Worth and Walking On

Life is hard.  Meaning is elusive.  Much of the time we will draw our own worth from the things we seem to have little to no control over.  We all carry a burden and at times that weight is crushing.  You work hard, do our best and time after time it just isn't good enough.  The sense of failure can be overwhelming, so what do we do?  How do we face a world where we don't seem to matter, how do we face another day where all your effort and all your hard work have no effect?  How do you keep breathing?

The Christian has the advantage here because we can find actual answers to these questions.  The atheist, the naturalist, they can't provide any real advice that doesn't boil down to picking yourself up by your own bootstraps.  To them there is no meaning in life and so there can be no meaning in our lives.  The Bible tells us a different story.

God doesn't expect success from us, we are never commanded to engineer victory or to be the best we can be at whatever we do; we only have to be obedient and entrust the outcome to Him.  You see in God's economy none of the stuff around us matters in and of itself.  My job is not there to bump up my pride, my skills and abilities are not to be used primarily for myself, my opportunities are not solely to provide for my needs and desires.  We are called to holiness because only that will last.

"Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, "Be holy, for I am holy." 

(1 Peter 1:13-16)

Of course we should do our best and not slack, of course we should work hard as the things given into our care are a responsibility and a stewardship, but we are not defined by those things and if we never get promoted or if we lose our job entirely it is not the end of the world!  Our job, our real job, is to seek to grow ever closer to our God and King.  Everything else is a means to that end.  Frustrating co-workers can make you more patient, an unqualified boss can teach you obedience and respect for position, never moving into more prominent positions can teach you contentedness and reliance on God, people who fail you can teach you forgiveness, persecution can root truth in our hearts, and being alone can draw you closer to God.

This life is a factory floor, where the raw material of our souls is machined and processed into the very people of God.  When we mistake the process for the purpose we lose sight of the end product.  "But how can we live when we don't depend on our jobs, relationships, etc?" I hear you ask.  It's true that we can't pay the rent or make a car payment with holiness but that job and that paycheck were never what held you up to begin with.

"No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? "Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? "Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? "So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; "and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. "Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? "Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' "For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."

(Matthew 6:24-34)

Seek ye first the kingdom of God and ALL THESE THINGS shall be added unto you.  He's referring in that line to everything He just spoke about: food, clothing, and the days of your life.  God is the one who provides for you!  He gave you that job and if He takes it away He will provide another path.  The journey may be difficult and you may wonder why your road is so rocky but remember the goal!  We will never learn to trust in God if we never have to.  Trials and lean times are necessary as they force us to look to Him.  Our holiness is the point of all this, life is meaningless apart from that one bit of truth!  If your life becomes more difficult than it is likely that your present circumstances were necessary either for your sanctification or for someone else's.

We can go on when everything seems to be falling apart because we know who is holding it all together.  We can keep working when it feels pointless because we know that the point of our existence isn't in that paycheck, or that promotion, or that relationship; it's with God.

"...a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 

(2 Corinthians 12:7-10)

Choosing Not to Listen

     We all have temptations. We all have feelings and desires coursing through our bodies and our bloodstreams. It can be difficult to combat. We do have the Holy Spirit within us but though we do feel His presence in our lives it is not often in the same way as the pounding of the heart or the whispering of the mind or the yearning of the flesh. The Spirit speaks to us and the world screams.

     When in the midst of struggle or just in the day to day we all feel like something. I feel like watching a movie, I feel like going out, I feel like doing something I shouldn't; but what is that? Have you ever wondered? Think about that statement, “I feel like...” Your thoughts are clearly separate from that desire as you think about them. This raises the question, is this feeling an expression of your conscious desire or are you experiencing a sensation whose origins are outside of yourself?

     Our bodies do not control us, nor does the world around us and yet we yield command to feelings and to sensations all the time. This thought came to me today as I thought about why I find it so hard to write when writing is something I want so much to do. Why is it that I never feel like writing? More to the point, why do I so often actually feel repelled by the idea? Now some might argue that it is because I don't really want to write (trust me, not true) but this goes beyond that one example. How often do I read my Bible? How often do you? How many excuses do we all make every day and how often do we conveniently fall back asleep and so find ourselves without time? Why do the people of God so often deliberately avoid doing something that is neither painful nor terrible? Why do we fail to pray?

     It would seem that what we are dealing with is the voice of the flesh, that worldly whisper that would drive us from the good and the right. Why it took me so long to think on this I cannot say but we know that we carry with us still the nature of the old man and is it any surprise that he struggles against us? We feel it's push and it's pull on our hearts and mind and it has us convinced that that sensation means something.

     But it doesn't.

     It's just a feeling. That tug on your heart, that pressure in your chest is nothing more than a three-year-old tugging on daddy's ankle as he tries to walk away. We feel it sure, but it has no real power to alter our course. The Christian is free from the controlling influence of sin. We are servants and sons of God now and no longer slaves to evil.

     I have often struggled with how difficult walking in the spirit can be but I think I'm beginning to truly see now that the words of temptation were only loud because I was listening and the hold of the flesh only seemed strong because I rarely tested its grip. The Spirit of God resides within us, we have power available that is greater than anything and can never be exhausted. The devil is the father of lies and what he has wrought in the world works on much the same principle, deception.

     Stop listening. Pull back. Look away.

     Walk free.

“I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.”

(Galatians 5:16-17)

To Hang or to be Carried.

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.”

(Proverbs 3:5-6)

     Life is scary. The afterlife can be worse.

     We can't be certain what will happen in the very next moment, let alone in eternity. We humans are small and weak and scared. We know full well that we have no control at all and so we do everything we can to gain and keep control. We are comforted by any semblance of it and we are very uncomfortable when without it. We like control.

     We don't want to rely on others. We don't want to have any part of the plan be dependent on the actions of another and for a very simple reason. We don't trust anyone but ourselves. If we let anything depend on someone else, that person may fail us. That person may choose to not fulfill their responsibilities and we may find ourselves in trouble. For many of us that is simply too great a risk to take.

     How scary it is then that God asks us to trust Him. We are asked to trust Him in something far bigger than our evening plans or even our marital life; we are told to trust Him with our eternity. It can be scary. This is the reason so many people have a hard time understanding grace. Surely there is something we have to do, surely there is something I have to prove, or some ritual I can perform. Surely I can earn my place in Heaven because if I can earn it, if it is mine by right, then I can demand it. If I can demand it then it is due me and if it is due me than it is mine by right, but God's plan is different.

“The LORD is good, A stronghold in the day of trouble; And He knows those who trust in Him.”

(Nahum 1:7)

     He doesn't provide us a ladder that we can climb to Heaven. God doesn't allow us the luxury of merit or even exchange. God requires trust. We must trust Him. The one thing that is required of us is the one thing that so many of us are so terrified to give, trust. We are asked to sit in the palm of His hand and simply accept that we will not fall off. He carries us and He cares for us and He has us firmly and securely in His safe embrace and the best part of it is that He can be trusted.

     Unlike so many others who have come and gone in our lives, He can be trusted. Unlike the parent who wasn't there when you needed them, He can be trusted. Unlike the the wife who left you, He can be trusted. Unlike the friends who abandoned you, or the boyfriend who hurt you, or the boss who mistreats you, or the doctor who failed you, or your own traitor heart, or the cold impersonal world that rejected you, He can be trusted!

“Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him.”

(Proverbs 30:5)

     In His hands you are safe. In His heart you are home. We need not fear betrayal from the one whose very name is love. He who died that we may live is worthy of all of our trust.

Before us lies the choice. Do we tire our arms in the ceaseless need to hang on to the cliff edge, too weak to pull ourselves up and too scared to look down? Or do we listen to Father and let go, trusting that He will catch us? Must we hang on or are we willing to be carried? Our fear of trusting Him keeps us from a simple truth, to trust and to have that trust repaid is a glorious thing. Ask anyone in a faithful committed marriage and they will tell you that having just that one person who is always there changes your whole life.

     Do you think you're strong enough? How badly do you need control? Are you honest enough to admit that you've never really had any? The God of all that is will never betray you, never let you down, never turn out to be less than you had hoped. He is and forever will be everything you've ever wanted, needed, and more.

Will you trust Him?

I know not where the path may lead,

How dark the way that I must tread;

My feet may walk on fragrant mead,

Or midst deep bogs that ’round them spread.

But this I know, whate’er betide,

I need not fear nor walk alone;

I still may have One at my side,

And feel my hand within His own.

I may not have strength of my own,

To do the task before me laid;

Heart shrink to make the fight alone

Against the foe I see arrayed.

But this I know, whate’er the task,

Or foe that seeks my soul’s alarm,

I need not fear; I need but ask

The helpful strength of His strong arm.

I may not know what waits the day,

Nor part the veil that hangs between;

I may not glimpse one golden ray

Upon the further distant scene.

But this I know, if with my best

I played the part I had to play,

’Tis safe to leave to Him the rest,

For His own time, in His own way.

“The Lord is Our Trust”

Words by. Will M. Maupin, 1921

A Proverbial Request

     An honest plea. Truly honest. A request not born of lust or desire, not fed by greed or covetousness; a question that looks inward as well as outward with clarity. Have you ever heard such a request? Have you ever asked such a question?

     We want many things: new cars, new houses, new toys, a better job, a better life! We want and we want and we desperately shove an endless stream of objects and accolades into the gaping hole in our heart in our mad need to fill the void. And yet we are empty still. Even we who should be seeking the face of God find ourselves caught up in the hunt for more.

     But what do we need?

     What is truly best for us in this life? What is a good life? I think the answer is found in the Bible -of course- and in the book of Proverbs specifically.

“Two things have I required of thee; deny me them not before I die: Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me: Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the LORD? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.”

(Proverbs 30:7-9)

     Here we read the words of a man named Agur the son of Jakeh, who he was and from what tribe he came we do not know but just read those few verses again! Two things and two things only does he ask: to be free from evil and to have what is needed; simple things. He does not ask for fine clothing or a comfortable home. He does not ask for wealth or fame or prominence. This man simply wants to be righteous and to be content.

     How close do we get to evil? The word translated vanity is “shawv” and has a range of meanings from destructive evil to simple uselessness. Agur wants to be far from this, removed entirely and beyond sight. I think we tend to dance close to the line. If we are to be righteous then we must love that which is good and we love love! However we forget that hatred has it's place. If we truly love good we must hate -hate- evil. We, like Agur, shouldn't want it within us, in front of us, in back of us, within a hundred miles of us! Lord remove from us evil and the love of it!

Neither poverty nor riches he asks. He goes on to explain himself saying that to be rich and fat is to forget our need for God and to be poor and starving can lead to sin for the sake of survival which dishonors God as well. May I have enough, he says; enough and no more, enough and no less.

     Are we okay with enough? How much of our endless march up the corporate ladder stems from a true desire to provide for our families and how much of is simple greed and desire? Do you need that promotion, do you need that bonus? Are they worth skipping church, skipping recitals, skipping dinner? Are you trying to do your best or are you simply unwilling to trust in God to provide?

     Do your work, do it as well as you can and if He blesses you with more be grateful. If He does not then be thankful still for you have what you need.

     Lord may I be a righteous man. Lord may I lay my trust on you for myself and for my family. Lord I ask not for riches or for glory, nor for fame or ease, but may my life be one that honors you. May my life be a song of praise and an image of faith in motion.   Amen.

Caught in the Grey

     So given the tone that's been set for this election season it's easy to point out that people love to polarize things. We don't like topics to be ...fuzzy. Everything makes so much more sense and becomes so much simpler when we lay it all out in obvious black and white terms. Unfortunately life simply isn't that cut and dry and more often than we'd like we find ourselves dealing with topics that seem devoid of clear absolutes. Luckily we have a tried and true tactic for dealing with these situations, pretend!

     Yes, when things get difficult or complicated many of us find that the best thing to do is just take the fuzzy edges and curved lines and force them into straight, organized, neat little categories. Instead of acknowledging the complex nature of the issue we simply cover our ears and sing la la la until the problem goes away. Of course the problems never really go away but if we keep singing that tune long enough and loud enough we'll gather a whole choir together and we can all sing together making it that much harder to hear anyone else.

     Unfortunately we Christians are just as guilty of this as anyone. Frankly it's easy to understand why, complex topics are difficult to deal with. There are many things that God has laid out neatly and obviously in the Bible. Murder, theft, lying, disobedience, selfishness, homosexuality, etc. The list goes on and on. However, there are a great many things that are either not as clear cut or simply not covered at all.

     So instead of taking the time to know and understand what the Bible actually says on these topics and stopping there, we take our own opinions and cultural norms and enforce them as law. We allow for no wiggle room, no fuzzy edges, and no grace. We can see this clearly by looking back at past standard of appearance. I'm sure you've all heard stories from back in the day when men were constantly checked for hair length and women who wore anything but dresses and skirts were covered in disapproving stares.

     The problem with that kind of thing is of course, who gets to set the standard? The law to ancient Israel does say a thing or two about women not wearing men's clothing and vice versa (Deuteronomy 22:5) but this was in a culture where everyone wore what we might consider a dress by modern reckoning. The point isn't that a girl can't wear pants or that kilts are an abomination, ultimately pants are not considered men's only anymore so a woman wearing them is just wearing women's pants.

     Now I'm not going to run down a list of fuzzy topics but I'm sure you can think of a few. What we need to remember is that truth -real truth- begins and ends with the Word of God. If the Bible doesn't clearly lay it out in no uncertain terms than be willing to give a little. If it isn't illegal, immoral, indecent, or clearly sinful, then give people the benefit of the doubt and maybe talk to them about before running them down.

     The Black and the White are comfortable categories because we don't have to think. We are not called to mindlessness though, we are called to be wise and loving. We are called to be child like not child-ish. Love covers a multitude of sins (1 Peter 4:8) and humility kills a million arguments. We are none of us perfect so give the people around you a little latitude and get comfortable with the fuzzy, with the unclear, and with the imprecise. There are many things to stand firmly on to be sure, but lets be sure we're defending God's standard and not our own.

A Broken Flask

“...And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil, and stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil. Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he spoke to himself, saying, "This man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner." And Jesus answered and said to him, "Simon, I have something to say to you." So he said, "Teacher, say it." "There was a certain creditor who had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. "And when they had nothing with which to repay, he freely forgave them both. Tell Me, therefore, which of them will love him more?" Simon answered and said, "I suppose the one whom he forgave more." And He said to him, "You have rightly judged." Then He turned to the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head. "You gave Me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in. "You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil. "Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little." Then He said to her, "Your sins are forgiven." And those who sat at the table with Him began to say to themselves, "Who is this who even forgives sins?" Then He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.”

(Luke 7:36-50)

“...as He sat at the table, a woman came having an alabaster flask of very costly oil of spikenard. Then she broke the flask and poured it on His head. But there were some who were indignant among themselves, and said, "Why was this fragrant oil wasted? "For it might have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor." And they criticized her sharply. But Jesus said, "Let her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a good work for Me. "For you have the poor with you always, and whenever you wish you may do them good; but Me you do not have always. "She has done what she could. She has come beforehand to anoint My body for burial. "Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her."

(Mark 14:3-9)

     I remember listening to a sermon given by Paul Washer (if you don't know the name I suggest you look him up but be prepared to be convicted). It was a good sermon but what I really remember is the prayer afterword. I couldn't tell you what he said or what it was about but I remember the passion with which he prayed. Even more than that I remember my reaction and the thoughts that came from that experience. My initial reaction to this man whose voice was cracking as he began to weep and cry out to God was to pull away, to distance myself as from an embarrassing friend while in public. Why was he crying?

     Why wasn't I?

     That second thought came almost immediately. Why wasn't I crying and why did I find it so immediately distasteful? Here was a man not afraid to look the fool and there was I, a man apparently unwilling to do the same. Here was a man cracked and shattered under the weight of the knowledge of God and his position to Him. Here was honesty.

     Looking back I've realized that we are often so unwilling to look foolish or weak, even to ourselves. We hold back tears and we pretend that everything is okay just so we can maintain some pride or self-respect. When Mary came to the feet of Jesus she didn't wait until He was alone. She didn't tip-toe to His side and whisper her need for Him in His ear. She didn't even carefully pour the oil, she broke the flask! That broken bottle meant she could no longer hold any of it for herself. There was no way for Mary to hold on to what was so valuable, she poured it all out for Christ. There was no taking it back.

     We can't hold back, there's no room for pride and no room for self-respect. We know what lurks inside of us and how desperately we need the Savior. We need to be like Mary. We need to be willing to pay the heavy cost. Cry when it's time to cry and weep when it's time to weep, scuff the knees of your pants and look foolish in front of the crowd. I don't want to pull away from the truth, I am someone who needs salvation and so are you.

     This doesn't come easily, or perhaps not readily. I think Mary was able to do what she did because she knew who she was. We can't be willing to pay the price unless we know the cost. Too often we minimize sin and we play down evil but I guarantee you that you are worse than you think. Sin isn't just the odd mistake or poor choice it is the opposite of all that should exist in reality. Think about it, sin and evil were such heavy issues that it took the death of God Himself in human flesh to pay for it! Do you really think there's any way you can cover that cost yourself?

     We need to be more than truth-seekers and students, we need to do more than agree with the general state of mankind, we need to be broken. Take the time to look inward at the dark corners of your soul until you realize that apart from God the darkness doesn't hide in the corners only. Be like a man who cries and prays, be like the woman who falls and weeps; let go of your pride. Break the bottle.

Wake Up, Rise Up, Stand Up

I think it's safe to say that we all love sleep.  Maybe it's the brief escape from reality, maybe it's how it feels just so darn comfy, maybe it's the temporary respite from our troubles and cares, whatever the reason sleep holds a special place in the hearts of most people.

I like it too, although I tend to go to bed late and wake up earlier than necessary.  The problem with sleep though is that we get nothing done and we are apart from reality for a time and anything that ultimately matters.  Sleep is nice but it is not substantive, it is pleasant but not productive.

Why do I bring this up?  Because the world is slipping between the warm cozy blankets of willful ignorance and "tolerance", and it's bringing the church with it.  It's nice to banish the difficult and uncomfortable affairs of life for a few hours each night but disastrous when we refuse to take on the hard challenges during our waking hours.

I'm reminded of a particular scripture passage, Romans 13:11-14, where Paul warns the Roman church that the time for comfortable slumber is past and now is the time to stand and go to war.

"And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts."
(Romans 13:11-14)

Look at the words above!  The day is coming, the night is spent!  Walk now as one who is awake, not letting your mind and your will dissipate like a drunkard or one lost in their lusts!  We must "put on" Jesus Christ and forsake sin not allow for it.  We have to shed our old moldy robes and put on the armor of light.

We've gotten comfortable, with sin, with dissent, with lies, with misinformation.  We've gotten comfy and lazy and, well, cowardly.  The Bible calls us to stand firm.  It calls us to stand against armies, against ideas, against enemies; nowhere does it call us to lounge comfortably.

We are running out of time, there are precious few moments left to sit on the sidelines or worry about hurting someones feelings.  Now this doesn't mean that we don't act in love, it doesn't mean that we don't care for others it just means that their opinions don't really matter, their feelings don't ultimately matter.  What matters is the truth and nothing more.

We see people everywhere who call themselves Christians accepting sin and teaching things that just aren't true.  The Bible is compromised and God's truth is doubted or at worst ignored.  We as a people are more willing to accept sin than we are to stand for God!

There comes a time when understanding has really understand and when love has to be harsh.  There comes a time when to be right means to be decisive and to stand for truth means telling someone else that they are wrong!

So wake up, rise up, stand up and let the truth be your armor, let God be your general and get ready to march.  It's going to be uncomfortable, it will probably hurt, but nothing really ever comes by playing it safe.  Throw off the blankets and get dressed, the world is waiting along with everything that matters.

Sinner Saved

We can't let go, for even a moment.  Temptation and weakness wait for us in the moments.  We have strength yes, given by God to be used against the darkness but a weapon is only of use if it wielded.  Think back to the times when you failed, was it part of an elaborate plan or did it steal upon you quietly?

Sin can't come barging in the door of your mind because we're prepared for that.  We've barred the doors and shut the windows and are looking for a dragon to come flying down with teeth bared and flame roaring.  We don't think about the basement.  We forget that the dragon is often little more than a distraction while the nature still attached to us raises the knife.

The wound cuts deep and hurts more when we see the blade -covered in our blood- being held by our own hand.  We rail against it, we mourn and weep and forget that we don't have to.  We don't have to.  We are free if we would only realize it.  Sin shouts so loud and so much that it seems imposing but it's not, it's not.  We can say no.

It seems so easy and trust me I know that it's harder in the moment but believe me when I say that you can just say no.  When temptation comes in the dark times, the alone times, the weak times, you can refuse; but we must be prepared.  We have to soak our lives in prayer, we have to know the Word, we must prepare.

This isn't a fight about bravado or glory, it's survival.  We must be brave but in very real sense we must be cowards.  We have to cower behind the shield of faith because to walk blithely into battle as if we have any strength of our own is a sure recipe for death.  It's not about proving you can drink the poison and survive; better to not drink it at all.

I don't know about you but I've never understood sin.  From our perspective now it makes absolutely no sense.  Why do we, why do I keep doing these things?  I know better, we all do, and yet we all find our way back to guilt back to shame and back to regret.  Paul said it best:

"For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God; through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin."

(Romans 7:14-25)

Sin is a cancer and an assassin.  In the life of a believer it is not often the firestorm that threatens the home, more often it's the cracking foundation or the dripping pipe or the leaking gas; a slower quieter death.  I hate sin.  More than I used to less than I should.  When I look up and see that I've screwed up AGAIN I am both despondent and enraged.  I cannot undo no matter how much I might wish it and there is more failure there than in any physical thing that can be retried or tackled again.

God is good.  He is so good.  I am a wretch, living in a body of death and clinging to His robe for mercy.  And He loves me.

I'm not sure you heard that.

He doesn't just -understand- me, He doesn't only -pity- me, He more than just -comforts- me.  He LOVES me!  He loves us all, the whole smelly rotten putrid lot of us!  He loves us and He paid the price so high knowing full well that we would falter and fail and rebel and turn our backs to Him again and again and again before the end.  He knew every horrid thing you would do after He saved you before He saved you.  He loves us.

He loves us.

He loves me.

amen.

Truth and Love

Love wins.  It's an oft repeated phrase that signifies love and brotherhood overcoming hatred and bigotry.  We see it all the time from bloggers and journalists to your average Facebook post and often it labels a truly good thing.  Love however, is not the only ethic worth supporting or championing.

We in the church have been guilty of many things over the years usually as a result of our tendency to overreact to the events around us.  We blame people instead of conditions, we hate where we should love, and lately we support what we ought to condemn.

"Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God."
(1 Corinthians 6:9-10 NKJV)

Sexuality, Gender, and their related issues have become hot topics these days.  The cultural marketplace is thick with discussion as to their meaning and role and how we understand them in our daily lives.  The Bible is very clear on these issues and yet those who call themselves Christians are waffling and even refusing to make definitive statements regarding these issues.  The passage I just listed is only one but the point remains clear, and we can make it clearer.

"Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God."
(1 Corinthians 6:9-10 KJV)

The word translated "effeminate" is the Greek word "malakos" and does indeed mean effeminate and "of uncertain affinity" but beyond its literal meaning I've read that the term was used to denote the -well- receiving side of a homosexual relationship.  Even more specific is the next phrase after that "abusers of themselves with mankind."  That word is the Greek "arsenokoites" which means a sodomite, taken from the words "arrhen/arsen" male, and "koite" cohabitation, chambering, conceive.

"'You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination."
(Leviticus 18:22 NKJV)

From the Old Testament we have a very clear statement and before anyone starts bringing up that we are not under the old covenant, remember that these laws represent God because they reflect Him.  He did not give the law out on a whim but as an extension of Himself.  Not to mention we're talking about something of slightly more import than dietary or clothing restrictions here!  This is only a brief run through of course, but the point of this post is not to argue this topic.  The point is this, although we must show love to the unsaved and not judge them for their sin we have a duty and responsibility to call out those who claim the name of Christ but refuse to repent of clear Biblical sin.

When the sinner sins, we should not be surprised as that is their nature and apart from the work of God humanity has no reason nor ability to do otherwise.  When we condemn them and lambaste them for their sin we are clearly in the wrong.  Our calling is not to bludgeon people with their guilt or to bury them in shame and leave them rot, or job is to lovingly show them that their actions and nature are killing them; that they are indeed already dead and in desperate need of a savior to bring them to real life! We are to be wise yet gentle as the verse says.  We must not inhibit the work of the Gospel by spreading it through hatred and anger.  Remember the words that come after the earlier quote from Corinthians "and such were some of you."

We are all born sinners so we have no right to look down on those who have not yet been redeemed.  When we look inward however, the game changes.  We are still called to love but hatred is to be found, hatred of sin.  It is partly because of God's love for us that He hates sin, it's destroying His people!  Similarly we cannot claim to love God and His truth and not point out sin in our midst.

So many people are coming out these days as "Christian" homosexuals.  These men and women are claiming the salvation of God but living and espousing lives of sin and rebellion.  In my eyes that makes them false teachers and the Bible is very clear on them.

"O Timothy! Guard what was committed to your trust, avoiding the profane and idle babblings and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge; by professing it some have strayed concerning the faith. Grace be with you. Amen."
(1 Timothy 6:20-21 NKJV)

"Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ."
(Colossians 2:8 NKJV)

"Shall I not punish them for these things?' says the LORD. 'Shall I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this?' "An astonishing and horrible thing Has been committed in the land: The prophets prophesy falsely, And the priests rule by their own power; And My people love to have it so. But what will you do in the end?"
(Jeremiah 5:29-31)

And finally,

"I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people. Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; not even to eat with such a person. For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? But those who are outside God judges. Therefore "put away from yourselves the evil person." 
(1 Corinthians 5:9-13)

We do not judge the world, that is God's job, but we are called to discern the behavior of those who claim to be Christians -those "named a brother."  When we see someone who drops the name of Christ and who claims to be redeemed but is living in sin we must not sit idly by and be quiet and we certainly can't lift that person up as an example!  They are saying that God was wrong when He told us something, that what He called evil is really good.  How then are they different from Satan when he asked "did God really say?"  We must call out their sin for what it is, sin!  If we fail to do this then we corrupt our own body and confuse the message sent to the world.

Love won when Jesus was brutally killed on the crude cross outside Jerusalem.  Love won when the Son of God was whipped to shreds, when He was spat upon, when He was hung up like a criminal and slowly suffocated on public display.  Love won when God the Father poured out His wrath upon His perfect sinless Son so that we could be free of the sin that is destroying reality!  I for one cannot stand by and watch people trivialize His sacrifice for the sake of good feelings, getting along, and a false peace that only ushers millions to their eternal damnation!

Lately I've been feeling tired.  I'm too tired to sit on the stands, too tired of world that hates the God who loves them, too tired of a church too self-serving and pathetic to stand up for truth, too tired of intellectual holier-than-thous who think they know better than centuries of Godly men and even God Himself.  I'm too tired now to be quiet.

Love doesn't win when we refuse to point out sin.  So they might hate you, so you may look foolish; so they call you a bigot, closed minded, homophobic, regressive.  So what?  Love doesn't win when are so selfish that we can't love someone by showing them how to have life everlasting.  Love fails when we use it an excuse to be quiet.  It fails when we use it to justify a life more comfortable than true.  I want love to win, but only real love -the love of God- stands a chance.

"I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry."
(2 Timothy 4:1-5 NKJV)