of Immanuel. It was this birth as a baby boy that fulfilled the prophecies of the Old Testament.  Christ then completed the task of gaining salvation for all mankind through his death and resurrection. Therefore, we take great comfort and rejoice in the birth of our Savior, and his willingness to become one with us in order to carry out our salvation.

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Continued Advent blessings to all readers of The Electric Gospel.  Share the link to this blog with someone as a Christmas greeting.  Sign yourself up as an official follower of the blog while you're here, also.  Merry Christmas!

Living in hope, not fear

As we continue in the season of Advent, we are reminded of the hope we have in our God.  For centuries God's people waited on the promise of the Messiah's coming.  In lean times and dark hours, such promises from God seemed far away and uncertain; God himself seemed distant.  But God's commitment to us never wavered, and the coming of Christ was always a certainty.  We live in hope, in confidence, in the certainty of faith, setting aside fear -- because we know that God holds our safety in his hands.  He keeps all his promises.

This week's Electric Gospel message is one filled with hope in God, who is eternally reliable.  As a child of God sings in a favorite song, "Jesus loves me, this I know. ... Little ones to him belong; they are weak but he is strong."

“Do do not fear, for I am with you;
  do not be dismayed, for I am your God”   (Isaiah 41:10)

Devotional article by Laurel Hirschmann

I am scared of losing my faith. I put off going to sleep, knowing that as soon as I go to bed, as soon as my brain shuts down for the day, I will tempted more than I ever have been. I am plagued with thoughts that have never challenged me more in my life. I try to reassure myself. I know God forgives me. I know God sent his Son to die in my place. I know Jesus rose from the dead and will come to take me to heaven someday. I know this is the truth. I know God is real. I know all the “right” things, so why am I so terrified that I will lose my faith?   

Through faith alone. By Scripture alone. In Christ alone. By grace alone.

I did nothing to earn my salvation. I am a sinful human being who fell short and could not possibly come to the knowledge of the truth except through the Holy Spirit. And God gave me his Holy Spirit. God gave me the gift of eternal life, not because I earned or deserved it. He gave this precious gift out of love, completely free of charge. I take this knowledge for granted. I say these words without recognizing what comfort they bring. I do nothing – nothing – to earn my salvation. My sinful nature keeps trying to tell me I do, that somehow it is up to me. It is trying to say, “You have to hold on. You were given the truth, but now it is up to you to keep it. Do not jump out of God’s hand—that’s your responsibility.” 

I know all the “right” things, but what I fail to remember is that my faith is not left up to me. I did not come to it on my own. God chose me. He set me apart from the beginning to be his child. He tells me this countless times in his word.  Christ’s apostle assures me, saying God chose us in Christ “before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love​ ​he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will” (Ephesians 1:4-5). Another letter in Scripture provides further assurance of this: “He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time” (2 Timothy 1:9).  I rest my confidence in God’s promise, which proclaims: “In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will” (Ephesians 1:11). 

I do not need to fear. My faith is not up to me. It is not my feeble, shaky grip on God, but God’s unwavering, firm grip on me that keeps my faith secure. I know God forgives me. I know he sent his one and only Son to atone for my sins. I know Jesus paid the price fully. I know he rose from the dead. I know I will not lose my faith, because God promises he will not let go of me, that nothing can separate me from his love (Romans 8:39). I know God chose me, and I know I will spend an eternity with him in heaven.

A path of repentance

We've entered the month of December and are about to embark on the spiritual season of Advent.  Advent is a time for anticipating Christ's coming.  One feature of the season is repentance, thinking of how John the Baptist prepared people's hearts for Jesus' arrival.  John's ministry was foretold by the prophet Isaiah, who described "a voice of one calling in the wilderness, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him" (Matthew 3:2-3).

As an opening item for Advent here on The Electric Gospel, I'll share a heartfelt letter to a friend when he was struggling in a sin.  The letter was written by a dear friend of mine, Janet Putz, and I thank her for letting me share it here with a wider audience.  We've removed references to the specific temptation so that this letter can speak to any soul in any temptation.

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Walk in God’s strength

A letter to a friend

by Janet Putz

Dear friend in Christ,

            I have continued to pray for you since you shared your struggles with me. It cannot be easy being away on your own.  You lost important friends as you moved away.  I understand that since you moved, temptations have become more intense. You left the people who were lifting you up and pointing you to your Savior, and now it seems as  though you are searching for any kind of comfort you can get. Let me remind you of the greatest comfort we have and what our loving God did. He sent his one and only Son to give himself for us and take away all sins--those we have committed in the past, the ones we are doing now, and all the sins to come.

Repent of your past sins and the daily temptations and ask God to help you turn away from your sinful thoughts. Pray for guidance and strength as you go about your new journey. Not every day will be easy, but you have refrained from stumbling in this sin for a few months now. Keep that up, live a life pleasing to God. I know you struggle deeply with the specific temptation you confessed to me.  The devil is clever; you have noticed even some of your coworkers are telling you that behavior you know is wrong is a natural, all right thing. However, Scripture tells us what God commands, what he wants for our lives … and when people go against that truth, they are rebelling against God. They are sinning against God.  You have studied God’s Word and know his truths. "You have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus" (1 Timothy 3:15).  Be strong in the beliefs you have learned in Christ, and continue to study God's Word.

I know you have felt unloved and even questioned how God could love you if you are going through a situation as difficult as what you now are experiencing. But Christ's apostle tells us, "God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it" (1 Corinthians 10:13).  God is with you always, especially when he allows you to be tested and tempted. He is your light and will lead you out of darkness.

Reconnect with your friends who love and care about you, so that they can help you in your difficulties. Please know I will do what I can for you, but even when you can't reach me or others are busy, you can always turn to our heavenly Father for guidance. Stay strong and strive to live a life of holiness, full of thanks to God.

Turn to God and his Word for comfort. Jesus promised us, “Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).  God is always here for us.  What he told his people long ago is a promise we can claim too:  "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future" (Jeremiah 29:11).  Your family and friends care about you, and you are in my prayers every night.  But more importantly, God loves and cares about you more than anyone can.

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If you'd like additional devotional reading for Advent, two years ago I was asked to gather writers to produce a month-long collection of Advent messages.  That 2015 Advent booklet in electronic form is available via MLC Publications Seasonal Devotions page.