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    Ray Noah

    Founder and President of the Petros Network, a church planting and humanitarian non-profit working in the developing world.

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    Designed For Greatness

    Reflect:
    Jeremiah 1:1-3:5

    “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” ~Jeremiah 1:2

    Most people struggle with three critical issues in life: “Who am I?” “Do I matter?” and, “What’s my place in the world?”

    The first question addresses the issue of identity – Who am I?

    The second addresses the issue of importance – Do I really matter?

    The third addresses the issue of impact – What’s my place in this world?

    All of those critical questions are answered when you grasp God’s role in your very existence—if you’re still wondering, Jeremiah 1:2 reminds you that it was God who created you—and then get on with that purpose for which he created you. Obviously, if God thought it important enough to create you, he must have an amazing, one-of-a-kind plan for your life.

    The Bible in general and this verse in particular have a great deal to say about this business of identity and importance and impact:

    What is your identity? You are somebody God planned for before you were even born. He scheduled your life before you even began to breathe. That is who are you: Somebody who matters to God.

    What about your importance? If it was God who “formed you in the womb” and even “knew you, before you were born”, the probability of your significance is around, well, 100%!

    So what about the impact God has planned for your life? The Creator who divinely designed you did so with an eternal impact in mind for your one and only life. The Apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:10 that you are “God’s workmanship, created in Christ to do good works which God prepared in advance for you to do.” Yes indeed, God has designed and built you for impact.

    Even though you may not be a “prophet to the nations” like Jeremiah, God wants you to enjoy who you are and be confident in whom he has made you to be! When you do that, something powerful will begin to happen: God’s workmanship in you will be unveiled and the incredible impact he has planned for you will begin to be unleashed! You will increasingly appreciate your identity, you will begin to sense your importance, and you will start to make your impact!

    And you’re going to make God smile, because you’re doing what he had in mind when he thought enough to create you!

    “God makes no mistakes.” ~Karl Barth

    Reflect and Apply: Romans 9:20 says, “The pot has no right to say to the potter: ‘Why did you make me this shape?’ A potter can do whatever he likes with the clay.” Quit trying to be somebody or something you are not. When you constantly compare yourself to others and conform to another’s vision for your life, you offend God.So accept what God has created in you; he likes it and you should, too.

     

     

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    Act As If

    Reflect:
    Joshua 1:9

    “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”

    As you read Joshua 1:1-9—the setting for this verse—you can’t help but notice the repetition of the phrase, “Be bold and courageous.” My guess is that Joshua has a bit of a fear problem going on as a result of the overwhelming leadership challenge that had been thrust upon him. That’s why four times God reminded him to just “act as if God were with him”—which he was, of course.

    Isn’t that really what being bold and courageous is? To just “act as if” God is in charge.

    Like Joshua, you may have a pretty big task in front of you, and what typically happens in those cases is that you begin to doubt. You begin to question: “Is it really God’s will that I do this? Will he be with me? What if I fail?” Doubt sets in. And when doubt sets in, fear is not far behind. And when doubt and fear team up, you’ve got a recipe for spiritual paralysis.

    That’s like the Peanuts cartoon where Charlie Brown was standing there waiting to catch a baseball, and he says, “A pop fly! I’ve got it! It’s all mine.” Then he says, “If I catch this ball, we’ll win our first game of the season.” Then he starts praying, “Please! Please let me catch it. Please let me be the hero. Please let me catch it. Please!”

    In the next frame, Charlie says, “On the other hand, do I think I deserve to be the hero? The kid who hit it doesn’t want to be the goat. Is baseball, a game, really that important? Lots of kids all over the world have never even heard of baseball. Lots of kids don’t even get a place to play at all or have a place to sleep or…”

    And just about that time the ball drops right in front of him—bonk! Linus comes out and says, “Charlie Brown! How could you miss such an easy pop fly?”

    Charlie says, “I prayed myself out of it.”

    We do that sometimes, too. We start doubting the opportunities that God places before us, and pretty soon we talk—or pray—ourselves out of them. But like Joshua, God says to us, “Have confidence in the fact that I want to bless your life and give you success.”

    A. B. Simpson once said, “Our God has boundless resources. The only limit is in us. Our asking, our thinking, our praying are too small; our expectations too limited.” Four times God said to Joshua, “Don’t you get it? You can do it! Go for it! I’ve got you covered.” In other words, “Be determined and confident. Act as if I will be with you and help you out—because I will!”

    God said that to Joshua, and made sure that it was included in his Holy Book, because he foresaw that today, fear, not problems, will keep you in the wilderness of spiritual paralysis and out of the promised land of victory!

    So don’t let that happen. Act as if God is with you—because he is. He promises!

    “All I have seen teaches me to trust the Creator for all I have not seen.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

    Reflect & Apply: What is the task that is before you today? Take a moment to envision tackling it as if God were right in front of you. Then, act as if!

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    Who Caused Jesus to Suffer?

    Reflect:
    Isaiah 51:1-53:12

    “Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” ~Isaiah 53:4-6

    So who really caused Jesus to suffer and die? Several years ago, after the release of the movie, The Passion of the Christ, Newsweek magazine made this question their cover story—a question that stirred quite a lot of debate, and antagonism.

    Did the Jews kill Jesus? Well, in the historical context, the Jewish religious leaders conspired to kill Jesus. Out of jealousy, they plotted to kill Jesus from the very beginning of his ministry right up until they carried it out. Matthew 26:3-4 says,

    “Then the chief priests and the elders of the people assembled in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, and they plotted to arrest Jesus in some sly way and kill him.”

    And similar indictments are repeated throughout the Gospels at various different times. The Jewish leaders bear responsibility for his death.

    But the Biblical record also shows that the Romans were complicit in Christ’s death. The Jewish leaders didn’t want to dirty their hands in this, so they manipulated Pilate, who also, tried to wash his hands of the matter, but couldn’t. John 18:31-32 tells us,

    “Pilate said, ‘Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law.’ ‘But we have no right to execute anyone,’ the Jews objected. This happened so that the words Jesus had spoken indicating the kind of death he was going to die would be fulfilled.”

    The truth of the matter is, the Jews plotted and the Romans carried out the death of Jesus. They were both complicit. And to suggest anything else is to re-write history. You can do that, but the truth remains the truth.

    But let’s be clear about something: If Jesus had been born in Paris, Phnom Penh, Pretoria or Portland, it would have been the people in those places who caused the Messiah to suffer and die. Why? Because in reality, it wasn’t the Jews or the Romans, it was the sin of mankind—our sin—that put him on the cross. The Bible is clear that we’ve all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, and that the wages of our sin is death. And it took Jesus, the perfect, sinless God-man to pay the cost of our sins to deliver us from eternal death. I Peter 3:18 says,

    “For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.”

    But in a way that defies human reason and explanation, the truth is that God was responsible for Jesus’ death. Peter said in Acts 2:23, “Jesus was handed over to you by God’s set purposes and foreknowledge, and you, with the help of evil men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross.” Further, Isaiah 53:10 points out,

    “It was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer… the Lord makes his life a guilt offering.”

    The message of the cross is that we all put Jesus there…it was our sin. And out of the great kindness and love of God, he sent his Son to pay the cost for us all. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believed in him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

    Who killed Jesus? I did! Who was responsible? It was ordained in the eternal counsels of a foreknowing God. Who did it? Jesus said, “I lay down my life, and I take it up again.” He did it because he loved you and me!

    When you consider the cross and realize the awful price that Jesus paid, out of love, to bring us life, how can we not want to give him our very best, our very lives, in return?

    Who made Jesus suffer and die? Lots of people—including me. But I’m so glad he was willingly pierced for my transgressions and crushed for my iniquities; that the punishment that brought me peace was upon him. Why? Because it is by his wounds I am healed—now and for all eternity!

    “Even Christ pleased not Himself…. As man He ever moved for God. As God He ever moved for man.” ~Geoffrey T. Bull

    Reflect and Apply: Read Isaiah 53:1-12 reflectively—and pause to give thanks for such great love.

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    The Test of Love

    Reflect:
    Proverbs 16:1-18:24

    “He who covers an offense promotes love, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends…A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.” ~Proverbs 17:9

    “A friend loves at all times!” There is a very complex and profound meaning in the Hebrew language for the word “all” in that sentence. Are you ready for this? It means…well…all. As in, all the time…always…morning, noon and night…24/7. Not sometimes, but all the time! That is when true love is active. It never takes a day off, never goes on a break, never needs a time out, doesn’t take naps. It is always on!

    That is especially true when the object of one’s love is not so lovable. For sure, we would agree that love sticks with people through thick and thin, but thin has to include those times when the people we love have done things that cause the relationship to otherwise be on thin ice. Yes, through thick, and especially in thin. That is the real test of love.

    And the truest test of real love comes when the loved one offends. That is when true love chooses to cover the offense. Not ignore it–that is what we call avoidance or denial, which is never healthy for any relationship. Covering the offense doesn’t negate the appropriateness of confrontation or setting boundaries or expecting corrective action. No, love that covers an offense fully recognizes the pain, disrespect, selfishness and betrayal of the offender and chooses to pay the cost of the offense by absorbing it, forgiving it, and moving ahead without diminishing the love for the guilty one at all. It’s kind of like Jesus did for us on the cross, wouldn’t you say? By the way, that is exactly what Ephesians 4:32 calls us to do,

    “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”

    How did God forgive you? Rather than ignoring or avoiding your sin, he looked your repugnant sinfulness right in the eye and said, “my Son will take care of that! He’ll pay the penalty price in full. It’s on him!” He forgave you freely, fully, and forever removed the transgression from your account and wiped it from his memory bank. That is what it means to cover an offense—and that is the truest test of love there is.

    If you want your love to be a real love, then it is to that kind of loving you are called. It won’t be easy; in fact it will be the hardest thing you will be called to do. But being the kind of Christ-follower you are, you are up to it! And that’s a good thing since you are likely going to be called upon to exercise that kind of covering love sooner than you think.

    “All the fruits of the Spirit which we are to lay weight upon as evidential of grace, are summed up in Christian love; because this is the sum of all grace. And the only way, therefore, in which any can know their good estate, is by discerning the exercises of this divine love in their hearts; for without love…[we] are nothing.” ~Jonathan Edwards

    Reflect and Apply: Since your love is likely to be tested soon, take a moment to proactively pray for the Holy Spirit’s help to offer an immediate response of covering love to your loved one when the offense comes your way.

     

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    Humility

    Reflect:
    Proverbs 22:4

    “Humility is the fear of the LORD; its wages are riches and honor and life.”

    Humility! It is one of the preeminent qualities of Jesus’ character (Philippians 2:1-11) and one of the highest duties of the authentic Christ-follower (Colossians 3:12-14). Yet while humility is a virtue we all laud, and hope to possess, we need to remember that in the days of the Biblical writers, the pagan world scoffed at the idea of humility. To them, pride and dominance were highly regarded, while meekness of character was to be avoided at all cost. So a Biblical writer promoting personal humility was a radical concept in the ancient world.

    But those Biblical writers redefined humility in a more noble light; they saw it as simply having a right estimation of oneself rather than what the world saw as a weakness and a character flaw. Having a proper estimation of oneself—that’s really what humility is. I think biblical humility was defined quite nicely by the kids who built a clubhouse and then posted these rules on the door: Nobody act too big, nobody act too small, everybody just act medium.

    That’s good: Not too big, not too small…just see yourself as God sees you. That’s exactly what the Apostle Paul had in mind when he taught about humility in Romans 12:3,

    “Don’t think more highly of yourself than you ought to, but think soberly, according to the faith God has given you.”

    It is this proper estimation of yourself that sets something quite powerful loose in your world and produces the kind of “riches and honor” that Solomon talked about. You see, on the one hand, humility frees you from self-centeredness and arrogance, while on the other, it releases you from the vicious trap of low self-esteem. And in the process, true humility enables you to enter into a powerful lifestyle of ministering to the needs of others. That’s what humility does—and there are not too many forces in this world that are as powerful as that.

    So how can you cultivate this kind of humility? There are many ways, but here is one: Start thinking more of others and less of yourself. Philippians 2:3-4 says, “Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.”

    I came across a parable about man who was talking with the Lord one day and said, “Lord, I’d like to know what Heaven and Hell are like.” The Lord led him to two doors. He opened one of the doors and the man looked in. In the middle of the room was a large round table. In the middle of the table was a large pot of mouthwatering stew, but the people sitting at the table were thin and sickly; they appeared famished. They were holding spoons with very long handles, and each found it possible to reach into the pot and take a spoonful…but impossible to get the spoons back to their mouths. The handle was longer than their arms. As the man shuddered at the sight of their misery, the Lord said, “You have just seen Hell.”

    They went to the next room and found the same large round table with a large pot of mouthwatering stew in the middle. These people had the same long-handled spoons, but unlike the first room, these were well-nourished and joyful people. The man said, “Lord, I don’t understand.” The Lord replied, “It is simple—it takes one skill: They’ve learned to feed each other, while the miserable think only of themselves. You have just seen heaven.”

    Let me give you a challenge for this week: Forget about yourself! Try it. Practice being absent minded when it comes to you. Get you out of your thoughts … and replace them with prayers of blessings and plans for serving other people in your life. As Jesus did, give yourself away with absolutely no thought of getting anything in return. Surprise someone with compassion. Heap some unexpected and undeserved kindness on another. Find the most unlikely object of God’s love, and love them like God would.

    Try it, and you’ll experience a little bit of heaven on earth.

    “He rides pleasantly enough whom the grace of God carries.” ~Thomas A` Kempis

    Reflect & Apply: Identify one person whom you can serve this week—and do it without being noticed!

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    The Unquenchable Brightness of Being

    Reflect:
    Proverbs 1:1-4:27

    “The ways of right-living people glow with light; the longer they live, the brighter they shine.” ~Proverbs 4:18 (The Message)

    “A candle loses nothing of its light when lighting another,” according to the Lebanese-born poet, Kahlil Gibran. So it is with right-living people, says Solomon. As they walk in the ways of God, their wisdom rubs off on those around them. And the more they rub off, the shinier they get.

    Have you ever been around a person like that? They just seem to glow brighter as they get older. You just love to be around them, no matter how old they get. Even when their physical body creaks and groans under the weight of age, you just know that being near them means you are going to catch some of the brightness of their being. And the more light they give off, the more unquenchable that light grows.

    I’ve been around people whose wisdom seems to grow shinier with use, and those whose lives only grow duller with age. Of course, there are a lot of life-factors involved in who we turn out to be and how we run the final lap of our lives, but ending with an ever-increasing brightness of being requires walking hand-in-hand with Wisdom along the way.

    King Solomon said, “Dear friend, take my advice; it will add years to your life.” (Proverbs 4:10, Message) My suspicion is that he was referring not so much to the length of one’s years, but the brightness of one’s life. Now I’ll leave the timing of my demise up to God, but between now and that fateful day, I’m going to edge a little closer to the Source of Wisdom because I’d rather die young and bright than old and dull.

    “Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away”

    Reflect and Apply: Chances are you know an older person who just seems to shine brighter with age. Take them out to lunch—or bring them their favorite meal if they can’t get out. Spend some time with them and ask them to share with you their top five life lessons. Make sure you thank them, and most of all, enfold their wisdom into your own character.

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    Forgiveness

    Reflect:
    Psalm 103:1-22

    “For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” ~Psalm 103:11-12

    Of the many benefits of belonging to a God who treats us as a compassionate father treats his children, arguably the most soul-healing is the forgiveness of our sins. How does God forgives our sin?

    To begin with, God forgives us instantly. The moment we ask, there’s no hesitation: God forgives us immediately. Isaiah 55:7—I love how this reads in Today’s English Version, “Let the wicked leave their way of life and change their way of thinking. Let them turn to the Lord our God. He is merciful and quick to forgive.” Don’t miss that: He’s quick to forgive. We have a hard time grasping this because we’re slow to forgive. We tend to hold onto our hurts. We like to nurse our wounds before we forgive. We want people to grovel or suffer first—a least a little—before we forgive them. But not God! He never makes us grovel or feel his pain—Jesus did that for us! The moment we confess, the Bible says God removes our sins and remembers them no more. So why should we hang onto our sins if God doesn’t.

    Likewise, God forgives us willingly. That’s why God can forgive instantly! Nehemiah 9:17 says, “You are a God of forgiveness, always ready to pardon, gracious and merciful … full of love.” Did you notice that? Always ready! Micah 7:18 tells us, “Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy.” Don’t pass by that too quickly: He delights to forgive! That is what God does best—and enjoys most! Hebrews 7:25 says, “(Christ) is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.” Forgiveness is what Jesus died for; forgiveness is what he lives for!

    Furthermore, God forgives us completely. Colossians 2:13-14 says, “You were dead because of your sins …Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross.” That means if you’ve given your life to Jesus, he took all of the guilt and punishment for all of your sins upon himself so you don’t have to. You see, Jesus was nailed to the cross so you could stop nailing yourself to the cross. That’s why this is called the Good News. God doesn’t punish Jesus plus you. It was all put upon Jesus. II Corinthians 5:21 reminds us of that: “God made Jesus, who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” That truly is good news.

    Not only that, God forgives us unconditionally. No strings attached. People really stumble over this, because their sense of justice demands that somebody pay. They’re right: Somebody did pay—Jesus! Jesus paid for all your sins in full, at no charge. Romans 3:23-24 says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” Think about what that verse means: It means that you can’t buy your forgiveness. You can’t earn what you could never afford. Forgiveness is completely free to you—at Christ’s expense. That’s why we call it grace—God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense!

    And finally, God forgives us continually. I John 1:7 reminds us, “If we live in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.” The word “cleanses” in the Greek text is in the present tense and in the active voice. That means Christ’s blood not only forgives you right now, it removes your sin for good since the action is continuous. Theologian Adam Clark says, Christ’s blood “keeps clean what it has made clean.” Hallelujah, the cleansing grace of Divine forgiveness heals, and keeps on healing us from the sickness of our sin.

    Yes, one of the best blessings of belonging to God is to enjoy that kind of forgiveness—immediate, willing, complete and with no strings attached. “O my soul, bless God. From head to toe, I’ll bless his holy name! O my soul, bless God, don’t forget a single blessing!” (Psalm 103:1-2, MSG)

    “Our Savior kneels down and gazes upon the darkest acts of our lives. But rather than recoil in horror, he reaches out in kindness and says, ‘I can clean that if you want.’ And from the basin of his grace, he scoops a palm full of mercy and washes our sin.” ~Max Lucado

    Reflect & Apply: Healing grace that comes through forgiveness is released to you through confession. And the amazing thing is, it’s really pretty simple—as simple as ABC: Admit, Believe, Commit. A – Admit you’ve blown it; you’ve sinned. Admit that God is right and you are wrong. Own up to it before God. B – Believe that God wants to forgive you instantly, willingly, completely and unconditionally. Believe that in his grace, Jesus paid for your sins so that you wouldn’t have to. That’s Christianity pure and simple—just believe. C – Commit your sins and guilt to him. Then commit your life to his Lordship.