salvation

21
Feb
2024

Righteous and Wicked

“For the righteous falls seven times and rises again,

But the wicked stumbles in times of calamity.”

Proverbs 24:16

 

I am so thankful for Christ, and what He willingly did for me. He loved me so much that He took the punishment for my sin and paid the price for my sin that I could not pay. Christ, the perfect son of God, took upon Himself my sin and paid the price for my sin so that I could have hope. He also willingly did this so that I could have a relationship with Him. He sacrificed His life to have a relationship with me. What have I done to deserve such sacrifice? NOTHING! I deserve eternal punishment and eternal separation from God, and yet Christ gave His life for me. This is the good news of the Gospel.

I am a sinner. (Rom. 3:23). The payment for my sin is death. (Rom. 6:23). Jesus paid that price by dying for my sins and taking all my sin and all my shame. (Rom 6:23; Heb. 12:2). All we must do is “confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in our heart that God raised Him from the dead.” (Rom. 10:9). If we do this, “we will be saved” (Rom 10:9) from eternal death, eternal separation from God.

The good news of the Gospel gives us hope. The good news of the Gospel gives us a purpose to live. The good news of the Gospel once accepted wipes away our shame, guilt, and despair.

Our Proverb today talks about two different people. The righteous and the wicked. What is the difference? The righteous have accepted Christ as their Savior. They believe that Christ has redeemed them and rescued them from the pit of sin they were in and gave them hope of eternal life and an eternal relationship with God. The righteous have a secure eternity because they have placed their faith and hope in God. The righteous still sin.

The majority of people think that once we have accepted Christ as our personal Savior we are now perfect reflections of Christ. How I wish that were true. I would love to represent Christ in the most perfect way in every interaction I have, every word I say, every action I perform, every thought that I think, etc. How wish that every thought, word, and deed in my life was a perfect representation of my Savior, but it is not. I have not been perfected yet because I am not in heaven. So every time that I do stumble and sin, I “rise again.” (Prov. 24:16). I may stumble in the same sin or in a variety of sins, but I do not stay in the sin.

My goal in life is to look more like Christ every day. This is what we call progressive sanctification. Every day, I want to look a little bit less like the sinner that I was and a little more like Christ. The only way this is possible is because I allow the Holy Spirit to help me. I allow the Word of God to be lived out in my life.

The contrast is the wicked person. The wicked person stumbles in his sin and does not “rise again.” (Prov. 24:16). The wicked wallows in his sin. He enjoys his sin. He keeps going back to his sin. There is no conviction by the Holy Spirit when he sins. When he is confronted with his sin, he does not seek repentance and restoration. Rather, the wicked person continues in his sin and does not desire to change. When faced with a circumstance or a “calamity” (Prov. 24:16) in his life he has two choices, as we all do. Will we choose Christ and choose to respond to the situation as Christ would respond? The second choice is will we choose to sin “stumble” (Prov. 24:16). Every time something happens in life we always have a choice. Will we live for Christ or will we live for ourselves? The righteous person may sin in the moment, but then they realize their sinful ways and repent and choose to live as Christ would in the next situation.

The wicked will sin in the moment, but when confronted with their sin they continue in their sin. There is no repentance, but only blatant desire to continue in their sin. The key difference between the righteous person and the wicked person is the fruit of their lives.

The Gospel is the good news that gives us hope. The Gospel is the perfect love that Christ had for us that challenges us to live righteously. We all have a choice and with that choice the fruit that we produce gives evidence of what is in our hearts.

Posted by ddykema5@gmail.com in The Seasons of Motherhood, 0 comments
16
Mar
2022

Gary Dykema My Father-In-Law

Paying tribute to the man who is and now was my father-in-law brings a flood of memories and emotions. The impact he had on so many has been evident by the outpouring of love in so many tangible forms to he and my mother-in-law during his battle with cancer over the last 3.5 years.

Gary Marvin Dykema was born July 13, 1945. He was saved at a young age, but did not start growing in his walk with the Lord until his high school years. He met my mother-in-law during high school as well, and they were married shortly after graduation. He was a hard worker, but he also liked to have fun. He would leave for work at 4:30 in the morning and sometimes not come home until 11:00 p.m. because they asked him to work extra. He retired from working in a factory for General Motors after 30 years, and then worked as a car salesman for 18 years. Like I said, he was a hard worker.

His service to the Lord was seen in many different areas, but his favorite was singing. At his memorial service last week, the choir director told me that no one sang as loud as Gary. Everyone wanted to sit near him because he helped them to read and sing the music better. In their previous church, he was the song leader and my mother-in-law was the pianist. They often sang duets together. They made a great service pair not only in the church, but also outside of the church. They liked to go calling on people that had visited the church. They are both so friendly and easy to talk with that soon after a visit you knew you had just made a lifelong friend with them. Neither of them knew a stranger.

Gary loved his family. He has two children; my husband Dave and his sister Pam. Gary has 2 grandsons, 3 granddaughters, and 2 great-granddaughters. He was able to meet both of his great-granddaughters. Having his family around was always a delight, especially at the cabin. Being at the lake and hearing the peals of laughter across the lake either as he drove the boat or just watched from shore was one of his favorite times. This is where I first met him. At the cabin. He and my then boyfriend (now husband) would be in the boat while I skied, knee boarded, and flew through the air on the tube. He was a great teacher and knew every single time what I needed to do to make the next time more fun.

He also loved to play games and tell jokes. Whenever playing a game and we couldn’t remember the rules, we would call him so he could refresh our memoires. Every summer when they came to visit, he and my mother-in-law would teach us a new game. The new games they have taught us have spread around the U.S. Now we get texts from friends that ask us about some of the rules of the games we have taught them.

He knew how to tell just the right joke at just the right moment. I had a favorite one that I made him tell me every time I saw him. It kept getting better with more details. Good thing we have it recorded.

Gary Dykema is now signing praises to His Lord and reunited with his brother and his parents and others that have gone to heaven before him. He is in heaven, not because he went to church and sang in the choir. He is in heaven with Jesus because he had a personal relationship with Jesus. Gary believed that Jesus died on the cross paying his penalty for his sins. His purpose in living was not to work hard, or play games, or tell jokes. Gary’s purpose in life was to glorify his Creator and Savior as he did those things. If there was one thing that Gary would want anyone to know it is that Jesus loves you. Jesus died for your sins, but you have to do one small thing – believe that Jesus paid the price for your sins on the cross and ask Him to be a part of your life.

Gary Dykema, thank you for your legacy that lives on not just in your family but also in all the friends you have made along the way. We know that God’s timing is perfect and His plans are perfect, but we wish we could have kept you around for a little bit longer.

Posted by ddykema5@gmail.com in The Seasons of Motherhood, 2 comments
19
Mar
2019

A Gift

Don’t we all just love presents and gifts; especially those that we get for no reason. The ones for no reason or just to say, “I love you” are my favorite. My daughters, especially my youngest, liked to give coupons for free back rubs and foot massages. Those were some of my favorite to redeem.

There is a gift that I received many, many years ago that is even more precious to me than my sweet daughter’s back rubs and foot massages. It is the gift of eternal life. Ephesians 2:8,9 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not of your own doing; it is the gift of God, not of works, so that no one may boast.” We must realize that a gift is not something that we work to receive or that we deserve. A gift is something that is given out of love. That is the gift that is mentioned in this verse…the gift of eternal life.

Like a gift that we receive from a person, we must accept it and take it from their possession and receive it into our own possession. So is the gift of God. It says in Ephesians 2:8,9 that it is through faith that we receive this gift. What is it we must have faith in you might want to know. We must believe that Jesus took the penalty for our sins by dying on the cross. Instead of us having to pay the price for our sins, Jesus took the penalty for us and paid it. Now we must accept this gift that God gives us.

How do we accept the gift that God hands to us? Picture God handing you a present…a box with a pretty bow. What must you do? You must reach out and take it. It will not become your present unless you accept it. Why must we accept it through faith? We cannot see God handing us this present, nor did we see Jesus die on the cross for our sins. There are many eyewitness accounts of Christ’s death and resurrection, but you did not actually see it. This takes faith. It also takes faith that Jesus actually paid my penalty. This will be another topic to review, but we must stay focused on this verse regarding the gift.

Why must we accept this gift with nothing required but faith? That is the only way that God wants it done. He does not want man to boast in himself. Many people think they are good enough to get to heaven, and they have done enough good works to allow them entrance into God’s kingdom, but God’s kingdom, Heaven, does not work that way. God does not want us to boast in ourselves. He realizes that if we boast in ourselves we have committed another sin and that is the sin of selfishness.

We must also consider, “If I am the one that is gaining myself entrance into heaven, how will I know when I am good enough?”  How do you really know? I have read the Bible through and not once does it mention a list of things that I can do in order to gain entrance to Heaven. There is no “Bucket List” to accomplish in order to go to Heaven. The thing that must be done is to accept in faith the gift of God, so you have no reason to boast.

Have you accepted this special gift from God?  If not, make today the best day of your life and accept God’s free gift. The angels in heaven will rejoice.

Posted by ddykema5@gmail.com in A Truth from the Word, 0 comments