David Bahn – Reflections

Exodus 33:19
The Lord says, “I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.”

1 Timothy 1:12–13
Paul wrote: I am grateful to Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because he judged me faithful and appointed me to his service, even though I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a man of violence. But I received mercy.  

  
“An unrepentant heart will view grace as entitlement.” That quote, shared at a stewardship conference several months ago, has stuck with me. More and more, that understanding is critical to a proper embrace of the grace and love of God in Jesus Christ. It is key to receiving kindnesses, merciful treatment, and all manner of good things as gifts from God, without abuse or disdain. 

We are not entitled to grace. To view it as something to which we are entitled destroys the very nature of grace. But grace, by definition, is receiving something you don’t deserve. So, even though we’re not entitled, God’s grace is offered to all. It pours out of the side of Christ on the cross. It streams from the heart of God to all people. It flows to blasphemers, persecutors, violent men, and boastful women. 

Those who receive grace as it truly is will never think of themselves as entitled to it. We know we don’t deserve God’s grace. We do not believe it can be forced or coerced – else it becomes something else. But we who have received God’s grace might well be reminded of our need for it, and to receive it in such a manner that we truly fear, love, and trust in God above all things, people, or pretenders. 

A repentant heart will receive grace as a cause for gratitude, generosity, and glory to God. That’s my goal for today, for I am deeply grateful for God’s grace.

2 Chronicles 25:8

God has power to help or to overthrow.

1 Timothy 1:1

Christ Jesus is our hope.

There is no little angst among friends of mine regarding the current political scene. These are good friends, faithful followers of Jesus Christ, and committed to his rule and reign in their lives. They are not very hopeful regarding the November presidential election. They are not excited about the nominees for either party.

But I was reminded of this important Bible truth: “The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will.” (Proverbs 21:1) God reigns. He rules above all others. And all that happens now and in the future is part of a larger story and a grander plan than any election, current event, political melt-down or coronation. Make no mistake: No one reigns apart from God’s pleasure and permission. 

This is no call for political inactiveness or irresponsiveness. This is not a call to ignore wisdom and seeking to make good choices in the coming election. But it is a call to remember that our citizenship is in heaven, and that Jesus Christ is our only true hope. That is true if the best candidate in the world would be elected (defined by however you might wish to define it) or the worst scoundrel would be in office.

Our calling is to live under Christ’s rule and reign, and seek his rule and reign more and more each day.

Isaiah 63:1 (ESV)

It is I, speaking in righteousness, mighty to save.

Romans 5:18

Just as one man’s trespass led to condemnation for all, so one man’s act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all.

Righteousness is a powerful concept. The thesaurus offers synonyms such as just, true, good, virtuous, honorable, and blameless to name but a few. I like to think of righteousness as a quality of being straight, square, true, and landed. When a man is righteous he doesn’t need to explain himself, or qualify his comments. His answers are simple. When a righteous woman expresses even a subtle reason with many nuances she will not need to build a wall of words around her answer if she is righteous. She will be at peace with herself and her speech and demeanor will show that.

The power of that truth is seen in Jesus himself. He was righteousness incarnate. He stood before Pilate and said very few words, confident in God’s faithfulness, and committed to God’s ways. He spoke words of righteousness to sinners and called those who relied on their own righteousness to abandon their self-deceiving ways. We can never attain this ourselves. Because of our flawed sinful nature we can never find our justification in our own being.

But God has spoken righteousness to us. Jesus spoke words of grace to sinners – forgiving those who nailed him to the cross, freeing the woman caught in adultery from her sin, and welcoming tax collectors and prostitutes into his fellowship. His act of righteousness (perfect faith in God) justifies us. It frees us to love God and others, for we are not seeking to earn our place or redeem our past sins. It gives us a place to stand. It allows us to be; to exist without explanation or excuse. That is a gift I certainly want to embrace.

Isaiah 52:7 (NIV)

How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!”

Ephesians 6:15

As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace.

I’ve never had a pedicure but that’s probably not the reason that people would not tend to think that I have beautiful feet. On a recent visit to the podiatrist I was told, “Your feet are just showing their age. They flatten and widen out over time.” I suspect even a visit to the pedicurist would not fix that. Worse yet, I am not able even to wear cool shoes.

Having said all that, my feet are beautiful whenever I bring the good news of God’s love to people in need of his redemption and grace (that would be all of us)! What’s even greater is that you can have beautiful feet as well! Your feet are beautiful when you forgive someone who has sinned against you. They are welcome whenever you offer a word of encouragement or a listening ear. Your feet are beautiful whenever you bring the Good News of Jesus to any situation – a prayer prayed, a helping hand extended, an act of kindness shown in the name of Jesus.

Perhaps you have a neighbor who is difficult to love. Maybe it is a co-worker who is constantly back-stabbing. It might be a friend who is caustic and cynical. It could be a store clerk who is hassled beyond the current situation. Whenever you bring God’s grace and truth to that person your feet are beautiful: pulchritudinous! Kinda makes me smile to think of that!

Psalm 31:24

Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the Lord.

Mark 13:13

The one who endures to the end will be saved.

If we take Ephesians 6 seriously, we are in no less of a battle. Ours is not a Hollywood-produced fantasy. Rather than against flesh and blood, we battle against principalities, powers, and authorities in the heavenly realm. Satan and his demonic league are on a rampage, seeking to destroy, kill, and steal.

For most of us the battle is not so obvious. But it is no less real. We bring our prayers to God in behalf of a wayward daughter, seeking God’s help to bring her back home. We face temptation at work to go along with unethical practices. We struggle with depression or physical illness, loneliness and shame – all the while yearning for God’s peace and help. We face the end of our days with endless hours of loneliness  and waiting, praying that God would allow us to depart in peace.

As we await God’s answer to prayer, or hold to a godly path in the face of temptation, or rebuke Satan when he accuses us, we can do so with Jesus’ help. That help comes by way of Jesus’ example – whether quoting Scripture, investing himself in hours of prayer, or living in faith in the face of death itself. When we discover that we have not lived up to Jesus’ example we can draw great comfort in Jesus’ righteousness which we receive by faith. His sacrifice secured that gift for us, and is the greatest source of help in the time of need. Embracing Jesus’ righteousness and following Jesus’ example is at the core of courageous faith.

Jeremiah 10:24

Correct me, O Lord, but in just measure; not in your anger, or you will bring me to nothing.

Hebrews 12:11 (NIV)

No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

Just about three years ago I began a fitness/training program. It has been challenging at times, but I’m continuing to work on the it, making some progress. I am very thankful for trainers who are gracious and at the same time truthful. They get me to do things I otherwise never would have done. Sometimes it is painful, but there has been a benefit as well.

God does this kind of work in our lives as well. It may not be pleasant or easy, but God’s training program is a good one to be sure. As I think of what such a training program might involve these kinds of things come to mind:

• Seasons of prayer the answers to which are not obvious, apparent, or what we had hoped for (sometimes God does say no for reasons of which we may never be aware)
• Seasons of loneliness in the midst of faithfulness to God and the gospel call
• Trouble in the lives of friends for reasons of their own cause, or for reasons beyond their control
• Long lists of tasks, projects, or intense effort that simply must be done
• Trouble in your own life for reasons beyond your control

The so-called Prosperity Gospel offers a life filled with joy, peace, abundance, happiness, and obvious favor. As Kate Bowler observes, The prosperity gospel does expectation beautifully—the hope that God can always do more, the desire to see transformation before your eyes. In the end, however, there is little room for suffering, struggling, and disappointment. (Christianity Today offers an insightful interview with Kate about this subject. It’s worth the read. Click here for the interview or see link below.)

The Gospel message of Jesus Christ is that God uses difficulty for our benefit. Jesus’ suffering is the greatest testimony of that reality; His suffering and death brought us eternal salvation and peace. Through discipline he now shapes us, refines our faith, allows us to witness to others, and gives us a heart for those who are suffering. It may not feel all that enjoyable. But the most severe discipline from God will yield a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. The calling for followers of Jesus Christ is to keep the faith in the goodness of God and rejoice in our Savior who “for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” He now invites us to trust in him and embrace the harvest of righteousness and peace that his sometimes-difficult work yields in our lives.

Christianity Today Interview of Kate Bowler: http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2016/february-web-only/kate-bowler-on-dying-and-sure-hope.html

Isaiah 41:13

I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Do not fear, I will help you.”

Mark 1:30–31

Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told Jesus about her at once. He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left her.

Several years ago I was quite ill. I’m not certain whether it was the flu or some other ailment, but I am certain that I felt terrible. I had a high fever. My body ached. My head hurt. I was miserable. I asked Diane to pray for me, and she got two of our sons who were home at that time and she prayed. Not too long afterward the fever broke, and I began to feel much better. I didn’t get up and serve Diane and our sons (cf . But I do know that I was deeply thankful for that prayer and God’s immediate answer.

I know, also, that there have been times when I have called on God, asking sincerely and urgently for help and relief from any number of problems, and have not seen the immediate relief from God’s hand. The answers from God don’t always come in short order. But God is, nevertheless, at work in our lives. And whether in immediate response or long-term answers to our deepest needs, God is faithful and good, the One who promises to help us.

Philippians 4:21-23

Greet every saint in Christ Jesus. The brothers who are with me greet you. ²² All the saints greet you, especially those of Caesar’s household.

²³ The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.

We just returned from seeing Sony Pictures Entertainment, “the epic Biblical story of the Resurrection, as told through the eyes of a non-believer. Clavius (Joseph Fiennes), a powerful Roman military tribune, and his aide, Lucius (Tom Felton), are tasked with solving the mystery of what happened to Jesus in the weeks following the crucifixion, in order to disprove the rumors of a risen Messiah and prevent an uprising in Jerusalem.”

Ever since the TV mini-series AD, and Diane’s comment about the actors’ perfect teeth, I watch for such incongruities: people in Jesus’ day surely didn’t have teeth whitened and straightened or veneered by Hollywood’s finest dentists! Some of this film’s actors’ teeth were white and straight, but many were not. More important, the Jesus character was played by a very Jewish-looking person. Some of the characters were quite engaging: especially Bartholomew and Peter to name but two. Pilate, Jesus, and Clavius were also very well portrayed.

The basic theme of the movie as stated above was well done, and quite believable. Clavius’ supposed encounters with Jesus are certainly extra-biblical. The telescoping of some of Jesus’ sayings together with the out-of-context placement was not distracting to me. The musical score was solid. The costuming and sets were very believable. If I were a movie critic I would likely give this 4.5 stars out of a possible 5. It is on par with The Passion of the Christ, Luther, and several steps above War Room or Blind Side (Movies that I would recommend but not rate as highly as RISEN).

The historical reality behind the film RISEN is that Jesus Christ truly rose from the dead. He is not on call for our convenience, but present in every time and place. He is the One who works miracles in people’s lives, and has conquered death by his sacrificial death and his resurrection from the grave. He has given us the Great Commission which charges us to tell the world of his salvation, so that whoever believes in him will have eternal life. His impact in people’s lives changes them forever. Clavius shows all this to be true.

Yes, I know Clavius is a fictional character who has no place in the Biblical account of Jesus’ death and resurrection. But he is every man. As such he signifies what happens when we encounter the risen Christ and begin to take seriously the historical reality of his resurrection. Yes, I know the Jewish leader may not have gone into Pilate’s palace. Yes, I know that Mary Magdalene was not necessarily a “woman of the streets” as she is called in the movie. Yes, I now they did not cover the entire waterfront of theological implications regarding Jesus’ death: our need for a Savior on account of our sin and estrangement from God. Those things are the subject of entire books of the Bible (the four Gospels most notably).

Still I found the film engaging, well done, honoring Christ who rose from the dead and called people to follow him and promised them eternal life. I’m very glad this movie was made and hope that others of like quality and veracity will follow. The clear message I would offer anyone who asked about the movie and how he or she should react would be much like Paul’s closing words of this letter to the Philippians: The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.