What would I say life is most like? Certainly it is a journey that must be traveled. But what kind? A race? Climbing a mountain? Life is too beautifully complex to nail it down do a single analogy. What do I know is that life is good because it is directed by a good God. He knows what He's doing and life is directed towards the purpose of which He desires. he is a benevolent God, only desiring good for His creation. And yes, sometimes difficulties come along, some times bad things do happen. Death, disease, abuse and the like are not good things. However, is God not big enough, is He not good enough, is the cross not powerful enough to bring life to such dead situations? If something is difficult, it doesn't mean it's bad, and Jesus never said life would be easy. He said there would be difficulties in this life, but also to "take heart! For I [He] has overcome the world." We wouldn't ever need the power of God in our lives if we were able to handle it. Would God's grace really be good enough?
(My aim here isn't to sound crass. Especially after the horrible events that transpired last week. I pray that what I'm saying here is more an encouragement to lean into the Savior. Allow the pain and the uncertainty of this world to push you into the arms of the Savior.)
Even with the difficulties that arise, one shouldn't forget about the joys of life. If life has no joy, then what is it really? God gives good things; He is the originator of all things good. We must remember that "good" has to be within the definition God gives it. If something is good only because it benefits me, is it really good? Is "good" then, in relation to whether or not it "feels good?" Sometimes growing doesn't feel good; growing pains hurt! But isn't growing a good thing, even with the pain? Or how about when you work out? It may hurt for a time, and muscles will probably get sore. But aren't the benefits greater than the temporary discomfort? I've realized pain really isn't a bad thing. I certainly don't ask for it, or rejoice when it comes along, but I see that there are many more benefits than the temporary discomforts. I look back at my life, and times that may have been the most difficult is where the most growth in my life happened. The death of my grandmothers, Anthem (difficult, but so AWESOME), and the last year and a half. There's always been joys and I pray God will keep them coming. But, what I'm finding when it's hard is what an amazing dillema I have before me to be on the stormy seas with the Almighty who only desires good for me, as defined by Him.
Maybe life is like being on a ship. For a while, preparation is mandatory. You gotta ready the ship for the open seas. A season of waiting is necessary. But once you're on the open water, sometimes it smooth sailing, others a mighty squall is rocking your boat left and right. But, there's one Constant. No matter what life may be. If it's while being on the sea, climbing a mountain, whichever, there is only ever One that remains. God. He's always here. He's never left. Even as we feel like we're distant, it's because we've made ourselves distant. But the beautiful thing? We're never too far from the redeeming grace, the forgiving hand of God. Most importantly, His love never fails, never gives up and never runs out on us. And through triumph and tragedy, He never leaves. "For I will never leave you nor forsake you."
God is forever faithful.
Sunday, December 16, 2012
Friday, November 16, 2012
All Things New
2 Corinthians 5:21 "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"
Revelation 21:5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
I don't think I can tell you what I was like before I met Jesus. I was in the third grade, nearly thirteen years ago. On all counts I was probably an average little kid. As far as I'm concerned, I was a good kid, but maybe I oughta ask my mom and dad. I'm not discouraged by this, because I still walk with Jesus. There's no denying in that moment I became a new creation, but I can't give you any detail of who I was before. However, I can tell you who I was several years ago before I actually started walking with Jesus. I was a hot head; my temper was my master. Lust was my friend; I would jump at every chance to look at any form of pornography. I was only concerned with "me"; how can I benefit? What good will come of this for me? Very rarely was I really concerned with "we." Encountering and rededicating my life to Jesus flipped all of that around. "We" suddenly became more important than "I." Jesus is my Master--and Friend--not my temper. I struggle with lust, sure, but it doesn't rule me; I can say no.
Looking down the line, yes I'm certainly a different person. I'm not who I was even a year ago. I remember when I came back from Medford a year and a half ago, I decided that I was no longer "Knappy" but Jordan. This wasn't just some individuality thing that I was wanting to just be Jordan. No, "Knappy" had his own time, he had his place and he is no more. Jesus didn't make Knappy, I did. Why would I want to be someone that I'm not? I'm the best at being me and nobody else can be me. Don't get me wrong, I don't jump on anybody who calls me that; for some it sounds like I'm in trouble if they use "Jordan." For those select few, they know who I am and who I used to be and they don't confuse the two. And certainly, there have been events that have happened in my life that have helped to shape who I am, but ultimately I am clay in the hand of the Almighty. I desire to be mold-able, conformed to the image that He desires me to be. I won't bow to what any person will say about me, because my identity isn't within the mind of man. It's within the mind of my Savior.
Recently, life hasn't been the smoothest. I've had some incredible highs and some unfortunate lows as well. I think I've been waiting for something "big" to happen in my life that will make everything change. But, I've been finding that that's not the case; no life is about doing all the small things well. The small things that you do well will progress into the big things of life. Truthfully, life is in the little things; the majority of it is taken up by the small things. One small step at a time, one day at a time. God can certainly do big things, and He does do big things, but He's also the God of the small things too. For instance, if you want to pray, nothing's going to happen unless you start to pray. You begin a lifestyle of prayer by praying. It's also like if you want to lift a lot of heavy weight. If you've never worked out in your life, you won't be able to lift heavy things. It takes a process of continually going to the gym and working out your muscles, working on the small weight and then progressively getting to the larger weights. Life become big once you've mastered the small things.
I have found that there is one constant to my life, and it will never change: Jesus. I don't need to ask Him to come near me because He's always near me. Sure, there are times where I feel like I step away, but does that mean He walks away, too? He's not petty; His love is greater than that. His hand is always on my shoulder, and there is nothing more reassuring than having somebody's hand placed on your shoulder. It tells you that they're with you, that they got your back. God's hand is always on my shoulder. Is life always easy? No, but Jesus is always with me and that makes life worth it.
Revelation 21:5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
I don't think I can tell you what I was like before I met Jesus. I was in the third grade, nearly thirteen years ago. On all counts I was probably an average little kid. As far as I'm concerned, I was a good kid, but maybe I oughta ask my mom and dad. I'm not discouraged by this, because I still walk with Jesus. There's no denying in that moment I became a new creation, but I can't give you any detail of who I was before. However, I can tell you who I was several years ago before I actually started walking with Jesus. I was a hot head; my temper was my master. Lust was my friend; I would jump at every chance to look at any form of pornography. I was only concerned with "me"; how can I benefit? What good will come of this for me? Very rarely was I really concerned with "we." Encountering and rededicating my life to Jesus flipped all of that around. "We" suddenly became more important than "I." Jesus is my Master--and Friend--not my temper. I struggle with lust, sure, but it doesn't rule me; I can say no.
Looking down the line, yes I'm certainly a different person. I'm not who I was even a year ago. I remember when I came back from Medford a year and a half ago, I decided that I was no longer "Knappy" but Jordan. This wasn't just some individuality thing that I was wanting to just be Jordan. No, "Knappy" had his own time, he had his place and he is no more. Jesus didn't make Knappy, I did. Why would I want to be someone that I'm not? I'm the best at being me and nobody else can be me. Don't get me wrong, I don't jump on anybody who calls me that; for some it sounds like I'm in trouble if they use "Jordan." For those select few, they know who I am and who I used to be and they don't confuse the two. And certainly, there have been events that have happened in my life that have helped to shape who I am, but ultimately I am clay in the hand of the Almighty. I desire to be mold-able, conformed to the image that He desires me to be. I won't bow to what any person will say about me, because my identity isn't within the mind of man. It's within the mind of my Savior.
Recently, life hasn't been the smoothest. I've had some incredible highs and some unfortunate lows as well. I think I've been waiting for something "big" to happen in my life that will make everything change. But, I've been finding that that's not the case; no life is about doing all the small things well. The small things that you do well will progress into the big things of life. Truthfully, life is in the little things; the majority of it is taken up by the small things. One small step at a time, one day at a time. God can certainly do big things, and He does do big things, but He's also the God of the small things too. For instance, if you want to pray, nothing's going to happen unless you start to pray. You begin a lifestyle of prayer by praying. It's also like if you want to lift a lot of heavy weight. If you've never worked out in your life, you won't be able to lift heavy things. It takes a process of continually going to the gym and working out your muscles, working on the small weight and then progressively getting to the larger weights. Life become big once you've mastered the small things.
I have found that there is one constant to my life, and it will never change: Jesus. I don't need to ask Him to come near me because He's always near me. Sure, there are times where I feel like I step away, but does that mean He walks away, too? He's not petty; His love is greater than that. His hand is always on my shoulder, and there is nothing more reassuring than having somebody's hand placed on your shoulder. It tells you that they're with you, that they got your back. God's hand is always on my shoulder. Is life always easy? No, but Jesus is always with me and that makes life worth it.
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Life
Luke 8:22-24
22 One day Jesus said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side of the lake.” So they got into a boat and set out. 23 As they sailed, he fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger.
24 The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we’re going to drown!”
He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm. 25 “Where is your faith?” he asked his disciples.
In fear and amazement they asked one another, “Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him.”
By now the disciples hadn't been with Jesus for very long, but they had witnessed His miracles, seeing He has great power. If they hadn't already known He was God-incarnate, this instance may have at least solidified some "hunches." Once the storm arose and their ship was being hammered, they panicked. Jesus was sleeping; he knew all was well. The fear of the disciples drove them to waking the Jesus Christ. When Jesus said, "where's your faith?," He wasn't ridiculing them. He saw fear drive them, not faith.
How about our own lives, now: storms come. Sometimes life is hard. When something is hard it does not mean it's bad. Now, God isn't asleep on our boat (I'll use it as an analogy for life, as well), because He never sleeps (Psalm 121). Nothing shakes Him. Nothing in our lives take God by surprise. Now if fear drives us to run to the Father, that's good to a point. Fear cannot be our master. When life is hard, our faith must lead us to the Father. In all circumstances, running to our Rock, our Fortress, is always the good plan.
Jesus never said life would be easy. In fact, He said there would be trouble (16:33), but the greater pronouncement that we must "take heart!" For I have overcome the world. Nothing tells us that God only gives us what we could handle. Sometimes life is just too big for us. What God did say, though, is "My grace is enough for you." Why as Christians would we say all we need if God, then say that He doesn't give us things we can't "handle?" God's no masochist, He doesn't enjoy our pain, but He does use life's difficulties to draw us near to Him. If what comes our way in life we can handle, then we have no dependence upon our God. But life sometimes is much bigger than us. Weakness isn't a bad thing, but rather evidence pointing toward our chronic dependence upon a completely sovereign God.
God in the New Testament is the same as the God of the Old. God's grace, love and mercy is just as prevalent in each of the testaments. In Zechariah 3:4, God speaks of removing Joshua's sin (mercy), then giving Him rich garments (grace) as well. In regard to grace and mercy, they're both supremely undeserved. In mercy, God forgave our sins and washed us clean; in His grace He made us sons. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. In several of the OT prophets, God spoke through them and said, "Your sins are removed" or "I remember your sins no more. In the NT, we see Jesus dying for us, removing our sin from us. None of which warranted by us.
We can say that we aren't worthy all we want, and within ourselves, that is true. But when I look at the cross, the empty tomb, I see a separate declaration: you are worthy, you are worth it. By His death and resurrection, Jesus said that we are worth it. Dare we call Him a liar: He went to death and back to win our hearts; who can say the same? "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8) Before we were born Jesus died for us. Before our first breath, Jesus laid down His life. Being God, He knew the sins we would commit. He died for those before we committed them. What great love is this that the King would die for a rebel? "Conventional" thinking would say the king would kill him. Conventional thinking is not God's thinking. God thinks the world of us, which is why He would rather die than to spend an eternity with us. The veil is torn, the door is open and we can come to Him. We can meet with Him. Dare we refuse Him?
Matthew 11:28-30 28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
22 One day Jesus said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side of the lake.” So they got into a boat and set out. 23 As they sailed, he fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger.
24 The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we’re going to drown!”
He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm. 25 “Where is your faith?” he asked his disciples.
In fear and amazement they asked one another, “Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him.”
By now the disciples hadn't been with Jesus for very long, but they had witnessed His miracles, seeing He has great power. If they hadn't already known He was God-incarnate, this instance may have at least solidified some "hunches." Once the storm arose and their ship was being hammered, they panicked. Jesus was sleeping; he knew all was well. The fear of the disciples drove them to waking the Jesus Christ. When Jesus said, "where's your faith?," He wasn't ridiculing them. He saw fear drive them, not faith.
How about our own lives, now: storms come. Sometimes life is hard. When something is hard it does not mean it's bad. Now, God isn't asleep on our boat (I'll use it as an analogy for life, as well), because He never sleeps (Psalm 121). Nothing shakes Him. Nothing in our lives take God by surprise. Now if fear drives us to run to the Father, that's good to a point. Fear cannot be our master. When life is hard, our faith must lead us to the Father. In all circumstances, running to our Rock, our Fortress, is always the good plan.
Jesus never said life would be easy. In fact, He said there would be trouble (16:33), but the greater pronouncement that we must "take heart!" For I have overcome the world. Nothing tells us that God only gives us what we could handle. Sometimes life is just too big for us. What God did say, though, is "My grace is enough for you." Why as Christians would we say all we need if God, then say that He doesn't give us things we can't "handle?" God's no masochist, He doesn't enjoy our pain, but He does use life's difficulties to draw us near to Him. If what comes our way in life we can handle, then we have no dependence upon our God. But life sometimes is much bigger than us. Weakness isn't a bad thing, but rather evidence pointing toward our chronic dependence upon a completely sovereign God.
God in the New Testament is the same as the God of the Old. God's grace, love and mercy is just as prevalent in each of the testaments. In Zechariah 3:4, God speaks of removing Joshua's sin (mercy), then giving Him rich garments (grace) as well. In regard to grace and mercy, they're both supremely undeserved. In mercy, God forgave our sins and washed us clean; in His grace He made us sons. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. In several of the OT prophets, God spoke through them and said, "Your sins are removed" or "I remember your sins no more. In the NT, we see Jesus dying for us, removing our sin from us. None of which warranted by us.
We can say that we aren't worthy all we want, and within ourselves, that is true. But when I look at the cross, the empty tomb, I see a separate declaration: you are worthy, you are worth it. By His death and resurrection, Jesus said that we are worth it. Dare we call Him a liar: He went to death and back to win our hearts; who can say the same? "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8) Before we were born Jesus died for us. Before our first breath, Jesus laid down His life. Being God, He knew the sins we would commit. He died for those before we committed them. What great love is this that the King would die for a rebel? "Conventional" thinking would say the king would kill him. Conventional thinking is not God's thinking. God thinks the world of us, which is why He would rather die than to spend an eternity with us. The veil is torn, the door is open and we can come to Him. We can meet with Him. Dare we refuse Him?
Matthew 11:28-30 28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Friday, August 24, 2012
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 a hope and a futuree. Then you will call upon Me and come 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."
I think it's important to know the purpose of God saying this to His people. T0hey were in captivity in Babylon, and land not their own. They had just been torm from their promised land. Most of the Israelites were probably scared out of their mind. These people they were in captivity of weren't all that peaceful. Their destination--Babylon--was probably not what they thought of "prospering." They may have also thought they really didn't have much of a future in a foreign land. And yet, God declares that he still has a plan for them, even in the midst of the "endesires" time of life.
This scripture is good for transistion times of our lives, yes. Indeed it springs in the hear of the reader/listener hope. But the context of this speaks directly to those who might not be in the most "desires" of circumstances. Even when it seems all hope is lost, it's not erally lost. Eventually God brought Israel back from captivity as He promised. Jonah didn't die in the whale. Joseph wasn't a slave in Egypt forever. Jesus didn't remain in the grave. God tends to work best when it seems that all hope is gone. He enjoys to work outside of the parameters of human logic. God NEVER ever, ever, ever, ever, NEVER said that He wouldn't give us what we couldn't handle. Specifically what that scripture is talking about in 1 Corinthians is temptation to sin. (1 Corinthians 10:11-13 if you wish to verify me, here.) What God did say is "My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness." (2 Corinthians 12:8b) God understands that we are but dust, frail human beings. He knows there are some things in life that we certainy cannot "handle." For instance, in my life losing both of my grandmothers within 5 weeks my freshman year was certainly not something that I could not handle. How does anybody "handle" the death of a loved one? Or most recently, a friend of mine was hit by a car on his bike and has sustained some pretty nasty injuries. He's still alive, praise God, but he is in pretty rough shape. This isn't a knock on my friend, but to think that anybody can handle that kind of pain and also be bed-ridden(sp? hmm...) until recovery is hard. Nobody likes to be helpless.
I don't believe God allows hard circumstances to come into our lives because He thinks that we're strong. It doesn't mean that God doesn't think we're worthless or can't do anything. Certainly not. But, I believe that He allows hard things to happen so that we learn how to lean into Him, within the good and the bad. Who ever said that life will be easy? Jesus even told us that in this life "we will face trouble." But even after that somber declaration, He declares: "But take heart! I have overcome the world." We don't have to be strong when God is strong in us. We can collapse in our weakness and allow His strength to empower us. When we realize that the "end of me is the beginning of God" is where we realize that we don't have to be strong. We don't have to stuff emotions; we can have a full breakdown within the arms of the Almighty, for He won't cast us out for giving in. He will tell us what He said to Paul when he was asking God to remove his thorn: "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness."
"Why do you say, O Jacob, and complain, O Israel, 'My way is hidden from the Lord; my cause is desregarded by my God."? Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. he will not grow tired or weary, and His understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not be faint." Isaiah 40:27-31
I think it's important to know the purpose of God saying this to His people. T0hey were in captivity in Babylon, and land not their own. They had just been torm from their promised land. Most of the Israelites were probably scared out of their mind. These people they were in captivity of weren't all that peaceful. Their destination--Babylon--was probably not what they thought of "prospering." They may have also thought they really didn't have much of a future in a foreign land. And yet, God declares that he still has a plan for them, even in the midst of the "endesires" time of life.
This scripture is good for transistion times of our lives, yes. Indeed it springs in the hear of the reader/listener hope. But the context of this speaks directly to those who might not be in the most "desires" of circumstances. Even when it seems all hope is lost, it's not erally lost. Eventually God brought Israel back from captivity as He promised. Jonah didn't die in the whale. Joseph wasn't a slave in Egypt forever. Jesus didn't remain in the grave. God tends to work best when it seems that all hope is gone. He enjoys to work outside of the parameters of human logic. God NEVER ever, ever, ever, ever, NEVER said that He wouldn't give us what we couldn't handle. Specifically what that scripture is talking about in 1 Corinthians is temptation to sin. (1 Corinthians 10:11-13 if you wish to verify me, here.) What God did say is "My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness." (2 Corinthians 12:8b) God understands that we are but dust, frail human beings. He knows there are some things in life that we certainy cannot "handle." For instance, in my life losing both of my grandmothers within 5 weeks my freshman year was certainly not something that I could not handle. How does anybody "handle" the death of a loved one? Or most recently, a friend of mine was hit by a car on his bike and has sustained some pretty nasty injuries. He's still alive, praise God, but he is in pretty rough shape. This isn't a knock on my friend, but to think that anybody can handle that kind of pain and also be bed-ridden(sp? hmm...) until recovery is hard. Nobody likes to be helpless.
I don't believe God allows hard circumstances to come into our lives because He thinks that we're strong. It doesn't mean that God doesn't think we're worthless or can't do anything. Certainly not. But, I believe that He allows hard things to happen so that we learn how to lean into Him, within the good and the bad. Who ever said that life will be easy? Jesus even told us that in this life "we will face trouble." But even after that somber declaration, He declares: "But take heart! I have overcome the world." We don't have to be strong when God is strong in us. We can collapse in our weakness and allow His strength to empower us. When we realize that the "end of me is the beginning of God" is where we realize that we don't have to be strong. We don't have to stuff emotions; we can have a full breakdown within the arms of the Almighty, for He won't cast us out for giving in. He will tell us what He said to Paul when he was asking God to remove his thorn: "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness."
"Why do you say, O Jacob, and complain, O Israel, 'My way is hidden from the Lord; my cause is desregarded by my God."? Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. he will not grow tired or weary, and His understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not be faint." Isaiah 40:27-31
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Dreams
Do we believe that God gives good gifts and therefore gives good dreams? I'm of that impression (it is biblical after all) and that is why I hold on to the things that He says to me because they're always true and always good. I believe that God has placed specific dreams (which, what I am talking about is my dream, call and passion for ministry upon my life) in my heart and passions in my heart for a very particular reason. I believe He has a purpose for me and that only through Him will I accomplish it. This last week, I felt God challenge me in the area of my dreams (His dreams?) for my life. I felt Him say this: "Would you be willing to let go of those dreams? If those dreams are taken away, am I still enough?" Yowza. After a minute I related it to Abraham:
God promised Abraham a son, and that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the sky. After time, Isaac was born, of whom Abraham's seed was going to come from and all people shall be blessed through. Then God said, "Sacrifice your son." That had to be crazy for Abraham to hear at first. Yet, he still did it, and didn't even bring a ram as a substitute for his son Isaac. He believed God would provide. The reasoning behind God doing that, though? I believe it was this: Abraham held the promise and the fulfilment of his son over his God. He treasured Isaac over his Lord. God isn't okay with that, for He is a jealous God and the first commandment (to be given to Abraham's descendants on a later date) spells out that no God can come before Him, lest they want to be struck down. God wants all of us, therefore we give Him ALL of us, including our dreams.
I've been wrestling with this one. I've placed so much weight on God's promise and I've game planned upon that being true and nothing else going to happen for me. I've had countless confirmations from people and I heard from God Himself, how can it not be true? I've heard this from a very wise pastor once, that once you're a pastor, or have the call of pastoring, you're a pastor wherever you go, not just a position you have at a church. In light of that, God was basically saying, "Are you okay with this not looking like how you thought? Are you okay with this not being exactly how you see it?"
I've been wrestling with this. A lot. It's not that I don't trust God's plan for my life or that I feel like I need to do it all on my own, however that I just need to give all of me unto Him. ALL OF ME. That includes my dreams, passions, desires and "plans" I have for my life. Realistically all my dreams and passions are God-given. I'm to be a steward of them and use them to bring glory to the One who gave them to me. Also, I must not hold them with closed hands but to hold them with open hands because they are His, not mine. He has a very specific purpose for each and every one of those dreams and desires of mine to accomplish a very specific purpose while I'm here preparing for eternity.
I know where God has called me, and I don't believe He changes His mind about His children or His plan for them. But I do believe being a pastor is much more than just being at church preparing messages and preaching on Sunday. I believe that God has called me and has placed a dream upon my life to be a pastor, a shepherd of His flock. But those are His dreams that He gave to me and I'm to be a faithful steward and do all that I can with them until He reckons me home.
God promised Abraham a son, and that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the sky. After time, Isaac was born, of whom Abraham's seed was going to come from and all people shall be blessed through. Then God said, "Sacrifice your son." That had to be crazy for Abraham to hear at first. Yet, he still did it, and didn't even bring a ram as a substitute for his son Isaac. He believed God would provide. The reasoning behind God doing that, though? I believe it was this: Abraham held the promise and the fulfilment of his son over his God. He treasured Isaac over his Lord. God isn't okay with that, for He is a jealous God and the first commandment (to be given to Abraham's descendants on a later date) spells out that no God can come before Him, lest they want to be struck down. God wants all of us, therefore we give Him ALL of us, including our dreams.
I've been wrestling with this one. I've placed so much weight on God's promise and I've game planned upon that being true and nothing else going to happen for me. I've had countless confirmations from people and I heard from God Himself, how can it not be true? I've heard this from a very wise pastor once, that once you're a pastor, or have the call of pastoring, you're a pastor wherever you go, not just a position you have at a church. In light of that, God was basically saying, "Are you okay with this not looking like how you thought? Are you okay with this not being exactly how you see it?"
I've been wrestling with this. A lot. It's not that I don't trust God's plan for my life or that I feel like I need to do it all on my own, however that I just need to give all of me unto Him. ALL OF ME. That includes my dreams, passions, desires and "plans" I have for my life. Realistically all my dreams and passions are God-given. I'm to be a steward of them and use them to bring glory to the One who gave them to me. Also, I must not hold them with closed hands but to hold them with open hands because they are His, not mine. He has a very specific purpose for each and every one of those dreams and desires of mine to accomplish a very specific purpose while I'm here preparing for eternity.
I know where God has called me, and I don't believe He changes His mind about His children or His plan for them. But I do believe being a pastor is much more than just being at church preparing messages and preaching on Sunday. I believe that God has called me and has placed a dream upon my life to be a pastor, a shepherd of His flock. But those are His dreams that He gave to me and I'm to be a faithful steward and do all that I can with them until He reckons me home.
To God be the glory!
Saturday, March 31, 2012
My Faith is Important
I have found in all my life that whatever is foundational for me, whatever has held root in my life and has caused me to treat people in a certain way, it has been because of what I believe in my Heavenly Father. It has caused me to desire deeper relationship because I know that I have only tasted a percentage of the cake that God has offered us and I love to experience the other "flavors" that people who have lived longer than I have experienced and have themselves come to realization about. The questions I've had in my life have been answered and the purpose for my life has been found in what I believe about my God. A life of purposelessness has never entered my heart or mind because I've always had purpose in Him.
I have purpose. Not picked out by my parents, by my friends or my pastors, but by God. He has revealed it to me through His word and in my times listening to His still, small voice. Having purpose causes me to live my life in a fashion worthy of that purpose, or calling on my life. My purpose isn't only to bring God glory in everything that I do, be He has called me to live my life worthy of the gospel of Jesus Christ and to again, give all of the glory, honor, and praise over to Him who truly deserves it above all others. And because of having a purpose, I don't have to go around searching for something to fill it, causing me to be empty and wandering to and fro searching for something to fill that void of having no purpose. When I live my life in such a way, it leaves a legacy. Not of a person who wanted it all for himself, or wanted to fit in and be the coolest, but of one who desired only to bring God the glory and shining His light in the process. Lives lived like that change the world and leave a reverberating chord playing into eternity, bringing glory to the one and only Heavenly Father.
One of the key things for my life is a continual "perspective shift" that I get from Him. In my earthy perspective, everything is temporal and shallow, never lasting for more than a few weeks. But because of God, He gives me perspective shifts from the temporal to the eternal, from the lack of a meaning to a life of meaning. Even the perspective of myself changes because of God. Due to my personality and being a person who is such a self-condemner and being my own toughest critic, when I come into contact with the God who loves me because of me and not because of the way I perform, the view I have of myself changes. I no longer view myself as stupid, dumb, an outcast (or whatever the boohoo story would be about me), but I see myself as a son of the King. As a valued child of God because the King of the universe wants to spend time with my 24/7.
Sometimes life can feel complicated, like there are just too many chords (wires) jumbled into a big mess, like spaghetti and we're trying to untangle it all on our own effort. But God does this: He shows us that it's not a mess of chords to be untangled, but it's all going to the same course, Him. It's not the "all roads lead to God" believe, but rather that all of creation points to Him and it shouldn't appear to be complicated, though He's not simple in the least. He shows that I shouldn't try to untangle the "mess" that He created because it's not a mess to be cleaned, but a "mess" to actually admire and follow where it leads. This calms me; God tells me not to fret about the :"complicated-ness" of His creation, but to rather embrace the complexity and to not be concerned about anything else but what He has planned out for me in my day. If it happens to intersect with people (which, of course it does!), I should just point them to the Source of the "mess" and it's not for us to untangle it, but to know and to seek after the Source of it.
One of the single most important things for me, personally, in my belief of God, is that it places a price on people, and myself, that cannot be paid for by anyone on earth by God alone. He alone is able to "own" us because He created us. What this means for me is that it places a value on the person to my left or to my right, wanting what's best for them and for them to succeed more than myself. First off, God gives me a glimpse of His heart for the person and gives me a taste of how much He loves them and then, in turn, it causes me to love them. Certainly not with an earthly shallow love that we humans are able to conjure up somehow, but by spending time with their Creator and with them and hearing God's heart for them. A love fills my heart for them that desires to see them act in the gifts that God has given them. I believe it's part of having an "older brother's" heart for them. And as an older brother myself, I desire to see my sister do as best as she can in whatever she puts her heart to; not only that, but I desire to see her working in the gifts God has given her. It's an excitement that enters my heart, and an anticipation to see how they will be one they tap into the power and gifts God has given them.
I have many favorite attributes of God, but among the top is that He is such a forgiving God and He gives me grace for the moment, for the hour, for the day and for my life. I don't have to work for it, nor do I have to work up to it. When I come to Christ, it's all right there for me and I just accept the gift that He has given me. This sort of gift, though, is not the kind that is just for me. Like a little kid at Christmas, you want to share it with your friends because it's just so cool! We forgive because He forgave us first, and because of Him we are able to extend forgiveness and grace to those who hurt us. Which in fact, is a fact of life; you will get burned, you will get hurt, and life is far too short to think that I am the judge to deal out punishment for it and hold onto a grudge that will only fester and hold me captive until I give it to God. With this, I have freedom because I don't have to go around thinking I have to find some sort of way to find revenge on a person who burns me, but to just forgive them because 1) Jesus tells us to, and 2) because if I don't, only bitterness will harbor in my heart and will create a wall between me and that person and between me and God. That's something that I really do not want because I want to have no barriers between me and my Heavenly Father so He can access each and every area of my life. (After all, the veil was torn when Christ died. Why try and put another barrier up when Christ has torn the big one down?)
I place a high value on life. Not because of how I see it, because I don't really know how to perceive life that well. By spending time with God, the Creator of life, I've acquired a glimpse of how special and precious life really is, and also just how fragile it is. In the blink of an eye a life can be ended, but also, a new life can start. Life is an interesting thing to me because it can just be so simple but then so complex with all of its twists and turns and ups and downs. But God shows me something: though life can be complicated, living it in His will and in His power makes it incredibly simple. It saves me time of worrying so much about this and that, and such and such, but rather the "that of the time; just the one thing that I need to worry about at the time is what God has for me and what He has planned for me in that moment.
There's always a part of me that longs for more. More relationship, more truth, more love, more peace. Just more. And as I ache and long for it, sometimes I get weary because of that desire. Before I had come to relationship with Jesus, that desire for more was always left dry and never even touched. Once I came to know Jesus personally, I discovered that He really has more for me than I could ever imagine: more love, more joy, more peace. He has more than my mind really can take. I can take peace in the fact that I am lacking, because He has more for me. And even when I am able to "perform," He still has much more for me than I can ever imagine.
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Dear You
Dear you, yea you the person reading this. I apologize if I ever come across as "holier than thou." My heart isn't to compare myself to you, no my goal is for you to see the Savior. Sure, words on a screen only hold so much weight, and true impact is only by face-to-face relationship and not just words. And hey, actions do speak louder than words, but words, they are not silent in the least. What I don't understand is when I'm talked down to. I don't front myself better or wiser or stronger or even wiser than you. In fact, I recognize my faults, probably more than anyone I kick myself to the curb because of them. But what I also understand is the grace God has given me. Grace to live, grace to speak, grace to breathe. I don't deserve any of this. Please, we are all on level ground here at the foot of the cross. My heart breaks for the lost, for those who feel that all Christians are, are judgemental people who only stick their noses at sinners and always push them away. I apologize for those Christians who have inadequately represented my Jesus to you. I do know that I fall in that area too, I mean come on I'm not perfect either.
What I don't understand is the constant shouting of, "Don't judge me!" when in turn you judge me too! Let's understand this: "judging" one another is a part of being human. We can't stop that. What we can do, though is to not act upon those judgements and preconceived notions about whomever and live in accordance to how God sees the person. We're all hypocrites, it's a part of being human. Personally, I like to assume the best out of people; I like to give room to be burned (NOT because I'm perfect, but because I see that that is what Jesus did and continues to do for me). Now, this does not mean I condone people being judgemental, but only give grace to those who do. But I also recognize this: telling somebody that they're wrong because they are isn't judging them. Would we accuse a doctor of "judging" us when all he tells us is that we're sick? Nonsense! Granted, I'm not equating myself with a doctor, because I'm not one, but understand the analogy, here. Or even something like, "You're tall!" I'm not gonna get defensive and yell that you've "judged" rather that you judged the fact that in fact, I am tall.
This is what I understand: sin has corrupted and skewed our view of all things. It caused a chasm to form between us and God, and the communion between us and Him is severed because of it. I also understand that sin distorts our view of each other. Sin affects our lives horizontally and vertically. However, you put those together, you've got a cross. (Horizontal beam, vertical beam, get it? =D) There's one thing that fixes this: Jesus. His sacrifice for us. God became man to die for man so that man may live. There's one remedy for the disease that has killed billions since the beginning. That disease is sin, the remedy is Jesus' sacrifice for us. That's the only cure for this horrible curse that grips on our hearts and crouches at our door to ambush us and take us captive. Understand this, too: Nobody needs Jesus more than any one person. We all need Him the same, because we all have the same problem. The only thing is if we're in Christ, we're not controlled, nor held in bondage by sin, but still struggle with it because of our imperfect humanity that's being renewed day in and day out by the Holy Spirit. We all need Jesus. Find Him.
What I don't understand is the constant shouting of, "Don't judge me!" when in turn you judge me too! Let's understand this: "judging" one another is a part of being human. We can't stop that. What we can do, though is to not act upon those judgements and preconceived notions about whomever and live in accordance to how God sees the person. We're all hypocrites, it's a part of being human. Personally, I like to assume the best out of people; I like to give room to be burned (NOT because I'm perfect, but because I see that that is what Jesus did and continues to do for me). Now, this does not mean I condone people being judgemental, but only give grace to those who do. But I also recognize this: telling somebody that they're wrong because they are isn't judging them. Would we accuse a doctor of "judging" us when all he tells us is that we're sick? Nonsense! Granted, I'm not equating myself with a doctor, because I'm not one, but understand the analogy, here. Or even something like, "You're tall!" I'm not gonna get defensive and yell that you've "judged" rather that you judged the fact that in fact, I am tall.
This is what I understand: sin has corrupted and skewed our view of all things. It caused a chasm to form between us and God, and the communion between us and Him is severed because of it. I also understand that sin distorts our view of each other. Sin affects our lives horizontally and vertically. However, you put those together, you've got a cross. (Horizontal beam, vertical beam, get it? =D) There's one thing that fixes this: Jesus. His sacrifice for us. God became man to die for man so that man may live. There's one remedy for the disease that has killed billions since the beginning. That disease is sin, the remedy is Jesus' sacrifice for us. That's the only cure for this horrible curse that grips on our hearts and crouches at our door to ambush us and take us captive. Understand this, too: Nobody needs Jesus more than any one person. We all need Him the same, because we all have the same problem. The only thing is if we're in Christ, we're not controlled, nor held in bondage by sin, but still struggle with it because of our imperfect humanity that's being renewed day in and day out by the Holy Spirit. We all need Jesus. Find Him.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Trust
God shows and teaches me lessons in perspective shifts and stories. This particular one is close to me at the moment: When it comes to trusting God, it would be like being at the pool with your dad. He’s in there smiling at you beckoning you to jump into his arms. You look at your father and examine the pool. How deep is it? Is the water dirty? Then you examine your daddy. Is he strong enough to catch me? Can I trust that he will catch me and not leave me to dry? (… okay, get wet?) While realistically a small child won’t run that through their “grid,” we do it all of the time. Child-like faith/trust says that “Well of course he would catch me!” Our “reason” and “logic” says, “Will he really catch me? Can I really trust him?” I wonder how we get there and I fail to come up with a pin point in our lives where we begin to rely on reason and logic to determine our choices than our faith in a perfectly good, wholly holy, overwhelmingly loving, incorruptible God. Maybe we get let down by someone who we look to and then make the conclusion that ALL that we look up to will eventually fail us. Or perhaps somewhere along the line our parents failed us in some way and we think that if the adults that God placed over us were unable to be perfect, how could the one who sent them be? It’s almost like we think we know better than the God who created everything. We tend to place the failures of humanity onto God and by so doing we doubt His goodness and His love. We see the horrible things that go on and blame Him saying, “Well if God really is a good God, why would He allow such evil things to happen?” Think about this, though. Would a good God control the actions of His creation? Don’t get me wrong, I don’t believe God causes evil things, nor do I think He rejoices in the tragedies of life. In fact, I know that He weeps with us and is comforting us. The life of Jesus expresses that to us. Any time a parent reached out to Him for help with their children, He answered them and healed their child. When I look at Him at the home of Mary and Martha after their brother passed away, I see Him weeping with the mourners. In short, God is with those who are hurting and is never far from the cry of a broken heart.
One of the beautiful things of life is the beauty of free will. Though through free will entered sin and death, it also enters in love. Free will enables us the ability to love, and there is no greater force on earth than love. The most potent love is God’s love, for it conquered the grave and raised Christ from the dead. It also enables us the ability to trust. God doesn’t force us to trust or love Him. He didn’t create us to be robots. Robots don’t love. Robots don’t have relationships. Only free will-given beings can have relationships. The biggest thing about relationship is trust. Without trust, we’re just paranoid and try to keep control on the thing. Nobody wants to marry anyone who is going to try and control every move they make and every person they spend time with. When God created Adam and Eve, He ENTRUSTED them to taking care of the garden and His creation. God trusted Adam and Eve and still trusts us. Sin didn’t change His view of us; it changed our view of Him and everything else. The thing that causes us to run through the grid is sin. To put it plainly, doubting God is what leads us into sin, for that is what caused Eve to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The enemy had her doubt God, “Did God really say…?” and “You will not die when you eat of the tree.” This is what the enemy did and still does. He got Eve into thinking that God was withholding something from her, and so she ate of the tree. This doubt would have been remedied if she knew this one thing: God only has good things in mind for His children.
When God told Adam and Eve not to eat of the tre, what He gave was the amazing gift of relationship with the Creator. When they didn’t trust, they sinned. But when Jesus trusted, sin was defeated. As Jesus was fully God while being fully man, He had the choice to not trust God and choose His own way. (It’s odd to even think about this, and quite frankly hurts my brain because as Jesus and the Father are one, it’s quite mind-breaking to ever envision Jesus choosing something contrary to what God’s will is… ooohh my brain.) In His prayer saying “Father, remove this cup from Me… but not what I will, what You will” Jesus chose to jump into the arms of His heavenly Father, and by so doing, defeated sin and death.
Don’t we see what the result of simple trust in God is? It’s life. And please, choose life.
Friday, January 13, 2012
Lover of My Soul
God wants all of me. He wants all of you. We don't have any leeway to compartmentalize our relationship with God. Perhaps it's the stage of life that I am in right now, but in my heart has been a desire for that "significant other" that's gotten my heart weary. I know, it's a very normal thing for a guy my age to desire a girlfriend, the "significant other." But to know that God wants every single part of my life, even my romantic desires of my heart. Understand, our relationship with God IS NOT compartmentalized. We can't just give Him certain things that we're comfortable with Him having. Even that desire for your prince charming/princess of your dreams is something you must give over to the Lord. This is where I'm at; in my heart, I've given all to the Lord, except for that. The romantic desires of my heart, I have not surrendered, thinking that it wouldn't be God to answer them, that "obviously" it was going to be my future wife's role. First off, that's heavy expectations for whomever God places in my path. Second, it's not their job to fulfill my needs, ultimately that is all up to God otherwise my relationship with the girl of my dreams will be all about "gimme, gimme, gimme." Selfishness is the number 1 killer of relationships.
For women, Maya Angelou said it best: "A woman's heart should be so lost in God that a man has to seek Him to find her." I think that's so true. For anybody, they must be most in love with their God than with their spouse. I know for me, if I don't love Jesus more than you, I'm in trouble. When I'm most in love with Jesus, my priorities are straight, and I have a proper vantage point and am able to see things in His light. Obviously, being a guy I cannot begin to fathom the inner workings of a ladies mind. What I do know, is that they're much more relational than men, and their desire is to be appreciated of, to be protected and to know that their prince will go through all lengths to provide for them, and to love them. (If I'm wrong, please chime in, always in for learning more.) Ultimately, Jesus is their Perfect Prince. Jesus already went to great lengths to show His great love and affection for you, dear women. He went to death and back just to win your heart. Your Prince Charming loves you more than any man on this earth and accepts you for all that you are. You don't need to pretty yourself up, try to "improve" yourself when God is already looking at you and saying, "How beautiful!" All that you are is all that He loves. The way you are right now is no accident and the He says, "Don't change who you are, because who you are is how I made you to discover Me." If ever you wanted and needed somebody to accept you for all that you are, it's Jesus.
For the men, we're more physical creatures, yes. But the desire is similar to woman's. We desire (or maybe, I should put I and just assume you all know that I'm talking about men collective as a whole and that deep in the heart of man, this is true, regardless if they show it or not) companionship. We long for somebody to be by our side and to stick it along with us through thick and thing. We may have our brothers by blood or by friendship who do this, but nothing compares to the love or companionship of a woman in that regard. However, ultimately, the One who desires our hearts, who went to hell and back just to win our hearts. Your heart. The reason He endured all of the beating and all of the pain? The face in your mirror. Gentlemen, can I stress it enough that we need to be more in love with our Savior than with the princess He brings into our lives? This is something that I'm still processing in. God wants all of us. ALL of us. There's no room for compartmentalizing. We can't put our romantic feelings in a box and say that "this is for the woman of my dreams to fulfill, not You, Lord." You can't expect her to fulfill your needs because she's not God, the One who created your needs. She can be used by God to fulfill a need in your life, such as companionship, but even that is ultimately found in the Lord. He never leaves us nor forsakes us.
As much as my desire for the princess God has for me, my desire must be, most of all, for my Savior. For I must seek Him to find her. And to this I say: take ALL of me, Lord. My desire for that dream girl You have for me, and fulfill everything that I am. Complete me Lord, because it's not two halves becoming one person, it's two becoming one, just as You say in Your word. May I seek You and love You more. You are the lover of my soul.
For women, Maya Angelou said it best: "A woman's heart should be so lost in God that a man has to seek Him to find her." I think that's so true. For anybody, they must be most in love with their God than with their spouse. I know for me, if I don't love Jesus more than you, I'm in trouble. When I'm most in love with Jesus, my priorities are straight, and I have a proper vantage point and am able to see things in His light. Obviously, being a guy I cannot begin to fathom the inner workings of a ladies mind. What I do know, is that they're much more relational than men, and their desire is to be appreciated of, to be protected and to know that their prince will go through all lengths to provide for them, and to love them. (If I'm wrong, please chime in, always in for learning more.) Ultimately, Jesus is their Perfect Prince. Jesus already went to great lengths to show His great love and affection for you, dear women. He went to death and back just to win your heart. Your Prince Charming loves you more than any man on this earth and accepts you for all that you are. You don't need to pretty yourself up, try to "improve" yourself when God is already looking at you and saying, "How beautiful!" All that you are is all that He loves. The way you are right now is no accident and the He says, "Don't change who you are, because who you are is how I made you to discover Me." If ever you wanted and needed somebody to accept you for all that you are, it's Jesus.
For the men, we're more physical creatures, yes. But the desire is similar to woman's. We desire (or maybe, I should put I and just assume you all know that I'm talking about men collective as a whole and that deep in the heart of man, this is true, regardless if they show it or not) companionship. We long for somebody to be by our side and to stick it along with us through thick and thing. We may have our brothers by blood or by friendship who do this, but nothing compares to the love or companionship of a woman in that regard. However, ultimately, the One who desires our hearts, who went to hell and back just to win our hearts. Your heart. The reason He endured all of the beating and all of the pain? The face in your mirror. Gentlemen, can I stress it enough that we need to be more in love with our Savior than with the princess He brings into our lives? This is something that I'm still processing in. God wants all of us. ALL of us. There's no room for compartmentalizing. We can't put our romantic feelings in a box and say that "this is for the woman of my dreams to fulfill, not You, Lord." You can't expect her to fulfill your needs because she's not God, the One who created your needs. She can be used by God to fulfill a need in your life, such as companionship, but even that is ultimately found in the Lord. He never leaves us nor forsakes us.
As much as my desire for the princess God has for me, my desire must be, most of all, for my Savior. For I must seek Him to find her. And to this I say: take ALL of me, Lord. My desire for that dream girl You have for me, and fulfill everything that I am. Complete me Lord, because it's not two halves becoming one person, it's two becoming one, just as You say in Your word. May I seek You and love You more. You are the lover of my soul.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Not Enough Hate
That's right, I said it. Criticize me, chastise me, do what you want. There's not enough hate in this world. Do you think I'm taking about hating each other? Hating a people group or society? Well, I probably got your attention by this title :) But seriously, there's not enough hate! But hate towards what? There we go, maybe I caught your attention now. There's not enough hate for sin in our lives. Sad to say, but we've becoming so comfortable with its sting that we like it and we would rather be comfortable in our death than free and being pruned in our Savior's hands. How can I see this as a truth right now? Look at our society. Look at the most popular musicians right now: Lady Gaga, T-Pain, Lil' John and so forth. What do they all have in common (other than being God's creation, of course)? They all glorify sin! It doesn't take long to see that all over the place sin is glorified and pushed in our faces. "Go have sex outside of marriage!" "Get drunk off your booty cuz it 'feels good!" "Go ahead, take that hit of heroine; it may hurt, but it feels good, so why not?" "Hey, the most important thing is the bottom line, isn't it? So why care about anyone? Let's neglect and gather things for us."
How on earth did we get to a place where sin became a bed fellow? How did we get so desensitized to sin that it no longer stings us like it used to? I have an answer: The fear of the LORD is in short supply. We've become so accustomed that God loves us so much and desires relationship with us that we've forgotten He's also the same God who parted the Red Sea, demolished the walls of Jericho, stilled the storm on Galilee with a word and created the entirety of the universe. He's not a mushy God. He loves us, yes, but God is not a soft God. Do we remember that He has hate, too? Not for His children, no. Nor even for Satan. Satan is one of His creations and He loves Him, but Satan chose his own fate when he rebelled against the Almighty. No, God HATES sin. Wanna know why? It gets between Him and His children! Ultimately, holiness cannot dwell in the same place as sin. The only reason we're able to be with God is because of Christ's sacrifice (and us accepting it... you know...) and making us holy. Sin is what separates us from God. And our Lord is a jealous God. Like a husband who sees his wife in the arms of another man, so God feels that way about sin when we're in the grips of sin.
Now listen, the fear of the LORD isn't being terrified of God. No, the real meaning of it is "a deep reverence and respect." Imagine standing before the Victoria Falls in Africa. You look at it and are in awe of the majesty of the tumbling water and by the sound of the water crashing. You have great respect for the falls and don't idly jump into the water because you know that if you hop on into it, you'll surely die. With God, the fear of the LORD is in result of His majesty. One only needs to look into the skies and see evidence of His marvelous power! Then take a gander into His word and you see all that He has done and His resume is quite extensive. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom. It is by the fear of the LORD that we begin to despise sin. We despise sin because we know that God hates sin and therefore, don't want to have anything to do with it. Take for instance this example: you have a small child. There's a big snake in your house that is threatening your child. You despise the snake because it desires to kill your child. What happens if the child decides to play with the snake? Uh oh. Think about it, sin is just like an anaconda that is wanting to devour you. Why would you go play with it? Why would you let it be in the same bed as you? No good. Stay away from sin.
Are there areas in your life where you've embraced sin? Whether it's lying, cheating, lust, murder (hate?), etc., it all separates us from God. Sin has this nasty way of skewing our view of humans (altering our horizontal relationships) and our view of God (our vertical relationship). It flaunts its instant gratification nature, because otherwise we wouldn't do it. If the temptation was like eating creamed spinach or liver, it would be easy to avoid sin! But the truth is that sin feels good for a season. but ultimately, "sin will take you farther than you wanted to go, keep you longer than you wanted to stay and cost you more than you wanted to pay" (quote courtesy of Jeremy Evans). Do you really want to get cozy with something that desires to devour your very being and rob you of all the life that God is offering you? It's time we all get in for a heart check and see if we've allowed sin to become a bed fellow, something we're comfortable with, instead of despising it by the fear of the LORD. I think if we understand how much God hates sin, but loves us, then it would be much easier for us to avoid sin. Then I have one place for you to look at: the cross. Where God's hatred for sin met His love for us. He hated sin so much, but loved us much greater that He would send His son to die for us so that we can live free without the sin that kills us. Ultimately, Christ paid the penalty of sin by His death so that we can enter into His life.
Do we get it? Lord, search our hearts and find if there be any wicked way in us. Test us, try us, prove us, refine us. Make me a sanctified people, set apart for Your work and totally imbibed in Your love. Guide us by Your Spirit, Lord. You know the way.
How on earth did we get to a place where sin became a bed fellow? How did we get so desensitized to sin that it no longer stings us like it used to? I have an answer: The fear of the LORD is in short supply. We've become so accustomed that God loves us so much and desires relationship with us that we've forgotten He's also the same God who parted the Red Sea, demolished the walls of Jericho, stilled the storm on Galilee with a word and created the entirety of the universe. He's not a mushy God. He loves us, yes, but God is not a soft God. Do we remember that He has hate, too? Not for His children, no. Nor even for Satan. Satan is one of His creations and He loves Him, but Satan chose his own fate when he rebelled against the Almighty. No, God HATES sin. Wanna know why? It gets between Him and His children! Ultimately, holiness cannot dwell in the same place as sin. The only reason we're able to be with God is because of Christ's sacrifice (and us accepting it... you know...) and making us holy. Sin is what separates us from God. And our Lord is a jealous God. Like a husband who sees his wife in the arms of another man, so God feels that way about sin when we're in the grips of sin.
Now listen, the fear of the LORD isn't being terrified of God. No, the real meaning of it is "a deep reverence and respect." Imagine standing before the Victoria Falls in Africa. You look at it and are in awe of the majesty of the tumbling water and by the sound of the water crashing. You have great respect for the falls and don't idly jump into the water because you know that if you hop on into it, you'll surely die. With God, the fear of the LORD is in result of His majesty. One only needs to look into the skies and see evidence of His marvelous power! Then take a gander into His word and you see all that He has done and His resume is quite extensive. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom. It is by the fear of the LORD that we begin to despise sin. We despise sin because we know that God hates sin and therefore, don't want to have anything to do with it. Take for instance this example: you have a small child. There's a big snake in your house that is threatening your child. You despise the snake because it desires to kill your child. What happens if the child decides to play with the snake? Uh oh. Think about it, sin is just like an anaconda that is wanting to devour you. Why would you go play with it? Why would you let it be in the same bed as you? No good. Stay away from sin.
Are there areas in your life where you've embraced sin? Whether it's lying, cheating, lust, murder (hate?), etc., it all separates us from God. Sin has this nasty way of skewing our view of humans (altering our horizontal relationships) and our view of God (our vertical relationship). It flaunts its instant gratification nature, because otherwise we wouldn't do it. If the temptation was like eating creamed spinach or liver, it would be easy to avoid sin! But the truth is that sin feels good for a season. but ultimately, "sin will take you farther than you wanted to go, keep you longer than you wanted to stay and cost you more than you wanted to pay" (quote courtesy of Jeremy Evans). Do you really want to get cozy with something that desires to devour your very being and rob you of all the life that God is offering you? It's time we all get in for a heart check and see if we've allowed sin to become a bed fellow, something we're comfortable with, instead of despising it by the fear of the LORD. I think if we understand how much God hates sin, but loves us, then it would be much easier for us to avoid sin. Then I have one place for you to look at: the cross. Where God's hatred for sin met His love for us. He hated sin so much, but loved us much greater that He would send His son to die for us so that we can live free without the sin that kills us. Ultimately, Christ paid the penalty of sin by His death so that we can enter into His life.
Do we get it? Lord, search our hearts and find if there be any wicked way in us. Test us, try us, prove us, refine us. Make me a sanctified people, set apart for Your work and totally imbibed in Your love. Guide us by Your Spirit, Lord. You know the way.
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