Jesus, Put Forward

Jesus took away our sins by dying on the cross. He willfully came forward to atone for our sin, all of us. He accepted the punishment for our sin so that we would be spared the wrath of God. Our only part in the process is to have faith in Him and the actions that he took on our behalf.

“²³for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, ²⁵whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.” – Romans 3:23-25 (ESV)

“⁶For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” – John 3:16 (ESV)

But wait, there is more to the scene. I tend to forget this part, even with likely the most quoted verse from Jesus, John 3:16. I tend to forget that Jesus was sent. God purposefully made the decision for Jesus to come to this world and die for me. Jesus was put forward to pacify the wrath of God on us. God intentionally sent His son for me and you. God gave the way out through Jesus.

We are filled with sin and deserve to die, yet God made a way for us to avoid that death, Jesus. All we have to do is believe, trust and have faith in Him and what He did for us, and we avoid the consequence of our sin, death. But we cannot forget that Jesus was sent by the Father, His Father, to pay the price for our sin. Yes, Jesus willingly came and obeyed, but we must also remember that He was put forward on our behalf.

There is so much for me to be thankful for in this world. I have a wonderful mother, a beautiful wife, and two great sons. Yet even with all of those things, the most important and valuable is my faith in Jesus and the thanks to Him and my Father in Heaven. Jesus came willingly after being put forward to atone for my sin. Thank you Jesus, LORD!

What do your remember of Jesus coming to save you? Do you only remember Jesus dying for our sins? What do you remember about how Jesus came, that He was put forward intentionally to pay for your sins?

Find Life and Peace

“³⁵For whoever finds me finds life

and obtains favor from the Lord,”

— Proverbs 8:35 (ESV)

Again, I am in chapter 8 of Proverbs which is titled “The Blessings of Wisdom”. Here we are hearing wisdom speak to us and we are gaining from her. Above, she tells us that when we find her, we find life and favor from the LORD. Boy is she correct.

You see, we are not defined by what is happening to you in the moment, it is how you deal with it and what happens next. We will all be subjected to things happening in our lives. Some of those will be good and some not so good. It is how we proceed next that defines us. We can choose to be defeated and act as such, or we can choose to just get on with things and realize that was just a moment and the next moment is yet to come.

When we choose defeat, we choose to be a victim. It is difficult to move forward when we are feeling sorry for ourselves. Yet, when we choose to get on with things and realize that moment of challenge as just a moment, we are moving forward with and in life.

Wisdom gives us life in that we are able to just move on with things realizing the moment. When found, wisdom provides our way forward and way through and way out. We are not sitting and dwelling on the defeat, we are moving on to the next. We find a life after and not just what we experienced before.

Wisdom also gives us peace. Peace to know that we are not stuck in whatever situation we are in. We have comfort in knowing that life goes on after. We are anxious for what is next, but we do not worry for what comes we accept it and move forward with it.

Lori and I have our son Aarron who is deployed with the US Navy. I have not seen him since Christmas and Lori has not since March. Are we concerned for him and his safety, yes. Are we worried for what is next, no. You see, this is the life he chose and we are wise enough to know that. We have met the challenge of the moment and look forward to what is next. We are at peace with where he is and what he is doing and what God has in store for him. We are anxious for his return and looking forward to when we get to see him and hug his neck again, but we are able to move forward with life and have peace with all that comes.

Wisdom is not just something that provides for our ability to conduct tasks. Wisdom provides for our full state. When we find her, we find life and peace.

What do you find with wisdom? Are you satisfied with the ability to conduct things? What if you were to see and accept that when you find wisdom, you find life and peace?

What’s in Your Heart

That which is in our heart has a great impact on how we go about things. We may have a persona on the outside and our face says one thing, but it is what is on the outside and what is on our heart that really drives how we approach things.

“²⁵Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs him down,

but a good word makes him glad.”

— Proverbs 12:25 (ESV)

I admit that I am consumed a lot by what is on the inside and fight each day. I am a bit of a worry wort and allow things that are out of my control to dominate my mind and approach. I am not always a “glad” person. I like to think that I am a realist where the glass is not half full or half empty but that there is just water in the class. But really, I am one who allows the fear of the unknown to keep me from things.

Notice in the verse above, that it is simple anxiety that brings us to a low point and dominates our thinking and approach to things. When we have that worry in our hearts, we are not able to proceed forward in a positive way as there is always something lurking that will cause us to doubt. I have that in my heart and it does indeed keep me tied up, unable to move forward in a constructive way.

But, there is hope. Hope in the Word of the LORD. “A good word” or the Word of God on our hearts makes us glad and keeps us away from the negative approach to things. When I am focused on the Word of God, I am more likely to smile and know the way forward and avoid the doubts and anxious moments.

It is possible to have both anxiety and happiness at the same time, according to therapists. But is that really true. I feel that it is really one or the other. When glad and filled with happiness, there is little to no thought of any worry. It is just happiness and gladness and looking forward to the next thing that will bring happiness and gladness. Where anxiety, the anxiety of the moment keeps us from moving forward and wanting to hold on to the moment of happiness forever.

I don’t want to be weighted down by my anxiety and worry. I therefor pray against it daily. I speak to the LORD asking Him to take it from me. I work daily to let it go and think from a glad heart. I work to allow the LORD to consume me so that His light will shine from me and lift others. I am a continued work in progress.

I will be glad. I will be happy. I will press forward. I will keep the Word of God on my heart. This is the approach I need to keep looking for the next thing to bring happiness and gladness. I will fill my heart with gladness.

What is on your heart? Are you filled with anxiety and worry? What if you filled the gladness and happiness provided by the Word of God to press on to the next thing that will bring you happiness and gladness?

Wisdom Through Reproof

It is good to be corrected when we are doing or have done wrong. It is in the correction that we learn.

“¹⁵The rod and reproof give wisdom,

but a child left to himself brings shame to his mother.”

— Proverbs 29:15 (ESV)

It would be great if we were to be able to learn all that we need to know without any instruction or correction. The real world does not work that way. We will make mistakes and should embrace them so that we might learn. Notice the verse above, a child that is left on their own without teachings and learning from their parents is a child that is not going to be on the right path. It is important that we are out there learning through doing and making mistakes.

Now I know, not all of us have those parents that teach us the ways to move forward, and in some of those cases, there may be parents that are tearing us down for not knowing. In those cases, I am sure that there was or is someone in our lives that will take on the role of the parent to teach once things do not go as planned.

I am pretty sure that those who have made mistakes, were corrected and moved forward are those who have done pretty well in the world (and I am not speaking of monetarily). I just had a conversation with my mother about my youngest son and his decisions in life. He chose to join the Navy after trying two years of university. He learned to give things a try and learn from them. He failed, although he did not give up. He continued to look forward and learn. It was fully his decision and as we speak to him we can hear that he feels as though he has made the right choice. He learned from his failure and carried it forward to the now and into his future. My mother is proud of the learning that he gained and of the learning that I gained to lead him to continue trying and learning.

God has given each of us those in our lives who point us in the direction we should go and correct us when we get off track. The LORD gives us the ultimate direction, yet it is those parental figures in our lives who hold us to account to move that direction. It is the reproof or correction from those parental figures that gives us the defined direction.

What direction are you going? Are you just plowing ahead and continuing to move with reckless abandon? What if you took a moment to listen to the parental figures around you and learned from the mistakes you make to press forward in the direction that God has for you?