CamDevo

“So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the message about Christ.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭10‬:‭17‬ ‭CSB‬‬

Have you heard of Jesus?

My guess is that you have. It seems that everyone has at least heard the name, as associated with Christianity. I’m probably very wrong about that because there are many regions of the world I have not visited, probably with vast stretches of land where the inhabitants have never heard His name.

But, if you’re reading this, you’ve probably at least heard of Jesus. He’s quite famous.

Even if you haven’t heard about Jesus, the Bible says the heavens and creation speak to us about God. See Psalms‬ ‭19‬:‭1‬-‭4‬ ‭CSB‬‬.

But what does it take to get from hearing to faith?

Does it depend on the exact message? Or the messenger? A bit of both?

I think that a person immediately has “faith” when they hear a story. They either believe it, which is faith, or they don’t, which is also faith.

When someone tells me the sky is green, I look up, see that it is blue, and have faith that their story is wrong. I have faith that everything else they tell me will be wrong too.

Not everything is as easy to verify as the sky color though, so how do I discern the truth? How do I come up with my faith?

The Bible says that this is where the Holy Spirit comes in. He speaks to the heart of each person who hears about Jesus.

But Christians, the messengers, also play a very important role.

If someone tells Jane that Jesus is good and loves her, but she looks around at His followers and sees nothing but hatred, judgment, hypocrisy, and fear, she will not believe the story.

However, if she sees love, generosity, humility, and joy among His followers, that will go a long way toward building her faith in the truth of Jesus as loving Savior.

Dear God,

Please remind me how my actions affect other people’s beliefs about you. I know you are loving and holy and beautiful and good. I’m sorry for the things I do that fly in the face of that as your follower. Guide me in how to talk about you and live out my faith with joy and love.

“but in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, ready at any time to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.”
‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭3‬:‭15‬ ‭CSB‬‬

My hometown had a rural swimming hole that was frequently used for skinny dipping. (I’d been there once myself as a teenager, at night. Exhilarating!) I don’t see anything wrong with swimming in the buff, but I suppose it could lead to some more reckless behavior in the wrong company. And maybe it is technically illegal. Still, I don’t feel it’s my job to police the behavior of other people, especially non-believers.

I knew one woman who disagreed with my philosophy. She would stand at the trailhead leading to the well-known skinny-dipping hot spot and ask people if they knew Jesus. I don’t think there’s necessarily anything wrong with that either, but it seems ill-advised.

For one thing, I don’t think it is an effective use of her time. Those people don’t want to stand around in the hot sun debating some random lady.

Also, her method is confrontational and quite judgmental. Presumably she chose that particular location, instead of a downtown street corner, because she has decided the visitors there are more sinful than she is. They must not know Jesus.

Finally, it’s not biblical. Sure, Jesus commanded His disciples to go into all the world and preach the Good News. But He didn’t say to only go to places you think the really bad or obvious sinners hang out. No. He said to go into all the world. Every place I go as I go about my life is my mission field.

And he didn’t tell His disciples to confront people about their perceived sins. He said to tell them how much God loves them. Preach the Good News! Their sin will be dealt with by God, in His time.

Today’s verse describes the more effective methodology: I am to live a life filled with bright hope, and when anyone comes to me, asking why I have hope, then I tell them about Jesus’s salvation born of God’s love. The key is people should be coming to me because I’m different.

Am I different? Am I shining hope, peace and joy throughout my day? Has anyone asked me about the reason for my hope?

If not, I have some work to do. And it’s not with a picket sign at the entrance to the nude beach.

Dear God,

Thank you so much for your love and salvation. I do not deserve it but am so very grateful for it. Remind me to live in gratitude and joy — so much so that people become curious and ask me about it. Give me the words and the courage to speak about you whenever it seems appropriate in my interactions. Forgive me if I ever think I’m better than anyone else and remind me that I’m a sinner very much in need of you.

“Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed, because the Mighty One has done great things for me, and his name is holy.”
‭‭Luke‬ ‭1‬:‭48‬-‭49‬ ‭CSB‬‬

Mary said today’s verse when she was pregnant with Jesus, the Savior of the world. What an amazing woman she must have been to see this as a blessing. I guess that’s why God chose her. He knew all about her optimism and strength. And most importantly, her faith.

If someone had told me, “Ok, you’re going to be pregnant now, even though you live in a place where the perception of infidelity can get you killed. And you will raise a child who is supposed to save all humanity. Oh and by the way, you will get to watch him be brutally executed in his mid-30s,” I doubt that I would have sung this song of praise to God right away. I wouldn’t have thought, “What a blessing!” I may have been feeling a little more cursed.

But that’s me. Good thing God didn’t select me.

He didn’t choose me because I’m more of a worrier and a pessimist. (Not something I’m proud of, and definitely something I want to change.)

I would have worried throughout the whole pregnancy that I would do something stupid to hurt this special baby. And then while raising the child I’d worry about doing the right things, saying the right things, teaching the right things. Could I somehow screw up the child so badly that he wouldn’t end up saving the world after all? And then I’d constantly worry about the day when he would be killed. Can I stop it? How can I protect him? Will it be today?

I have a lot to learn from Mary’s simple song of amazement, hope, trust, and gratitude.

Dear God,

I’m sorry that I react with fear instead of joy when you give me the simplest of challenges. Please show me how to replace my worry with trust, my pessimism with hopeful anticipation, and my dread with gratefulness. Teach me to have faith like Mary, knowing you are Mighty and Holy and Great. I trust you to provide everything I need to confidently and competently manage everything you place in my hands.

“Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you. I will praise your name, for you have accomplished wonders, plans formed long ago, with perfect faithfulness.”
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭25‬:‭1‬ ‭CSB‬‬

Is God ever surprised?

On one hand, God is omniscient. He knows everything about the past, the present, and the future so how could anything surprise Him? To be surprised, He would have to be unaware of something until it happened.

On the other hand, God gave me freedom to choose, to decide my own fate, to do stupid things or to obey His wisdom. So, shouldn’t my choices surprise Him from time to time? If not, do I actually have a choice, if God has everything all planned out?

To me these things don’t really seem problematic or contradictory, but I have spoken with some people who are really perplexed by both things being true: God being omniscient and my having freedom.

The answer is just that time is different to God. It isn’t linear to Him the way it is for me. To God, a thousand years is like a day (Psalm 90:4, 2 Peter 3:8). He knows it all as if it were now. It’s beyond my ability to fathom, of course, but it’s a simple thing to God. He is the Great I AM (always present tense).

So, I do have a choice. It’s just that God knows what I have chosen because He is beyond time. He has already taken my bad choices and woven them together with my good choices into a beautiful thread that is my life. And He has woven my thread along with your thread into His plans making the beautiful tapestry of His will.

My choices are real. But there is no way I can screw up His wonderful plans. He has already incorporated my mistakes, sins, and stupidity, weaving my them together with His forgiveness, ending up with the most beautiful piece of art. He sees it all and has worked (and will continue to work) it all out for good. Like today’s verse says, His wondrous plans formed long ago are accomplished with amazing faithfulness.

Dear God,

I am amazed by who you are and dumbfounded by your ability to always be the same. Thank you for giving me the freedom to make choices in my life, but thank you even more for redeeming those choices with your forgiveness when I humbly seek your will. I look forward one day to seeing the way you turned my life into your beautiful piece of art, despite my faults and failures.

“All the prophets testify about [Jesus] that through his name everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins.”
‭‭Acts‬ ‭10‬:‭43‬ ‭CSB‬‬

Many years ago, I went on a trip to a remote area of the Philippines. It was not a tourist destination, and it was not easily accessible. I was clearly an outsider and a rare sight. With my fair skin and light hair, I stuck out like a sore thumb.

Even so, I was welcomed warmly at a local church service. It was my first time worshiping in such a foreign situation. The songs, speeches, and prayers were in a language I didn’t understand. The routines and rituals were unfamiliar to me. As I looked around, I remember realizing that although this worship was so different than what I was used to, the people in that congregation were worshiping the same Jesus. They knew Him the same way I knew Him. God doesn’t play favorites. His love and forgiveness are freely available to all. I also remember how this surprised me just a little and opened my heart and eyes to how vast God’s love really is.

The early Jewish Christians were surprised by this as well. When God told Peter to preach at a Gentile’s house, Peter was very skeptical. But then God surprised Peter by pouring His Holy Spirit into all the Gentiles in the house.

After Peter’s shock wore off, he said today’s verse. He wonders why he should have been surprised by God’s love. All the prophets spoke about it, after all. They all say God’s salvation is for all people. Everyone!

So why didn’t he believe it? Why didn’t I, deep down? Deep-seated bias.

I don’t have any special connection to God that isn’t available to anyone else. God’s love for me is personal and valuable and priceless. But His love for someone in a remote village of a small island in the Philippines is just as special and valuable and personal and priceless.

Jesus died for me, and He died for that person as well. He died for everyone.

Dear God,

Forgive me for my prejudices. Forgive me for thinking you love me more than you love someone very different from me. I know you love your entire creation, all people, equally. You love worship from your children in whatever language, location, or form it takes. And your forgiveness is available to us all in equal measure. Teach me to be as impartial in my love as you are.

“Whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
‭Matthew‬ ‭20‬:‭27‬-‭28‬ ‭CSB‬‬

I was not the valedictorian of my high school class. Nor was I the salutatorian. I graduated third in my class. (There’s no name for that, apparently.) And that was exactly the way I wanted it. Why? Because the people in those top two spots were required to give speeches at graduation. And I was not at all interested in doing that!

But I’m unusual in my goal of third place.

We don’t give trophies and gold medals for last place. We don’t hold elections for “average citizen” or “member”. No one auditions with the hope of becoming an extra.

Trophies and gold medals are reserved for first place winners. Elections are held for presidents and chairpeople. Actors audition in hopes of the lead role at casting calls.

That’s the way society works.

Jesus taught about God’s kingdom throughout His ministry. Everything He taught about it, including today’s verse, was upside-down and backwards from the culture then, the culture today, and human nature. But God’s kingdom is how God intended His creation to be. So which one is actually upside-down?

The reason God’s kingdom seems upside-down is because, due to our rebellion and selfish choices, we are living in a “fallen” world. We are all living in the upside-down.

Jesus came to teach us to see things right side up.

According to Him, if I want to be God’s leading role valedictorian and get my heavenly presidential gold medal, I have to be the servant-iest servant that ever served.

Dear God,

Thank you for sending Jesus to teach me how to serve and how important serving is. Forgive me for the times when I have scrambled for the front of the line and pushed my way to the top at the cost of others. Remind me how valuable serving is, how meaningful it is to be last, and how much you love patience, generosity, and humility.

“Let me experience your faithful love in the morning, for I trust in you. Reveal to me the way I should go because I appeal to you.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭143‬:‭8‬ ‭CSB‬‬

I often wake up too early, for no good reason. I’m still sleepy and don’t need to get up yet, but my mind instantly starts gnawing on my most recently discovered reason to worry, or it starts making lists of the day’s important tasks, or any number of thoughts that draw me reluctantly away from slumber. I drag myself out of bed just to stop thinking those thoughts and get on with doing something about them.

But some days I remember today’s verse. I used to have it written out on a small piece of paper and taped to my bathroom mirror because it’s such a wonderful thing to be reminded of in the morning. The paper got old and toothpaste-splashed so I threw it out when we moved. I should print it out again so it can be with me first thing every morning.

Trusting God and His faithful love is the best way to start my day, whether I get up and get busy or decide to crawl back in bed to finish sleeping, without those pesky worries nagging me awake.

Dear God,

Thank you for this beautiful reminder of how your faithful love is all I need every morning. Forgive me for fretting about things that ultimately don’t matter. Guide me throughout my day and redirect my focus toward your goals and priorities instead of mine. Fill me with your peace.

“But when you give to the poor, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭3‬-‭4‬ ‭CSB‬‬

I used to go to our town’s municipal swimming pool every day during the hot Wisconsin summers. My mom bought season passes for my sister and me and would drop us off each morning as soon as they opened. She was as disappointed as we were on days when thunderstorms threatened, and the pool was closed. My dad would pick us up when he got off work.

I loved swimming and hanging out with my friends at the pool. Looking back, I have no idea how I spent all those hours at the pool every afternoon. But I don’t ever recall being bored or wanting to leave.

I do remember having to work up my nerve to use the diving boards though. Years went by before I tried for the first time. There were three boards: low, middle, and high. The low board was easy enough once I got the hang of it. The middle board wasn’t that much of a challenge, and the big kids made it look so fun that I eventually got comfortable with it, bouncing fairly high before diving in (or more likely, cannonballing.)

The high dive was something altogether different. There was always a line of kids going up the ladder waiting. If you got to the top and were too scared, it was a big deal to make all those kids climb down to let you off. Plenty of jeers and boos and taunts.

I remember the first time I risked testing out the high dive. My heart raced as I climbed the ladder, higher and higher, the wet bum of the kid in front of me dripping in my face. I’m not scared of heights, but when I got to the top, it felt like I was on top of a skyscraper. All the children below me looked so small. The board seemed impossibly long and narrow, and the hand rails didn’t go all the way out there.

I breathed deeply. I stepped away from the hand rails slowly. The kids behind me groaned. I decided I couldn’t do it and moved to turn back, but the expression on the next kid’s face stopped me.

I wobbled out to the very end of the board, terrified. I thought of all the things that could go wrong. But then I remembered all the kids I’d seen dive off without a thought. I decided I had to step off (the idea of actually diving made me swoon) without thinking about it anymore. My feet would have to do it by themselves without me knowing about it. So I stood there, watching some kid who was getting yelled at for running, and suddenly my feet stepped off the end of the board.

I was surprised.

And I was in midair. Weightless — such a crazy feeling — for the briefest of moments. And then I hit the water.

(I’m glad that first time I landed feet first because if I had landed any other way I may never have done it again. Water is hard!)

But when I went into the water, everything was OK. I was safe. Nothing horrible happened. I swam up to the surface and got out. Life at the pool went on.

I think partly, this is what Jesus is talking about in today’s verse. Giving is scary. It’s easy to think about the things that can go wrong or other ways that I could use that money. But He insists that I will be OK. If I trust Him with my money, He will bless me and take care of me.

So, I just do it. I let my feet step off without thinking or making a big deal. I let my right hand write the check while my left hand is busy with something else. It’s the best way. And everything will be OK.

Dear God,

Thank you for your promise to bless me and care for me when I trust you with my possessions and my money. They are yours. Thank you for letting me make use of them. Help me to remember to be generous with all that I have and to do it quickly, simply, and quietly, with prayer but without fanfare.

Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
‭‭John‬ ‭14‬:‭6‬ ‭CSB‬‬

When I was in college, I had a roommate for a short time who was Jewish. We got along great, and I really enjoyed her company. She was a wonderful, fun, generous, and kind person that I admired. We talked about many things, including our religious beliefs, and how she and I believed in the same God, technically. And that God, the one I read about in my Bible, was one of incredible love.

At that time I remember thinking that such a loving God wouldn’t condemn such a nice person, a person who put their faith in Him. Would He? I decided there must be a special exception for Jewish people. They are God’s chosen people after all.

But that’s not what the Bible says. God’s standards are very high — they require perfection in fact. He gave His people the Law and told them that they would be saved if they obeyed it.

They didn’t. I haven’t. Neither had my roommate. No one has or ever will be able to obey God’s Law completely throughout their entire life.

Except Jesus.

He obeyed perfectly for me. He is the exception that God provided. And only through Him can I meet God’s standard for perfection.

Since my roommate did not accept this generous gift her God had provided, her own sin would make her unacceptable for eternal life with God.

Salvation isn’t about being good. It’s not about being nice or kind or believing there is a God or even claiming to be a “Christian.” According to today’s verse, salvation is only available because of Jesus making it available. Because of His death in my place, I can live. And so can anyone else.

Dear God,

This is a hard teaching because I can’t see things the way you do. Your standards of good are very different from mine. They are impossibly high. Thank you so much for providing such a simple way to meet your impossibly high standards in Jesus. Thank you for reminding me how important it is to encourage others with this Good News of Jesus and how being “good” just isn’t enough.

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭1‬:‭16‬ ‭CSB‬‬

When gathering with friends and family, we are told not to bring up either politics or religion; that is, if we would like to enjoy a peaceful visit.

There are a whole lot of reasons not to talk about my religious beliefs.

On one hand, Christians have earned the reputation of being awful. Judgmental, hypocritical, mean-spirited, closed-minded, even hateful. This breaks my heart. I don’t want to be associated with that. So I’m reluctant to claim “Christianity” for myself.

On the other hand, the story of Jesus seems ridiculous. To a nonbeliever I can see how it would sound complicated and confusing. God has a son? He turned him into a human and then had him killed? What for? Then brought him back to life? How does that help me?

It’s challenging to admit to believing that without having a much longer, deeper conversation.

Today’s verse encourages me to ignore all those reasons not to talk about Jesus. Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead.

Jesus says if I’m ashamed of Him, He’ll be ashamed of me on judgement day. (Luke‬ ‭9‬:‭26‬) I don’t want that.

So despite what other people may assume about me when I mention Jesus — that I’m hateful or just a fool — God insists that I lovingly share His Good News, the Gospel of Jesus:

God loves you so much that He sent His son, Jesus, to die in your place. And then He defeated death entirely so if you accept this gift and believe in Him by faith, you can have eternal life.

Dear God,

Thank you so much for the sacrifice you made to save me from my poor choices and from death that is forever. Thank you for offering life forever instead. I’m sorry for being afraid to talk about you, for caring more about what people think of me than what you think of me. Please forgive me. Show me when and how I should be bringing your name into my conversations to be most effective and give me the courage to do it.