Would the Real Gospel Step Forward Please?

My wife and I have an adopted son. Well, not in the legal sense. We came to know Riley in Junior High when he became friends with our youngest son. Riley was at our house often eating with us, for sleepovers. He was in our youth group so we saw him at least twice a week. He lived with us for several weeks after his house burned down. We attended his military graduations. He is part of the Hall family. He has all the rights and privileges a Hall has in our home.

Paul is trying to tell us the same thing when it comes to being a part of God’s family. We have been adopted but nothing we have done gets us in the family. It’s everything Jesus has done for us. See, the Gospel is the good news that Jesus came to earth, died for our sins and rose from the dead. Our belief in that story and faith in Jesus Christ makes us part of the family and makes us right before God.

In the letter to the Galatian churches, Paul is wanting to counter an argument that was leaning toward a “works-based” faith. Paul says there is a fake gospel circulating and the real Gospel is something totally different. So in Galatians 4, Paul teases out the difference between the fake gospel and the real Gospel.

Paul says the fake gospel is all about activity. The real Gospel is about adoption. The fake gospel says that God is only okay with you when you get your act together. The fake gospel is all about do, do, do while the real Gospel is all about what God has done, done, done. See, God did everything needed sending his perfect son, living a perfect life, dying a death we should have, fighting a battle we would have lost in order that we could be adopted and live with him forever. That’s the great, glorious Gospel.

The fake gospel ends at salvation while the real Gospel begins with salvation and continues through the transforming power of the Holy Spirit. Too many stories end with the salvific moment of accepting Jesus. People tend to believe that’s the end of the journey but truly, it’s only the beginning. When you say “yes” to Jesus as your Lord and Savior, the Holy Spirit is poured into you, he transforms you and allows you to live into the fullness of the Gospel story. Until you understand that concept, you’ll live an empty and unfulfilled life. Then real Gospel is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit who sanctifies us throughout our entire life and through him, we can do all things.

The fake gospel constantly works for acceptance while the real Gospel confidently works from inheritance. Paul reminds us that we are no longer slaves but children of God, heirs to the Kingdom. Because you believe in Jesus Christ, you get to live from a declared inheritance. Some 2000 years ago, you got a new name: child of God. You got a new family, a felt security, a new purpose. You received forgiveness, healing and freedom.

The real Gospel is all about adoption and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit allows us to live into our inheritance. Blessings on the journey.

Faithfulness All Year Long.

Right now is the season when we talk about being joyful and triumphant. It’s a time of celebration and festivities. It’s a time to reconnect with old friends and close family members. It’s supposed to be an exciting time of fun and excited anticipation. But not everyone is joyful and triumphant this time of year.

Some of us are working through depression and anxiety. Some are trying to mend broken relationships. Some are feeling the weight of a difficult marriage. Others are praying for their adult children who do not have a relationship with God. All of us are dealing with the pressures of work and a busy calendar. But you know, Jesus doesn’t call the joyful or the triumphant.

Jesus calls those who are weary and burdened (see Matthew 11:28-29). He also beckons those who know they need salvation (Matthew 9:12-13). There are moments when we’ve tried everything to make it work or heal the relationship only to discover after long nights that we really need Jesus. And Jesus invites those of us who are tired and worn out to follow him. But if he calls us in that state, he doesn’t leave us there.

You see, Jesus helps us become more faithful. The writer of Hebrews in chapter 12 calls us to fix our eyes on Jesus who is the author and perfecter of our faith. When life happens. When darkness looms large. When we feel hopeless, we fix our eyes on Jesus who will lead us to our salvation. He is a faithful God. He will lead us through the deep water, the fire, the uncertainty (Isaiah 43:2-3).

Jesus also helps us become more joyful. His spirit living in us is what produces the love, peace and joy we desperately need right now. And know, joy and happiness, are worlds apart. See, happiness is determined by the happenings around me while my joy comes from Jesus. I can be upset about a relationship. I can be put off by what’s happening in the world. I can be crest-fallen by my work place. But joy never goes away because of Jesus.

Jesus also helps me become more triumphant. You see, the Living God has my back. Simply read Isaiah 9:6-7 to be reminded that we serve an incredible Savior. His story reveals his journey from a manger to a throne. That baby lying in a manger is the Lord of lords and King of kings. He’s the light of the world. He was born the King of angels…He is Christ the Lord.

This season is about gone but the faithfulness of God will never leave. He calls us to be faithful all year long as well. That’s the challenge: tell the story of our incredible Savior all year long. He gives us the faith we need; plants joy in our hearts; Jesus story is one of triumph. Blessings on the journey.

Wait for it.

I can only imagine you had the same difficulties I had growing up. I’m not talking about outdoor plumbing or limited meals or walking to school in the snow up hill both ways…I’m talking about waiting on Christmas morning for your parents to get up! I’d come down early in the morning and look at all the presents. Then, I’d have to sit and wait until my parents got up in order to play with the toys that Santa brought. Waiting is difficult.

I don’t know your current story but my guess is you are having to wait on something and maybe you’ve been waiting for weeks or months or years. Maybe you’ve been waiting on the new career to begin. Or waiting on that promotion that is long overdue. Or waiting on you to be financially right side up again.

Maybe you’ve been waiting on your marriage to be great again. Maybe you’re waiting on Mr. or Mrs. Right to appear. Maybe you’re waiting on your grown children to have a relationship with you again.

It could be you’re waiting on the cancer to go away or the chronic illness to subside or your child to be healthy and happy again. Maybe you’re simply waiting on children to be born.

I don’t know your story, but I bet you’re waiting on something. And some are waiting to hear God speak into their story. You wait and pray and talk to God but there seems no direction from him, no calming presence, no subtle hint that change is coming for the better.

When we read Habakkuk 2 in the Old Testament, we gather a sense of what the prophet did while he was waiting on God. Verse 1 reminds us that he listened to God. Some people can’t stand waiting to hear from God and walk away after the first little bit. But be patient. We must position ourselves in such a way to hear God’s voice speak into our story. So, every day, carve out time to be in his Word and pray. Let his words wash over you and reassure you He is present and has not forgotten you.

Surround yourself with like-minded people. People who will support you and stand with you as you wait. Positive people who will hold your hand during the chaos. God can also use your circumstance to bolster you and create a deeper faith. Equally, you can hear his voice as you sing praises to him or listen to a message from his word. There are so many ways we can truly hear the voice of God in our lives.

Like Habakkuk, we can also write for God. In verse 2, Habakkuk is called to write down what God says. We too can write and journal our experience. Why? Because Satan wants to kill, steal, and destroy everything that God is doing for you. He wants us to forget all the good that God continues to do in our life.

As a child, I was told not to write in my Bible. However today, all the white margins are filled with my notes. As I read, God places things on my heart which I write down. I also use a journal every day to write discoveries in my study time, prayers, and thoughts about my relationship with God.

Lastly and probably the most difficult, I wait on God. Some of you have been waiting on your spouse to come home, your marriage to be strong again, your finances to pan out, your adult children to have a relationship with Jesus, the promotion to come at work, racism to die, the cancer to be gone and the list continues to grow. Waiting is difficult.

But know if it’s not God’s time, you can’t force it. If it is God’s time, you can’t stop it! God has not forgotten you. He sees you, hears your cries, hears your prayers. He’ll never leave you. We, like Habakkuk, can say, “the Lord is in his holy temple. Let all the earth keep silent before him” (Habakkuk 2:20). We can worship God before we see him move in our life. We have faith in his goodness. We rejoice in his salvation. We celebrate that he truly is our Father. Blessings on the journey.