"Not of Works"

The parable was simple yet profound in its truths. Two men with the same intent, the worship of God, but who were as different as night and day in their approach. According to the narrative, "Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.' But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me, a sinner!' I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted" (Luke 18:10-14, ESV).

It is not enough to worship God. How we worship Him is equally important. The Pharisee, not wanting to be associated with the reviled tax collector, reaffirmed his strict adherence to pharisaic righteousness that required doing no harm to others and observing all the ordinances of God, then established in the Jewish economy. In other words, his strong opinion of his own righteousness was the basis on which he built his hope of final salvation. On the other hand, the tax collector, being repentant and feeling unworthy to stand before God, demonstrated a consciousness of his guilt by smoting his breast, a token of excessive grief, and threw himself upon God's mercy as his only claim to salvation. He realized something the Pharisee had not - that salvation was not something he could claim by his works, but only by God's work of redeeming grace.

The apostle Paul echoed this sentiment when he reminded the church at Ephesus, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9, KJV). On our best days, our best efforts at being righteous "are as filthy rags" (Isaiah 64:6); we have nothing in ourselves to boast about. God is not impressed with our trying to remind Him of how good we have been or how good we are. Jesus made it clear that it was not the Pharisee who had professed his righteousness through his works that went away justified, but the tax collector who had come with a broken and a contrite heart.

It is true that today's believer is covered by the righteousness of Christ. Paul affirmed, "For He [God] hath made Him [Christ] to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him" (1 Corinthians 5:21). However, our position is not the result of our efforts, but all because of what He did. The next time we stand to pray, let us keep that in mind.

Praying With Thanksgiving

How do you pray? No, not the position you assume for prayer, the tone of voice or type of language used, whether loudly or quietly, for an audience of one or a thousand, but what do your prayers reveal about the condition of your heart? After all, as the Scriptures remind us, it is from the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks (Luke 6:45).

For some of us, prayer is the presentation of a laundry list of petitions to God. For sure, we add the right amount of religiosity to our petitions but the essence of those prayers remains the same. Always about us, our needs and wants, and for good measure we throw in that of some family members, maybe our local church, and a few other people we embrace as friends. Interestingly, when it comes to basic needs, Jesus was rather clear: “Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? . . . Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?” (Matthew 6:25-26, 30, KJV).

This does not mean that we should not take our petitions and cares to our heavenly Father. He invites us to “come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16). However, lest we forget, ours is a relationship. God is not a cosmic genie catering to our every wish, but He is the King of kings and Lord of lords; one worthy of our praise and adoration. It is no wonder the apostle Paul reminded the church at Colossae, “Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving” (Colossians 4:2, ESV), or as The Amplified Bible puts it, “Be earnest and unwearied and steadfast in your prayer [life], being [both] alert and intent in [your praying] with thanksgiving.”

We have much for which to be thankful. To paraphrase the words of the hymn-writer, were we to stop and count our blessings we would be surprised at what the Lord has done. The next time you pray, instead of just offering a list of petitions, how about wrapping those petitions in thanksgiving? Even when we do not understand the twist and turns along our paths, we can thank Him that He can use all things for our good and His glory. Remember, “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18). “In every thing” includes even while in prayer. Now is as good a time as any to start doing so.

Receiving Grace in the Tough Places

For twenty years Samson judged Israel (Judges 16:31) and for all of those years he was on the Philistines' most wanted list. For one of whom the angel announced to his mother would be a Nazarite, set apart to God from birth, and would "begin the deliverance of Israel from the hands of the Philistines" (Judges 13:5, NIV), he had a tremendous weakness for Philistine women. At a time when the Philistines had dominion over Israel, he had married a Philistine woman (14:1-7), later hooked up with a Philistine prostitute (16:1), and then there was Delilah (16:4).

The details of Samson's life and his foolish choices around these women and the resulting consequences are immortalized in Judges chapters 13-16. A man of incredible strength who once slew one thousand men with the jaw bone of an ass (15:15-16), he fell victim to the charm of Delilah. She was approached by the five Philistine lords with the promise of wealth to "entice him, and see wherein his great strength lieth, and by what means we may prevail against him, that we may bind him to afflict him" (16:5). After three failed attempts, and with Samson inexplicably clueless, she finally got him to disclose the needed information which she gladly passed on to her leaders. After he fell asleep on her knees (v.18), "she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head; and she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him" (v.19).

After twenty years, the Philistines finally had their man. After gouging out his eyes, they imprisoned him, and thanked their god, Dagon, for their good fortune. At a celebratory event, "Everyone was feeling high and someone said, 'Get Samson! Let him show us his stuff!' They got Samson from the prison and he put on a show for them. They had him standing between the pillars" (v. 25, The Message). But prior to that something happened that somehow the Philistines inexplicably missed. According to the narrative, while he was slaving away in the prison house, "the hair of his head began to grow again" (v.22, KJV). That was all Samson needed. He prayed, "O Lord GOD, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes" (v.28) and with that he bowed his head, pushed against the pillars with all his might, "and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life" (v. 30).

What does all of this have to do with us? Everything! While the lessons from Samson's life are many, one of the most important is that no matter how much we make a mess of our lives, we are not beyond being used by God. After everything Samson had done that was contrary to the will of God, the growth of his hair while in prison was a demonstration of God's grace. Like Samson we may still suffer the consequences of our actions, but the plans and purposes of God will not be denied. In death, the promise of the angel that Samson would "begin the deliverance of Israel from the hands of the Philistines" was fulfilled. What he started, David would later complete.

No matter the number of mistakes we have made, God is still in the business of using those who make themselves available to Him. No one is so far gone that they are out of His reach; no one whose life is so messed up to whom He will not extend His grace. For that my heart bursts with gratitude. How about yours?