6 more days!
In Jesus' world in +-33 A D, Monday was a quiet day. But it was the day after the Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem. That entry both corroborated and created expectations. I imagine His followers were living with a false sense of anticipation of their view of what His soon-to-be-finalized Kingdom would be. I don't want to live with misconceptions. I want to understand what God is doing and align with Him in His plan. I only want HOPE that is founded in His Truth.
Monday, April 14, 2014
Sunday, April 13, 2014
LENT 2014 - DAY 40 - aka COUNTDOWN TO RESURRECTION!
Seven. Seven more days!
Today marked the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. The throng of people who were there that day were excited for the Messiah to become the conquering King and bring an end to Roman domination.
This very Messiah that they welcomed as their soon-to-be-crowned King had told them clearly that He must suffer and die, but they didn't want to hear that. His kingdom was far different than the one they had planned for him.
He knew how fickle their feelings were, and how miniscule their conviction was. But he accepted their praise. Cloaks laid out on the road as the 'red carpet' for his path. Palm branches waved in glorious exultation that the long-awaited Messiah had come. The epitome of people's praise.
Hosanna. Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the LORD.
Today marked the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. The throng of people who were there that day were excited for the Messiah to become the conquering King and bring an end to Roman domination.
This very Messiah that they welcomed as their soon-to-be-crowned King had told them clearly that He must suffer and die, but they didn't want to hear that. His kingdom was far different than the one they had planned for him.
He knew how fickle their feelings were, and how miniscule their conviction was. But he accepted their praise. Cloaks laid out on the road as the 'red carpet' for his path. Palm branches waved in glorious exultation that the long-awaited Messiah had come. The epitome of people's praise.
Hosanna. Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the LORD.
Saturday, April 12, 2014
LENT 2014 - DAYS 37, 38, 39
I knew there would be some challenges in writing during this period of time - but thought I'd still be able to do it consistently. I was wrong.
Being gone and still having adequate computer accessibility is a problem I hadn't thought through well.
Life is full to the brim for very special people in my life. Some of it is wonderful. Some heart-rending. But through it all, God promises to be there if we let Him. He keeps His promises. It is a daily walk - - and sometimes that becomes minute by minute. One foot in front of the other. Keeping up with keeping on. Seeing through His eyes not our own. I want to encourage those who are going through tough experiences that He is in their corner. He loves them. He cares. His heart hurts with them as they hurt.
There are some things in life that we are just not going to understand - - but we know He loves us. Thank you, Lord!
Being gone and still having adequate computer accessibility is a problem I hadn't thought through well.
Life is full to the brim for very special people in my life. Some of it is wonderful. Some heart-rending. But through it all, God promises to be there if we let Him. He keeps His promises. It is a daily walk - - and sometimes that becomes minute by minute. One foot in front of the other. Keeping up with keeping on. Seeing through His eyes not our own. I want to encourage those who are going through tough experiences that He is in their corner. He loves them. He cares. His heart hurts with them as they hurt.
There are some things in life that we are just not going to understand - - but we know He loves us. Thank you, Lord!
Wednesday, April 9, 2014
LENT 2014 - DAY 36
The original Biblical texts didn't have chapters and verses. In reading our Bibles with those included we sometimes miss the connecting points. Hebrews makes that very apparent. The beginning of Hebrews 2, which I mentioned yesterday, is a clear continuation of Chapter 1. The remainder of Chapter 2 is filled with amazing content as well.
What is man that you are mindful of him? Really! What have we ever done to deserve God's favor?
We were born into a sinful world - for by one man sin came into the world - and that is the world we are born into. God hates sin - hates the violation, and hates the separation from Him that sin creates.
We rail at God about what is fair, and what we deserve - but what we deserve is eternal death because of Sin.
We are captive in bodies that decay. We have a sense of 'what is fair' in terms of protection from accidents, defects and illnesses - but all of those things came into the world because of Sin. They were not God's will. Not then. Not now.
When things go well we find it easy to praise Him - but when things do not go according to the script as we would like it written, our default can too easily be to blame God, or if not to blame Him, to wonder what we've done to deserve such treatment (which is actually the same thing!)
God never promised us a cushy life just for believing in Him. But - He promised to be with us through all of it, and He redeems the bad in the lives of those who faithfully follow Him. How does He do that? By using everything we go through for His glory.
Out of illness and challenge, He refines us, purifies us, and centers our focus on what truly matters eternally.
Out of heartache and sorrow, He draws us to a place of needing Him so desperately that nothing else matters.
In death He brings us into His presence. What we deserve is eternal death - eternal separation from Him - and what He gives us is the opportunity to cling to Him no matter what our circumstances, and reflect faithfulness in the face of challenge. And at the end of whatever life brings, to be with Him.
He may choose to heal - and if He does, it is for His glory. But if He does not heal, He says that the death of His saints is beautiful in His sight.
It seems that some people's lives are far easier than others. It would seem more fair if those who are absolute champions of the Faith in their exemplary walk of faithfulness to the Lord throughout the breadth of their lives had a sugar-coated life on earth and at the end of a long and fruitful life just fell softly asleep some night to find they awakened in Jesus' arms. I could write the script I think is fair!
But - God is not fair. He is just.
The sun shines on the evil and unjust just as beautifully as it shines on those who are good, kind and faithful followers. That's not fair.
But, if God were fair, I'd deserve death - eternal death away from Him. I don't want God to be 'fair' - I want His mercy.
I grapple with what I see as inequity - but know God redeems our bad situations for His glory. It has happened over and over in my life. God has redeemed - or is in the process of redeeming even now - every rotten thing that has ever happened to me. He does that by allowing me to help others - to tell them that their rotten circumstance was never God's will, but just part of living in a fallen world - and that He will be with them through every moment of their pain, holding them, loving them, giving them hope. His promises are not hollow platitudes.
He is Life! He restores broken hearts and broken lives - the greatest of all healings! And He is still in the miracle-working business when it comes to touching frail bodies - but it's still important to keep that part in perspective. About 2 months before Jesus' death on the cross, he brought his friend Lazarus back to life - but Lazarus still had to face death eventually. None of us get out of this life alive. But we can get out of it alive in Him. That's the ultimate goal. That's what matters.
I don't mean to be morose - but in grappling with issues friends are going through right now, I am revisiting what I believe about God's fairness, and I have concluded that fairness and justice are not synonymous.
God is Love. God is Good. God is Just. God is not fair. And thank God He isn't!
In what seems to be unfair, God redeems the situations for His Good, His Best. In death He brings life - and very often in the challenge and difficulty faced by His saints, because they still faithfully follow even though the path is rocky and the earthly prognoses and outcome is not the one they'd prefer, God redeems their pain with heavenly fruit.
One of my friends recommitted her life to the Lord following her brother's death. Her brother's best friend gave his life to the Lord at the funeral. My own pastor's mother gave her life to the Lord at her sister's memorial service. Out of ashes, beauty.
The bottom line is, we will all die. Will we do it victoriously, knowing we fall into His arms as our light here fades?
Will we choose to be faithful followers no matter what our circumstances?
In 2000, following an oophorectomy which created a personal crisis, I read the book of Job and the book of Revelation back to back during the initial phase of my recuperation when things were most bleak. It was reading Job in that context that I truly understood what I needed to learn from reading it:
GOD DESERVES OUR PRAISE AND WORSHIP NO MATTER WHAT OUR CIRCUMSTANCES.
We are constantly affected by the result of Sin in the world - illness, accidents, inequities of all sorts - but when we know the Redeemer - who suffered for those very same sins, whose body was laced with stripes for our healing, we gain a different perspective. If we suffer with Him we shall also reign with Him. The end of the story is He Wins!!!!! which means We Win when we are His!!!!!!
In our deepest despair - He offers us Hope and grants us the courage to live in His Hope!
As long as there is life, there is hope - and I will pray for the healing I so desperately want God to perform - but I am also praying for lives to be touched who might not be touched any other way than through the path my friend must go on.....
Lord, redeem!
What is man that you are mindful of him? Really! What have we ever done to deserve God's favor?
We were born into a sinful world - for by one man sin came into the world - and that is the world we are born into. God hates sin - hates the violation, and hates the separation from Him that sin creates.
We rail at God about what is fair, and what we deserve - but what we deserve is eternal death because of Sin.
We are captive in bodies that decay. We have a sense of 'what is fair' in terms of protection from accidents, defects and illnesses - but all of those things came into the world because of Sin. They were not God's will. Not then. Not now.
When things go well we find it easy to praise Him - but when things do not go according to the script as we would like it written, our default can too easily be to blame God, or if not to blame Him, to wonder what we've done to deserve such treatment (which is actually the same thing!)
God never promised us a cushy life just for believing in Him. But - He promised to be with us through all of it, and He redeems the bad in the lives of those who faithfully follow Him. How does He do that? By using everything we go through for His glory.
Out of illness and challenge, He refines us, purifies us, and centers our focus on what truly matters eternally.
Out of heartache and sorrow, He draws us to a place of needing Him so desperately that nothing else matters.
In death He brings us into His presence. What we deserve is eternal death - eternal separation from Him - and what He gives us is the opportunity to cling to Him no matter what our circumstances, and reflect faithfulness in the face of challenge. And at the end of whatever life brings, to be with Him.
He may choose to heal - and if He does, it is for His glory. But if He does not heal, He says that the death of His saints is beautiful in His sight.
It seems that some people's lives are far easier than others. It would seem more fair if those who are absolute champions of the Faith in their exemplary walk of faithfulness to the Lord throughout the breadth of their lives had a sugar-coated life on earth and at the end of a long and fruitful life just fell softly asleep some night to find they awakened in Jesus' arms. I could write the script I think is fair!
But - God is not fair. He is just.
The sun shines on the evil and unjust just as beautifully as it shines on those who are good, kind and faithful followers. That's not fair.
But, if God were fair, I'd deserve death - eternal death away from Him. I don't want God to be 'fair' - I want His mercy.
I grapple with what I see as inequity - but know God redeems our bad situations for His glory. It has happened over and over in my life. God has redeemed - or is in the process of redeeming even now - every rotten thing that has ever happened to me. He does that by allowing me to help others - to tell them that their rotten circumstance was never God's will, but just part of living in a fallen world - and that He will be with them through every moment of their pain, holding them, loving them, giving them hope. His promises are not hollow platitudes.
He is Life! He restores broken hearts and broken lives - the greatest of all healings! And He is still in the miracle-working business when it comes to touching frail bodies - but it's still important to keep that part in perspective. About 2 months before Jesus' death on the cross, he brought his friend Lazarus back to life - but Lazarus still had to face death eventually. None of us get out of this life alive. But we can get out of it alive in Him. That's the ultimate goal. That's what matters.
I don't mean to be morose - but in grappling with issues friends are going through right now, I am revisiting what I believe about God's fairness, and I have concluded that fairness and justice are not synonymous.
God is Love. God is Good. God is Just. God is not fair. And thank God He isn't!
In what seems to be unfair, God redeems the situations for His Good, His Best. In death He brings life - and very often in the challenge and difficulty faced by His saints, because they still faithfully follow even though the path is rocky and the earthly prognoses and outcome is not the one they'd prefer, God redeems their pain with heavenly fruit.
One of my friends recommitted her life to the Lord following her brother's death. Her brother's best friend gave his life to the Lord at the funeral. My own pastor's mother gave her life to the Lord at her sister's memorial service. Out of ashes, beauty.
The bottom line is, we will all die. Will we do it victoriously, knowing we fall into His arms as our light here fades?
Will we choose to be faithful followers no matter what our circumstances?
In 2000, following an oophorectomy which created a personal crisis, I read the book of Job and the book of Revelation back to back during the initial phase of my recuperation when things were most bleak. It was reading Job in that context that I truly understood what I needed to learn from reading it:
GOD DESERVES OUR PRAISE AND WORSHIP NO MATTER WHAT OUR CIRCUMSTANCES.
We are constantly affected by the result of Sin in the world - illness, accidents, inequities of all sorts - but when we know the Redeemer - who suffered for those very same sins, whose body was laced with stripes for our healing, we gain a different perspective. If we suffer with Him we shall also reign with Him. The end of the story is He Wins!!!!! which means We Win when we are His!!!!!!
In our deepest despair - He offers us Hope and grants us the courage to live in His Hope!
As long as there is life, there is hope - and I will pray for the healing I so desperately want God to perform - but I am also praying for lives to be touched who might not be touched any other way than through the path my friend must go on.....
Lord, redeem!
Tuesday, April 8, 2014
LENT 2014 - DAY 35
The writer of Hebrews begins his letter by clearly establishing Jesus' supremacy over prophets and angels - reiterating God's own words placing his Son in the role of creator of the universe and king over all of the earth, and stating that 'in these last days' God has spoken through His Son.
Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. When we 'truly hear' these words, allow them to sink deep within, there is no doubt that Jesus is One with God. That makes the first verses of Hebrews 2 even more compelling.
Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.
Another basic of Christianity is that it is a daily walk. Just as the Hebrew children of long ago gathered their daily manna in the desert, so we have to have daily spiritual food to be sustained. It is so easy to 'skip a day' when things get busy - but when we do that we are removing the rudder from our boat, and soon we are off course, drifting without direction.
Being a Christian requires being intentional.
There may be seasons when we don't sense God's direction - and in those moments we just have to stay the course - read His Word, pray, be faithful in what He has already called us to, and trust His timing. When Jesus returned to heaven He promised us a Comforter - the Holy Spirit - to lead us into all truth. He will if we are willing!
God yearns for a relationship with us. That's beyond my comprehension. I need Him desperately - but that He yearns to have fellowship with me blows me away. Yet He tells us that clearly:
Behold I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door I will come in to him, and eat with him and he with me. Revelation 3:20
Lord, let's do lunch!
Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. When we 'truly hear' these words, allow them to sink deep within, there is no doubt that Jesus is One with God. That makes the first verses of Hebrews 2 even more compelling.
Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.
Another basic of Christianity is that it is a daily walk. Just as the Hebrew children of long ago gathered their daily manna in the desert, so we have to have daily spiritual food to be sustained. It is so easy to 'skip a day' when things get busy - but when we do that we are removing the rudder from our boat, and soon we are off course, drifting without direction.
Being a Christian requires being intentional.
There may be seasons when we don't sense God's direction - and in those moments we just have to stay the course - read His Word, pray, be faithful in what He has already called us to, and trust His timing. When Jesus returned to heaven He promised us a Comforter - the Holy Spirit - to lead us into all truth. He will if we are willing!
God yearns for a relationship with us. That's beyond my comprehension. I need Him desperately - but that He yearns to have fellowship with me blows me away. Yet He tells us that clearly:
Behold I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door I will come in to him, and eat with him and he with me. Revelation 3:20
Lord, let's do lunch!
Monday, April 7, 2014
LENT 2014 - DAY 34
The most basic of Bible Basics is:
There is no other Name under heaven by which we must be saved - - or can be saved.
My dearly loved impetuous Peter proclaimed just that when he was hauled before the authorities to be interrogated because a man was healed!
Acts 4:8-12 records Peter's declaration:
8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, 9 if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, 10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. 11 This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone.12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (ESV)
There is no 'salad bar' of salvation options! God limited Himself to only One option for saving us - and that One Way is through Yeshua ha Mashiach - Jesus the Messiah. He makes that very clear in His Written Word - which reveals the Truth of the Living Word, Jesus Christ.
One of the songs in my children's musical, A Letter from G.O.D. says:
God so loved the world that He gave His only Son
To be our sacrifice, offering life to everyone
If we believe in Him, place our life in Jesus' hands
We'll live eternally - that's the heavenly Father's plan!
It is soooooooo simple - and some people try so hard to complicate it!
Jesus loves you! (& me!)
There is no other Name under heaven by which we must be saved - - or can be saved.
My dearly loved impetuous Peter proclaimed just that when he was hauled before the authorities to be interrogated because a man was healed!
Acts 4:8-12 records Peter's declaration:
8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, 9 if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, 10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. 11 This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone.12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (ESV)
There is no 'salad bar' of salvation options! God limited Himself to only One option for saving us - and that One Way is through Yeshua ha Mashiach - Jesus the Messiah. He makes that very clear in His Written Word - which reveals the Truth of the Living Word, Jesus Christ.
One of the songs in my children's musical, A Letter from G.O.D. says:
God so loved the world that He gave His only Son
To be our sacrifice, offering life to everyone
If we believe in Him, place our life in Jesus' hands
We'll live eternally - that's the heavenly Father's plan!
It is soooooooo simple - and some people try so hard to complicate it!
Jesus loves you! (& me!)
Sunday, April 6, 2014
LENT 2014 - DAY 33
WHEN YOU COUNT THE DAYS LEADING UP TO LENT YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO LEAVE OUT THE SUNDAYS. THAT'S WHAT MAKES THE NUMBERS COME OUT RIGHT. I forgot to do that. 40 days is 40 consecutive days to me....
So - for those who truly honor Lent as a tradition, Sundays are their oasis in the desert. If they are fasting from something, they don't have to deny themselves on Sundays. It makes the discipline more manageable because it breaks it down to 6 days of "doing or not doing" with a built-in day to regroup.
In a very different sense, that's what Sunday worship does for us. I'm grateful for that!
We are admonished, "Don't forsake assembling yourselves together as the manner of some is...even so much the more as you see the day approaching." (Hebrews 10:25)
One of the basics of Christian faith is that we cannot truly 'be' Christians alone. We need to be the living body of Christ - interacting, learning, growing.
So - for those who truly honor Lent as a tradition, Sundays are their oasis in the desert. If they are fasting from something, they don't have to deny themselves on Sundays. It makes the discipline more manageable because it breaks it down to 6 days of "doing or not doing" with a built-in day to regroup.
In a very different sense, that's what Sunday worship does for us. I'm grateful for that!
We are admonished, "Don't forsake assembling yourselves together as the manner of some is...even so much the more as you see the day approaching." (Hebrews 10:25)
One of the basics of Christian faith is that we cannot truly 'be' Christians alone. We need to be the living body of Christ - interacting, learning, growing.
LENT 2014 - DAY 32 (written 4/6 for 4/5)
Making up for Saturday....
I put off writing in the morning, and somehow forgot I hadn't....
When I awoke at 5 a m I remembered I had forgotten....
Friday evening I went to see Olympia Choral Society perform the music from Les Mis. They did an excellent job. They had performances Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights - and their last one is this afternoon.
Their performance represented hundreds of collective hours of work - being intentional and disciplined to reach their goal.
As Christ followers, we have to be intentional and disciplined as well. I am sorry I missed following through with my intended discipline yesterday - but even that is instructive.
Keep on keeping on! Occupy until I come. That's our challenge from the Lord!
I put off writing in the morning, and somehow forgot I hadn't....
When I awoke at 5 a m I remembered I had forgotten....
Friday evening I went to see Olympia Choral Society perform the music from Les Mis. They did an excellent job. They had performances Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights - and their last one is this afternoon.
Their performance represented hundreds of collective hours of work - being intentional and disciplined to reach their goal.
As Christ followers, we have to be intentional and disciplined as well. I am sorry I missed following through with my intended discipline yesterday - but even that is instructive.
Keep on keeping on! Occupy until I come. That's our challenge from the Lord!
Friday, April 4, 2014
LENT 2014 - DAY 31
Another Bible Basic:
We are instructed to bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ. (Galatians 6:2)
What is his law based on?
John 13:34
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.
1 John 4:21
And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.
Love as I have loved you. That's a tall order! It isn't 'if they're nice to you' or 'if they deserve it' or 'if they earn it'. There are no qualifiers.
Freely you have received, freely give.
It's a challenge that will take us a lifetime to pursue and try to perfect - but it's the attempting to achieve the goal that ultimately fulfills the prescribed law.
We are instructed to bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ. (Galatians 6:2)
What is his law based on?
John 13:34
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.
1 John 4:21
And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.
Love as I have loved you. That's a tall order! It isn't 'if they're nice to you' or 'if they deserve it' or 'if they earn it'. There are no qualifiers.
Freely you have received, freely give.
It's a challenge that will take us a lifetime to pursue and try to perfect - but it's the attempting to achieve the goal that ultimately fulfills the prescribed law.
Thursday, April 3, 2014
LENT 2014 - DAY 30
This year's journey through Lent toward the much anticipated Resurrection of Jesus on Easter morning has not been nearly as much of a spiritual journey as other years. But it has been a discipline with some enlightening moments.
I let life influence my feelings far too much. I know I am instructed to walk by faith and not by feeling - and that is the discipline part of writing daily, even on days that it would be easier to just skip it. Today is one of those days.
April 3, 1953 is the date that my birth mother chose to put a gun to her head and end her life. It is a day that is seared into my brain - just as 9/11 and 4/19 are. For others in the past D-Day was on their memorial radar, for the same reason as these dates are on mine. They are shocking and they rock our world in a terribly painful way.
While my day is tinged with sorrow, and I want to talk to each of my brothers, I do not want this day to become a memorial for my children. I don't want it to be a legacy of sadness.
I want them to know that their grandmother made a mistake - that she chose to give up on life in her despair instead of finding a solution that embraced living - but I don't need to point that out to them today.
Revisiting that sorrow fits so perfectly into the sorrow of the days to come for Yeshua in our remembered journey to the cross. Fortunately we have a different horizon in mind which was finalized with His resurrection on Sunday morning.
Thank you for the cross, Lord, and thank you for rising again to new life, offering us the promise of eternal life with you. Help us maintain a proper perspective of the trouble that the world dishes out.
Postscript on suicide:
It is the saddest of all deaths because it says 'no' to possibilities. We all have rotten days when life is a four-letter word. But what a terrible time to give up! As long as there is life, there is hope, and I choose to live in that hope - and in the One who brings eternal Hope!
I let life influence my feelings far too much. I know I am instructed to walk by faith and not by feeling - and that is the discipline part of writing daily, even on days that it would be easier to just skip it. Today is one of those days.
April 3, 1953 is the date that my birth mother chose to put a gun to her head and end her life. It is a day that is seared into my brain - just as 9/11 and 4/19 are. For others in the past D-Day was on their memorial radar, for the same reason as these dates are on mine. They are shocking and they rock our world in a terribly painful way.
While my day is tinged with sorrow, and I want to talk to each of my brothers, I do not want this day to become a memorial for my children. I don't want it to be a legacy of sadness.
I want them to know that their grandmother made a mistake - that she chose to give up on life in her despair instead of finding a solution that embraced living - but I don't need to point that out to them today.
Revisiting that sorrow fits so perfectly into the sorrow of the days to come for Yeshua in our remembered journey to the cross. Fortunately we have a different horizon in mind which was finalized with His resurrection on Sunday morning.
Thank you for the cross, Lord, and thank you for rising again to new life, offering us the promise of eternal life with you. Help us maintain a proper perspective of the trouble that the world dishes out.
Postscript on suicide:
It is the saddest of all deaths because it says 'no' to possibilities. We all have rotten days when life is a four-letter word. But what a terrible time to give up! As long as there is life, there is hope, and I choose to live in that hope - and in the One who brings eternal Hope!
Wednesday, April 2, 2014
LENT 2014 - DAY 29 - God's Word as our Plumb Line
God's Word is our plumb line. If we look at other standards, they may look straight, but they can be tipped just a little bit, and with even that small error, can lead us off track when followed out to their end. Off is off whether by a portion of a degree or many degrees when you get out from the base far enough for the difference to be apparent.
When we dare to decide that God's Word has 'changed' and that we know better than He does we effectively lose plumb and get 'off' line. That's what has happened with Christians who have convinced themselves that any number of politically correct views are now the correct Christian view. It's sad.
When God says something is sin, and we hold to that standard, we allow people the opportunity to experience conviction from the Holy Spirit. We are not to condemn them - that's God's job. We are to love them; but loving the person does not mean embracing their sin. In fact, truly loving someone means helping hold them accountable.
Let's take a simple sin as an example. Lying. Lying is a sin. A parent of a young child who does not teach that value, and punish it as being wrong, will not have a child who is honest - and ultimately that will affect every relationship the child has. The truth is not movable. What is true for one person is true for another when it comes to the basic value surrounding being honest. If a child is never corrected and their lying makes them untrustworthy, they become identified as a LIAR.
There is a huge difference between being a LIAR, one who never tells the truth, vs. being an honest person who occasionally tweaks the truth (aka lies). The LIAR feels no guilt in their lying. The honest person feels immediate chastening.
God hates LYING. He will punish that sin right along with all the seemingly more egregious sins. He says that all liars will have their place in hell. He has given us more than one list in His Word of SINS and being a liar is on the list.
Sin - all sin - separates us from others and from God. That's the problem with sin. It builds barriers and creates brokenness.
If we call sin 'an acceptable alternative' instead of sin, the person is deceived and remains broken.... It also results in calling evil good and good evil....
On the other hand, the Bible also provides lists of what we are to be like if we are following Jesus' plan for our lives and seeking to be like Him. One of those lists is the fruits of the Spirit. They will be more and more evident in our lives as we grow more and more into modeling Jesus' character instead of the character influenced by sin:
Love, joy, peace, long-suffering, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. We aren't likely to be perfect in all of them all at the same time this side of eternity, but they are the fruits that grow in our lives just because of having Jesus inside us and they are a good barometer for checking to see if we are growing in Him!
When we dare to decide that God's Word has 'changed' and that we know better than He does we effectively lose plumb and get 'off' line. That's what has happened with Christians who have convinced themselves that any number of politically correct views are now the correct Christian view. It's sad.
When God says something is sin, and we hold to that standard, we allow people the opportunity to experience conviction from the Holy Spirit. We are not to condemn them - that's God's job. We are to love them; but loving the person does not mean embracing their sin. In fact, truly loving someone means helping hold them accountable.
Let's take a simple sin as an example. Lying. Lying is a sin. A parent of a young child who does not teach that value, and punish it as being wrong, will not have a child who is honest - and ultimately that will affect every relationship the child has. The truth is not movable. What is true for one person is true for another when it comes to the basic value surrounding being honest. If a child is never corrected and their lying makes them untrustworthy, they become identified as a LIAR.
There is a huge difference between being a LIAR, one who never tells the truth, vs. being an honest person who occasionally tweaks the truth (aka lies). The LIAR feels no guilt in their lying. The honest person feels immediate chastening.
God hates LYING. He will punish that sin right along with all the seemingly more egregious sins. He says that all liars will have their place in hell. He has given us more than one list in His Word of SINS and being a liar is on the list.
Sin - all sin - separates us from others and from God. That's the problem with sin. It builds barriers and creates brokenness.
If we call sin 'an acceptable alternative' instead of sin, the person is deceived and remains broken.... It also results in calling evil good and good evil....
On the other hand, the Bible also provides lists of what we are to be like if we are following Jesus' plan for our lives and seeking to be like Him. One of those lists is the fruits of the Spirit. They will be more and more evident in our lives as we grow more and more into modeling Jesus' character instead of the character influenced by sin:
Love, joy, peace, long-suffering, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. We aren't likely to be perfect in all of them all at the same time this side of eternity, but they are the fruits that grow in our lives just because of having Jesus inside us and they are a good barometer for checking to see if we are growing in Him!
Tuesday, April 1, 2014
LENT 2014 - DAY 28 - April Fools
The fool has said in his heart, "There is no God." Psalm 14:1
I first came to know the Lord when I was 8 1/2 years old. I responded to an altar call in a little white Assembly of God church in Wilder, Idaho, and asked Jesus to come live in my heart as my Savior and be the Lord of my life.
But - there came a time when I was angry at God for letting me make the wrong choice - and I abandoned him and my faith. I decided God didn't exist. Happily, he led me back to a point of needing him so desperately that I begged for his help - and he was there! I didn't earn his love, I didn't deserve it - but I know his incredible grace because of his taking me back with open arms. From forgiven to follower to fool to forgiven to faithful follower. It's been quite a journey.
We who know God worship Him in Spirit and in Truth. His Spirit. His Truth. We walk not by sight or by feelings but by faith. We believe what we cannot see, and know it is the only reality that truly exists. What seems foolish to others is the greatest wisdom of all....
And a little child shall lead them....
I first came to know the Lord when I was 8 1/2 years old. I responded to an altar call in a little white Assembly of God church in Wilder, Idaho, and asked Jesus to come live in my heart as my Savior and be the Lord of my life.
But - there came a time when I was angry at God for letting me make the wrong choice - and I abandoned him and my faith. I decided God didn't exist. Happily, he led me back to a point of needing him so desperately that I begged for his help - and he was there! I didn't earn his love, I didn't deserve it - but I know his incredible grace because of his taking me back with open arms. From forgiven to follower to fool to forgiven to faithful follower. It's been quite a journey.
We who know God worship Him in Spirit and in Truth. His Spirit. His Truth. We walk not by sight or by feelings but by faith. We believe what we cannot see, and know it is the only reality that truly exists. What seems foolish to others is the greatest wisdom of all....
And a little child shall lead them....
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