Somewhere around the middle of February I was hit with the idea for this blog. It wasn’t until the end of February that it really came to full realization of what I wanted to write on. I have been hemming and hawing about doing a series, which I will still do, but I felt God calling me to get these words off my chest and out into the open.
Fire and ice, or rather, fire and snow are two very beautiful and wonderful things in the right context. There just isn’t much better than cozying up next to a warm fire on a cold night (next to a special someone makes it even better). When the beautiful white snow is covering rooftops and the ground the landscape, well there is just something peaceful and serene about that. Through some recent experiences I’ve been able to see firsthand the effects of fire and snow and what they can mean.
In the middle of February Dallas was hit with twelve inches of snow which, in some parts of Dallas, was the record single day snowfall amount. As I drove to work the day after the snow fell I looked around at the beauty I saw. My normal drive to work was different. As I passed by businesses and houses and all sorts of places that were familiar to me I realized just how different it all looked as it was blanketed in snow. The brown grass that the hard winter had all but killed was now covered in pure, clean, white snow. Brown rooftops glistened with a white glow. It was beautiful and peaceful. At the same moment I saw the beauty I also started noticing that the dark spots and certain things were more noticeable surrounded by the snow. In fact I realized that there were abandoned buildings and houses and unsightful things I had never noticed before because they had always blended in with everything else. It dawned on me that against the white snow, things that did not look good, things that did not belong became all too obvious. As I saw this I heard God speaking to me that this was indeed how it is when the Holy Spirit enters into our lives. In fact, not just that, but when we are constantly being filled with the Holy Spirit and the things of Heaven it is easy to the objects in our life that we need to be rid of. Against the white, pure “snow” of the Holy Spirit God shows us the things in our life that we need to work pushing out. The sin and darkness of the world become all too obvious. Sometimes it is painful to see and many days as we just go along we miss out on seeing those things, those hindrances that keep us from really living the life God has called us to live.
Isaiah 1:18
“Come now, let us reason together,"
says the LORD.
"Though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red as crimson,
they shall be like wool.
1 Corinthians 6:11 “And that is what some of you were (referring to us as sinners). But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”
Being washed in the blood of Christ has made us believers clean. Although our sins are/were dark, they have been washed and made like snow. Sure, we still fall short of God’s glory. Romans 3:22-24 “This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” We DO all fall short, but as Christians, as those redeemed by the blood of Christ we must realize that we’ve been made pure and blameless. We’ve been washed “white as snow” and in this we need to be aware that there are still areas in our lives that we need to work on. We are not perfect and sometimes we truly need God to fill us up and remind us that we still have a long way to go. We must be aware of the dark spots in our lives if we are to truly live the life God intends for us. So, don’t fear it, but embrace it. Pray for God to “snow” in your life so that you (and me too) can see the things in our lives that we need to clean up.
Now onto the subject of fires. The “fire” part of this comes from a recent event where my favorite restaurant burned down to the ground. I went out to the sight of the fire just a few days after for a fundraiser and what I saw was total devastation. For me, Terilli’s is a special place that I only take special people to. The atmosphere is unparalleled. It’s just that good. On top of that, Terilli’s in Dallas is an incredible place to eat. I say “is” because although it has burnt to the ground, they will rise from the ashes. You see, in life sometimes we just can’t escape the hardships or “fires” in our lives. Just reading the words of Christ on this matter bring me to tears. John 16:22 “So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.” John 16:33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” We cannot and will not escape hardships. People will disappoint us, stuff won’t fulfill us, there will be times of stress and great trial, and sometimes we will just feel like giving in. The “fire” will be too much and we will just throw in the towel saying “it isn’t worth it anymore” or “I’m tired of fighting…tired of trying.” I can’t tell you how many times I’ve said those words or felt that same way, but I’ve also seen the fruits of staying the course. This life isn’t a short sprint, but rather it’s a marathon. Do we hit the wall and give up? Why would we train, work hard, and run part of the way only to give up? To me that just doesn’t make sense. Paul has this to say: 1 Corinthians 9:23-27 “I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings. Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.” He also says this: 2 Timothy 4:7-8 “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.”
You see, God put us here; He put me here for a purpose. If we press on, run the race, and not lose hope we will receive the prize that awaits us. There have been many hardships in my life and there will be many more. Do I believe that because I’ve been through a divorce that my suffering is through? No, I don’t believe that at all. I know that I am an alien to this world. My prize awaits me in Heaven. Sure, God will prosper me here too, but it won’t be without trials. We have an enemy, Satan, who wants to kill our hope. The enemy wants to destroy our lives. The enemy wants nothing more than to “burn us down and see us give up. While this sounds very disheartening, I also want you to know that my lot and your lot in life is not to suffer, but rather to have a hope and a future.
Jeremiah 29:11-14 “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. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile."
We must embrace this hope that we have, embrace the Lord, hold onto His promise and not let the trials of life cause us to throw in the towel. The greatest and most beautiful diamonds are formed from the most intense heat and pressure and so be encouraged that if the enemy is attacking you it means that there’s something worthy in you to be attacked. Take heart in that. God truly wants to use you for greatness and we aren’t called to lead a complacent Christian life. Rise from the ashes and achieve the extraordinary.
We are blameless since we’ve been washed clean by the blood of Christ. While we still sin and fall short, we are made clean because Jesus conquered the grave. Take an introspective look at you life and look at the things that you need to clean out. And don’t lose heart when trials and tribulations hit you, but rather fall on your knees before God and ask Him for guidance and lean on Him. I don’t know about you, but when my life is over, I want my diamond to shine. If that means I need to clean out the crud in my life and also endure hardships, then I will gladly do so. I shine for Christ will be my crowning achievement. My prayer is that it will be yours as well.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Friday, January 29, 2010
I Always Feel Like…Somebody’s Watchin’ Me…
My family and I were on a vacation to San Antonio. I was probably about eleven years old. I remember it well. We were close to the Alamo in front of Ripley’s Believe it or Not and the Wax Museum. As a family we chose to head into Ripley’s instead of the Wax Museum. Somewhere close to the beginning of the exhibit there was this mirror. Next to the mirror were instructions on how to roll your tongue. The trick was to see how many folds you could get your tongue to make. Well, me being ever so daring, I sat in front of that mirror just trying and trying to get my tongue to make at least three folds. After about ten minutes and some incredible determination I realized I just didn’t have what it took to get the tri-fold tongue like the picture and instructions showed. Oh well… We went through the rest of the exhibit and I didn’t give my tongue fold failure another thought. That was until I got to the end of the exhibit and discovered that what I thought was a mirror was not. Instead I realized that it was a two way mirror and I probably gave the crowd on the other side a very good ten minute show.
I bring this up because I desire to be transparent. I have realized that the older I get the less transparent I get. The older I get the less likely I am to put myself out there and try a stunt in front of a two way mirror. After doing some inward reflection I realized that the older I got the less likely I was to try new things, refusing to let myself look like a fool. I’ve never been a fan of self preservation. In fact I’ve always tried to put myself out there. I’ve always tried to be transparent, but it seems that the more that “life happens” the closer to the vest I hold my cards. I sat in traffic on a random Wednesday night just marinating on this thought of “how can I be more transparent” when on the radio I heard one of my favorite pastors. On this particular station, Chuck Swindoll talked about the supremacy of love. In his introduction, however, he spoke about reading through a book called “Letters to God.” The letters were, in my opinion, some of the neatest things I’ve ever heard read aloud on radio. How transparent these children are. One child wrote, “Dear God if we come back as something, please don’t let me be Jennifer Horton because I hate Jennifer Horton.” Another writes, “Did you really mean do unto others as they do unto you? Cause if you did I’m gonna fix my brother.” I laughed aloud as Chuck read these, but then he got serious about it and called to attention the fact that while we as adults find it funny, if these letters were read to children, they wouldn’t laugh. They would “get it.” The fact is that these children haven’t been jaded by the world. They are very black and white when it comes to God. In fact, you might say they are incredibly transparent.
I started to wonder why it is so very hard for me, for us, the older we get to be transparent. It is that we’ve allowed the world to come in on us. We’ve allowed hurt and all sorts of other emotions turn to fear. Sure, we can act tough, like we’ve got it all together, but what it really boils down to is fear. I’ve heard it said that the one who fears is not perfected in love. We love because He first loved us. I will ask again, why are we not transparent? It’s because we fear being judged, because we fear what others will think of us. We fear that being transparent will allow all others to see us. They will see us, that they will see everything we’ve so desperately tried to hide or stuff down deep inside. I say this because its true of myself. I’ve also come to realize that better it is to look like a fool and be transparent than to prove your foolishness to God by pretending that you’ve got it all together. I like how the New Living Translation puts it in Matthew 16:26 “And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?” Well, when put that way, no, not to me.
I am often inspired by the great C.S. Lewis. In fact one of my favorite quotes of brother Lewis deals with vulnerability. I believe that another reason we don’t allow ourselves to be transparent is that it makes us vulnerable. Being transparent will allow us to be on display. We will be vulnerable, and being vulnerable means we can be hurt. Here is what C.S. Lewis has to say on that, “To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket- safe, dark, motionless, airless--it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable.” Ouch. I’ll say it again…ouch. Isn’t that what we do? Rather than allow ourselves to truly be transparent, we busy ourselves. Sure, on the surface, it can give appearances that we are out there, people see us, know us, will judges us according to our hobbies, but what are we really doing? We are defining ourselves by the works of our hands rather than letting ourselves be defined by our hearts and by who God says we are. To be transparent we have to be, I have to be real. I have to sit down and be real with myself and with my God.
Being real consists of being honest, being true to God and being true to yourself/myself, and truly understanding that the call of a Christian isn’t the call to live a safe life, it is a call to live a life for God. There isn’t anything “safe” about that. Again, I will quote C.S. Lewis when referencing Aslan (an allegory of Christ) “He’s not safe, but he’s good.” Following Jesus isn’t safe. Jesus says to his disciples in Matthew 10:39 “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” That is upside down thinking and it isn’t safe, but it is what we are called to do. We must choose the road less traveled and be transparent. Before God can do a work in us we must fall before the Lord, completely exposed before Him. David did this when the ark of the Lord was brought into the city. He danced and rejoiced and his own wife despised him for it. His response to her criticism was “I will become even more undignified than this…” That needs to be our response to the critics as well. Don’t be afraid to be transparent and vulnerable. God needs us to be that way and the only way we can be used by Him is if we pursue a life like that.
You see, life is a lot like living with a two way mirror. We can try to act like we’ve got it all together, and give a great act for our entire lives, but no matter who we think is watching, God is always watching. Like Adam and Eve in the Garden, we cannot hide ourselves from the Lord. He knows our deeds and knows who we are. We cannot hide ourselves from Him. We can try, but it will be a battle that we will not win. We will just limp trough life, from failure to failure, wondering “why me?” God’s desire is to richly bless our lives and for that to happen we have to be able to be used by Him. If I choose self preservation, God cannot use me. It’s when I choose to lay down my life before the throne of grace that God can collect the pieces and put together something more magnificent than I could have ever imagined. The same goes for you.
So don’t be afraid of who is on the other side of the mirror. Laugh, curl your tongue, make a face, be bold and be transparent. Don’t let the fear of judgment or of being “found out” keep you from reaching your potential. God has a plan for your life and let me tell you, it is a plan to prosper you. I’d rather face hurt and ridicule from time to time than to miss out on the Lord’s great plan for my life. I desire to be transparent. So even though “I always feel like, somebody’s watchin’ me…and I get no privacy” that’s just fine with me.
I bring this up because I desire to be transparent. I have realized that the older I get the less transparent I get. The older I get the less likely I am to put myself out there and try a stunt in front of a two way mirror. After doing some inward reflection I realized that the older I got the less likely I was to try new things, refusing to let myself look like a fool. I’ve never been a fan of self preservation. In fact I’ve always tried to put myself out there. I’ve always tried to be transparent, but it seems that the more that “life happens” the closer to the vest I hold my cards. I sat in traffic on a random Wednesday night just marinating on this thought of “how can I be more transparent” when on the radio I heard one of my favorite pastors. On this particular station, Chuck Swindoll talked about the supremacy of love. In his introduction, however, he spoke about reading through a book called “Letters to God.” The letters were, in my opinion, some of the neatest things I’ve ever heard read aloud on radio. How transparent these children are. One child wrote, “Dear God if we come back as something, please don’t let me be Jennifer Horton because I hate Jennifer Horton.” Another writes, “Did you really mean do unto others as they do unto you? Cause if you did I’m gonna fix my brother.” I laughed aloud as Chuck read these, but then he got serious about it and called to attention the fact that while we as adults find it funny, if these letters were read to children, they wouldn’t laugh. They would “get it.” The fact is that these children haven’t been jaded by the world. They are very black and white when it comes to God. In fact, you might say they are incredibly transparent.
I started to wonder why it is so very hard for me, for us, the older we get to be transparent. It is that we’ve allowed the world to come in on us. We’ve allowed hurt and all sorts of other emotions turn to fear. Sure, we can act tough, like we’ve got it all together, but what it really boils down to is fear. I’ve heard it said that the one who fears is not perfected in love. We love because He first loved us. I will ask again, why are we not transparent? It’s because we fear being judged, because we fear what others will think of us. We fear that being transparent will allow all others to see us. They will see us, that they will see everything we’ve so desperately tried to hide or stuff down deep inside. I say this because its true of myself. I’ve also come to realize that better it is to look like a fool and be transparent than to prove your foolishness to God by pretending that you’ve got it all together. I like how the New Living Translation puts it in Matthew 16:26 “And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?” Well, when put that way, no, not to me.
I am often inspired by the great C.S. Lewis. In fact one of my favorite quotes of brother Lewis deals with vulnerability. I believe that another reason we don’t allow ourselves to be transparent is that it makes us vulnerable. Being transparent will allow us to be on display. We will be vulnerable, and being vulnerable means we can be hurt. Here is what C.S. Lewis has to say on that, “To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket- safe, dark, motionless, airless--it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable.” Ouch. I’ll say it again…ouch. Isn’t that what we do? Rather than allow ourselves to truly be transparent, we busy ourselves. Sure, on the surface, it can give appearances that we are out there, people see us, know us, will judges us according to our hobbies, but what are we really doing? We are defining ourselves by the works of our hands rather than letting ourselves be defined by our hearts and by who God says we are. To be transparent we have to be, I have to be real. I have to sit down and be real with myself and with my God.
Being real consists of being honest, being true to God and being true to yourself/myself, and truly understanding that the call of a Christian isn’t the call to live a safe life, it is a call to live a life for God. There isn’t anything “safe” about that. Again, I will quote C.S. Lewis when referencing Aslan (an allegory of Christ) “He’s not safe, but he’s good.” Following Jesus isn’t safe. Jesus says to his disciples in Matthew 10:39 “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” That is upside down thinking and it isn’t safe, but it is what we are called to do. We must choose the road less traveled and be transparent. Before God can do a work in us we must fall before the Lord, completely exposed before Him. David did this when the ark of the Lord was brought into the city. He danced and rejoiced and his own wife despised him for it. His response to her criticism was “I will become even more undignified than this…” That needs to be our response to the critics as well. Don’t be afraid to be transparent and vulnerable. God needs us to be that way and the only way we can be used by Him is if we pursue a life like that.
You see, life is a lot like living with a two way mirror. We can try to act like we’ve got it all together, and give a great act for our entire lives, but no matter who we think is watching, God is always watching. Like Adam and Eve in the Garden, we cannot hide ourselves from the Lord. He knows our deeds and knows who we are. We cannot hide ourselves from Him. We can try, but it will be a battle that we will not win. We will just limp trough life, from failure to failure, wondering “why me?” God’s desire is to richly bless our lives and for that to happen we have to be able to be used by Him. If I choose self preservation, God cannot use me. It’s when I choose to lay down my life before the throne of grace that God can collect the pieces and put together something more magnificent than I could have ever imagined. The same goes for you.
So don’t be afraid of who is on the other side of the mirror. Laugh, curl your tongue, make a face, be bold and be transparent. Don’t let the fear of judgment or of being “found out” keep you from reaching your potential. God has a plan for your life and let me tell you, it is a plan to prosper you. I’d rather face hurt and ridicule from time to time than to miss out on the Lord’s great plan for my life. I desire to be transparent. So even though “I always feel like, somebody’s watchin’ me…and I get no privacy” that’s just fine with me.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Fall on His Righteousness
"There is no one righteous, not even one..” Romans 3:10. Did I just hear you say “ouch?” I know I said it…and say it every time I read this. Ouch indeed. I thought the subject of righteousness would be pertinent in talking about the life of Saul. I’ve been spending a good deal of time in the book of 1 Samuel. In reading about the life of Saul, I can say without a doubt that you and I have a lot more in common with Saul than we’d care to admit. Did I hear you say “ouch” again? Well, I said it again too. Now I am not saying we are identical to Saul, but if we don’t watch our step we very well could find ourselves walking down a dark road of self-righteousness.
Saul was hand picked by God to fill the role of king for the Israelites. The entire story of how Saul happened upon Samuel to be anointed as king could only have been authored by the only perfect Author. A lost donkey of his father’s led Saul to Samuel and rather than finding the donkey, Saul found his role as king. Early on in Saul’s reign as king he did great things. He led the Israelites to defeats and appeared, at least on the surface, to be a strong man of God. Soon, though, Saul’s true colors shined through.
1 Samuel 13:8-13
He (Saul) waited seven days, the time set by Samuel; but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and Saul's men began to scatter. So he said, “Bring me the burnt offering and the fellowship offerings.” And Saul offered up the burnt offering. Just as he finished making the offering, Samuel arrived, and Saul went out to greet him.
“What have you done?” asked Samuel.
Saul replied, “When I saw that the men were scattering, and that you did not come at the set time, and that the Philistines were assembling at Micmash, I thought, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the LORD's favor.” So I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering."
"You acted foolishly," Samuel said. "You have not kept the command the LORD your God gave you; if you had, he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time.
Saul began to rely on his on intuition, on his own righteousness. Rather than wait the full appointed time God had given him through Samuel, Saul decided to jump on it…and possibly just a few moments too soon. Had he trusted the Lord to come through, had he trusted in God’s righteousness, he would have waited just a few more moments to see Samuel approach. This happens so often in our lives. I know it happens in mine. We get to a place where we see God moving and yet we don’t like the speed at which He is moving, so rather than relying on His righteousness, we lean on our own. Inevitably we fall because as was said in Romans, none of us is righteous. Later on in 1 Samuel, Saul doesn’t fully keep the Lord’s command when defeating Amalekites. As Samuel rebukes him he begs and pleads for forgiveness, but at this moment it is too late. Once again Saul leaned on his own righteousness and didn’t trust in the Lord’s.
I wish I could say it got better for Saul, but it didn’t. His living in self righteousness continued for the rest of his life. He grew angry, bitter, untrusting, and unredeemable because by embracing his own righteousness, he rejected the Lord’s. Isaiah 64:6 says this about self-righteousness:
All of us have become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags;
we all shrivel up like a leaf,
and like the wind our sins sweep us away.
We must fall on the Lord’s righteousness if we are to fully live the life God has intended for us. Jesus said it best when he said “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Matthew 6:33. We must seek first the Lord and His righteousness if we are to live a life fully alive. God’s desire is for us to be fully alive. In the end Saul fell on his own righteousness, which ultimately was the end of his own sword. Saul took his own life and so ended the reign of Saul. What had begun with such potential ended in somewhat of a mess. God’s desire for us is to pursue Him with reckless abandon. When we pursue him like this we are made fully alive and the Lord is glorified. St. Irenaeus said it this way: "The glory of God is man fully alive." I too believe this to be true, but the only way to fully be alive is to embrace the fact that we are not righteous, our righteousness is found in the Lord, and that Jesus Christ died and rose from the dead for us. Death’s sting has been removed and we can now be made fully alive. Lean on God’s righteousness and live the life He’s created for you.
Saul was hand picked by God to fill the role of king for the Israelites. The entire story of how Saul happened upon Samuel to be anointed as king could only have been authored by the only perfect Author. A lost donkey of his father’s led Saul to Samuel and rather than finding the donkey, Saul found his role as king. Early on in Saul’s reign as king he did great things. He led the Israelites to defeats and appeared, at least on the surface, to be a strong man of God. Soon, though, Saul’s true colors shined through.
1 Samuel 13:8-13
He (Saul) waited seven days, the time set by Samuel; but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and Saul's men began to scatter. So he said, “Bring me the burnt offering and the fellowship offerings.” And Saul offered up the burnt offering. Just as he finished making the offering, Samuel arrived, and Saul went out to greet him.
“What have you done?” asked Samuel.
Saul replied, “When I saw that the men were scattering, and that you did not come at the set time, and that the Philistines were assembling at Micmash, I thought, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the LORD's favor.” So I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering."
"You acted foolishly," Samuel said. "You have not kept the command the LORD your God gave you; if you had, he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time.
Saul began to rely on his on intuition, on his own righteousness. Rather than wait the full appointed time God had given him through Samuel, Saul decided to jump on it…and possibly just a few moments too soon. Had he trusted the Lord to come through, had he trusted in God’s righteousness, he would have waited just a few more moments to see Samuel approach. This happens so often in our lives. I know it happens in mine. We get to a place where we see God moving and yet we don’t like the speed at which He is moving, so rather than relying on His righteousness, we lean on our own. Inevitably we fall because as was said in Romans, none of us is righteous. Later on in 1 Samuel, Saul doesn’t fully keep the Lord’s command when defeating Amalekites. As Samuel rebukes him he begs and pleads for forgiveness, but at this moment it is too late. Once again Saul leaned on his own righteousness and didn’t trust in the Lord’s.
I wish I could say it got better for Saul, but it didn’t. His living in self righteousness continued for the rest of his life. He grew angry, bitter, untrusting, and unredeemable because by embracing his own righteousness, he rejected the Lord’s. Isaiah 64:6 says this about self-righteousness:
All of us have become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags;
we all shrivel up like a leaf,
and like the wind our sins sweep us away.
We must fall on the Lord’s righteousness if we are to fully live the life God has intended for us. Jesus said it best when he said “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Matthew 6:33. We must seek first the Lord and His righteousness if we are to live a life fully alive. God’s desire is for us to be fully alive. In the end Saul fell on his own righteousness, which ultimately was the end of his own sword. Saul took his own life and so ended the reign of Saul. What had begun with such potential ended in somewhat of a mess. God’s desire for us is to pursue Him with reckless abandon. When we pursue him like this we are made fully alive and the Lord is glorified. St. Irenaeus said it this way: "The glory of God is man fully alive." I too believe this to be true, but the only way to fully be alive is to embrace the fact that we are not righteous, our righteousness is found in the Lord, and that Jesus Christ died and rose from the dead for us. Death’s sting has been removed and we can now be made fully alive. Lean on God’s righteousness and live the life He’s created for you.
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Why did He choose to come when He did?
It must have been a dark time…the era Jesus was born into. Close to 500 years passed from what was written in the book of Malachi and the beginning of the New Testament. The people of Israel are no longer sovereign and haven’t been for hundreds of years. Sure, the temple has been rebuilt, but it is much smaller and the religion of Israel had become deeply politicized. The people of Israel had, on one side, a “brood of vipers” governing their moral lives and on the other side they were being passed around from being the captives of one nation to another. Their identity was lost and hope seemed far, far away. Why then, of all times, did God choose to come to Earth?
In reading through the Old Testament lately I have seen God moving in mighty ways in the lives of ordinary men. These men, although flawed, were about resting in God’s righteousness over their own. Men like Gideon, David, Abraham, and Joseph are just a few examples. These men were men of “unclean lips” and yet God used them. They were men, like any other man, but they sought out God with all their heart. When they wavered, or when they rested in their own righteousness, that’s when bad things happened. Unfortunately, it almost seemed like, for these men and the people of the time, staying righteous was an uphill battle. You see, these men all failed God at various times in their lives. They started out well, but as time went on, they made more errors. Now these men were holy men, men of God, but it seems that the trend was that man was…hopelessly lost. Indeed that was the case. God knew that what we needed was a savior. As humans we just didn’t have it in us to be able to stay on the straight and narrow. They/we needed a savior. I can almost feel the hopelessness as I think back on that. The men, the leaders whom the Israelites looked up to…kept failing them and failing God. It makes sense then that the cry of the nation was for God to bring about their deliverer. Rich Mullins captured their cry so well:
“Joseph took his wife and her child, and they went to Africa
To escape the rage of a deadly king
There along the banks of the Nile, Jesus listened to the song
That the captive children used to sing
They were singin'
My Deliverer is coming - my Deliverer is standing by
My Deliverer is coming - my Deliverer is standing by
He will never break His promise - He has written it upon the sky
My Deliverer is coming - my Deliverer is standing by”
There was an air of hopelessness, but yet there in the midst of it all was a glimmer of hope in their cry to God. He heard their cries and brought forth their…OUR savior. Jesus stepped off His throne to be born, to live, to die. Our deliverer is coming…our deliverer CAME and He is still with us. We don’t have to rely on ourselves, because we now have God in us. The Holy Spirit now dwells in us. We don’t have to worry about the uphill battle because Jesus is our Emmanuel our God with us.
So, to answer the question why God chose to come down to us, to be born when He did…well…I don’t know. What I do know is that is fits in EXACTLY to His divine plan. God’s timing is perfect. Although we don’t have the answers now, it will all make sense in the end. What we do know is that Jesus was born…born to a virgin, He was born in a stable because there was no room at the inn, shepherds kept watch, and multitudes of angels praised God saying "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests." This birth literally split the calendar in two and this child grew up, was/is God walking amongst us, was betrayed, put on trial, tortured, brutally crucified, died and then three days later He rose from the dead victorious. He did this for you and for me. So although I don’t know why God chose to come when He did, I sure am thankful that He did come when He did. I have life now and do not have to fear eternal death. This is God’s gift to you as well…if you’ll receive it. Merry Christmas to all and God Bless!
I close with this:
O Holy Night
The stars are brightly shining
It is the night of our dear Savior's birth
Long lay the world in sin and error pining
'Til He appeared and the soul felt its worth
A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn!
Fall on your knees,
O hear the angels' voices!
O night divine,
O night when Christ was born
O night divine,
O night divine,
O night divine!
Led by the light of faith serenely beaming,
With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand.
So led by light of a star sweetly gleaming,
Here came the wise men from Orient land.
The King of kings lay thus in lowly manger,
In all our trials born to be our Friend!
He knows our need; to our weakness is no stranger.
Behold your King; before Him lowly bend!
Behold your King; before Him lowly bend!
Truly He taught us to love one another;
His law is love and His Gospel is peace.
Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother
And in His Name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
Let all within us praise His holy Name!
Christ is the Lord! O praise His name forever!
His power and glory evermore proclaim!
His power and glory evermore proclaim!
In reading through the Old Testament lately I have seen God moving in mighty ways in the lives of ordinary men. These men, although flawed, were about resting in God’s righteousness over their own. Men like Gideon, David, Abraham, and Joseph are just a few examples. These men were men of “unclean lips” and yet God used them. They were men, like any other man, but they sought out God with all their heart. When they wavered, or when they rested in their own righteousness, that’s when bad things happened. Unfortunately, it almost seemed like, for these men and the people of the time, staying righteous was an uphill battle. You see, these men all failed God at various times in their lives. They started out well, but as time went on, they made more errors. Now these men were holy men, men of God, but it seems that the trend was that man was…hopelessly lost. Indeed that was the case. God knew that what we needed was a savior. As humans we just didn’t have it in us to be able to stay on the straight and narrow. They/we needed a savior. I can almost feel the hopelessness as I think back on that. The men, the leaders whom the Israelites looked up to…kept failing them and failing God. It makes sense then that the cry of the nation was for God to bring about their deliverer. Rich Mullins captured their cry so well:
“Joseph took his wife and her child, and they went to Africa
To escape the rage of a deadly king
There along the banks of the Nile, Jesus listened to the song
That the captive children used to sing
They were singin'
My Deliverer is coming - my Deliverer is standing by
My Deliverer is coming - my Deliverer is standing by
He will never break His promise - He has written it upon the sky
My Deliverer is coming - my Deliverer is standing by”
There was an air of hopelessness, but yet there in the midst of it all was a glimmer of hope in their cry to God. He heard their cries and brought forth their…OUR savior. Jesus stepped off His throne to be born, to live, to die. Our deliverer is coming…our deliverer CAME and He is still with us. We don’t have to rely on ourselves, because we now have God in us. The Holy Spirit now dwells in us. We don’t have to worry about the uphill battle because Jesus is our Emmanuel our God with us.
So, to answer the question why God chose to come down to us, to be born when He did…well…I don’t know. What I do know is that is fits in EXACTLY to His divine plan. God’s timing is perfect. Although we don’t have the answers now, it will all make sense in the end. What we do know is that Jesus was born…born to a virgin, He was born in a stable because there was no room at the inn, shepherds kept watch, and multitudes of angels praised God saying "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests." This birth literally split the calendar in two and this child grew up, was/is God walking amongst us, was betrayed, put on trial, tortured, brutally crucified, died and then three days later He rose from the dead victorious. He did this for you and for me. So although I don’t know why God chose to come when He did, I sure am thankful that He did come when He did. I have life now and do not have to fear eternal death. This is God’s gift to you as well…if you’ll receive it. Merry Christmas to all and God Bless!
I close with this:
O Holy Night
The stars are brightly shining
It is the night of our dear Savior's birth
Long lay the world in sin and error pining
'Til He appeared and the soul felt its worth
A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn!
Fall on your knees,
O hear the angels' voices!
O night divine,
O night when Christ was born
O night divine,
O night divine,
O night divine!
Led by the light of faith serenely beaming,
With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand.
So led by light of a star sweetly gleaming,
Here came the wise men from Orient land.
The King of kings lay thus in lowly manger,
In all our trials born to be our Friend!
He knows our need; to our weakness is no stranger.
Behold your King; before Him lowly bend!
Behold your King; before Him lowly bend!
Truly He taught us to love one another;
His law is love and His Gospel is peace.
Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother
And in His Name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
Let all within us praise His holy Name!
Christ is the Lord! O praise His name forever!
His power and glory evermore proclaim!
His power and glory evermore proclaim!
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
So, Yeah…There’s a Battle Going On
Yes, you read that right! If you didn’t know, there’s a war going on around us. Sure, it LOOKS peaceful outside. I mean, right now we aren’t dodging bullets or hiding for our lives, but there IS a battle raging on. This war carries on all around us, daily. It isn’t a war we can see, but be assured, the enemy is there. The older I get, the more aware I become of these things. I see just how easy it is for me to get distracted and just how easy it is to let the enemy in. You see, the enemy hasn’t been forceful; in fact, the enemy has been quite the opposite. The enemy has a subtle way about himself, but being aware of this is enough to get my blood boiling. I’ve seen much loss in my life, much pain, much sorrow simply because I wasn’t paying attention, I wasn’t prepared. No more. As Michael Buffer puts it “ladies and gentlemen….let’s get ready to rumble!!!”
I’ve been reading through the book of 1 Samuel and let me tell you, if you didn’t realize there was a war going on, you need to read 1 Samuel. Sure, this is a historical account from the Old Testament, but every single day I’ve found something incredibly applicable in reading through Samuel. This was a time where the enemy was on all sides of Israel. War seems to be a central theme to this book, or at least one of the central themes. The Israelites fiercely battled the Philistines on many occasions. Back then, the custom for the Israelites was to take the Ark with them into battle. The Ark was the very presence of God. Throughout the Old Testament it seemed that anytime the Israelites would bring the Ark into battle, they would be victorious. With God for us, who can be against us? God will always be victorious. That was lesson number one for me in reading through 1 Samuel.
The second lesson of war I learned was something dealing a little more with how subtle the enemy truly is. In 1 Samuel 21, David is fleeing for his life from Saul who wants to kill him. He flees to Gath, looking for some kind of refuge. Gath was a Philistine city and the Philistines were no ally to the Israelites.
1 Samuel 21: 10-15
“That day David fled from Saul and went to Achish king of Gath. But the servants of Achish said to him, ‘Isn't this David, the king of the land? Isn't he the one they sing about in their dances:
'Saul has slain his thousands,
and David his tens of thousands’?’
David took these words to heart and was very much afraid of Achish king of Gath. So he pretended to be insane in their presence; and while he was in their hands he acted like a madman, making marks on the doors of the gate and letting saliva run down his beard. Achish said to his servants, ‘Look at the man! He is insane! Why bring him to me? Am I so short of madmen that you have to bring this fellow here to carry on like this in front of me? Must this man come into my house’?”
David was looking for safety. He was running for his life, and his run led him right into the presence of his enemy. Now the enemy was all to welcoming to David. Their mindset was any enemy of my enemy is my friend. That is indeed the mindset of the enemy of our souls. The enemy wants our attention and wants our focus. The enemy desires us to be an enemy to God. David realized that his enemies were all too welcoming to him and, although they welcomed him in, they intended to do him harm. This is why he acted like a madman so that he could escape. So it should be with us. We should be very aware that the enemy wants our attention, but at the same time the enemy is here only to steal, kill and destroy.
I’ve seen this so much in my life and the lives of others. When times get tough, and sometimes when times are great, it is so easy to feel like we are running for our lives. We look for safety. The only true safety we will ever find is in the presence of the Lord. No matter what the enemy says, he is our enemy for a reason. The enemy does not desire to see us prosper. How then do we combat against such an enemy, how then do we prepare for war? I’m glad you asked…
Ephesians 6:10-18
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.”
Be prepared. That’s what this Eagle Scout says to you…be prepared because “the safest road to hell is the gradual one - the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts.” God will fight the battle for you and He’s even equipped us with protection. He’s equipped us with both defensive and offensive weapons. He wants us to be aware that there is indeed a battle going on around us. Don’t be discouraged, but rather be encouraged that God is on our side. He desires our hearts. Let Jesus Christ be your shepherd and walk with the Lord. Life won’t be easy, but it will be rewarding and you will be victorious in the end because…well, I have a spoiler for you. I know how it all ends…and Jesus is VICTORIOUS over the evil one, over our enemy. Know this, you aren’t alone. God is with you and He loves you. He wants to see you prosper and grow, He wants to see you be victorious.
I’ve been reading through the book of 1 Samuel and let me tell you, if you didn’t realize there was a war going on, you need to read 1 Samuel. Sure, this is a historical account from the Old Testament, but every single day I’ve found something incredibly applicable in reading through Samuel. This was a time where the enemy was on all sides of Israel. War seems to be a central theme to this book, or at least one of the central themes. The Israelites fiercely battled the Philistines on many occasions. Back then, the custom for the Israelites was to take the Ark with them into battle. The Ark was the very presence of God. Throughout the Old Testament it seemed that anytime the Israelites would bring the Ark into battle, they would be victorious. With God for us, who can be against us? God will always be victorious. That was lesson number one for me in reading through 1 Samuel.
The second lesson of war I learned was something dealing a little more with how subtle the enemy truly is. In 1 Samuel 21, David is fleeing for his life from Saul who wants to kill him. He flees to Gath, looking for some kind of refuge. Gath was a Philistine city and the Philistines were no ally to the Israelites.
1 Samuel 21: 10-15
“That day David fled from Saul and went to Achish king of Gath. But the servants of Achish said to him, ‘Isn't this David, the king of the land? Isn't he the one they sing about in their dances:
'Saul has slain his thousands,
and David his tens of thousands’?’
David took these words to heart and was very much afraid of Achish king of Gath. So he pretended to be insane in their presence; and while he was in their hands he acted like a madman, making marks on the doors of the gate and letting saliva run down his beard. Achish said to his servants, ‘Look at the man! He is insane! Why bring him to me? Am I so short of madmen that you have to bring this fellow here to carry on like this in front of me? Must this man come into my house’?”
David was looking for safety. He was running for his life, and his run led him right into the presence of his enemy. Now the enemy was all to welcoming to David. Their mindset was any enemy of my enemy is my friend. That is indeed the mindset of the enemy of our souls. The enemy wants our attention and wants our focus. The enemy desires us to be an enemy to God. David realized that his enemies were all too welcoming to him and, although they welcomed him in, they intended to do him harm. This is why he acted like a madman so that he could escape. So it should be with us. We should be very aware that the enemy wants our attention, but at the same time the enemy is here only to steal, kill and destroy.
I’ve seen this so much in my life and the lives of others. When times get tough, and sometimes when times are great, it is so easy to feel like we are running for our lives. We look for safety. The only true safety we will ever find is in the presence of the Lord. No matter what the enemy says, he is our enemy for a reason. The enemy does not desire to see us prosper. How then do we combat against such an enemy, how then do we prepare for war? I’m glad you asked…
Ephesians 6:10-18
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.”
Be prepared. That’s what this Eagle Scout says to you…be prepared because “the safest road to hell is the gradual one - the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts.” God will fight the battle for you and He’s even equipped us with protection. He’s equipped us with both defensive and offensive weapons. He wants us to be aware that there is indeed a battle going on around us. Don’t be discouraged, but rather be encouraged that God is on our side. He desires our hearts. Let Jesus Christ be your shepherd and walk with the Lord. Life won’t be easy, but it will be rewarding and you will be victorious in the end because…well, I have a spoiler for you. I know how it all ends…and Jesus is VICTORIOUS over the evil one, over our enemy. Know this, you aren’t alone. God is with you and He loves you. He wants to see you prosper and grow, He wants to see you be victorious.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Taking Dangerous Roads
So something struck me as I sat in traffic on 635 yesterday…and no, I it wasn’t another car, although I figure the odds are in favor of that happening eventually on this road. No what struck me is how incredibly dangerous 635 is. I think my chances of safety are better in a dark alley on the wrong side of town than driving on 635. So there I sat, in traffic, for the second time in three days (the other day having been Sunday in which I did not touch 635) watching the sign on the side of the road flashing “Traffic accident ahead.” I am fairly certain that the stretch of 635 between the Central Expressway and I-35 is one of America’s top accident prone roadways. Only a few days before, on my way to my company Christmas party, did I sit in my car for an hour while the freeway was shut down. It’s starting to become an expectation with me…travel 635 at your own peril. Of course I could take another route, but there is none as direct at driving on 635. So as I sat in my car, it dawned on me how often we take dangerous roads, whether we do so because we have to or because we choose to. Either way, dangerous roads are a part of life.
As I sat there and let that truth marinate for a while, I realized that the Bible is full of stories about roads, some dangerous, some narrow, some where transformations take place. It is very obvious that there is significance in this. We travel dangerous roads daily. It may be sin that is the danger, it could be true physical danger, it could be emotional, spiritual, etc…, but we do in fact travel dangerous roads. Now this isn’t to invoke fear or cause doubt or sorrow, but this is to make you, to make everyone aware that our safety is in the Lord, not traveling down the road of life. Too many times we put our trust and faith in the road we are on. We pop it in cruise control and our mind drifts off. Distractions come about and the next thing we know, we are off course or worse yet, we’ve encountered destruction. God wants our focus to be on Him and Him alone. In my realization of this I recalled a story that I have always found to be incredible. The people of Israel were being led out of Egypt and towards the Promised Land by Moses. On this road the people of Israel began to lose their focus on the Lord. Instead they complained and grumbled. Because of this, God sent poisonous snakes and many people died. Destruction had come to the people of Israel because they had lost their focus. I want you to read this though, and see what He does. Amazing…
Numbers 21:4-9
“They traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, to go around Edom. But the people grew impatient on the way; they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, ‘Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the desert? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!’
Then the LORD sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died. The people came to Moses and said, ‘We sinned when we spoke against the LORD and against you. Pray that the LORD will take the snakes away from us.’ So Moses prayed for the people.
The LORD said to Moses, ‘Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.’ So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, he lived.”
To the Jews, the snake on a pole symbolized a defeated serpent, but the significance of this story isn’t fully realized until Jesus says this in John. John 3:14-15: “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.” Wow. The people stared at the symbol that was meant to symbolize Christ’s death on the cross and they lived. You see on these dangerous roads in life, it is so very easy to lose sight and at times we encounter our own personal destruction, but God’s desire for us is spelled out clearly in the Gospel. If we set our sights on Jesus He will guide us through and keep us safe. He is our cloud by day and our fire by night. He desires to walk us through these tough times, hand in hand, and at times He lifts us up and carries us. I don’t know about you, but that may just be the BEST news I’ve heard.
I can say that it feels like my life is nothing but dangerous road after dangerous road. It feels like all I do is duck and dodge one calamity after another, but as I sat there in traffic on that cold, foggy December evening I realized something. I realized that my focus needs to be on the cross. No matter the weather, no matter the road, no matter the circumstances, my focus must be on Jesus. Life can be trying at times, but God isn’t going anywhere. Contrary to Nietzsche God is most definitely NOT dead. He is very much alive and His desire is to make that known by His Spirit through Christ alone. No matter the trials, no matter the danger of the road, Jesus is there. Let these words remind you that Jesus is there with you. John 16:33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” There is no one greater to put my faith in than the One who has overcome the world.
As I sat there and let that truth marinate for a while, I realized that the Bible is full of stories about roads, some dangerous, some narrow, some where transformations take place. It is very obvious that there is significance in this. We travel dangerous roads daily. It may be sin that is the danger, it could be true physical danger, it could be emotional, spiritual, etc…, but we do in fact travel dangerous roads. Now this isn’t to invoke fear or cause doubt or sorrow, but this is to make you, to make everyone aware that our safety is in the Lord, not traveling down the road of life. Too many times we put our trust and faith in the road we are on. We pop it in cruise control and our mind drifts off. Distractions come about and the next thing we know, we are off course or worse yet, we’ve encountered destruction. God wants our focus to be on Him and Him alone. In my realization of this I recalled a story that I have always found to be incredible. The people of Israel were being led out of Egypt and towards the Promised Land by Moses. On this road the people of Israel began to lose their focus on the Lord. Instead they complained and grumbled. Because of this, God sent poisonous snakes and many people died. Destruction had come to the people of Israel because they had lost their focus. I want you to read this though, and see what He does. Amazing…
Numbers 21:4-9
“They traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, to go around Edom. But the people grew impatient on the way; they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, ‘Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the desert? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!’
Then the LORD sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died. The people came to Moses and said, ‘We sinned when we spoke against the LORD and against you. Pray that the LORD will take the snakes away from us.’ So Moses prayed for the people.
The LORD said to Moses, ‘Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.’ So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, he lived.”
To the Jews, the snake on a pole symbolized a defeated serpent, but the significance of this story isn’t fully realized until Jesus says this in John. John 3:14-15: “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.” Wow. The people stared at the symbol that was meant to symbolize Christ’s death on the cross and they lived. You see on these dangerous roads in life, it is so very easy to lose sight and at times we encounter our own personal destruction, but God’s desire for us is spelled out clearly in the Gospel. If we set our sights on Jesus He will guide us through and keep us safe. He is our cloud by day and our fire by night. He desires to walk us through these tough times, hand in hand, and at times He lifts us up and carries us. I don’t know about you, but that may just be the BEST news I’ve heard.
I can say that it feels like my life is nothing but dangerous road after dangerous road. It feels like all I do is duck and dodge one calamity after another, but as I sat there in traffic on that cold, foggy December evening I realized something. I realized that my focus needs to be on the cross. No matter the weather, no matter the road, no matter the circumstances, my focus must be on Jesus. Life can be trying at times, but God isn’t going anywhere. Contrary to Nietzsche God is most definitely NOT dead. He is very much alive and His desire is to make that known by His Spirit through Christ alone. No matter the trials, no matter the danger of the road, Jesus is there. Let these words remind you that Jesus is there with you. John 16:33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” There is no one greater to put my faith in than the One who has overcome the world.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Amazing Grace
Have you ever had one of THOSE days? I’m talking about those days where about halfway through it you realize how you should have stayed in bed. Yeah…THOSE days. Well, we all have those days. It’s just kind of a part of life. I am not trying to be a pessimist or trying to be antagonistic, but I am trying to be realistic. Plus I know there isn’t a person reading this who can honestly say they haven’t had one of those days. Well, I recently had one of those days. I think I knew it would be like that when the alarm went off and my first reaction was to throw the blankets over my head and groan. I knew it would be one of those days where I needed grace.
I woke up and did my normal thing all day long, but the problem was that all day long it felt like I was going through the motions. I wasn’t doing anything out of the ordinary, wasn’t really…living. My day was, using the greatest adjective that comes to mind…blah. It was just a “blah” kind of day. As the day wore on it truly felt like there wasn’t much that would go right. I ran into roadblock after roadblock at work, which compounded my already increasing stress from traffic on the way in to work, and then to make matters worse, rather than relying on God to be my source of peace, my source of hope…well…I decided to push forward on my own…only frustrating me spiritually. It wasn’t till I sat down and truly reflected on what I had read that morning that I realized that the Lord was calling me to rely on Him for peace…and had been all day. This particular morning I read 1 Samuel 2:1-11 and I realized just how much I needed that on this particular day. You see, this little section in 1 Samuel is called “Hannah’s Prayer.” Hannah prayed this prayer as she celebrated what the Lord had done.
Hannah was a woman of faith. If you haven’t read about her or about her faith, I highly recommend it. She was Samuel’s mother, but that’s not the full story. She was also barren. She wasn’t able to have children, and in fact is says “the Lord had closed her womb.” She didn’t let this major inconvenience hold her back. She knew in her heart what she wanted and she knew in her heart the Lord’s will for her life. She prayed earnestly, “O Lord Almighty, if you will only look upon your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head.” 1 Sam. 1:11. Wow…wow… I want THAT faith…to look at the impossible and say “nope, that’s not impossible!” Not only did God hear her cry and gave her a son, but He blessed her and she had many children. In fact later on it says “the Lord was gracious to Hannah” when he blessed her with more children. God’s grace granted Hannah the “cry” of her heart and He went above and beyond. Now THAT’s grace!
After taking some time to let all this settle in I realized that I still struggle with the clichéd term “let go and let God!” Yeah, it can be a hard thing to do, but at the same time, what a blessing when He hears you. As this hit me on my drive home from a tough day I just worshipped the Lord. No matter how bad a day can be, God is bigger. No matter how tough a season can be, God is greater. No matter how insurmountable an obstacle may seem, God is bigger. I chose to let traffic, and stress, and life, and finances get in the way of what kind of day the Lord wanted for me. I was overlooking the peace, and hope, and grace He offers every second, every minute. So yeah, when it hit me, all I could do was worship. I am so thankful that I saw Him in the midst of a bad day…because the story doesn’t end there. See, this whole thing is about grace for me. I was desperately in need of it on my incredibly stressful and bad day. Well, wouldn’t you know…God had a nice dose of grace just waiting for me. I was driving on a road that I’ve never driven on before, near my apartment and it was dark. I will admit, I wasn’t paying attention to the posted speed limit. So as I was driving down this dark, unfamiliar road I saw these headlights very close to me and I thought “hmmm..why are they on my tail” but those questions were erased when the red and blue lights flicked on. I knew for sure that I was about to get my first speeding ticket. I was going 50 in a 35. There was NO way I was getting out of this. I just sat and prayed to God that the police officer would show me some grace. After about ten minutes and a good talk, he let me off with a warning. You know something, God is great and His grace is amazing.
So many times we sit back and we try to let all the crud just affect us. I do it all the time. Why? Why do I do this when God is calling out to me? He desires to show His children love. Yes, sometimes that means justice, but most of the time is means grace. God shows His love to us time and time again when He gives us things we definitely don’t deserve and don’t make sense. I have a great job, a great apartment, great health, great friends, an incredible girlfriend, and a loving family. If these people and these things aren’t evidence of God’s grace in my life, then I don’t know what is, and the sad thing is that I so often overlook it all because I want to focus on the negative. Very often I want to be like Alexander and huff and puff about my “Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day” but at the same time God is saying “lay it at my feet, let it go, and in my you’ll find peace.” He desires grace for you and for me. I am so very thankful that I had this bad day and that He showed Himself to me in the midst of this. This particular day was a very teachable day and I am thankful He opened my eyes so that I could see and learn.
I believe the psalmist discusses grace and protection very well in Psalm 121.
“I raise my eyes toward the mountains.
Where will my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
He will not allow your foot to slip
your protector will not slumber.
Indeed, the Protector of Israel does not slumber or sleep.
The Lord protects you. The Lord is a shelter right by your side.
The sun will not strike you by day or the moon by night. The Lord will protect you from all harm;
He will protect your life.
The Lord will protect your coming and going,
both now and forever.”
God’s desire is grace for us, all we have to do is “raise our eyes” to know where our true help comes from. Grace is still a mystery to me, or rather, I still find it difficult to grasp. Incredible, marvelous, astounding, astonishing, wonderful, miraculous, inconceivable, amazing grace…I am not sure I will ever “get” it while I am here on this earth, but oh how sweet it is, how sweet it is.
I woke up and did my normal thing all day long, but the problem was that all day long it felt like I was going through the motions. I wasn’t doing anything out of the ordinary, wasn’t really…living. My day was, using the greatest adjective that comes to mind…blah. It was just a “blah” kind of day. As the day wore on it truly felt like there wasn’t much that would go right. I ran into roadblock after roadblock at work, which compounded my already increasing stress from traffic on the way in to work, and then to make matters worse, rather than relying on God to be my source of peace, my source of hope…well…I decided to push forward on my own…only frustrating me spiritually. It wasn’t till I sat down and truly reflected on what I had read that morning that I realized that the Lord was calling me to rely on Him for peace…and had been all day. This particular morning I read 1 Samuel 2:1-11 and I realized just how much I needed that on this particular day. You see, this little section in 1 Samuel is called “Hannah’s Prayer.” Hannah prayed this prayer as she celebrated what the Lord had done.
Hannah was a woman of faith. If you haven’t read about her or about her faith, I highly recommend it. She was Samuel’s mother, but that’s not the full story. She was also barren. She wasn’t able to have children, and in fact is says “the Lord had closed her womb.” She didn’t let this major inconvenience hold her back. She knew in her heart what she wanted and she knew in her heart the Lord’s will for her life. She prayed earnestly, “O Lord Almighty, if you will only look upon your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head.” 1 Sam. 1:11. Wow…wow… I want THAT faith…to look at the impossible and say “nope, that’s not impossible!” Not only did God hear her cry and gave her a son, but He blessed her and she had many children. In fact later on it says “the Lord was gracious to Hannah” when he blessed her with more children. God’s grace granted Hannah the “cry” of her heart and He went above and beyond. Now THAT’s grace!
After taking some time to let all this settle in I realized that I still struggle with the clichéd term “let go and let God!” Yeah, it can be a hard thing to do, but at the same time, what a blessing when He hears you. As this hit me on my drive home from a tough day I just worshipped the Lord. No matter how bad a day can be, God is bigger. No matter how tough a season can be, God is greater. No matter how insurmountable an obstacle may seem, God is bigger. I chose to let traffic, and stress, and life, and finances get in the way of what kind of day the Lord wanted for me. I was overlooking the peace, and hope, and grace He offers every second, every minute. So yeah, when it hit me, all I could do was worship. I am so thankful that I saw Him in the midst of a bad day…because the story doesn’t end there. See, this whole thing is about grace for me. I was desperately in need of it on my incredibly stressful and bad day. Well, wouldn’t you know…God had a nice dose of grace just waiting for me. I was driving on a road that I’ve never driven on before, near my apartment and it was dark. I will admit, I wasn’t paying attention to the posted speed limit. So as I was driving down this dark, unfamiliar road I saw these headlights very close to me and I thought “hmmm..why are they on my tail” but those questions were erased when the red and blue lights flicked on. I knew for sure that I was about to get my first speeding ticket. I was going 50 in a 35. There was NO way I was getting out of this. I just sat and prayed to God that the police officer would show me some grace. After about ten minutes and a good talk, he let me off with a warning. You know something, God is great and His grace is amazing.
So many times we sit back and we try to let all the crud just affect us. I do it all the time. Why? Why do I do this when God is calling out to me? He desires to show His children love. Yes, sometimes that means justice, but most of the time is means grace. God shows His love to us time and time again when He gives us things we definitely don’t deserve and don’t make sense. I have a great job, a great apartment, great health, great friends, an incredible girlfriend, and a loving family. If these people and these things aren’t evidence of God’s grace in my life, then I don’t know what is, and the sad thing is that I so often overlook it all because I want to focus on the negative. Very often I want to be like Alexander and huff and puff about my “Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day” but at the same time God is saying “lay it at my feet, let it go, and in my you’ll find peace.” He desires grace for you and for me. I am so very thankful that I had this bad day and that He showed Himself to me in the midst of this. This particular day was a very teachable day and I am thankful He opened my eyes so that I could see and learn.
I believe the psalmist discusses grace and protection very well in Psalm 121.
“I raise my eyes toward the mountains.
Where will my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
He will not allow your foot to slip
your protector will not slumber.
Indeed, the Protector of Israel does not slumber or sleep.
The Lord protects you. The Lord is a shelter right by your side.
The sun will not strike you by day or the moon by night. The Lord will protect you from all harm;
He will protect your life.
The Lord will protect your coming and going,
both now and forever.”
God’s desire is grace for us, all we have to do is “raise our eyes” to know where our true help comes from. Grace is still a mystery to me, or rather, I still find it difficult to grasp. Incredible, marvelous, astounding, astonishing, wonderful, miraculous, inconceivable, amazing grace…I am not sure I will ever “get” it while I am here on this earth, but oh how sweet it is, how sweet it is.
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