In recent weeks in more than one conversation I have come up with the perplexing question that gnaws at people’s spirit at times: how much faith is enough faith?”
Faith is a spiritual matter. Spiritual things have no dimension to them that can be measurable and yet spiritual things are so real! Can one measure love in a tangible way? Some might want to use a worldly standard of showering someone with gifts as a way to measure love but somehow I feel that sooner or later one really would be stuck in the dilemma of how much is enough, how often is enough, and for how long is enough?
Love in it’s truest form is an emotion of the heart that can inspire us to go to the extreme of laying down our lives for someone but at the end of the day there is no true measure no true scale to measure love with. Yet we know it exists.
Can one measure hope? can one measure belief? Is there a quantitative measurement for anything that is spiritual? I think not.
Faith in particular as defined in Hebrews 11: 1 is a sure and unwavering belief in something that cannot yet be seen because it is a future hope (hope being something that drives us forward because of the truth that substantiates it.) but we have come to understand it and embrace it as an irrefutable truth.
Jesus more than once refers to the faith of a mustard seed in the gospel being able to move mountains. Now you and I know that there has ever been a recorded historical event of a mustard seed that did move a mountain so, knowing Jesus would totally ruin his credibility by lying, what does this statement really mean?
Well I believe that the kind of faith that Jesus is referring to is not a faith in our own power but a faith in His power! Biblical faith is not stand alone faith; it is faith that is predicated on trusting in God’s power. Faith appears the moment we first believe.
Faith is an indicator that a tipping point has been achieved. When we move the concept from our head to our heart that Jesus died for us personally, suddenly faith is there where it was not before. It is nurtured and built up not by our power or might but by His Holy Spirit. Faith is sufficient in that there only need be enough to exist that God immediately grabs hold of it and in an epic journey for all of us, by the power of His Holy Spirit makes it grow. It cannot be of us it must be of Him.
Ephesians 2:8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9not by works, so that no one can boast.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Friday, October 31, 2008
Getting back into the swing of things
Sorry it's been so long since I posted. I've had to adjust to a temporary and unexpected work schedule that has me working about 65-70 hours a week. I will probably be sporadic in my posts between now and the first of the year.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Global Financial Crisis: Duh!
The economic times we are in right now are bringing us face to face with the gluttony and greed that mankind has fallen into globally. It has been a long steady race to accumulating wealth based on risk and speculation. Because of this we seem to be at a watermark event in world history. The not too distant future will probably determine whether we are headed into a recession or a depression. Could it all have been avoided? Is there anything in the Bible that is relevant to what we are experiencing? (Well of course I believe there is because I asked the questions!)
(Got’ta take a bunny trail early in this devo. I know there are a lot of cynics of the church both from within and without who feel pastors abuse people by using scripture to intimidate them into giving money to the church. Some of them have such a bad attitude that as soon as they hear one of us bring up the subject of money they tune out. I have no doubt that there has been just cause for such accusations throughout the history of the church. Unfortunately this clouds and obscures the truth contained in a lot of worthy biblical lessons. Sound teaching from trustworthy individuals gets ignored because people affected by the corrupted ones are quick to shut down their attention. That’s unfortunate because there actually are trustworthy ministers of the gospel who are stewards of kingdom resources and not out to “get a cut of the action.” In fact most are making a great sacrifice just to be in ministry. So maybe I can make a run at it this morning. )
One of the harder lessons in life a lot of people never learn is putting God first. For most people, God rises to the top of the priority list in times of severe want and need. The rest of the time He is marginalized. We can acknowledge he exists, acknowledge he created us, and acknowledge he has executed a fail safe plan of salvation for each one of us but a lot of people go through life missing incredible blessings because God is not first in their life.
There was a time when the people of Israel turned their hearts away from God (“A” time? Well many times actually) God spoke to them through the prophet Malachi. The last book of the Old Testament contains the prophetic message of Malachi. It addresses the depraved condition of people who are morally bankrupt: the condition of those who know the truth and yet trivialize its importance in their lives. The people who Malachi addresses clearly know who God is and what His will is and yet they choose to keep their relationship with Him at a distance. They have put God first only from the perspective of being the first “go to” resource when things run a muck. Only then do they come home runnin’. In Malachi’s prophecy, God has had enough of that kind of relationship.
God desires to be our first love. God wants to be sought first, before earthly wisdom, pleasure, wealth, or love. God want us to seek Him first and honor Him above all things and not be treated like a pet that an ungrateful child has tired of. Yes, from faith to finances, God wants to be first.
If we look at the current national financial catastrophe our country is facing (and the global impact it is having), it is easy to see the warnings of Malachi being lived out. Malachi 3: 9 says: “You are under a curse – the whole nation – because you are robbing me.” Money may at first appear to be the main issue, but I believe all it really does is reflect the real problem: lack of relationship with God. Economics 101 defines money as a measure of worth and a medium of exchange. What we do with our money simply measures our value of God’s worth.
Finances are just one area where it is easy to do a reduction process to determine that value. The Truth of who we are boils to the surface with little effort when we look at whose we are determined by where our resources are spent and what gets first priority. Either God comes out first or He doesn’t and there’s not a whole lot of sorting to do to determine that.
The good news is, God does have a solution for us. Malachi 3:10, to my knowledge, is the only place in scripture where God invites us to test Him. (Not that people don’t go ahead and test Him anyway) It is not a test to see how rich we can make evangelists and pastors. It is a test to see where our priorities and trust are. And it’s a test that promises blessings in return that far exceed the sacrifice required.
10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.
I love what Paul says in Philippians 3: 7 & 8 “What ever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ . . . I consider them rubbish.” (I invite you to look into the original Greek word for “rubbish” to get a deeper feel for Paul’s expression here).
What captivates the passionate focus of our life also reveals where God stands in our lives. Do we live for Him or for our own glory and gain? Is Jesus Christ really first in your life?
I struggle daily but the good news for all of us is that recognizing there is a struggle indicates there is hope of a desire for Him to be #1.
Stay close to Jesus!
(Got’ta take a bunny trail early in this devo. I know there are a lot of cynics of the church both from within and without who feel pastors abuse people by using scripture to intimidate them into giving money to the church. Some of them have such a bad attitude that as soon as they hear one of us bring up the subject of money they tune out. I have no doubt that there has been just cause for such accusations throughout the history of the church. Unfortunately this clouds and obscures the truth contained in a lot of worthy biblical lessons. Sound teaching from trustworthy individuals gets ignored because people affected by the corrupted ones are quick to shut down their attention. That’s unfortunate because there actually are trustworthy ministers of the gospel who are stewards of kingdom resources and not out to “get a cut of the action.” In fact most are making a great sacrifice just to be in ministry. So maybe I can make a run at it this morning. )
One of the harder lessons in life a lot of people never learn is putting God first. For most people, God rises to the top of the priority list in times of severe want and need. The rest of the time He is marginalized. We can acknowledge he exists, acknowledge he created us, and acknowledge he has executed a fail safe plan of salvation for each one of us but a lot of people go through life missing incredible blessings because God is not first in their life.
There was a time when the people of Israel turned their hearts away from God (“A” time? Well many times actually) God spoke to them through the prophet Malachi. The last book of the Old Testament contains the prophetic message of Malachi. It addresses the depraved condition of people who are morally bankrupt: the condition of those who know the truth and yet trivialize its importance in their lives. The people who Malachi addresses clearly know who God is and what His will is and yet they choose to keep their relationship with Him at a distance. They have put God first only from the perspective of being the first “go to” resource when things run a muck. Only then do they come home runnin’. In Malachi’s prophecy, God has had enough of that kind of relationship.
God desires to be our first love. God wants to be sought first, before earthly wisdom, pleasure, wealth, or love. God want us to seek Him first and honor Him above all things and not be treated like a pet that an ungrateful child has tired of. Yes, from faith to finances, God wants to be first.
If we look at the current national financial catastrophe our country is facing (and the global impact it is having), it is easy to see the warnings of Malachi being lived out. Malachi 3: 9 says: “You are under a curse – the whole nation – because you are robbing me.” Money may at first appear to be the main issue, but I believe all it really does is reflect the real problem: lack of relationship with God. Economics 101 defines money as a measure of worth and a medium of exchange. What we do with our money simply measures our value of God’s worth.
Finances are just one area where it is easy to do a reduction process to determine that value. The Truth of who we are boils to the surface with little effort when we look at whose we are determined by where our resources are spent and what gets first priority. Either God comes out first or He doesn’t and there’s not a whole lot of sorting to do to determine that.
The good news is, God does have a solution for us. Malachi 3:10, to my knowledge, is the only place in scripture where God invites us to test Him. (Not that people don’t go ahead and test Him anyway) It is not a test to see how rich we can make evangelists and pastors. It is a test to see where our priorities and trust are. And it’s a test that promises blessings in return that far exceed the sacrifice required.
10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.
I love what Paul says in Philippians 3: 7 & 8 “What ever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ . . . I consider them rubbish.” (I invite you to look into the original Greek word for “rubbish” to get a deeper feel for Paul’s expression here).
What captivates the passionate focus of our life also reveals where God stands in our lives. Do we live for Him or for our own glory and gain? Is Jesus Christ really first in your life?
I struggle daily but the good news for all of us is that recognizing there is a struggle indicates there is hope of a desire for Him to be #1.
Stay close to Jesus!
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Survey says
I was watching a rerun of Family Feud and a rather interesting question came up for them to find the top 5 answers to: “Where are you most likely to find a sinner?”
First I found that refreshingly daring that they would even bring the topic up. Secondly I knew I was going to be amused and informed by the answers because the top five give us a pretty good cross section of where the culture is at.
The #1 answer was in a bar. So the fact that the majority of people think that, is, de facto, an indication that you are a sinner if you go to a bar. Interesting. Not sure I agree with it 100% either. I presume the fact that casino was another top answer would hold true for them as well.
Two other answers amused me as they revealed some other things to think about. The # 3 answer was church. Now did they mean that we are all sinners and need to be in church or did they mean that all who are in church are hypocrites and are really sinners like the rest of the world out side the church?
Not too surprisingly “hell” came in fourth as a place to find sinners. I thought, “Well good! The vast majority of people still will admit there is a hell, at least on a survey!”
But a reality that perhaps the world doesn’t fully understand is that there was another answer that would have been 100% accurate but never made it to the top 5. It may not be the #1 answer but it is undeniably true: heaven. Heaven is populated with nothing but sinners when it comes to surveying its human inhabitants. The difference is the sinners in heaven made a decision to trust Jesus for their salvation rather than their own deeds. They realized that no one can earn their way into heaven.
Ephesians 2
1As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature[a] and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. 4But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9not by works, so that no one can boast. 10For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
First I found that refreshingly daring that they would even bring the topic up. Secondly I knew I was going to be amused and informed by the answers because the top five give us a pretty good cross section of where the culture is at.
The #1 answer was in a bar. So the fact that the majority of people think that, is, de facto, an indication that you are a sinner if you go to a bar. Interesting. Not sure I agree with it 100% either. I presume the fact that casino was another top answer would hold true for them as well.
Two other answers amused me as they revealed some other things to think about. The # 3 answer was church. Now did they mean that we are all sinners and need to be in church or did they mean that all who are in church are hypocrites and are really sinners like the rest of the world out side the church?
Not too surprisingly “hell” came in fourth as a place to find sinners. I thought, “Well good! The vast majority of people still will admit there is a hell, at least on a survey!”
But a reality that perhaps the world doesn’t fully understand is that there was another answer that would have been 100% accurate but never made it to the top 5. It may not be the #1 answer but it is undeniably true: heaven. Heaven is populated with nothing but sinners when it comes to surveying its human inhabitants. The difference is the sinners in heaven made a decision to trust Jesus for their salvation rather than their own deeds. They realized that no one can earn their way into heaven.
Ephesians 2
1As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature[a] and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. 4But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9not by works, so that no one can boast. 10For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Monday, September 29, 2008
lessons from the beach 2
This morning I got up early before sunrise. Decided to head over the dune to see if I could catch the sunrise. Got there not a moment too soon. The sun was just making its appearance. It was rising a bit to the south on the eastern horizon.
As I surveyed the beach there was a young mother carrying an infant in a snugly sack. She was headed north and kept looking back as the sun began to crest. At just the right moment she stopped, sat down in the sand, and tried to get her child to engage in experiencing the sunrise with her. I surmise, even at this early age, she was teaching her child about creation: the world she was born in to. I hope and trust that the child will learn about the Creator in the process as well.
How many of us stop and take a moment to wonder at God's creation? Do we have to be on a vacation to catch a sunrise or marvel at a sunset? Do we have to be on a retreat to take time to appreciate how God can speak to us through His creation?
And . . . how many of us take time to share our wonder with the generation that will chase behind us?
Psalm 78
O my people, hear my teaching;
listen to the words of my mouth.
2 I will open my mouth in parables,
I will utter hidden things, things from of old-
3 what we have heard and known,
what our fathers have told us.
4 We will not hide them from their children;
we will tell the next generation
the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD,
his power, and the wonders he has done.
5 He decreed statutes for Jacob
and established the law in Israel,
which he commanded our forefathers
to teach their children,
6 so the next generation would know them,
even the children yet to be born,
and they in turn would tell their children.
7 Then they would put their trust in God
and would not forget his deeds
but would keep his commands.
Stay close to Jesus
REG
As I surveyed the beach there was a young mother carrying an infant in a snugly sack. She was headed north and kept looking back as the sun began to crest. At just the right moment she stopped, sat down in the sand, and tried to get her child to engage in experiencing the sunrise with her. I surmise, even at this early age, she was teaching her child about creation: the world she was born in to. I hope and trust that the child will learn about the Creator in the process as well.
How many of us stop and take a moment to wonder at God's creation? Do we have to be on a vacation to catch a sunrise or marvel at a sunset? Do we have to be on a retreat to take time to appreciate how God can speak to us through His creation?
And . . . how many of us take time to share our wonder with the generation that will chase behind us?
Psalm 78
O my people, hear my teaching;
listen to the words of my mouth.
2 I will open my mouth in parables,
I will utter hidden things, things from of old-
3 what we have heard and known,
what our fathers have told us.
4 We will not hide them from their children;
we will tell the next generation
the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD,
his power, and the wonders he has done.
5 He decreed statutes for Jacob
and established the law in Israel,
which he commanded our forefathers
to teach their children,
6 so the next generation would know them,
even the children yet to be born,
and they in turn would tell their children.
7 Then they would put their trust in God
and would not forget his deeds
but would keep his commands.
Stay close to Jesus
REG
Lessons from the beach
Arrived yesterday for a few days vacation on the Outer Banks. As we got out for a walk on the beach this morning, there were things that had not changed and there was much that had change. As we walked up the steps to trek over the dune to get to the beach it was much the same place where we had stayed 2 years ago. As we stepped on over to the seaward side, that's another story. We could see that the forces of nature had different intentions for the long term shape of the landscape.
I remember two years ago the owner of the rentals where we are staying came in for the weekend. He remarked that nearly 20 years ago when this group of three homes was built, the sand dunes were level with the third story decks. When we were here 2 years ago they were level with the second story decks and now after a few significant storms in 2 years, while the dunes aren’t any shorter, they are significantly eroded and about ½ the thickness from seaside to land side.
Snow fencing used to attempt to inhibit erosions is gone or battered in many areas. The remaining slats on some sections look like lonely soldiers holding their positions desperately waiting for reinforcements to come rushing over the horizon.
As we got to the end of the deck steps stepping onto the beach, it was obvious the last 6 or 8 steps were new. Waking further down the beach we saw more and more stairways to the beach missing or recently rebuilt. Then we began to see the many homes built out over the dunes that had attempted sand bagging.
The sand bags were probably much the same as what was brought in around New Orleans to do emergency repair to the levies. They are about 8 ft long and maybe 3 ft at their deepest; very intimidating to look at. I’m guessing just one would fill a heavy duty pick up truck to its capacity.
They would work well laid on a concrete surface that doesn’t sit on sand. The problem is: you have to lay them on the sand. Anything laid on the sand from concrete to pilings to boulders may be intended to be permanent but the sand gets its marching orders from the sea. The water can shift the sand around and under the bags. Nothing is safe from the sea.
And if those huge sand bags get one rip, one snag, then they become subject to the ruthless pounding surf that at first may only tear a little but with each blow from the waves the tear becomes larger and soon the bag is ripped wide open.
Boy if you want to see a real big picture of denial you could probably go to any coastal area in the world and see how people deny truth. The wise man DOES NOT build his house upon the sand!!!! Snow fencing does not help, sand bagging does not help, breakers do not help and, seawalls do not help. When the stormy seas come, they come and nothing man builds will stand the test of time. Nothing.
The rich man or the foolish man builds anyway. Why? I think because mankind has a track history of wanting to do things in defiance of the brutal truth.
So nature is a material reflection of and/or illustration of God’s truth (And go figure: He’s the one who created both )
Jesus says in Matthew 7:26: But whoever hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like the foolish man who built his house upon the sand.
There is also another scripture that comes to mind today too. It’s from Matthew 24:35
Heaven and earth will pass away but my words will remain the same.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Christianity: it’s supposed to be on the edge
Revelation 3:15I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.
So after finishing the posting right before this one I realized ”the church” in its broadest sense isn’t always able to bring itself to be “all things to all people.” Sometimes it can loose sight of what the church is meant to be in attempting to be all things to all people.
Here is what I mean. First, how many congregations in an attempt to attract and keep people by having golf leagues, softball leagues, quilting clubs, adventure clubs, field trips to sport outings, scrap booking clubs etc. There’s nothing inherently “wrong” with any of these. Matter of fact I’ve participated and promoted one or two myself (not the quilt club though). The problem is: it’s pretty easy for some folks to “hide” in these activities and never learn to share their faith with someone who doesn’t know Christ. It’s easy to be a member of a church by participating in these activities and never be challenged to grow spiritually. We might be all things but certainly not for the purpose of saving people and equipping people to share a life saving message.
Secondly, we can become so caught up in living “the Christian life” that we risk socially cut ourselves off from non-Christians. We do anything but become “all things to all people so that we might win them to Christ.” Instead we provide all things for all us insiders so that we don’t have to deal with that “sinful” world out there. We find a Christian dentist, insurance agent, attorney, mechanic, painter, doctor, furnace repair guy and so on down the line. Eventually, if we are not careful, we can get to the point where we would not even think of going to lunch with anyone other than someone “from church.” We want nothing but a “nice” church where our kids get raised in a nice hermetically sealed environment where they are taught, de facto, to segregate themselves from the “unsaved sinful unclean” world because that is what their parents have done.
Churches die or become spiritually dead because they exist for the churched rather than the unchurched. There is a wake-up call going on for the church in our generation: we are not called to seal ourselves off expecting the unsaved world to come to us. Shame on us when our church buildings for all intents and purposes are nothing more than a fort for “the saved” rather than an oasis for those who are dying. The church must relearn to exist for the unchurched instead of for the churched. We shouldn’t expect “them” to be ready to instantly be like ‘us” because we appear to have an attractive Carnival Cruises Christian lifestyle.
The Great commission’s operative word is “go”. The church as a whole in the 20th century sent some people out, but by and large their greatest trademark became “waiting . . . for them to change and to come to us.” That goes against the grain of who Jesus is.
Is it any wonder that most people who are not Christians have no reason to mingle with the church because there is nothing genuinely attractive about it in terms of being relevant to them offering a life changing relationship and hope in a broken world?
Stay close to Jesus . . . but go where he wants you to go out there!
REG
P.S Would you rather sit at a church board meeting deciding what color to paint the narthex listening to a side conversation on the latest gossip or would you entertain talking to someone who has a deep hunger for spiritual things but needs to talk about it on his turf at the local pub?
So after finishing the posting right before this one I realized ”the church” in its broadest sense isn’t always able to bring itself to be “all things to all people.” Sometimes it can loose sight of what the church is meant to be in attempting to be all things to all people.
Here is what I mean. First, how many congregations in an attempt to attract and keep people by having golf leagues, softball leagues, quilting clubs, adventure clubs, field trips to sport outings, scrap booking clubs etc. There’s nothing inherently “wrong” with any of these. Matter of fact I’ve participated and promoted one or two myself (not the quilt club though). The problem is: it’s pretty easy for some folks to “hide” in these activities and never learn to share their faith with someone who doesn’t know Christ. It’s easy to be a member of a church by participating in these activities and never be challenged to grow spiritually. We might be all things but certainly not for the purpose of saving people and equipping people to share a life saving message.
Secondly, we can become so caught up in living “the Christian life” that we risk socially cut ourselves off from non-Christians. We do anything but become “all things to all people so that we might win them to Christ.” Instead we provide all things for all us insiders so that we don’t have to deal with that “sinful” world out there. We find a Christian dentist, insurance agent, attorney, mechanic, painter, doctor, furnace repair guy and so on down the line. Eventually, if we are not careful, we can get to the point where we would not even think of going to lunch with anyone other than someone “from church.” We want nothing but a “nice” church where our kids get raised in a nice hermetically sealed environment where they are taught, de facto, to segregate themselves from the “unsaved sinful unclean” world because that is what their parents have done.
Churches die or become spiritually dead because they exist for the churched rather than the unchurched. There is a wake-up call going on for the church in our generation: we are not called to seal ourselves off expecting the unsaved world to come to us. Shame on us when our church buildings for all intents and purposes are nothing more than a fort for “the saved” rather than an oasis for those who are dying. The church must relearn to exist for the unchurched instead of for the churched. We shouldn’t expect “them” to be ready to instantly be like ‘us” because we appear to have an attractive Carnival Cruises Christian lifestyle.
The Great commission’s operative word is “go”. The church as a whole in the 20th century sent some people out, but by and large their greatest trademark became “waiting . . . for them to change and to come to us.” That goes against the grain of who Jesus is.
Is it any wonder that most people who are not Christians have no reason to mingle with the church because there is nothing genuinely attractive about it in terms of being relevant to them offering a life changing relationship and hope in a broken world?
Stay close to Jesus . . . but go where he wants you to go out there!
REG
P.S Would you rather sit at a church board meeting deciding what color to paint the narthex listening to a side conversation on the latest gossip or would you entertain talking to someone who has a deep hunger for spiritual things but needs to talk about it on his turf at the local pub?
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Chameleons for Christ
Ever notice I come up with some rather bizarre titles to these blogs?
A chameleon is a little critter I’m guessing is a member of or relative to the lizard family. He’s noted for his ability to change his body color to match his environment so that he will blend in.
Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 9:22 . . . . I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some.
Coupled with the verses preceding that, this verse means that Paul is willing to adapt to the ethnic/cultural/social environment he steps into in order to convey a relevant message of hope to them. He becomes like them so he can blend with them and relate to them. He’s a social chameleon for the gospel of Christ.
What is the first thing that a missionary does before entering a foreign mission field? Learn the language and the dialect of the region they are going into. The second? The culture. The third? The history. The result? They know the heart language of the people.
Paul was way ahead of the game when it came to knowing the heart language of the variety of cultures he invaded. He was perfect for the job. Given his background he could: speak Greek and Hebrew because of his multicultural parents; mingle with the philosophers because of his superb education, relate to the Pharisee (he was one before his conversion) mingle with the blue collar workers (he was a tent maker by trade). He had the qualifications to cross a lot of boundaries that not everyone was privileged to do. He had the ability to mingle with a lot of people and know their heart language.
Well how does that relate to you and me today? What if we are not “called” to go to the foreign mission field? Can this passage of the Bible still have relevance to us? I believe it does.
Even if you find it difficult to cross socio/economic or ethno/cultural lines, there are still things about who you are that make you a unique persons to talk to a unique group of people. Your age can be a common denominator. Your social activities as well. Are you a soccer mom? Then you have a “tribe” you can relate to! Are you sports enthusiast? Then you have multiple tribes to relate to.
Lost a loved one recently? Then for a season there will be others who grieve that you can relate to. Cancer survivor? Then there is someone to talk to. Victim of a violent crime? Somebody needs to hear your story.
How has God uniquely equipped you to be “all things to all people?”
Stay close to Jesus
REG
A chameleon is a little critter I’m guessing is a member of or relative to the lizard family. He’s noted for his ability to change his body color to match his environment so that he will blend in.
Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 9:22 . . . . I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some.
Coupled with the verses preceding that, this verse means that Paul is willing to adapt to the ethnic/cultural/social environment he steps into in order to convey a relevant message of hope to them. He becomes like them so he can blend with them and relate to them. He’s a social chameleon for the gospel of Christ.
What is the first thing that a missionary does before entering a foreign mission field? Learn the language and the dialect of the region they are going into. The second? The culture. The third? The history. The result? They know the heart language of the people.
Paul was way ahead of the game when it came to knowing the heart language of the variety of cultures he invaded. He was perfect for the job. Given his background he could: speak Greek and Hebrew because of his multicultural parents; mingle with the philosophers because of his superb education, relate to the Pharisee (he was one before his conversion) mingle with the blue collar workers (he was a tent maker by trade). He had the qualifications to cross a lot of boundaries that not everyone was privileged to do. He had the ability to mingle with a lot of people and know their heart language.
Well how does that relate to you and me today? What if we are not “called” to go to the foreign mission field? Can this passage of the Bible still have relevance to us? I believe it does.
Even if you find it difficult to cross socio/economic or ethno/cultural lines, there are still things about who you are that make you a unique persons to talk to a unique group of people. Your age can be a common denominator. Your social activities as well. Are you a soccer mom? Then you have a “tribe” you can relate to! Are you sports enthusiast? Then you have multiple tribes to relate to.
Lost a loved one recently? Then for a season there will be others who grieve that you can relate to. Cancer survivor? Then there is someone to talk to. Victim of a violent crime? Somebody needs to hear your story.
How has God uniquely equipped you to be “all things to all people?”
Stay close to Jesus
REG
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Nothing too insignificant for God
Sometimes we only think of God as only doing big miracles and speaking to us only about the most critical things in our life. God is so capable of holding all of creation together and being everywhere all the time that I believe he actually has time to exercise his sense of humor with us.
Earlier this evening I went to my car to pull my Bible out so that I could read something of worth to see how it could connect with something I might have experienced this week. Well I came in the house, bible in hand, and remembered to go over to check my work cell phone to see if the charger was working properly. I picked it up looked at it, set it down and began to walk away when it rang. Its not suppose to ring on the weekends unless it's an on call emergency. I answered it. It was one of my co-workers who was taking a bible course at a local college. she needed some help with her assignment and wanted to know if I had a moment to find something in the Bible for me.
So here I am next to the phone bible in hand when they call. Just a coincidence? NOT!!!!!!!
I felt like God was saying, “Yo! Bob! Did you not think I pay attention to everything you do?
Did you not think I can set you up to use you even when you are not aware I am getting you ready?
Did you not think I know your every move?
What is it to you if I choose to reveal myself to you in the grandest most magnificent way or in the quiet insignificance of a Saturday evening at home?
What part of Omnipotent don’t you understand?”
Okay, I think I had my lesson for the day
God is THE Original multi –tasker, isn’t He!
Earlier this evening I went to my car to pull my Bible out so that I could read something of worth to see how it could connect with something I might have experienced this week. Well I came in the house, bible in hand, and remembered to go over to check my work cell phone to see if the charger was working properly. I picked it up looked at it, set it down and began to walk away when it rang. Its not suppose to ring on the weekends unless it's an on call emergency. I answered it. It was one of my co-workers who was taking a bible course at a local college. she needed some help with her assignment and wanted to know if I had a moment to find something in the Bible for me.
So here I am next to the phone bible in hand when they call. Just a coincidence? NOT!!!!!!!
I felt like God was saying, “Yo! Bob! Did you not think I pay attention to everything you do?
Did you not think I can set you up to use you even when you are not aware I am getting you ready?
Did you not think I know your every move?
What is it to you if I choose to reveal myself to you in the grandest most magnificent way or in the quiet insignificance of a Saturday evening at home?
What part of Omnipotent don’t you understand?”
Okay, I think I had my lesson for the day
God is THE Original multi –tasker, isn’t He!
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Just who do you think you are?
That title probably got your attention. How often have you heard that said when party A feels that party B is stepping out of line with arrogance or audacity?
Well I put another spin on that question last night as we started another season of recovery ministry for our church. I have found that when there are dysfunctions in our lives, especially ones that deeply affect our perception of worth as a human being, we need to ask, “Just who do you think you are?”
Sometimes we lose sight of just who we are. Genesis 1:26 and 27 tells us very clearly that God created us in his image. That means we are intended to reflect only good, holy and righteous qualities of God. We were created for that.
Jeremiah 1:5 and Psalm 139:13-16 remind us that God intimately knows the details of each one of us and had a creative purposeful, wonderful and awesome reason to bring each one of us into existence. He knew each one of us before we were created in our mothers’ wombs.. There is nothing in the Bible to indicate any of us are a mistake or “junk.”
For God to create us in His image seems kind of worthless unless it is to be interactive with Him. God does not intend for us to be abandoned after he creates us. We may buy into a lie to believe that, but it can’t be true.
We can certainly think that God does not want to be in relationship sometimes when it becomes apparent that we have done something that would not please God or when things are just not going “our way.” Just do a word search in Psalms, and you will find there are many occasions where the Psalmist asks God why he “hides his face” from him or petitions God not to “hide his face.” That line of thinking affirms what is meant to be. We inherently know that it feels right for God to have his face toward us and not away from us.
Whether we ever come to realize how important we are to God does not affect his awareness of who we are. There is not one detail in our lives that goes unnoticed. Think about that!
You are special to God!!!!
Luke 12:7 Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. (NIV)
Psalm 139 (New Living Translation)
13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
15 You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
16 You saw me before I was born.
Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
before a single day had passed.
17 How precious are your thoughts about me,[b] O God.
They cannot be numbered!
18 I can’t even count them;
they outnumber the grains of sand!
And when I wake up,
you are still with me!
Stay close to Jesus!
REG
Well I put another spin on that question last night as we started another season of recovery ministry for our church. I have found that when there are dysfunctions in our lives, especially ones that deeply affect our perception of worth as a human being, we need to ask, “Just who do you think you are?”
Sometimes we lose sight of just who we are. Genesis 1:26 and 27 tells us very clearly that God created us in his image. That means we are intended to reflect only good, holy and righteous qualities of God. We were created for that.
Jeremiah 1:5 and Psalm 139:13-16 remind us that God intimately knows the details of each one of us and had a creative purposeful, wonderful and awesome reason to bring each one of us into existence. He knew each one of us before we were created in our mothers’ wombs.. There is nothing in the Bible to indicate any of us are a mistake or “junk.”
For God to create us in His image seems kind of worthless unless it is to be interactive with Him. God does not intend for us to be abandoned after he creates us. We may buy into a lie to believe that, but it can’t be true.
We can certainly think that God does not want to be in relationship sometimes when it becomes apparent that we have done something that would not please God or when things are just not going “our way.” Just do a word search in Psalms, and you will find there are many occasions where the Psalmist asks God why he “hides his face” from him or petitions God not to “hide his face.” That line of thinking affirms what is meant to be. We inherently know that it feels right for God to have his face toward us and not away from us.
Whether we ever come to realize how important we are to God does not affect his awareness of who we are. There is not one detail in our lives that goes unnoticed. Think about that!
You are special to God!!!!
Luke 12:7 Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. (NIV)
Psalm 139 (New Living Translation)
13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
15 You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
16 You saw me before I was born.
Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
before a single day had passed.
17 How precious are your thoughts about me,[b] O God.
They cannot be numbered!
18 I can’t even count them;
they outnumber the grains of sand!
And when I wake up,
you are still with me!
Stay close to Jesus!
REG
Monday, September 15, 2008
The sin of Silence
There is a faith sharing course we are currently presenting as part of our teaching ministry. It’s called “Share Jesus Without Fear” (By the way if you have never read the book it’s an easy read and I highly recommend it for anyone struggling with how to share their faith. The Author is Bill Fay). In the book and on one of the video presentations the concept of the “sin of silence” is mentioned. One of our younger newer individuals questioned such a sin as he had never heard of it before.
Well he was right in the sense that the actual words linked together as sin of silence isn’t likely to be found in a literal translation of the Bible. But the implication that it exists sure can have a case made for it. In a generic sense the sin of silence is not speaking up when we know we should. As it is applied to sharing our faith it simply means that when we do not share our faith with others it’s a sin.
The closing verses of Matthew 28 would be a great illustration of this sin being implied. It’s known as the Great Commission. We are to disciple baptize and teach. That’s a mandate to Jesus’ disciples pro temp then, but if we choose to follow him now it becomes our mandate too. So not to obey the commission is the sin of silence.
Strangely, the day before this came up in our Saturday morning class it was something I felt the urge to look into and revisit for myself. Not that I had a reminder or cue that it was going to come up in class but instead just that I had been in this one passage before and I just felt the urge to go back to it as a reminder to what it said to me.
Its Ezekiel 33:7-8 there is a charge to the watchman that if he knows from where he stands in the tower that there is danger on the horizon, it’s on him to warn everyone. Should all be lost, and they had not been forewarned their blood is on his hands; he is responsible for their fate. In other words, it’s a grievous sin to pay for if you had the opportunity to give warning and you choose to remain silent.
Doesn’t seem like we need a Rhoades Scholar to help us figure out the imagery in that passage. If the opportunity arises for us to share our faith seems like it’s not an option because it is dealing with someone else’s eternity.
In the book and on the video the author says that most Christians are afraid to share their faith and only about 10% do in a year’s time. Some are afraid of failure and rejection; some could care less; some don’t have a clue how to go about doing it. Others think sharing your faith means standing on a street corner with a sign in our hand or going door to door telling the rest of the world what they must do! The signs of the street corner evangelist that say “turn or burn” “Repent for the end is near” “you must be born again” are all messages that indeed state truth but aren’t getting people’s attention. I wonder if that message isn’t really more for someone one who already knows the word of God?
In today’s world the starting point for a lot of people is atheistic. No God, no heaven or hell; no hope and certainly no understanding of a need for a Savior. For others the starting point is believing they can define who God is or believe there is more than one god.
As we try to overcome the sin of silence, the challenge in today’s world is to share the Good News without being obnoxious, condescending, or condemning. The challenge is to find a way to make the Good News relative, logical and convincing and outrageously attractive instead of being a “turn off.” The challenge is to offer people an opportunity to receive the free gift of grace rather than make them feel like hell if they don’t (a lot of them probably already do feel like hell already). The challenge is to share the truth in a relevant loving way so that the truth will set them free.
Lord,
Help me recognize the opportunities that you put in front of me to become your partner in spreading the good news. Give me the right words to say that come individually tailored by you for that person.
Stay close to Jesus
REG
Well he was right in the sense that the actual words linked together as sin of silence isn’t likely to be found in a literal translation of the Bible. But the implication that it exists sure can have a case made for it. In a generic sense the sin of silence is not speaking up when we know we should. As it is applied to sharing our faith it simply means that when we do not share our faith with others it’s a sin.
The closing verses of Matthew 28 would be a great illustration of this sin being implied. It’s known as the Great Commission. We are to disciple baptize and teach. That’s a mandate to Jesus’ disciples pro temp then, but if we choose to follow him now it becomes our mandate too. So not to obey the commission is the sin of silence.
Strangely, the day before this came up in our Saturday morning class it was something I felt the urge to look into and revisit for myself. Not that I had a reminder or cue that it was going to come up in class but instead just that I had been in this one passage before and I just felt the urge to go back to it as a reminder to what it said to me.
Its Ezekiel 33:7-8 there is a charge to the watchman that if he knows from where he stands in the tower that there is danger on the horizon, it’s on him to warn everyone. Should all be lost, and they had not been forewarned their blood is on his hands; he is responsible for their fate. In other words, it’s a grievous sin to pay for if you had the opportunity to give warning and you choose to remain silent.
Doesn’t seem like we need a Rhoades Scholar to help us figure out the imagery in that passage. If the opportunity arises for us to share our faith seems like it’s not an option because it is dealing with someone else’s eternity.
In the book and on the video the author says that most Christians are afraid to share their faith and only about 10% do in a year’s time. Some are afraid of failure and rejection; some could care less; some don’t have a clue how to go about doing it. Others think sharing your faith means standing on a street corner with a sign in our hand or going door to door telling the rest of the world what they must do! The signs of the street corner evangelist that say “turn or burn” “Repent for the end is near” “you must be born again” are all messages that indeed state truth but aren’t getting people’s attention. I wonder if that message isn’t really more for someone one who already knows the word of God?
In today’s world the starting point for a lot of people is atheistic. No God, no heaven or hell; no hope and certainly no understanding of a need for a Savior. For others the starting point is believing they can define who God is or believe there is more than one god.
As we try to overcome the sin of silence, the challenge in today’s world is to share the Good News without being obnoxious, condescending, or condemning. The challenge is to find a way to make the Good News relative, logical and convincing and outrageously attractive instead of being a “turn off.” The challenge is to offer people an opportunity to receive the free gift of grace rather than make them feel like hell if they don’t (a lot of them probably already do feel like hell already). The challenge is to share the truth in a relevant loving way so that the truth will set them free.
Lord,
Help me recognize the opportunities that you put in front of me to become your partner in spreading the good news. Give me the right words to say that come individually tailored by you for that person.
Stay close to Jesus
REG
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Chain Stitches
I don’t know if any of the previous meditations on truth were of interest to you. I found out today that, if nothing else, they were drill exercises for me for what I had to face today.
I had someone get into a discussion with me regarding their struggle to believe whether there is a heaven, a hell, a devil. He was also struggling to get his mind around who God is too.
I had to establish from the start whether we could both agree on what truth is. Threw in the whole law of non-contradiction thing; what truth looks like etc. Got him to agree with me pretty quickly on the fundamentals of the attributes of genuine objective truth.
Then went on to establish God has to be the source of truth. Covered some territory as far as God is Spirit, God is love, God is truth in the sense that these are attributes of Him as well as the source of our human experience of these things. In other words we only experience things like truth, love, a sense of righteousness, a source of moral integrity because God is the well spring of all of these things.
So then I went to John 14:6 and reminded the man of the scripture he had heard before. “I am the way the truth and the life.” Truth or not the truth; can’t be both. Lord, liar or lunatic.
Have you ever seen the Holy Spirit give an intelligent person a left hook? I did just then.
So once I got his attention there, we moved on to address heaven, hell, and the devil. “Okay. Now let’s talk about whether there’s a devil, a hell or a heaven”
“Jesus talked about all three” Once again truth or not the truth. Lord Liar or Lunatic. But only one.
And on the heels of that . . . MAN! . . . Did I feel God shout in my ear! "Bob remind him about what he already knew: Jesus was tempted by the devil right after He was baptized. They had a conversation! Does he exist or doesn’t he? Only one answer is the truth.”
Holy Spirit: right hook and upper cut. A stunned look and then there was almost a look of embarrassment on this man’s face.
My goal was not to upstage him, embarrass him or belittle him. I was only there to share the truth with him. I tried to keep a smooth energy level not take on an attitude of competitive debate, and remain a soft calm spirit to share these things with compassion.
I saw scripture quicken this man. We threw in the towel for the day; I trusted the Holy Spirit was going to continue to work on him because I could see he was familiar enough with scripture that the momentum was now going for him to rethink every thing he had doubted.
And what echoed through my mind as I processed the day was from John 8:32
Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."
So you are probably wondering where the heck I got the title for today’s meditation. Well it’s like this. If we can’t accept the word of God as Truth, Jesus as truth, everything he said as truth, then everything in the Bible has open season declared on it. It will unravel like a chain stitched fabric. Everything fails miserably. Nothing is the unchangeable immutable truth anymore and we are left with no moral compass.
Further, the whole chain of not accepting God as truth his word as truth, His son as truth, all will eventually lead us to rationalize that there is no reason to even be decent or respectful toward one another because the snowball of disbelief in truth can run right over the 10 commandments and our sense of right and wrong.
New Living Translation of the Bible Romans 1:
18 But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness. 19 They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. 20 For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.
21 Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. 22 Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. 23 And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles.
No Jesus, No Hope
Know Jesus, Know Hope!
Stay close to the truth, stay close to Him!
REG
I had someone get into a discussion with me regarding their struggle to believe whether there is a heaven, a hell, a devil. He was also struggling to get his mind around who God is too.
I had to establish from the start whether we could both agree on what truth is. Threw in the whole law of non-contradiction thing; what truth looks like etc. Got him to agree with me pretty quickly on the fundamentals of the attributes of genuine objective truth.
Then went on to establish God has to be the source of truth. Covered some territory as far as God is Spirit, God is love, God is truth in the sense that these are attributes of Him as well as the source of our human experience of these things. In other words we only experience things like truth, love, a sense of righteousness, a source of moral integrity because God is the well spring of all of these things.
So then I went to John 14:6 and reminded the man of the scripture he had heard before. “I am the way the truth and the life.” Truth or not the truth; can’t be both. Lord, liar or lunatic.
Have you ever seen the Holy Spirit give an intelligent person a left hook? I did just then.
So once I got his attention there, we moved on to address heaven, hell, and the devil. “Okay. Now let’s talk about whether there’s a devil, a hell or a heaven”
“Jesus talked about all three” Once again truth or not the truth. Lord Liar or Lunatic. But only one.
And on the heels of that . . . MAN! . . . Did I feel God shout in my ear! "Bob remind him about what he already knew: Jesus was tempted by the devil right after He was baptized. They had a conversation! Does he exist or doesn’t he? Only one answer is the truth.”
Holy Spirit: right hook and upper cut. A stunned look and then there was almost a look of embarrassment on this man’s face.
My goal was not to upstage him, embarrass him or belittle him. I was only there to share the truth with him. I tried to keep a smooth energy level not take on an attitude of competitive debate, and remain a soft calm spirit to share these things with compassion.
I saw scripture quicken this man. We threw in the towel for the day; I trusted the Holy Spirit was going to continue to work on him because I could see he was familiar enough with scripture that the momentum was now going for him to rethink every thing he had doubted.
And what echoed through my mind as I processed the day was from John 8:32
Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."
So you are probably wondering where the heck I got the title for today’s meditation. Well it’s like this. If we can’t accept the word of God as Truth, Jesus as truth, everything he said as truth, then everything in the Bible has open season declared on it. It will unravel like a chain stitched fabric. Everything fails miserably. Nothing is the unchangeable immutable truth anymore and we are left with no moral compass.
Further, the whole chain of not accepting God as truth his word as truth, His son as truth, all will eventually lead us to rationalize that there is no reason to even be decent or respectful toward one another because the snowball of disbelief in truth can run right over the 10 commandments and our sense of right and wrong.
New Living Translation of the Bible Romans 1:
18 But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness. 19 They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. 20 For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.
21 Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. 22 Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. 23 And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles.
No Jesus, No Hope
Know Jesus, Know Hope!
Stay close to the truth, stay close to Him!
REG
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Double nickels
Back when I used to drive a lot and use a CB radio “double nickels” was (and probably still is) slang for “55 miles an hour.” Well today is double nickels for me. Yeah it’s official. Next time I go to Eat N Park I can’t be insulted if I get the senior discount. I now deserve it! I have arrived! As one of my seminary professors used to say sarcastically, “Thrilling!”
Twenty- five years ago seems like 25 months ago. Twenty-five years from now seems way too comfortably close and I’m not too sure I’m real anxious to see what that’s going to look like! (Coincidentally, my mom, bless her heart just turned 25 last month so I guess I have a rough picture in front of me.) The older I get, the younger I was.
Sometimes on occasions like this people get asked, “If you had a chance to do it over again what would you do differently?” I don’t know about you, but I’m not the best to give an impromptu answer to questions like this. So in the event someone might ask me that in the days to come I guess I need to think this through.
I could ask for help answering the question and I’d probably have people coming out of the wood work for miles around to stand in line to take their turn to me answer that question.
“Well ya should have done this then.”
“And you should have done that the other time.”
“Ya should have bailed when you stuck it out.”
“You should have stuck it out when you bailed.”
“Do you realize that because you chose to do that you won’t be able to enjoy this later on?”
Well. Actually, I’m not 100% sure I would change anything. I’m not trying to imply that everything I have done I did without error, without regret, and only with perfect execution. Rather, I know myself too well. If I could change the past to improve my “handicap” in life, I’m inclined to believe I’d just use the “corrected” opportunities to free myself up to make other mistakes in different ways. Come to think of it, if I could change my past, would I even be guaranteed I’d be alive today?
In 55 years of living I have learned that life is full of choices. Not all of them will be good ones. Some of them will be down right painful. Some of them will be prudent and full of wisdom. Some of them will be made without forethought and some will be made without even realizing until a much later point, there was a choice made at some point in time and I did not consciously recognize the mile marker or the consequences.
There have been some great choices, some rewarding choices, and some life changing choices. There have been some incredibly bad choices. I even believe that a lot of times when I though I had some great plans, God sat back and laughed.
Through it all; through all the good and bad choices I’m grateful to have a wife that chooses to love me when I know I’m not very lovable. I’m glad I have friends who forgive me when I have hurt them and maybe didn’t even know I did. I’m glad I have a God who loves me despite all my imperfections.
I’m actually to some degree content that I have not always made the best choices in life. It’s been in the brokenness of botched up living that I’ve come face to face with the sufficiency of Christ. Maybe I have not achieved success by other people’s standards, but my “trip-ups” in life have been the times when God has shown his grace towards me. That’s priceless.
I believe God has used and will continue to use all my “my bad”‘s to teach me and guide me if I try to humble myself and learn what He wants to teach me in the moment. God does not waste anything. He can take the most hideous things in life and turn them inside out to glorify Himself. How many times have you seen God take an experience you went through and use it as a connection point with someone else? Or have you ever even considered the uncanny precision with which that happens over the years? Is it really just coincidence that you end up coming along side someone who needs some encouragement in life that only you can offer? Or vise versa? I am so relieved that God is in control. He can take our mistakes and transform them into teachable usable experiences to do His kingdom work.
Romans 8:28 We know that in everything God works for the good of those who love him. They are the people he called, because that was his plan. (New Century Version)
He sure has done that with me!
Jeremiah 29:11 11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. (New International Version)
I continue to learn how to seek him with all my heart.
Because of his Grace poured out for me, I know what I want most for the remainder of my time on this earth is to be put into situations where people need the good news and I can be a part of sharing that.
Lord,
Thank you for letting me get this far in life. I have met many who have not made it even to this simple milepost.
Thank you for keeping me around for purposes I have not yet fulfilled.
In these next 25 years, continue to be my guide more and more each new day and help me to ignore the things that distract me from you.
Help me be a better husband, dad, friend, and pastor. Use my past to touch the future.
In Jesus’ name I pray.
Amen
Stay close to Jesus
REG
Twenty- five years ago seems like 25 months ago. Twenty-five years from now seems way too comfortably close and I’m not too sure I’m real anxious to see what that’s going to look like! (Coincidentally, my mom, bless her heart just turned 25 last month so I guess I have a rough picture in front of me.) The older I get, the younger I was.
Sometimes on occasions like this people get asked, “If you had a chance to do it over again what would you do differently?” I don’t know about you, but I’m not the best to give an impromptu answer to questions like this. So in the event someone might ask me that in the days to come I guess I need to think this through.
I could ask for help answering the question and I’d probably have people coming out of the wood work for miles around to stand in line to take their turn to me answer that question.
“Well ya should have done this then.”
“And you should have done that the other time.”
“Ya should have bailed when you stuck it out.”
“You should have stuck it out when you bailed.”
“Do you realize that because you chose to do that you won’t be able to enjoy this later on?”
Well. Actually, I’m not 100% sure I would change anything. I’m not trying to imply that everything I have done I did without error, without regret, and only with perfect execution. Rather, I know myself too well. If I could change the past to improve my “handicap” in life, I’m inclined to believe I’d just use the “corrected” opportunities to free myself up to make other mistakes in different ways. Come to think of it, if I could change my past, would I even be guaranteed I’d be alive today?
In 55 years of living I have learned that life is full of choices. Not all of them will be good ones. Some of them will be down right painful. Some of them will be prudent and full of wisdom. Some of them will be made without forethought and some will be made without even realizing until a much later point, there was a choice made at some point in time and I did not consciously recognize the mile marker or the consequences.
There have been some great choices, some rewarding choices, and some life changing choices. There have been some incredibly bad choices. I even believe that a lot of times when I though I had some great plans, God sat back and laughed.
Through it all; through all the good and bad choices I’m grateful to have a wife that chooses to love me when I know I’m not very lovable. I’m glad I have friends who forgive me when I have hurt them and maybe didn’t even know I did. I’m glad I have a God who loves me despite all my imperfections.
I’m actually to some degree content that I have not always made the best choices in life. It’s been in the brokenness of botched up living that I’ve come face to face with the sufficiency of Christ. Maybe I have not achieved success by other people’s standards, but my “trip-ups” in life have been the times when God has shown his grace towards me. That’s priceless.
I believe God has used and will continue to use all my “my bad”‘s to teach me and guide me if I try to humble myself and learn what He wants to teach me in the moment. God does not waste anything. He can take the most hideous things in life and turn them inside out to glorify Himself. How many times have you seen God take an experience you went through and use it as a connection point with someone else? Or have you ever even considered the uncanny precision with which that happens over the years? Is it really just coincidence that you end up coming along side someone who needs some encouragement in life that only you can offer? Or vise versa? I am so relieved that God is in control. He can take our mistakes and transform them into teachable usable experiences to do His kingdom work.
Romans 8:28 We know that in everything God works for the good of those who love him. They are the people he called, because that was his plan. (New Century Version)
He sure has done that with me!
Jeremiah 29:11 11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. (New International Version)
I continue to learn how to seek him with all my heart.
Because of his Grace poured out for me, I know what I want most for the remainder of my time on this earth is to be put into situations where people need the good news and I can be a part of sharing that.
Lord,
Thank you for letting me get this far in life. I have met many who have not made it even to this simple milepost.
Thank you for keeping me around for purposes I have not yet fulfilled.
In these next 25 years, continue to be my guide more and more each new day and help me to ignore the things that distract me from you.
Help me be a better husband, dad, friend, and pastor. Use my past to touch the future.
In Jesus’ name I pray.
Amen
Stay close to Jesus
REG
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
What is truth? Part deux
Picking up from yesterday, a friend once said to me, “God is whoever you define him to be.” At the time he said it, I hadn't been challenged yet to really think deeply about such things. There was something inherently irksome about it to me. It just didn't set well. I'm glad my experiences, education and most importantly journey to know Christ more deeply, led me to where I am today. I know that can’t be true. (Although a lot of people believe its true.)
We are in a funky age where people think truth is subjective rather than objective. Believing something is true is not what validates it to be the truth. Truth is self evident and non contradictory. It stands alone and is independent of any opinion we have of it. Saying God is what we define him to be, de facto, puts us in the position of being God to make that defining statement. God can define himself and that would not be contradictory but for us to define him is not logical.
In a effort to validate ourselves to “look good” and maybe appear religious, we could buy into the notion it is a "right thing to do" if we at least acknowledge there is some sort of spiritual hierarchy in the universe, some sort of higher power. But we are fools to think that each one of us has the right to individually define that higher power that created and holds the universe together.
In order for God to be God he must be the essence of truth in nature, self defined, eternally existent. He must always be all knowing (omniscient), all powerful (omnipotent) and ever present (omnipresent).
Deuteronomy 6:4 (Contemporary English Version)
4Listen, Israel! The LORD our God is the only true God!
Isaiah 43:10-11 (New International Version)
10 "You are my witnesses," declares the LORD,
"and my servant whom I have chosen,
so that you may know and believe me
and understand that I am he.
Before me no god was formed,
nor will there be one after me.
11 I, even I, am the LORD,
and apart from me there is no savior.
It either is the Truth or it isn’t but it can’t be both and still be the truth.
Lord,
Help us to understand there is just one truth not many.
Help us to understand you are the source of all truth.
Help us to wrap our minds around the greatness of who you, the authenticity of who you are and the authority of your written word that reveals to us who you are.
Amen
Stay close to Jesus
REG
We are in a funky age where people think truth is subjective rather than objective. Believing something is true is not what validates it to be the truth. Truth is self evident and non contradictory. It stands alone and is independent of any opinion we have of it. Saying God is what we define him to be, de facto, puts us in the position of being God to make that defining statement. God can define himself and that would not be contradictory but for us to define him is not logical.
In a effort to validate ourselves to “look good” and maybe appear religious, we could buy into the notion it is a "right thing to do" if we at least acknowledge there is some sort of spiritual hierarchy in the universe, some sort of higher power. But we are fools to think that each one of us has the right to individually define that higher power that created and holds the universe together.
In order for God to be God he must be the essence of truth in nature, self defined, eternally existent. He must always be all knowing (omniscient), all powerful (omnipotent) and ever present (omnipresent).
Deuteronomy 6:4 (Contemporary English Version)
4Listen, Israel! The LORD our God is the only true God!
Isaiah 43:10-11 (New International Version)
10 "You are my witnesses," declares the LORD,
"and my servant whom I have chosen,
so that you may know and believe me
and understand that I am he.
Before me no god was formed,
nor will there be one after me.
11 I, even I, am the LORD,
and apart from me there is no savior.
It either is the Truth or it isn’t but it can’t be both and still be the truth.
Lord,
Help us to understand there is just one truth not many.
Help us to understand you are the source of all truth.
Help us to wrap our minds around the greatness of who you, the authenticity of who you are and the authority of your written word that reveals to us who you are.
Amen
Stay close to Jesus
REG
Sunday, September 7, 2008
What is the truth?
That’s a critical question in deciding what you want to believe.
I can remember back to some conversations I had in the “closing moments” of my shoeing days. They took place while I was in the early days of seminary (I was a slow learner by the way: it took me 5 years to get through a 3 year program). There were two separate occasions with people I had known for over twenty years. Just one remark from each person has left a lasting impression. I guess that’s because they were a representation of what I was going to face on a regular basis if I was going to risk leaving the comfort zone of ”the church” and get out into the world to share my faith in Christ.
One statement was, “that may be true for you but that does not necessarily mean it’s true for me.” The second statement at another time and place from the other person was, “God is who you define him to be.”
Are you okay with either one of those statements? Well I wasn’t and still am not. I’m not going to get on a soap box and render an opinion of those two friends. That’s not my goal here. I haven’t seen either one in a long time but I still love ‘em. I actually needed to hear those statements to make me wiggle with my faith.
So what’s so penetrating about either one of those statement? They take me to a place intellectually where I can’t let it go. They touched me both where my faith lives and also where my logic reside: in my heart and in the head.
Lets take the first statement: “that may be true for you but that does not necessarily mean it’s true for me.” Can something really be true in one application and not another? A simple illustration to answer that question can be found by using arithmetic. Can 1+2 = 3 for you but = 4 for me?
There is a concept I was introduced to several years ago called the law of non-contradiction. It basically states that nothing is able to coexist in a state of being something and not being something at the same time. (It’s okay. I smelled electric wires overheating the first time I heard that too. . . .I’ll wait a few moments for you to catch up)
Trying to state that another way it means: a statement cannot be the truth and not be the truth at the same time.
A great illustration of an attempt to defy the law of non-contradiction is to make the statement, “there are no absolute truths.” This is something a lot of people actually believe today but in order for it to be true it must be absolutely true and it can’t be absolutely true without defeating itself. Are you with me?
So, where does that leave us? Truth is absolute. Unchangeable. Irrefutable. And at least for me there is a bone chilling reality that hits the person seriously considering the reality of the Christian faith square it the heart and the head. It is a statement that Christ made.
Jesus says, “I am the way the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6)
That cuts to the core of who I am and what I believe. Once confronted with the “either or but not both” decision demanded by this statement, I can never be the same again. Ultimately it led me to make a critical decision that is intimately tied in with who I am and what I believe.
Our personal intersection with this one statement confronts us and demands personal decision.
He either did say it or he didn’t.
He either had the authority to say it or he didn’t.
It either is the truth or it isn’t.
We do get to choose whether we believe it or not. But that does not change whether it is the truth or not. Truth exists independent of our opinion: it either is the truth or it isn’t but it cannot be both.
At the end of the day, Jesus Christ is either Lord, liar or lunatic. Everthing about him either is true or it is not.
Only one choice is the truth.
What will you choose to believe?
Choose wisely for only one opinion embraces the reality and leads to eternal life.
Enough for one day
I’ll save the other statement for another day.
Stay close to Jesus!
REG
I can remember back to some conversations I had in the “closing moments” of my shoeing days. They took place while I was in the early days of seminary (I was a slow learner by the way: it took me 5 years to get through a 3 year program). There were two separate occasions with people I had known for over twenty years. Just one remark from each person has left a lasting impression. I guess that’s because they were a representation of what I was going to face on a regular basis if I was going to risk leaving the comfort zone of ”the church” and get out into the world to share my faith in Christ.
One statement was, “that may be true for you but that does not necessarily mean it’s true for me.” The second statement at another time and place from the other person was, “God is who you define him to be.”
Are you okay with either one of those statements? Well I wasn’t and still am not. I’m not going to get on a soap box and render an opinion of those two friends. That’s not my goal here. I haven’t seen either one in a long time but I still love ‘em. I actually needed to hear those statements to make me wiggle with my faith.
So what’s so penetrating about either one of those statement? They take me to a place intellectually where I can’t let it go. They touched me both where my faith lives and also where my logic reside: in my heart and in the head.
Lets take the first statement: “that may be true for you but that does not necessarily mean it’s true for me.” Can something really be true in one application and not another? A simple illustration to answer that question can be found by using arithmetic. Can 1+2 = 3 for you but = 4 for me?
There is a concept I was introduced to several years ago called the law of non-contradiction. It basically states that nothing is able to coexist in a state of being something and not being something at the same time. (It’s okay. I smelled electric wires overheating the first time I heard that too. . . .I’ll wait a few moments for you to catch up)
Trying to state that another way it means: a statement cannot be the truth and not be the truth at the same time.
A great illustration of an attempt to defy the law of non-contradiction is to make the statement, “there are no absolute truths.” This is something a lot of people actually believe today but in order for it to be true it must be absolutely true and it can’t be absolutely true without defeating itself. Are you with me?
So, where does that leave us? Truth is absolute. Unchangeable. Irrefutable. And at least for me there is a bone chilling reality that hits the person seriously considering the reality of the Christian faith square it the heart and the head. It is a statement that Christ made.
Jesus says, “I am the way the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6)
That cuts to the core of who I am and what I believe. Once confronted with the “either or but not both” decision demanded by this statement, I can never be the same again. Ultimately it led me to make a critical decision that is intimately tied in with who I am and what I believe.
Our personal intersection with this one statement confronts us and demands personal decision.
He either did say it or he didn’t.
He either had the authority to say it or he didn’t.
It either is the truth or it isn’t.
We do get to choose whether we believe it or not. But that does not change whether it is the truth or not. Truth exists independent of our opinion: it either is the truth or it isn’t but it cannot be both.
At the end of the day, Jesus Christ is either Lord, liar or lunatic. Everthing about him either is true or it is not.
Only one choice is the truth.
What will you choose to believe?
Choose wisely for only one opinion embraces the reality and leads to eternal life.
Enough for one day
I’ll save the other statement for another day.
Stay close to Jesus!
REG
Thursday, September 4, 2008
for a special group of friends
It's nice to know I have a few friends from my former career reading these devotionals. Got a great video a while back from a friend of mine that I know only you guys can cross reference and appreciate especially if you were around in the late 80’s early 90’s when Politt began to come out with his research
Enjoy
http://www.godtube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=152b5103d741aca61093
I miss you all
Stay close to Jesus!
REG
Enjoy
http://www.godtube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=152b5103d741aca61093
I miss you all
Stay close to Jesus!
REG
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
We can't always feel the Spirit leading
JN 14:8 Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us."
JN 14:9 Jesus answered: "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, `Show us the Father'? [10] Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. [11] Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. [12] I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. [13] And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. [14] You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.
(this is a meditation written about 9 years ago; didn't realize back then what I'd have avaialble now.)
I would like to share with you a life changing experience from a few years ago. What I went through in one brief morning brought me face to face in a spiritual sense with the power of these words from the book of John. It all started with a sincere faith and belief in Jesus Christ and a desire to surrender myself totally to Him to do His will for one late summer morning....
In September of 1996 Hurricane Fran hit the coast of North Carolina and did significant damage inland. It so happens I have an aunt and uncle in a little town called Spivey’s Corners NC. (about a 40 minute drive from Wilmington). (My Uncle Roger is a Baptist Minister who also has a radio counseling program) Their region was severally hit by the storms. Tornadoes and high winds ripped through the countryside uprooting those beautiful southern pines as though they were tooth picks. Homes were destroyed and power outages were common throughout the state.
In 1989 I had gone with a group of men from our church to do relief work just 30 days after Hugo had hit the Charleston area. I was hoping to rally the gang to go and do a similar trip again this time. As it turned out I had the time in my schedule and no one else was able to go with me. I truly felt led by the Spirit to go and so I did.
I was amazed when I got there how well organized everyone was and how just two weeks after the storm they were much further into recovery than the greater Charleston area had been 7 years earlier.
On the second day after I arrived at my aunt and uncle’s home, there were only my young cousin Joshua (then 14), and myself available to go out and do volunteer work. We were headed out to “free lance”. Just find somebody that need help clearing trees and hop out of the truck to help them.
As we pulled out of the driveway I uttered a breath prayer, “Lord you know what needs to be done. Show us the way.” I drove and Josh navigated. At each intersection he called the turns as we wandered through the countryside looking for someone to help. As we scoured the countryside there came a point in time when I felt compelled to go against Josh’s directions to turn right. “I need to go left,” I told him.
At the next intersection Josh said, “I suppose you need to go left again.”
“As a matter of fact I do” I replied.
About 200 hundred yards down the road I spotted an older woman coming around from behind her home in her bathing suit.
“Look,” I said, “I’ll bet that little old lady needs some help!” Of course I was acting a little sarcastic when I said it.
Her house was set in a very rural area with most other homes 100 yards away or more. As we drew closer she began to wave at us frantically.
“See!” I told Josh. “She even needs our help!” That was the last smart remark I made for several days. Our lives were about to be impacted permanently.
I’ll spare you all the conversation that passed in the next few minutes. The reality of the situation was that this 83 year old legally blind woman had just come back to consciousness as we rounded the corner onto her road. She had been robbed, sexual assaulted, beaten and left for dead in broad daylight in the middle of a beautiful sunny morning.
She was not in a bathing suit, she was in her underwear. She wanted us to leave her, call for the sheriff department, and bring them back to her home. She felt the assailant was still there. We finally persuaded her to hop in the truck and that we would seek help at the first neighbor that was home. Her head had a nasty wound still bleeding on the back side. Her eyes were starting to swell from the beating. Dried blood was all about her face and the front of her clothes indicating the incident probably took place over an extended period of time.
As we waited for sheriff deputies and an ambulance to show up at a neighbor’s house, she could not thank us often enough. She held both Josh’s and my hand and said over and over again that we were guardian angels sent from God and that it was a miracle we had found her. She said over and over again that we were the answer to her prayers as she lay on her kitchen floor assuming she was going to die. We both assured her that we were no angels but there was no mistake that God led us there.
Well, this Buckeye boy thought for sure that he was going to be pulled in for questioning at the least. Who was going to believe that I was 1000 miles from home and just happened to be in the neighborhood looking for someone to help. The sheriff’s department took my name and address and I never heard from them again. I did not even learn the lady's name. I did hear a couple of weeks later that she was released from the hospital and plans were being made for her to be cared for by her daughter.
Josh and I will never forget what we witness that day. I learned so many things about the Holy Spirit.
God does answer prayer!
God uses us to do his work and to answer other people’s prayers!
When he answers even a breath prayer I now understand what “Thy will be done” means!
God does perform miracles even today!
When we surrender ourselves to the Lord, we truly are used by Him.
Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us." I saw enough that day to make my faith leap to a new level that will never let me go back to being a mediocre pew potato again.
He knows my name,
He knows my every thought,
He sees the tears that fall,
And hears me when I call.
JN 14:9 Jesus answered: "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, `Show us the Father'? [10] Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. [11] Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. [12] I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. [13] And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. [14] You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.
(this is a meditation written about 9 years ago; didn't realize back then what I'd have avaialble now.)
I would like to share with you a life changing experience from a few years ago. What I went through in one brief morning brought me face to face in a spiritual sense with the power of these words from the book of John. It all started with a sincere faith and belief in Jesus Christ and a desire to surrender myself totally to Him to do His will for one late summer morning....
In September of 1996 Hurricane Fran hit the coast of North Carolina and did significant damage inland. It so happens I have an aunt and uncle in a little town called Spivey’s Corners NC. (about a 40 minute drive from Wilmington). (My Uncle Roger is a Baptist Minister who also has a radio counseling program) Their region was severally hit by the storms. Tornadoes and high winds ripped through the countryside uprooting those beautiful southern pines as though they were tooth picks. Homes were destroyed and power outages were common throughout the state.
In 1989 I had gone with a group of men from our church to do relief work just 30 days after Hugo had hit the Charleston area. I was hoping to rally the gang to go and do a similar trip again this time. As it turned out I had the time in my schedule and no one else was able to go with me. I truly felt led by the Spirit to go and so I did.
I was amazed when I got there how well organized everyone was and how just two weeks after the storm they were much further into recovery than the greater Charleston area had been 7 years earlier.
On the second day after I arrived at my aunt and uncle’s home, there were only my young cousin Joshua (then 14), and myself available to go out and do volunteer work. We were headed out to “free lance”. Just find somebody that need help clearing trees and hop out of the truck to help them.
As we pulled out of the driveway I uttered a breath prayer, “Lord you know what needs to be done. Show us the way.” I drove and Josh navigated. At each intersection he called the turns as we wandered through the countryside looking for someone to help. As we scoured the countryside there came a point in time when I felt compelled to go against Josh’s directions to turn right. “I need to go left,” I told him.
At the next intersection Josh said, “I suppose you need to go left again.”
“As a matter of fact I do” I replied.
About 200 hundred yards down the road I spotted an older woman coming around from behind her home in her bathing suit.
“Look,” I said, “I’ll bet that little old lady needs some help!” Of course I was acting a little sarcastic when I said it.
Her house was set in a very rural area with most other homes 100 yards away or more. As we drew closer she began to wave at us frantically.
“See!” I told Josh. “She even needs our help!” That was the last smart remark I made for several days. Our lives were about to be impacted permanently.
I’ll spare you all the conversation that passed in the next few minutes. The reality of the situation was that this 83 year old legally blind woman had just come back to consciousness as we rounded the corner onto her road. She had been robbed, sexual assaulted, beaten and left for dead in broad daylight in the middle of a beautiful sunny morning.
She was not in a bathing suit, she was in her underwear. She wanted us to leave her, call for the sheriff department, and bring them back to her home. She felt the assailant was still there. We finally persuaded her to hop in the truck and that we would seek help at the first neighbor that was home. Her head had a nasty wound still bleeding on the back side. Her eyes were starting to swell from the beating. Dried blood was all about her face and the front of her clothes indicating the incident probably took place over an extended period of time.
As we waited for sheriff deputies and an ambulance to show up at a neighbor’s house, she could not thank us often enough. She held both Josh’s and my hand and said over and over again that we were guardian angels sent from God and that it was a miracle we had found her. She said over and over again that we were the answer to her prayers as she lay on her kitchen floor assuming she was going to die. We both assured her that we were no angels but there was no mistake that God led us there.
Well, this Buckeye boy thought for sure that he was going to be pulled in for questioning at the least. Who was going to believe that I was 1000 miles from home and just happened to be in the neighborhood looking for someone to help. The sheriff’s department took my name and address and I never heard from them again. I did not even learn the lady's name. I did hear a couple of weeks later that she was released from the hospital and plans were being made for her to be cared for by her daughter.
Josh and I will never forget what we witness that day. I learned so many things about the Holy Spirit.
God does answer prayer!
God uses us to do his work and to answer other people’s prayers!
When he answers even a breath prayer I now understand what “Thy will be done” means!
God does perform miracles even today!
When we surrender ourselves to the Lord, we truly are used by Him.
Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us." I saw enough that day to make my faith leap to a new level that will never let me go back to being a mediocre pew potato again.
He knows my name,
He knows my every thought,
He sees the tears that fall,
And hears me when I call.
Deep searching theological questions
If some say there is no God; that there is no intelligent design, why do puppies have perfect lines coming down their face?
healthy obsession
2 Corinthians 10:5b. . . . and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
There are lots of scriptures, Old Testament and New, that point us toward, if I might borrow the expression, “brain washing.” I know the phrase has a negative context when its application is to describe a forced regimen of psychological manipulation for the purpose of controlling people’s mind (and I am painfully aware that it has been used to critically describe the Christian community at times and in some isolated instances the criticism has been valid. I would hope we all can agree those instances are aberrant and atypical of the essence of Christianity).
But we really are called to flush things out of our head and get something radically new in there. There are verses in Proverbs that clearly define the line between chasing things that transform us into a fool or seeking wisdom instead. Much of the historical literature carries a subtle message of letting your mind chase after a worldly pleasures and powers verses going after intimacy with God. There are verse all through the New Testament that encourage us to be proactive in the activities of rethinking our perspective of life, of God, of Eternity, and of how we should “be” as transformed people in this world.
But with all that sitting before us with instruction and encouragement, we all struggle to give into it 100%. At first I wanted to right down, “Well it’s God’s fault: He’s the one that made us, He’s the one that gave us the mind capable of rebelling against Him.” I could agree with myself on all of that except that it’s not a “fault.” God is perfect and blameless so it’s not His fault but he did make us that way on purpose!
So wow let’s look at this again. God created us with purpose and right from the very beginning that purpose involved being independently capable of choosing to be or not to be obedient and respectful to Him. If we are not given the freedom of choice in our relationship with God then we would not be capable of understanding his enduring love for us.
Our free will, our pride, our desire to pursue vengeance on our own, our vanity, our susceptibility to being corrupted by power and to be seduced in a variety of ways all speak of our vulnerability to get our focus on the wrong things. A recent devotional from Purpose Driven Life was entitled, “we move toward our focus.” (August 26, 2008 - PDL - Daily Devotional) We don’t have to dig very deep to understand that; we do move toward our focus, physically, emotionally, spiritually. We can quickly grab hold of the concept if we’ve ever driven a bike, or a car. Glance away from where you are headed long enough and your vehicle will soon follow whether you intended it to or not! So why is that so hard to understand spiritually and emotionally? We are so blind to see the reality of that in non tangible ways.
What ever we intentionally focus on transforms us! God does not want us to cross the center median or end up in the ditch spiritually or emotionally and that is why He has some great instructions for us! The Bible indicates that a transformation is going to take place in us if we willing shift our focus to the things God wants us to be focused on. We should be therefore in the pursuit of God.
We are called to seek the wisdom God; to be devoted to the transforming and renewing of our minds; to live by the Spirit; to “take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ.” In other words, our goal should be to willfully, submissively, take every thought we think and or action we purpose to carry out and critically analyze it to see whether it will honor the one who gave His life for us. I believe this is a critical component of leaving a life of sin as well as also what begins to bring us out of addictive and compulsive behaviors.
As Steven Curtis Chapman describes it in his song titled by the same words, in our pursuit of God and desire to wash our brains of the negative and the sinful, Jesus becomes our “Magnificent Obsession.”
For those of you who don’t have a computer and are reading this by other means, I will close by posting the lyrics below. For the rest of you, well, I know now God was many steps ahead of me in thinking through this devotional because embedded in this video are tons of scripture that illustrate exactly what I was referring to leading up to the close.
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=PprCvi3fvxs
Lord,
Help us in our frail humanness. Enable us to become more and more like you and less and less the one we were before we came to know you. Empower us to make you our Magnificent Obsession.
Lord, You know how much
I want to know so much
In the way of answers and explanations
I have cried and prayed
And still I seem to stay
In the middle of life’s complications
All this pursuing leaves me feeling like I’m chasing down the wind
But now it’s brought me back to You
And I can see again
This is everything I want
This is everything I need
I want this to be my one consuming passion
Everything my heart desires
Lord, I want it all to be for You, Jesus
Be my magnificent obsession
So capture my heart again
Take me to depths I’ve never been
Into the riches of Your grace and Your mercy
Return me to the cross
And let me be completely lost
In the wonder of the love
That You’ve shown me
Cut through these chains that tie me down to so many lesser things
Let all my dreams fall to the ground
Until this one remains
You are everything I want
And You are everything I need
Lord, You are all my heart desires
You are everything to me
You are everything I want
You are everything I need
I want You to be my one consuming passion
Everything my heart desires
Lord, I want it all to be for You
I want it all to be for You
There are lots of scriptures, Old Testament and New, that point us toward, if I might borrow the expression, “brain washing.” I know the phrase has a negative context when its application is to describe a forced regimen of psychological manipulation for the purpose of controlling people’s mind (and I am painfully aware that it has been used to critically describe the Christian community at times and in some isolated instances the criticism has been valid. I would hope we all can agree those instances are aberrant and atypical of the essence of Christianity).
But we really are called to flush things out of our head and get something radically new in there. There are verses in Proverbs that clearly define the line between chasing things that transform us into a fool or seeking wisdom instead. Much of the historical literature carries a subtle message of letting your mind chase after a worldly pleasures and powers verses going after intimacy with God. There are verse all through the New Testament that encourage us to be proactive in the activities of rethinking our perspective of life, of God, of Eternity, and of how we should “be” as transformed people in this world.
But with all that sitting before us with instruction and encouragement, we all struggle to give into it 100%. At first I wanted to right down, “Well it’s God’s fault: He’s the one that made us, He’s the one that gave us the mind capable of rebelling against Him.” I could agree with myself on all of that except that it’s not a “fault.” God is perfect and blameless so it’s not His fault but he did make us that way on purpose!
So wow let’s look at this again. God created us with purpose and right from the very beginning that purpose involved being independently capable of choosing to be or not to be obedient and respectful to Him. If we are not given the freedom of choice in our relationship with God then we would not be capable of understanding his enduring love for us.
Our free will, our pride, our desire to pursue vengeance on our own, our vanity, our susceptibility to being corrupted by power and to be seduced in a variety of ways all speak of our vulnerability to get our focus on the wrong things. A recent devotional from Purpose Driven Life was entitled, “we move toward our focus.” (August 26, 2008 - PDL - Daily Devotional) We don’t have to dig very deep to understand that; we do move toward our focus, physically, emotionally, spiritually. We can quickly grab hold of the concept if we’ve ever driven a bike, or a car. Glance away from where you are headed long enough and your vehicle will soon follow whether you intended it to or not! So why is that so hard to understand spiritually and emotionally? We are so blind to see the reality of that in non tangible ways.
What ever we intentionally focus on transforms us! God does not want us to cross the center median or end up in the ditch spiritually or emotionally and that is why He has some great instructions for us! The Bible indicates that a transformation is going to take place in us if we willing shift our focus to the things God wants us to be focused on. We should be therefore in the pursuit of God.
We are called to seek the wisdom God; to be devoted to the transforming and renewing of our minds; to live by the Spirit; to “take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ.” In other words, our goal should be to willfully, submissively, take every thought we think and or action we purpose to carry out and critically analyze it to see whether it will honor the one who gave His life for us. I believe this is a critical component of leaving a life of sin as well as also what begins to bring us out of addictive and compulsive behaviors.
As Steven Curtis Chapman describes it in his song titled by the same words, in our pursuit of God and desire to wash our brains of the negative and the sinful, Jesus becomes our “Magnificent Obsession.”
For those of you who don’t have a computer and are reading this by other means, I will close by posting the lyrics below. For the rest of you, well, I know now God was many steps ahead of me in thinking through this devotional because embedded in this video are tons of scripture that illustrate exactly what I was referring to leading up to the close.
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=PprCvi3fvxs
Lord,
Help us in our frail humanness. Enable us to become more and more like you and less and less the one we were before we came to know you. Empower us to make you our Magnificent Obsession.
Lord, You know how much
I want to know so much
In the way of answers and explanations
I have cried and prayed
And still I seem to stay
In the middle of life’s complications
All this pursuing leaves me feeling like I’m chasing down the wind
But now it’s brought me back to You
And I can see again
This is everything I want
This is everything I need
I want this to be my one consuming passion
Everything my heart desires
Lord, I want it all to be for You, Jesus
Be my magnificent obsession
So capture my heart again
Take me to depths I’ve never been
Into the riches of Your grace and Your mercy
Return me to the cross
And let me be completely lost
In the wonder of the love
That You’ve shown me
Cut through these chains that tie me down to so many lesser things
Let all my dreams fall to the ground
Until this one remains
You are everything I want
And You are everything I need
Lord, You are all my heart desires
You are everything to me
You are everything I want
You are everything I need
I want You to be my one consuming passion
Everything my heart desires
Lord, I want it all to be for You
I want it all to be for You
Monday, September 1, 2008
keeping the main thing . . . the main thing
Well here we are looking at a natural disaster that is beating our Gulf coast again. It has stirred a flurry of energy in a variety of ways which I think are all positive. The government (state local and federal) at least at this point (the first 24 hours of landfall for Gustav) appears to be organized in its reactions to the hurricane from the early evacuations to enduring the storm to responding to the damage left in its wake. We seem to have learned much as a nation from Katrina.
The news media embedded their reporters for more exclusive coverage knowing that the nation is keeping a more watchful eye because of the vulnerability of the geography and the people within it, and to see how well we have learned our lessons. Disaster recovery groups were in place or are starting to take their places at strategic locations before the storm hit or while it was approaching landfall. Politicians on both side of the fence have realized that the needs of the people in these areas is going to be more important than impressive speeches and strategic. They seem to have attempted to adjust their agendas realizing that at times like this we need to keep the main thing the main thing: taking care of people.
Haven’t heard them yet but, somewhere in the Christian community, someone will rise up this time as they did last time to make some real authoritative theological statements about how they perceive these events are to be interpreted. There will be someone who says, “Make no mistake! Look at the rising incidence of natural disasters worldwide: earthquakes hurricanes, tsunami’s, droughts and famines, global warming. They are all signs that the end that Jesus predicted is now closing in on us.” Or, another will say, “God is judging this region of the country for its sinfulness."
Can we talk for a moment?
Suffice it to say that preachers have been preaching that “the end is near“ as though it is right around the corner for a loooong time. A lot of them have come and gone over the years never living to see the day they thought was pregnant to break through in their own life time. Each generation has had its own voices to preach the clichéd message “repent for the end is near.”
Well, we don’t need natural disasters and terrorist attacks as occasions to capitalize on preaching that the end is near. For each one of us the end is always near from two perspectives: either Jesus might very well come at any moment, or we might loose our life in the flesh at any moment. Neither one of those events have guaranteed predictable dates on the calendar. Many people have lived shorter lives than they have expected and Jesus will come without warning. The end always is near, and always has been.
So responding first to the “repent for the end is near” I say this: in Matthew 24:36 Jesus says "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. So anybody who looks at these events and says “repent for the end is near” with the attitude that they know authoritatively that the day is arriving, in my humble opinion, boarders on committing spiritual abuse. They are capitalizing on fear, emotions, and destitute times to intimidate the listener. Noone knows the day or the time! Jesus said so. If it’s the word of God, it’s the truth and it can’t be anything but. (Truth cannot be the truth and not be the truth at the same time.)
My second response is to those who feel they have the authority to make a prophetic statement of judgment amidst the disasters. Hebrews 1:1-2 pretty much tells us that there is no need for prophets anymore because of what has been revealed to us through the very words spoken by Christ!
1In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.
This one piece of Scripture expands the viewpoint to make us realize we have been living in end times since the advent of Jesus and His word is sufficient for us to interpret the times we are living in. We don’t need someone to say “this happened because God is punishing us.”
My take is that God has the power to command the forces of nature to do as He pleases but we as humans should not be thinking we can speak for Him. Further, I believe that if God wants to punish a nation or a region, He has historically been very thorough and doesn’t leave much behind to salvage or rebuild. (Read about the Great Flood or the story of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis.)
So, once again I believe that anybody who looks at these kinds of events and says, “God is punishing us/you/them” with the attitude that they know authoritatively that they can speak for God, in my humble opinion, a. they are setting themselves up for judgment as a self proclaimed prophet and b. also once again boarder on committing spiritual abuse. Just like in the first instance they are capitalizing on fear, emotions, and destitute times to intimidate the listener.
But having said all that, I see these events as excellent opportunities to capitalizing on “fear, emotions, and destitute times.” These are the times that people are already ready ripe with an awareness of God. Because of the great personal loss they experience, some victims are angry with Him, others are desperately searching for Him for “shelter”, still others give up hope that He even exists. Great time for “the church” to show up!
We don’t need to beat these people up with more fear and intimidation. they've had enough of that enduring the trauma of the storm they just escaped. These are the times we can be the body of Christ full of compassion and mercy. These are the times we can share the love of Christ with people by coming along side them. These are the times we can follow what Jesus said and serve one another in humility and love. These are the times we can carry out acts of kindness in the name of Jesus.
(There is buried within the heart of most human beings the natural inclination to pitch in and help out. Why? Because God engineered us that way! We almost instinctively know that to come to the aid of disaster victims is “the right thing to do.” But, something, somebody has to define it as being the right thing! It shouts of evidence that God must be there to show is what love is, to show us what mercy is, to show us what ”right is. There has to be a preexisting independent higher power to reveal to us what right and wrong is otherwise it would constantly forever be in the state of being redefined.)
It is time again for the segment of “the church” who are given the recourses, the passion, the gifts, and the time to go and serve in the name of Jesus and let our actions be the message that draws people to a loving God. There will be time to preach the message of judgment and end times another day.
For now let’s keep the main thing the main thing. For now, there is such opportunity to be the church! There are still things that need to be done recovering from Katrina, recovering from the floods in the Midwest earlier this summer, recovering from Gustavo, recovering from new disasters still to come.
Jesus gives us all a chilling commission to take care of those in need.
Mathew 25:34"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'
37"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
40"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'
41"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'
How will you respond to the need? How will your local congregation respond? How will your denomination if you are part of one, respond?
Stay close to Jesus
REG
The news media embedded their reporters for more exclusive coverage knowing that the nation is keeping a more watchful eye because of the vulnerability of the geography and the people within it, and to see how well we have learned our lessons. Disaster recovery groups were in place or are starting to take their places at strategic locations before the storm hit or while it was approaching landfall. Politicians on both side of the fence have realized that the needs of the people in these areas is going to be more important than impressive speeches and strategic. They seem to have attempted to adjust their agendas realizing that at times like this we need to keep the main thing the main thing: taking care of people.
Haven’t heard them yet but, somewhere in the Christian community, someone will rise up this time as they did last time to make some real authoritative theological statements about how they perceive these events are to be interpreted. There will be someone who says, “Make no mistake! Look at the rising incidence of natural disasters worldwide: earthquakes hurricanes, tsunami’s, droughts and famines, global warming. They are all signs that the end that Jesus predicted is now closing in on us.” Or, another will say, “God is judging this region of the country for its sinfulness."
Can we talk for a moment?
Suffice it to say that preachers have been preaching that “the end is near“ as though it is right around the corner for a loooong time. A lot of them have come and gone over the years never living to see the day they thought was pregnant to break through in their own life time. Each generation has had its own voices to preach the clichéd message “repent for the end is near.”
Well, we don’t need natural disasters and terrorist attacks as occasions to capitalize on preaching that the end is near. For each one of us the end is always near from two perspectives: either Jesus might very well come at any moment, or we might loose our life in the flesh at any moment. Neither one of those events have guaranteed predictable dates on the calendar. Many people have lived shorter lives than they have expected and Jesus will come without warning. The end always is near, and always has been.
So responding first to the “repent for the end is near” I say this: in Matthew 24:36 Jesus says "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. So anybody who looks at these events and says “repent for the end is near” with the attitude that they know authoritatively that the day is arriving, in my humble opinion, boarders on committing spiritual abuse. They are capitalizing on fear, emotions, and destitute times to intimidate the listener. Noone knows the day or the time! Jesus said so. If it’s the word of God, it’s the truth and it can’t be anything but. (Truth cannot be the truth and not be the truth at the same time.)
My second response is to those who feel they have the authority to make a prophetic statement of judgment amidst the disasters. Hebrews 1:1-2 pretty much tells us that there is no need for prophets anymore because of what has been revealed to us through the very words spoken by Christ!
1In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.
This one piece of Scripture expands the viewpoint to make us realize we have been living in end times since the advent of Jesus and His word is sufficient for us to interpret the times we are living in. We don’t need someone to say “this happened because God is punishing us.”
My take is that God has the power to command the forces of nature to do as He pleases but we as humans should not be thinking we can speak for Him. Further, I believe that if God wants to punish a nation or a region, He has historically been very thorough and doesn’t leave much behind to salvage or rebuild. (Read about the Great Flood or the story of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis.)
So, once again I believe that anybody who looks at these kinds of events and says, “God is punishing us/you/them” with the attitude that they know authoritatively that they can speak for God, in my humble opinion, a. they are setting themselves up for judgment as a self proclaimed prophet and b. also once again boarder on committing spiritual abuse. Just like in the first instance they are capitalizing on fear, emotions, and destitute times to intimidate the listener.
But having said all that, I see these events as excellent opportunities to capitalizing on “fear, emotions, and destitute times.” These are the times that people are already ready ripe with an awareness of God. Because of the great personal loss they experience, some victims are angry with Him, others are desperately searching for Him for “shelter”, still others give up hope that He even exists. Great time for “the church” to show up!
We don’t need to beat these people up with more fear and intimidation. they've had enough of that enduring the trauma of the storm they just escaped. These are the times we can be the body of Christ full of compassion and mercy. These are the times we can share the love of Christ with people by coming along side them. These are the times we can follow what Jesus said and serve one another in humility and love. These are the times we can carry out acts of kindness in the name of Jesus.
(There is buried within the heart of most human beings the natural inclination to pitch in and help out. Why? Because God engineered us that way! We almost instinctively know that to come to the aid of disaster victims is “the right thing to do.” But, something, somebody has to define it as being the right thing! It shouts of evidence that God must be there to show is what love is, to show us what mercy is, to show us what ”right is. There has to be a preexisting independent higher power to reveal to us what right and wrong is otherwise it would constantly forever be in the state of being redefined.)
It is time again for the segment of “the church” who are given the recourses, the passion, the gifts, and the time to go and serve in the name of Jesus and let our actions be the message that draws people to a loving God. There will be time to preach the message of judgment and end times another day.
For now let’s keep the main thing the main thing. For now, there is such opportunity to be the church! There are still things that need to be done recovering from Katrina, recovering from the floods in the Midwest earlier this summer, recovering from Gustavo, recovering from new disasters still to come.
Jesus gives us all a chilling commission to take care of those in need.
Mathew 25:34"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'
37"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
40"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'
41"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'
How will you respond to the need? How will your local congregation respond? How will your denomination if you are part of one, respond?
Stay close to Jesus
REG
Saturday, August 30, 2008
the fine print on cheap fire insurance
There are a lot of people in the world who think they are assured a place in heaven and are, well, pardon the expression, dead wrong. They sort of have the mentality that they have an easily acquired insurance policy. Seems pretty simple to categorize them into identifiable groups. So let me give it a whirl.
First, there are those who look at their baptism as the sole means of assurance for their salvation. It really doesn’t matters whether it was as an infant, youth, or adult. The act of baptism is not a stand alone means by which someone will get into heaven. Baptism is not a cheap insurance policy guaranteeing you’ll get into heaven. Guarantee ya that there are people that when you ask them how they are going to get into heaven they’ll reply, “My parents had me baptized when I was a baby.” Well that and $2.79 will get you a real nice cup of coffee at Panera’s.
The second group are those who when asked if they will get into heaven will say, “Well, I believe there is a God so I sure hope so.” Well even the devil believes that God exists! There are also many other world religions outside of Christianity that believe there is a God. Believing there is a God does not get you into heaven. It’s a nice starting place to believe there is a God but that can’t stand alone either. Simply believing there is a God and assuming this will get you into heaven is about the same as acknowledging that Donald Trump exists and therefore you ought to be rich.
The third group out there thinks their membership in a church body and/or attendance at worship will get them into heaven. I’m not the first one to think of these two analogies but that’s as silly as assuming you’ll be a car if you stay in the garage long enough or a football player if you attend the games. Doing things does not get you into heaven nor does it make you a Christian.
Those three groups aren’t too hard to identify but now we come to the next group, Category Four: those who went through the motions of confessing Christ as their Savior but never have a changed life thereafter. Now this group really thinks they came across some cheap fire insurance! They think because the words came across their lips they are saved for all Eternity. Saying the sinner’s prayer with no true inner conviction, no desire to make Jesus Lord of your life is making a mockery of God. Do not go there! God will not be mocked!
They are the ones who go right on doing the things they were doing before. They know they are doing things contrary to God’s will and His holiness and claim exclusion from judgment saying that they are “covered by grace.” There is no forensic evidence that could convict them of being a Christian yet they think they are saved because they “said the sinner’s prayer.” When you look at their life there is no evidence of a regenerated spirit. Confessing Jesus as your savior is not an excuse to go on sinning and it will not get you into heaven if that’s how you understand it!
What’s a regenerated spirit? A person with a changed life because they made a heartfelt profession of Christ as Lord and Savior. The regenerated spirit is changed in perspective, attitude and actions because they have given themselves over to Christ as their Lord after having understood and personally accepted how he could be their Savior. They are totally turned around or in the process of turning from who they were before. No one is perfect in their thoughts, words, and deeds immediately upon becoming a Christian but upon receiving the free gift of grace by faith alone in Christ alone there is transaction that has taken place. By accepting God’s grace, we recognize and acknowledge we were paid for at the highest price ever. In appreciation and gratitude for this free gift we voluntarily surrender our spirit, our will, our soul to Christ (the one who created it in the first place).
And that my friend is evidence of someone who will be in heaven. They believed enough in what a miserable sinner they were that they accepted Christ first as Savior, but also inseparably as Lord. It’s a person with an intimate personal relationship with Christ.
I’m thankful that we have a patient God because I know that I was a “Category 4” Christian for a long time before I “got it” and I’m still surrendering little pieces of “my ranch” that I’ve held onto that really need to be given over to the Lord.
1What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Romans 6:1-2
Stay close to Jesus!
REG
First, there are those who look at their baptism as the sole means of assurance for their salvation. It really doesn’t matters whether it was as an infant, youth, or adult. The act of baptism is not a stand alone means by which someone will get into heaven. Baptism is not a cheap insurance policy guaranteeing you’ll get into heaven. Guarantee ya that there are people that when you ask them how they are going to get into heaven they’ll reply, “My parents had me baptized when I was a baby.” Well that and $2.79 will get you a real nice cup of coffee at Panera’s.
The second group are those who when asked if they will get into heaven will say, “Well, I believe there is a God so I sure hope so.” Well even the devil believes that God exists! There are also many other world religions outside of Christianity that believe there is a God. Believing there is a God does not get you into heaven. It’s a nice starting place to believe there is a God but that can’t stand alone either. Simply believing there is a God and assuming this will get you into heaven is about the same as acknowledging that Donald Trump exists and therefore you ought to be rich.
The third group out there thinks their membership in a church body and/or attendance at worship will get them into heaven. I’m not the first one to think of these two analogies but that’s as silly as assuming you’ll be a car if you stay in the garage long enough or a football player if you attend the games. Doing things does not get you into heaven nor does it make you a Christian.
Those three groups aren’t too hard to identify but now we come to the next group, Category Four: those who went through the motions of confessing Christ as their Savior but never have a changed life thereafter. Now this group really thinks they came across some cheap fire insurance! They think because the words came across their lips they are saved for all Eternity. Saying the sinner’s prayer with no true inner conviction, no desire to make Jesus Lord of your life is making a mockery of God. Do not go there! God will not be mocked!
They are the ones who go right on doing the things they were doing before. They know they are doing things contrary to God’s will and His holiness and claim exclusion from judgment saying that they are “covered by grace.” There is no forensic evidence that could convict them of being a Christian yet they think they are saved because they “said the sinner’s prayer.” When you look at their life there is no evidence of a regenerated spirit. Confessing Jesus as your savior is not an excuse to go on sinning and it will not get you into heaven if that’s how you understand it!
What’s a regenerated spirit? A person with a changed life because they made a heartfelt profession of Christ as Lord and Savior. The regenerated spirit is changed in perspective, attitude and actions because they have given themselves over to Christ as their Lord after having understood and personally accepted how he could be their Savior. They are totally turned around or in the process of turning from who they were before. No one is perfect in their thoughts, words, and deeds immediately upon becoming a Christian but upon receiving the free gift of grace by faith alone in Christ alone there is transaction that has taken place. By accepting God’s grace, we recognize and acknowledge we were paid for at the highest price ever. In appreciation and gratitude for this free gift we voluntarily surrender our spirit, our will, our soul to Christ (the one who created it in the first place).
And that my friend is evidence of someone who will be in heaven. They believed enough in what a miserable sinner they were that they accepted Christ first as Savior, but also inseparably as Lord. It’s a person with an intimate personal relationship with Christ.
I’m thankful that we have a patient God because I know that I was a “Category 4” Christian for a long time before I “got it” and I’m still surrendering little pieces of “my ranch” that I’ve held onto that really need to be given over to the Lord.
1What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Romans 6:1-2
Stay close to Jesus!
REG
Butterflies in the stomach
The message of the cross seems foolish to those who are lost and dying. But it is God's power to us who are being saved. It is written,
"I will destroy the wisdom of those who are wise.
I will do away with the cleverness of those who think they are so smart." (Isaiah 29:14)
1 Corinthians 1, verse 18 and 19.
I have to admit to some degree I live a sheltered life. I grew up in times when most of the country still was Christian and I was raised in a family with Christian values. My faith probably never got challenged to any degree until I reached college in the early 1970’s and by that time the tide in the mainstream thinking of the culture had already begun its recession away from Christianity. (As a sinner I know, at least for a season, I rode that wave that was headed away from God)
Today, nearly forty years later, the tide has receded so far that theologians refer to the culture as “post Christian.” The culture for the most part is oblivious to such terminology as “post Christian." I believe it'S because it is so caught up in the revolution against God having authority or influence over our government or moral standards of living thaT it's beginning to forget we ever were a Christian nation/culture.
Well back to my statement that I feel like I have been living in a sheltered life. Most often I run into people with no faith, a fractured faith, a wounded faith, or a dormant faith. Maybe it’s because I am so immersed in sharing my faith among those who need Christ that it’s a shocker when I run into a proactive anti-Christian. It’s so unsettling! On the one hand Scripture affirms that it’s going to be there, but it’s such a sobering reality of prophetic truth when you really encounter it. It’s not like I've never run into it but I have never gotten used to it!
Recently I had such an encounter by way of the TV. I don’t really think it will do any good to mention names, suffice it to say I saw a celebrated TV personality recently giving his take on a variety of topics; primarily religion and politics. During the interview he comes down on Rick Warren as a leader in the Christian community as well as taking Christianity over the coals as being fools for what they believe, manipulators of weak minded people, focused on passing the plate to stay in business, and actually believing that there is a heaven.
Here are a couple links to give you a flavor of the conversation
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0808/19/lkl.01.html
This is the entire interview in transcript form.
And here is the link for a segment of the interview on You Tube that will pretty much give you the essence of what I’m referring to as his anti-Christianity sentiment.
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=-CWiASiqDdU
I’m not out to attack the individual as a person; that’s one of the reason I’m not mentioning his name. Who he is, is irrelevant to me save only that he’s in a position to influence a lot of people and sadly because he’s popular for his opinions but not necessarily his knowledge (as he even admits in a way in his interview). No, rather than attack him, I’d rather pray that God would be patient with him long enough for him to come to understand salvation and grace and accept Jesus as his Lord. Let’s just say he’s a face: a personification of what we are told to expect as scripture teaches us.
My point is this: as a listen to a man like this I get the gutsy butterfly feeling of “wow this stuff is real and I’m not sure I want to “play this game anymore” in my stomach. The heart of Satan is within his words. Maybe you get that feeling too or maybe it makes you so angry you want to punch the guy. Either reaction is not what we are called to do.
The first thing I need to remember is that God is in charge of saving the world through his son Jesus Christ, not me.
Secondly, I am responsible for speaking the truth of scripture to the degree I know it whenever the occasion arises. So it’s best that I be an ongoing student of the scripture for the times when I might run into a sharp witted intelligent intellectual who thinks Christianity is for fools. What I should not do is shy away from the occasion. As a Christian I need to live by the verse from Romans 1:
16I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes:
Thirdly, rather than getting a militant attitude towards the individual, I should remember to pity the person who gets in my face to confront my faith. He may think I’m a fool for believing “the message of the cross” but he’s worse off; he’s “lost and dying.”
Finally I should welcome the occasions. I don’t have to be a five time gold medalist from the debate team to have a conversation with a radical anti Christian. I can even “loose” a conversation and be made a fool of. It’s okay. In the end God will still love me and even be proud of me for standing up for Him.
1 Peter 4:14 14If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.
These occasions are actually to be looked forward to!
James 1: 2Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.
This I know from experience: when I do know that I am headed spiritually into “enemy territory” I do ask for wisdom and I will come up with thoughts that I know were way to logical and intelligent for my feeble little brain to construct!
If we truly accept the message of the cross we have both a responsibility and a "response ability." The responsibility is the Great Commission. The “response ability” is the power of the Holy Spirit working in us!
Stay close to Jesus!
"I will destroy the wisdom of those who are wise.
I will do away with the cleverness of those who think they are so smart." (Isaiah 29:14)
1 Corinthians 1, verse 18 and 19.
I have to admit to some degree I live a sheltered life. I grew up in times when most of the country still was Christian and I was raised in a family with Christian values. My faith probably never got challenged to any degree until I reached college in the early 1970’s and by that time the tide in the mainstream thinking of the culture had already begun its recession away from Christianity. (As a sinner I know, at least for a season, I rode that wave that was headed away from God)
Today, nearly forty years later, the tide has receded so far that theologians refer to the culture as “post Christian.” The culture for the most part is oblivious to such terminology as “post Christian." I believe it'S because it is so caught up in the revolution against God having authority or influence over our government or moral standards of living thaT it's beginning to forget we ever were a Christian nation/culture.
Well back to my statement that I feel like I have been living in a sheltered life. Most often I run into people with no faith, a fractured faith, a wounded faith, or a dormant faith. Maybe it’s because I am so immersed in sharing my faith among those who need Christ that it’s a shocker when I run into a proactive anti-Christian. It’s so unsettling! On the one hand Scripture affirms that it’s going to be there, but it’s such a sobering reality of prophetic truth when you really encounter it. It’s not like I've never run into it but I have never gotten used to it!
Recently I had such an encounter by way of the TV. I don’t really think it will do any good to mention names, suffice it to say I saw a celebrated TV personality recently giving his take on a variety of topics; primarily religion and politics. During the interview he comes down on Rick Warren as a leader in the Christian community as well as taking Christianity over the coals as being fools for what they believe, manipulators of weak minded people, focused on passing the plate to stay in business, and actually believing that there is a heaven.
Here are a couple links to give you a flavor of the conversation
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0808/19/lkl.01.html
This is the entire interview in transcript form.
And here is the link for a segment of the interview on You Tube that will pretty much give you the essence of what I’m referring to as his anti-Christianity sentiment.
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=-CWiASiqDdU
I’m not out to attack the individual as a person; that’s one of the reason I’m not mentioning his name. Who he is, is irrelevant to me save only that he’s in a position to influence a lot of people and sadly because he’s popular for his opinions but not necessarily his knowledge (as he even admits in a way in his interview). No, rather than attack him, I’d rather pray that God would be patient with him long enough for him to come to understand salvation and grace and accept Jesus as his Lord. Let’s just say he’s a face: a personification of what we are told to expect as scripture teaches us.
My point is this: as a listen to a man like this I get the gutsy butterfly feeling of “wow this stuff is real and I’m not sure I want to “play this game anymore” in my stomach. The heart of Satan is within his words. Maybe you get that feeling too or maybe it makes you so angry you want to punch the guy. Either reaction is not what we are called to do.
The first thing I need to remember is that God is in charge of saving the world through his son Jesus Christ, not me.
Secondly, I am responsible for speaking the truth of scripture to the degree I know it whenever the occasion arises. So it’s best that I be an ongoing student of the scripture for the times when I might run into a sharp witted intelligent intellectual who thinks Christianity is for fools. What I should not do is shy away from the occasion. As a Christian I need to live by the verse from Romans 1:
16I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes:
Thirdly, rather than getting a militant attitude towards the individual, I should remember to pity the person who gets in my face to confront my faith. He may think I’m a fool for believing “the message of the cross” but he’s worse off; he’s “lost and dying.”
Finally I should welcome the occasions. I don’t have to be a five time gold medalist from the debate team to have a conversation with a radical anti Christian. I can even “loose” a conversation and be made a fool of. It’s okay. In the end God will still love me and even be proud of me for standing up for Him.
1 Peter 4:14 14If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.
These occasions are actually to be looked forward to!
James 1: 2Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.
This I know from experience: when I do know that I am headed spiritually into “enemy territory” I do ask for wisdom and I will come up with thoughts that I know were way to logical and intelligent for my feeble little brain to construct!
If we truly accept the message of the cross we have both a responsibility and a "response ability." The responsibility is the Great Commission. The “response ability” is the power of the Holy Spirit working in us!
Stay close to Jesus!
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
knited scarves and old friends
I read in the paper today that one of my senior friends passed away. She was 92. She was more than a friend; she had the gift of encouragement. Her name was Helen Steiner and she was a saint. I probably knew her for over 30 years. We were members of the same church at one time. She was one of the people who gave me a lot of encouragement to live a life for Christ. She was a prayer warrior, had a wonderful heart for serving people, and even in her 90’s found ways to volunteer.
Shortly after Christmas 07 she gave me a call and invited me over to visit her. I had not run into her probably for about 3 or 4 years. She said she had some things she’d like to give me. It certainly sounded intriguing and so within a few days I found myself sitting in her living room. I spent probably 2 1/2 hours that day visiting with her and hearing a lot of things I had never known before about her travels and adventures in her younger years.
Also that afternoon, Helen gave me three big huge study Bibles and a black scarf she had knitted. “Had to be black,” she said, “because a preacher needs one that color for when he has to do a funeral on a cold winter day.” She also knew I was admiring the huge framed print of a blacksmith shoeing a horse hanging on her wall. She said, “I’ll see that you get that some day.” It will be nice if I do get the print but, ya know, I already feel like I've been blessed just having her think of me that way. Whether I get that picture now is somewhat immaterial because knowing that she thought that much of me as a friend is priceless.
I wept on the way home as I am now writing this because I was fully aware that this grand lady knew her days were numbered and she had chosen me as someone to remember and honor while she was still living. People like her are rare but I hope you all have people like that in your lives and I also hope we all can become like them somehow. She has become part of the “great cloud.”
For some of you who might not be students of scripture, I need to explain that to you. In the New Testament, Hebrews chapter 11 talks about people who had lived before that time who had lived with great faith in God
The author of Hebrews says this in the beginning of Chapter 12
1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
My friend Helen has joined the cloud of witnesses who have inspired me to follow Jesus. she lived a life of faith serving and loving her Savior Jesus Christ. Her race is done but ours continues. In honor of those like her who have been found faithful and gone on ahead of us into a life eternal, we press on toward the goal living a life for Jesus!
Are we there yet?
REG
Shortly after Christmas 07 she gave me a call and invited me over to visit her. I had not run into her probably for about 3 or 4 years. She said she had some things she’d like to give me. It certainly sounded intriguing and so within a few days I found myself sitting in her living room. I spent probably 2 1/2 hours that day visiting with her and hearing a lot of things I had never known before about her travels and adventures in her younger years.
Also that afternoon, Helen gave me three big huge study Bibles and a black scarf she had knitted. “Had to be black,” she said, “because a preacher needs one that color for when he has to do a funeral on a cold winter day.” She also knew I was admiring the huge framed print of a blacksmith shoeing a horse hanging on her wall. She said, “I’ll see that you get that some day.” It will be nice if I do get the print but, ya know, I already feel like I've been blessed just having her think of me that way. Whether I get that picture now is somewhat immaterial because knowing that she thought that much of me as a friend is priceless.
I wept on the way home as I am now writing this because I was fully aware that this grand lady knew her days were numbered and she had chosen me as someone to remember and honor while she was still living. People like her are rare but I hope you all have people like that in your lives and I also hope we all can become like them somehow. She has become part of the “great cloud.”
For some of you who might not be students of scripture, I need to explain that to you. In the New Testament, Hebrews chapter 11 talks about people who had lived before that time who had lived with great faith in God
The author of Hebrews says this in the beginning of Chapter 12
1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
My friend Helen has joined the cloud of witnesses who have inspired me to follow Jesus. she lived a life of faith serving and loving her Savior Jesus Christ. Her race is done but ours continues. In honor of those like her who have been found faithful and gone on ahead of us into a life eternal, we press on toward the goal living a life for Jesus!
Are we there yet?
REG
Monday, August 25, 2008
Tough Love; real tough Love
Last night a group of us were taking a close look at 1 Corinthians. In chapter 5, Paul recommends taking a person with a hard heart and turn him over to the devil so he can get beat up and worked over. All this so he might be saved! Specifically Paul was talking about a man who continued to commit sexual sin and would not give it up.
1 Corinthians 5: 4When you are assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, 5hand this man over to Satan, so that the sinful nature[a] may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord.
Now at first this seems contradictory to anything that has to do with God. The very idea: that you would turn someone over to Satan for their own good so that the end result is that the person would be saved!
So we were thinking how does this look in the real world of faith? Well, it came to mind that this is in actuality much like what Jesus describes in the parable of the lost son. The Father let the son go to “do his thing.” For the son’s own good, the father turned him loose on the world so that the evil in the world would beat him up and make him appreciate what he left behind. He let him hit rock bottom.
Often it’s only when we get to the end of ourselves, that we realize where God is supposed to be in our lives and what He can do for us. Again as in the previous post, there is purpose in the suffering if it glorifies God and brings us closer to Christ. We should not avoid it but instead work through it
The challenge for all of us is to be able to let go of the hard hearted believer. We have to remember, even if they are friend or family, that what they are doing will damage and destroy the bride of Christ, the church. It’s hard to just stand back and let them go into a season of deeper sin without rescuing them. But like the father with the prodigal son, we don’t take our eye off this individual we have cast out. Rather we wait for them to sink deep enough and become desperate enough that they hunger for the Lord more than the sinful nature. WE wait and watch expectantly and when they turn for home, then is when we “come a runnin”.”
I had a pastor once use the illustration of a life guard for another ministry situation, but it might work well here too: if you are trying to rescue someone and they continue to climb all over you dragging you down with them, you have dive deep, swim out and away, resurface, and wait for the drowning victim to become more cooperative.
So sometimes there may be an occasion when we have to put some distance between ourselves and another individual so that a change of heart can take place. It will be for the health of the church and the eventual salvation of the individual.
Tough love, real tough love.
Stay close to Jesus!
REG
1 Corinthians 5: 4When you are assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, 5hand this man over to Satan, so that the sinful nature[a] may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord.
Now at first this seems contradictory to anything that has to do with God. The very idea: that you would turn someone over to Satan for their own good so that the end result is that the person would be saved!
So we were thinking how does this look in the real world of faith? Well, it came to mind that this is in actuality much like what Jesus describes in the parable of the lost son. The Father let the son go to “do his thing.” For the son’s own good, the father turned him loose on the world so that the evil in the world would beat him up and make him appreciate what he left behind. He let him hit rock bottom.
Often it’s only when we get to the end of ourselves, that we realize where God is supposed to be in our lives and what He can do for us. Again as in the previous post, there is purpose in the suffering if it glorifies God and brings us closer to Christ. We should not avoid it but instead work through it
The challenge for all of us is to be able to let go of the hard hearted believer. We have to remember, even if they are friend or family, that what they are doing will damage and destroy the bride of Christ, the church. It’s hard to just stand back and let them go into a season of deeper sin without rescuing them. But like the father with the prodigal son, we don’t take our eye off this individual we have cast out. Rather we wait for them to sink deep enough and become desperate enough that they hunger for the Lord more than the sinful nature. WE wait and watch expectantly and when they turn for home, then is when we “come a runnin”.”
I had a pastor once use the illustration of a life guard for another ministry situation, but it might work well here too: if you are trying to rescue someone and they continue to climb all over you dragging you down with them, you have dive deep, swim out and away, resurface, and wait for the drowning victim to become more cooperative.
So sometimes there may be an occasion when we have to put some distance between ourselves and another individual so that a change of heart can take place. It will be for the health of the church and the eventual salvation of the individual.
Tough love, real tough love.
Stay close to Jesus!
REG
Codependency in the Bible? You bet cha’
Reference: Matthew 16: 21 -28
When Jesus told the disciples that he was going to have to suffer at the hands of the Sadducees and Pharisees, 22Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. "Never, Lord!" he said. "This shall never happen to you!"
Jesus turned right around and jump on his case and said , "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men." Jesus was telling Peter that He needed to look at things from a spiritual, kingdom of God, perspective rather than the predictable worldly perspective.
There is often meaning and purpose in struggles and suffering that are best seen from a spiritual prespective. It would have been far greater undesirable consequences if Peter’s wishes had been followed rather than staying on course with the destiny that Jesus had waiting for Him. If Peter’s wishes were carried out it would interfere with the development of the great plan of salvation that God was revealing for all those who trust in Jesus.
Peter’s intentions were honorable out of a deep love and respect for the one who he had just recently acknowledged correctly as the Messiah: meaning the one who came to save all of Israel. He did not want to see harm come to his leader and he was willing to go to any length to see to it that none would. But, to do this would interfere with what had to happen, what needed to happen so that Jesus’ mission and purpose would be fulfilled.
As I look at Peter’s well intentioned love for the master, I am reminded that that there are things in life that we do not want to see our loved ones go through. But, for the sake of enlightenment to better understand God’s ways or, for the sake of learning life’s valuable lasting lessons, we must get out of the way and let the process happen so that the greater cause can take it’s course.
The mark of a codependent is the addictive desire to want to be someone else’s savior / rescuer because we think it’s for their good if we come to their rescue and a lot of times it is. But sometimes this is not the case. When we interfere to save someone from ”the battle,” and we think we might be saving them from something evil, in reality we may actually be enabling evil to continue its course because we did not let our loved one work through the struggle.
A butterfly prepares and strengthens itself for flight by struggling through the escape from the cocoon. We can cripple it for life if we “help” it out of its cocoon. Likewise, we must evaluate our decisions to “step in and help out.” We must ask,
Why is this happening in the first place?
Are we helping for the right reason? What are my motives?
What will be the long range result of my interference?
Is there actually a benefit to this person if I don’t interfere?
Might something good result if for the individual or for many if I let the
person struggle?
You think Peter “got it” that day when Jesus rebuked him? Do you think he understood his codependent nature as a result of that conversation? Do you think he never gave it another thought after that day? Eh, I’m not so sure. Look at John 18:10-11. What do you think? I’m thinking even when we are standing right next to Jesus, our own human will can get in way the of recovery.
Stay close to Jesus!
REG
When Jesus told the disciples that he was going to have to suffer at the hands of the Sadducees and Pharisees, 22Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. "Never, Lord!" he said. "This shall never happen to you!"
Jesus turned right around and jump on his case and said , "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men." Jesus was telling Peter that He needed to look at things from a spiritual, kingdom of God, perspective rather than the predictable worldly perspective.
There is often meaning and purpose in struggles and suffering that are best seen from a spiritual prespective. It would have been far greater undesirable consequences if Peter’s wishes had been followed rather than staying on course with the destiny that Jesus had waiting for Him. If Peter’s wishes were carried out it would interfere with the development of the great plan of salvation that God was revealing for all those who trust in Jesus.
Peter’s intentions were honorable out of a deep love and respect for the one who he had just recently acknowledged correctly as the Messiah: meaning the one who came to save all of Israel. He did not want to see harm come to his leader and he was willing to go to any length to see to it that none would. But, to do this would interfere with what had to happen, what needed to happen so that Jesus’ mission and purpose would be fulfilled.
As I look at Peter’s well intentioned love for the master, I am reminded that that there are things in life that we do not want to see our loved ones go through. But, for the sake of enlightenment to better understand God’s ways or, for the sake of learning life’s valuable lasting lessons, we must get out of the way and let the process happen so that the greater cause can take it’s course.
The mark of a codependent is the addictive desire to want to be someone else’s savior / rescuer because we think it’s for their good if we come to their rescue and a lot of times it is. But sometimes this is not the case. When we interfere to save someone from ”the battle,” and we think we might be saving them from something evil, in reality we may actually be enabling evil to continue its course because we did not let our loved one work through the struggle.
A butterfly prepares and strengthens itself for flight by struggling through the escape from the cocoon. We can cripple it for life if we “help” it out of its cocoon. Likewise, we must evaluate our decisions to “step in and help out.” We must ask,
Why is this happening in the first place?
Are we helping for the right reason? What are my motives?
What will be the long range result of my interference?
Is there actually a benefit to this person if I don’t interfere?
Might something good result if for the individual or for many if I let the
person struggle?
You think Peter “got it” that day when Jesus rebuked him? Do you think he understood his codependent nature as a result of that conversation? Do you think he never gave it another thought after that day? Eh, I’m not so sure. Look at John 18:10-11. What do you think? I’m thinking even when we are standing right next to Jesus, our own human will can get in way the of recovery.
Stay close to Jesus!
REG
Friday, August 22, 2008
God's perfect timing
John 15:13 (New International Version)
13Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.
Several days ago I was invited to do some grief ministry at a facility where one of the staff members was found unconscious and eventually passed away. This was a young healthy individual who had a young family, and was loved by all. She had everything going for her and everything to look forward to.
I was in a group talking with the young woman who was actually the first on the scene. These two individuals had lunch together every day and on that particular day circumstances separated them from doing so. Not surprisingly, she was lamenting that she had not found her coworker and friend sooner so that she might be saved. I’m sure any of us would feel that way. If they had just had lunch together everything would have turned out all right. But it didn’t that day. This woman felt helpless that she did not get there in time
Out of this tragedy though came a tremendous blessing. The individual who passed was a Christian as was the woman who found her. It was mentioned in conversation prior to our arrival that the deceased was an organ donor and that it had been identified in time so that many people would benefit from this death. As I sat there at the table I trying to help this grieving young woman work through her grief, I felt God nudge me to tell the woman that she got there just in time. I couldn’t remember chapter and verse at the moment, but immediately I thought of John 15:13: Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.
When I shared these thoughts with the woman there was a significant amount of healing that instantly took place. She realized she had not gotten there in time to save her friend but in God’s perfect timing, she got there at the right moment to save many. Although her friend was dying, she was found in time to honor her wishes: to donate her organs so that others might live. This certainly did not remove all this young lady's pain and sorrow but it did help her try to make sense of the whole tragedy.
In this small moment in human history we saw a huge reflection of God’s love for us: that one should die so that many would be saved.
REG
13Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.
Several days ago I was invited to do some grief ministry at a facility where one of the staff members was found unconscious and eventually passed away. This was a young healthy individual who had a young family, and was loved by all. She had everything going for her and everything to look forward to.
I was in a group talking with the young woman who was actually the first on the scene. These two individuals had lunch together every day and on that particular day circumstances separated them from doing so. Not surprisingly, she was lamenting that she had not found her coworker and friend sooner so that she might be saved. I’m sure any of us would feel that way. If they had just had lunch together everything would have turned out all right. But it didn’t that day. This woman felt helpless that she did not get there in time
Out of this tragedy though came a tremendous blessing. The individual who passed was a Christian as was the woman who found her. It was mentioned in conversation prior to our arrival that the deceased was an organ donor and that it had been identified in time so that many people would benefit from this death. As I sat there at the table I trying to help this grieving young woman work through her grief, I felt God nudge me to tell the woman that she got there just in time. I couldn’t remember chapter and verse at the moment, but immediately I thought of John 15:13: Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.
When I shared these thoughts with the woman there was a significant amount of healing that instantly took place. She realized she had not gotten there in time to save her friend but in God’s perfect timing, she got there at the right moment to save many. Although her friend was dying, she was found in time to honor her wishes: to donate her organs so that others might live. This certainly did not remove all this young lady's pain and sorrow but it did help her try to make sense of the whole tragedy.
In this small moment in human history we saw a huge reflection of God’s love for us: that one should die so that many would be saved.
REG
God's power to reverse the curse
Yesterday I was reading in Matthew about the trial of Jesus. When Pontius Pilat asked the people what they would have him do with Jesus they said, “Crucify him. Crucify him.” After that they all chanted, “Let his blood be on us and all of our children.” Now they meant that to mean, “let the responsibility of his death be on them and the generations to follow.” I believe that would also mean that if it were found that Jesus was truly innocent they were still willing to take the blame and suffer the consequences.
But, God, in his infinite sovereignty, omnipotence, creativity, and mercy, took those very words and turned them into a blessing for all generations. The people shed Jesus’ blood that day, but God received it as an offering to cover the people’s guilt. Jesus’ blood is now on the people but not as a curse, instead as a blessing!
God foreshadowed this event long before that day. Before they left Egypt, God told the Israelites, to kill a sacrificial lamb and use its blood to paint on the door mantle of their homes. This was to protect them from the curse of death that would sweep through Egypt. The blood saved them from death.
On the day when Jesus was crucified, God took what was meant for evil, and used it for the salvation of all who would feel the call to choose to put their faith and trust in Jesus. God the Father took the blood of the God the son, Jesus, and let it be on the people to save them rather than condemn them.
A great explanation of this is found in the First letter of Peter in the New Testament. I leave it here as expressed in The Message translation
1 Peter 1 (The Message)
A New Life
3-5What a God we have! And how fortunate we are to have him, this Father of our Master Jesus! Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we've been given a brand-new life and have everything to live for, including a future in heaven—and the future starts now! God is keeping careful watch over us and the future. The Day is coming when you'll have it all—life healed and whole.
6-7I know how great this makes you feel, even though you have to put up with every kind of aggravation in the meantime. Pure gold put in the fire comes out of it proved pure; genuine faith put through this suffering comes out proved genuine. When Jesus wraps this all up, it's your faith, not your gold, that God will have on display as evidence of his victory.
8-9You never saw him, yet you love him. You still don't see him, yet you trust him—with laughter and singing. Because you kept on believing, you'll get what you're looking forward to: total salvation.
10-12The prophets who told us this was coming asked a lot of questions about this gift of life God was preparing. The Messiah's Spirit let them in on some of it—that the Messiah would experience suffering, followed by glory. They clamored to know who and when. All they were told was that they were serving you, you who by orders from heaven have now heard for yourselves—through the Holy Spirit—the Message of those prophecies fulfilled. Do you realize how fortunate you are? Angels would have given anything to be in on this!
A Future in God
13-16So roll up your sleeves, put your mind in gear, be totally ready to receive the gift that's coming when Jesus arrives. Don't lazily slip back into those old grooves of evil, doing just what you feel like doing. You didn't know any better then; you do now. As obedient children, let yourselves be pulled into a way of life shaped by God's life, a life energetic and blazing with holiness. God said, "I am holy; you be holy."
17You call out to God for help and he helps—he's a good Father that way. But don't forget, he's also a responsible Father, and won't let you get by with sloppy living.
18-21Your life is a journey you must travel with a deep consciousness of God. It cost God plenty to get you out of that dead-end, empty-headed life you grew up in. He paid with Christ's sacred blood, you know. He died like an unblemished, sacrificial lamb. And this was no afterthought. Even though it has only lately—at the end of the ages—become public knowledge, God always knew he was going to do this for you. It's because of this sacrificed Messiah, whom God then raised from the dead and glorified, that you trust God, that you know you have a future in God.
22-25Now that you've cleaned up your lives by following the truth, love one another as if your lives depended on it. Your new life is not like your old life. Your old birth came from mortal sperm; your new birth comes from God's living Word. Just think: a life conceived by God himself! That's why the prophet said,
The old life is a grass life,
its beauty as short-lived as wildflowers;
Grass dries up, flowers droop,
God's Word goes on and on forever.
This is the Word that conceived the new life in you.
Got Jesus?
REG
But, God, in his infinite sovereignty, omnipotence, creativity, and mercy, took those very words and turned them into a blessing for all generations. The people shed Jesus’ blood that day, but God received it as an offering to cover the people’s guilt. Jesus’ blood is now on the people but not as a curse, instead as a blessing!
God foreshadowed this event long before that day. Before they left Egypt, God told the Israelites, to kill a sacrificial lamb and use its blood to paint on the door mantle of their homes. This was to protect them from the curse of death that would sweep through Egypt. The blood saved them from death.
On the day when Jesus was crucified, God took what was meant for evil, and used it for the salvation of all who would feel the call to choose to put their faith and trust in Jesus. God the Father took the blood of the God the son, Jesus, and let it be on the people to save them rather than condemn them.
A great explanation of this is found in the First letter of Peter in the New Testament. I leave it here as expressed in The Message translation
1 Peter 1 (The Message)
A New Life
3-5What a God we have! And how fortunate we are to have him, this Father of our Master Jesus! Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we've been given a brand-new life and have everything to live for, including a future in heaven—and the future starts now! God is keeping careful watch over us and the future. The Day is coming when you'll have it all—life healed and whole.
6-7I know how great this makes you feel, even though you have to put up with every kind of aggravation in the meantime. Pure gold put in the fire comes out of it proved pure; genuine faith put through this suffering comes out proved genuine. When Jesus wraps this all up, it's your faith, not your gold, that God will have on display as evidence of his victory.
8-9You never saw him, yet you love him. You still don't see him, yet you trust him—with laughter and singing. Because you kept on believing, you'll get what you're looking forward to: total salvation.
10-12The prophets who told us this was coming asked a lot of questions about this gift of life God was preparing. The Messiah's Spirit let them in on some of it—that the Messiah would experience suffering, followed by glory. They clamored to know who and when. All they were told was that they were serving you, you who by orders from heaven have now heard for yourselves—through the Holy Spirit—the Message of those prophecies fulfilled. Do you realize how fortunate you are? Angels would have given anything to be in on this!
A Future in God
13-16So roll up your sleeves, put your mind in gear, be totally ready to receive the gift that's coming when Jesus arrives. Don't lazily slip back into those old grooves of evil, doing just what you feel like doing. You didn't know any better then; you do now. As obedient children, let yourselves be pulled into a way of life shaped by God's life, a life energetic and blazing with holiness. God said, "I am holy; you be holy."
17You call out to God for help and he helps—he's a good Father that way. But don't forget, he's also a responsible Father, and won't let you get by with sloppy living.
18-21Your life is a journey you must travel with a deep consciousness of God. It cost God plenty to get you out of that dead-end, empty-headed life you grew up in. He paid with Christ's sacred blood, you know. He died like an unblemished, sacrificial lamb. And this was no afterthought. Even though it has only lately—at the end of the ages—become public knowledge, God always knew he was going to do this for you. It's because of this sacrificed Messiah, whom God then raised from the dead and glorified, that you trust God, that you know you have a future in God.
22-25Now that you've cleaned up your lives by following the truth, love one another as if your lives depended on it. Your new life is not like your old life. Your old birth came from mortal sperm; your new birth comes from God's living Word. Just think: a life conceived by God himself! That's why the prophet said,
The old life is a grass life,
its beauty as short-lived as wildflowers;
Grass dries up, flowers droop,
God's Word goes on and on forever.
This is the Word that conceived the new life in you.
Got Jesus?
REG
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