The Risen Christ

Scripture: Joel 2:12-13

Return to Me

Return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning. (Joel 2:12)

Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, the day many Christian churches observe with a special service that includes the marking of worshipers with ashes as a symbol of humility and repentance. 

The people of Israel were looking forward to what they called “the day of the Lord.” They couldn’t wait for it to arrive because they believed that it would bring judgment on their enemies. Not so fast, says the prophet Joel. “Alas for the day! For the day of the Lord is near, and as destruction from the Almighty it comes” (Joel 1:15). When God comes it means judgment for everyone. 

But while making this clear, Joel also highlights God’s alternative. The God of the Israelites is a God of mercy. If there is terror and destruction for the wicked when he comes, there can also be peace and security for those who repent and turn to him. “‘Yet even now,’ says the Lord” (2:12)—those words are an invitation. They remind us that it is still not too late to repent, to turn back to God. Biblical repentance means changing our minds about what’s true, changing our hearts about the things we value, changing our actions to please God. The great message of the Bible is not inescapable doom; it’s about how to be saved. 

There’s another great verse in the book of Joel: “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Joel 2:32). The apostle Paul quoted that verse in Romans 10:13 to explain how the gospel works. The name of the Lord revealed in the Gospels is “Jesus,” and he really does save everyone who calls upon him in faith. 

PRAYER: Lord, I return to you in repentance and faith.

Scripture: Luke 4:1-13

Temptation

Jesus…was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil. (Luke 4:1-2)

Temptation—what does the word suggest to you? Does it call to mind the pangs you feel when a box of chocolates is passed around? Does it describe your struggle with spending too much on your favorite shopping website? Those are everyday temptations, but the serious kind is far more dangerous. When Satan tempts, he’s not trying to spoil your diet or throw off your budget; he’s playing for keeps—for you. 

Nowhere is this more evident than in the gospel account of Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness. The devil’s aim was to separate Jesus from his Father and destroy the gospel before it even got started. To do that Satan employed the three most basic weapons in his arsenal: appetite, ambition, and approval. He suggested that Jesus use his power to satisfy his own hunger. Then he promised Jesus the world, literally. In fact, the day would come when Jesus would be able to say, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (Matt. 28:18). But Satan suggested that Jesus take these things right away, the easy way. No suffering, no cross, no death—essentially, “just worship me and I’ll give it all to you.” It’s a lie, of course. But sadly, many don’t realize that until it’s too late. The final temptation is to make God come through for you. How can you be sure that God is caring for you, or that he’s even real? Don’t take it on faith; ask for—no, demand—a miracle. 

Unlike the first Adam, the last Adam saw through the lies and defeated the tempter. Not for the last time. 

PRAYER: I praise you, Jesus, for your perfect obedience.

Scripture: Matthew 4:1-11

The Mouth of God

Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. (Matthew 4:4)

It’s often been observed that the way Jesus defeated Satan’s temptations was by means of Scripture. Three times the devil tempted him to doubt God’s word and take what he wanted for himself. Unlike Adam and Eve, Jesus didn’t do that, he didn’t fail the test. Instead, he quoted that word—three texts from the book of Deuteronomy—back at his tempter. Satan was stymied, and left Jesus alone. For a while (see Luke 4:13). 

But here’s something you might not have noticed. Did you catch what Jesus said here about the Bible? He called it “the mouth of God.” “Every word” comes from the mouth of God. When Old Testament prophets (and later New Testament apostles) produced the writings which eventually became our Bible, they were not just jotting down their own ideas. They were recording God’s word in written form. “Prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:21 NIV). Though as humans what they wrote, naturally, was human words, nevertheless supernaturally they were speaking “from God.” 

The words of Scripture come from the mouth of God. Do you remember what little Samuel said when he heard a voice addressing him in the night? “Speak, Lord, for your servant hears” (1 Sam. 3:9). There’s no question God is speaking to us today. The question is, am I listening? 

PRAYER: Lord, when you speak to me in your Word today, help me to listen.

Scriptures: Matthew 4:12-17, Luke 15:11-24

Repentance

Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. (Matthew 4:17)

Jesus’ public ministry began where John the Baptist’s left off: with a call for people to repent. The Greek word for repentance is metanoia, which literally means to change your mind. Repentance is closely linked with conversion, which literally means to turn around. So Jesus begins by urging us to stop and think. Are my values in line with the kingdom’s? Is God first in my life? Maybe I need to rethink some of my basic assumptions about God and myself. Lent is a good time to do that. 

It’s also the season when we should check our spiritual compass. Which way am I headed? Am I facing towards God, aiming my life in his direction, or moving away from him? Do I need to turn around? The classic story of conversion in the Bible is Jesus’ parable of the prodigal son. You remember him, don’t you? He’s the guy who dissed his father, grabbed his share of the family fortune, and went off to live it up. But one day he woke up in misery and knew he needed to at least try to head back home. 

Here’s the thing, though: this is not a one-time deal. If you are at all like me, you need to be converted again and again. Because the prodigal in us doesn’t go away. We’re constantly wandering off into a “far country” (v. 13), places that are a long way away from our heavenly Father. And he is constantly waiting for us to come to our senses and return: “He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9 NIV). 

PRAYER: Father, when I wander, prompt me to return.

Scripture: 1 Timothy 4:6-10

In Training

Train yourself for godliness. (1 Timothy 4:7)

Kids like to imitate superstar athletes, the way they dress, how they talk, the moves they make on the court or the field. That’s why the superstars get paid so much for endorsing shoes. 

But that’s really missing the point. What kids should imitate, if they want to compete well at their level, is the discipline of elite athletes. It’s their commitment to training for strength and skill development that ought to be copied. We stand in awe of the grace and power of a Michael Jordan or Tiger Woods. But what we don’t see is the years of hard work—endlessly repeated drills, countless shots, unrelenting sessions of tough conditioning. We don’t see the discipline, the drive, the determination to be the very best. 

That’s exactly the approach Paul tells us to take to our spiritual lives. The spiritual disciplines are neither complicated nor glamorous: fasting and prayer, Bible study, and worship; plus, giving, service, and obedience. Yet these are the exercises we must continually practice, day in and day out, until we achieve the goal of spiritual fitness—of a godly life. 

And here’s why, says the apostle. All our physical training can only postpone the inevitable: the decline of our strength and death of our bodies. But godliness is good for us not just in this life, but in the next as well. Spiritual training has benefits that are literally out of this world. Like diet and exercise, the spiritual disciplines ought to be our daily practice. Lent is a good time to begin if you haven’t already. 

PRAYER: Lord, help me to train for godliness.

Scripture: Philippians 2:12-13

Working Out Our Salvation

Be holy, because I am holy. (1 Peter 1:16 NIV)

Martin Luther described the dynamics of the Christian life this way: “This life is not health but healing; not being but becoming; not rest but exercise. We are not yet what we shall be, but we are growing towards it…This is not the end, but it is the road.” The 18th-century writer John Newton put that idea more memorably: “I’m not what I ought to be, I’m not what I’m going to be, but thank God I’m not what I used to be!”

Christians have been saved in the sense that our sins are forgiven because Christ has paid their penalty. Being credited with Christ’s righteousness is what makes us acceptable to God. The theological word for this is justification. But that’s not the end of the Christian life, it’s just the beginning. God does not intend simply to credit Christ’s righteousness to us. He wants us to actually become righteous, to do right in our thoughts, words, and actions; in other words, to become more like Jesus. The word for this is sanctification.

Sanctification involves moral effort on our part: fighting against sin, practicing obedience to God’s Law. It means work! Paul urges us to “work out” our salvation (v. 12), to begin to grow into the new life we have received through God’s gracious mercy. Sanctification takes patience. We will never be completely free of sin until we die and experience the fullness of salvation in heaven. In the meantime, though we often falter and fail, God is constantly at work within us, helping us to both want and do his will (v. 13).

PRAYER: Father, help me to become more and more like Jesus every day.

Scripture: Romans 6:1-11

Dying with Christ, Living with Christ

If we have died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him. (2 Timothy 2:11-12)

If you are a Christian, then you will be familiar with talk about Jesus’ death on the cross. Christ died for us, for our sins. But there is another way to think about Christ’s death. It’s also true that we died with him. “I have been crucified with Christ” (Gal. 2:20). “You have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God” (Col. 3:3). This is a dramatic way of describing the difference between life before Christ and after Christ. It’s like dying and being buried, and then being raised from the dead into new life.

Two things follow from this. The first is that we must live into the new life, not the old one. “So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 6:11). The second is that this new life is forever. Death is not the end for those who have put their faith in Jesus, it’s just the beginning.

Paul tells Timothy this saying is trustworthy. You can take it to the bank. However, it is also conditional: if we have died with Christ, we will live with him; and if we endure, we will also reign with him. To die with Christ means to identify with him in his death and resurrection and to mortify—put to death—the sin that remains in us. To endure means to keep doing that to the very end. The promise of life isn’t to those who start the Christian race, but to those who finish it.

PRAYER: Lord, help me finish the race of faith.