How the Grinch Stole Christmas

This morning we talked about Dr. Seuss' Christmas story, "The Grinch that Stole Christmas." Of course, the message of that story was that the problem was his heart:

...The Grinch hated Christmas!
The whole Christmas season!
Now, please don’t ask why.
No one quite knows the reason.
It could be his head wasn’t screwed on just right.
It could be, perhaps, that his
shoes were too tight.
But I think that the most likely reason of all,
May have been that his heart
was two sizes too small...

The bottom line, the thing that saved the day as it were, was the WITNESS of the people of Whoville who did not let the lack of presents steal their Christmas joy and heartfelt singing.

Of course, the lesson for us is similar. Let nothing steal our joy this Christmas. What kinds of things steal our joy? The list is probably endless, but let's name a few things:

• Endless shopping that leads to burnout.
• Overspending that leads to financial stress.
• Countless parties, concerts, and programs that lead to exhaustion.
• Family traditions that are done "because we always do" that add to stress and lead to resentment.
• Marathon baking and "no holds barred" decorating that can lead away from the true meaning of Christmas.

Now I like to shop. I like Christmas cookies and lights and trees. Believe it or not I even like Christmas shopping (which is good because Beverly hates shopping in general). I enjoy a good Christmas concert and even enjoy tradition. All of these things are enjoyable until they become the thing that leads us away from what the season is all about, take on a life of their own, and ultimately steal our joy!

I fear that many of us get so caught up in the CELEBRATION, that the One we're celebrating becomes just another thing on our "to do list." Worse yet, Jesus becomes just one "piece" of the "Christmas pie."

We can say all we want that "Jesus is the reason for the season," but ask yourself if your Christmas busy-ness is helping you to focus on Him or pulling your attention in so many directions that He is lost in all of it.

If you are stressed and tired and resentful and pressured about the holidays, that may be an indication that the activities have become your Grinch. They have stolen your joy, and in doing so, have stolen your witness to your friends and neighbors.

Don't let the "Activity Grinch" steal Christmas for you this year!

Talk to me! What are your thoughts?

In the Spirit...Boiling Over

Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Romans 12:11

Last Sunday, we talked about the original language in this verse characterizing "zeal" and "boiling over in the Spirit." That is a pretty powerful image, isn't it? Today we continued to look at that.

Boiling water produces steam. Steam produces energy that, in turn, moves machinery and accomplishes what might otherwise be impossible.

The Holy Spirit in us is that same kind of energy. It is a force that puts weight to our words, power in our actions, and effectiveness in our prayers.

When I consider that, I think of the power of a single candle in a darkened room. A tiny candle has the power to overtake that darkness. We have the power to be a sea of candles in the dark world, shedding light on darkness.

We cannot put our hope in politicians, laws, economic policies, human goodness, or education. None of these can change the basic problem of the world--darkness.

Jesus told us that we are the light, you and I, and together with the "boiling over of the Spirit" within us, we can make a difference!

To do that we must stay plugged in to the Source. We must remember that without Him we can do nothing, but with Him we can do EVERYTHING that He asks of us!

Thoughts? Share with me by posting a comment!

Gift of Exhortation

An exhorter speaks words into another person's life that can give direction, instruction, and help that person apply the truth of scripture to their lives. The exhorter is an encourager.

Encouragement is an interesting word. When most of us think of encouragement, we think of affirming another person's behavior or achievement. We may also think of comforting or consoling. "Way to go!" "Good job!" "You can do it--keep going!" "You're almost there!" "You'll do it next time!"

Merriam-Webster Dictionary gives these definitions:

• to inspire with courage, spirit or hope
• to attempt to persuade
• to spur on

I like the definition of "to inspire with courage."

What I have found in my interactions with fellow believers, is that often exhortation/encouragement comes in the form of spurring them on in an area where God wants growth, change of attitude or behavior, or stretching. In that case, I find myself speaking words that give them the courage to (with God's help) make the change.

You see, we can speak truths, but unless we also have the words of "giving courage" or "spurring on," those truths may not be applied in the live of the hearer. The exhorter, led by God, is able to help the person hear the truth and see the possibility of applying it.

When I think of exhortation, I usually think of encouragement--speaking truth and encouraging application, but I also think of timing. Timing is born of the Spirit. He gives the right word at the right moment, and the exhorter's job is to listen to Him and follow His lead.

"The right word at the right time is like
precious gold set in silver." Proverbs 25:11

Thoughts? Write a comment!

Gift of Mercy

The spiritual gift of mercy is defined this way:

"to be understanding, compassionate and loving; to have pity on, to be compassionate by word or deed, and specifically by divine grace"

Mercy is a spiritual gift that is evident in the life of our Lord Jesus Christ. Consider the story of the woman caught in adultery, the story of the death of Lazarus, the feeding of the five thousand, his healing the lepers, his association with "tax collectors and sinners," and the way he reached out to those who society shunned. Jesus was known as a friend to sinners. In Luke 4, Jesus quoted a passage from Isaiah:

"The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,
because the LORD has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn." Isaiah 61:1-2

Those with the spiritual gift of mercy are often found ministering to those who society ignores. The ones called unlovable or unacceptable by others.

Consider Mother Teresa of Calcutta. She lived a life of mercy. She reached out to the poor, homeless, sick children around her. She fed them, nursed them to health, and spoke words of comfort to them. She also inspired others to do the same.

I believe that when we are given the spiritual gift of mercy, that we also receive mercy as well. If we did not, then we would at risk of becoming really burdened by all we see around us and after a time we would literally begin to burn out. Mother Teresa felt very burdened by what she saw, but it was probably her prayer life that kept her on an even keel.

We are all called to mercy.

He has shown you, oh man, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8

God tells us all to love mercy. But it could be said, I suppose, that those with the gift of mercy have an extra measure of mercy to offer. They are the ones that somehow know what you need in your time of distress.

Gift of Prophecy

Prophecy, in some ways, gets a bad rap. When many people think of prophets (those with the gift of prophecy), they think of false prophets. They think of those foretelling prophets whose prophecies have not come to pass--Jim Jones, Harold Camping, David Koresh, and Jack Van Impe, to name a few.

While it is my belief that God still can and will use prophets to foretell future events as He will, (after all, He's God and He can do what He wants, right?) this morning, we talked about the gift of prophecy, focusing on the forth-telling part of prophecy. Forth-telling we defined as "the ability to declare truth boldly on God's behalf."

We have prophets among us, and maybe you are one. You may know that you are in the presence of one with the spiritual gift of prophecy when they consistently speak truth to those around them, bringing correction and conviction with an intent to restore.

Prophets can be seen as harsh, and in truth they most of the time have to seek the Lord's strength in developing the "soft side of love." Prophets can be seen as critical, especially by those who come under their correction. Prophets can be seen as black and white and we have to weigh what they say against the truth of God's word, for in truth there are lots of gray areas in God's word.

A proper response to a prophet is to turn to God's word and seek the Lord to see if what is spoken to you is true. A man whose heart is filled with pride and arrogance may have a difficult time hearing truth in correction that is directed at him. But God calls us to humble ourselves and seek whether a prophet is pointing out something that He wants to change in us. We must learn to receive it as love from Father God.

Thoughts?

A Vessel for Noble Purposes

"In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for special purposes and some for common use. Those who cleanse themselves from the latter will be instruments for special purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work."
II Timothy 2:20-21

On Sunday morning we talked about Paul's words to Timothy (verses 14-26) where he urged young Timothy to be a vessel with a noble purpose. But today I want to talk specifically about verses 20-21.

Father God, the Potter, sees us as vessels for a noble purpose. We are new creations according to II Corinthians 5:17. The problem comes when we don't see ourselves that way.

Our brokenness is not a challenge for God. He took care of that on the cross by the death of Jesus Christ. It doesn't matter what "kind" of brokenness we have--childhood abuse, sexual sin, addictions, or simply the brokenness of being born with a sinful nature--God has made provision for a remedy.

Some of us see ourselves as "more broken" than others. Our sin is too bad. Our past is too painful. Our habits are too difficult. That kind of thinking keeps us stuck and leads to an undesirable outcome.

We have an upside down view of being a noble vessel, I think. We put the cart before the horse. We intellectually know, because we've read the Bible, that we don't have to "clean up" to come to God. But some of us act like we do. Yes, we've asked Jesus into our hearts and have become a Christian, but we don't fully commit ourselves to being that noble vessel because we see ourselves as an ignoble (un-noble) vessel.

As long as we see ourselves that way, we will have one foot in the world and one foot in the kingdom as it were. We may feel like a phony if we live like a noble vessel, because inside we don't feel noble. We have a past. We still see ourselves as broken.

Folks, we need to see ourselves as the beautiful vessels that God created for His purposes. We need to ask God to let us see through His eyes. Then, when we have consecrated ourselves we can live like people set apart and, empowered by the Holy Spirit, we can live the life we have committed to live.

Thoughts? Write a comment!

Walking in His Will

"Therefore, I urge you brothers, in view
of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as
living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship.

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--His good, pleasing and perfect will." Romans 12:1-2

Why is there a battle between our will and God's will? I think there are a number of reasons, but here are a few for you to chew on:

1) Romans 12:2 tells us that we are to have our minds renewed and that in doing so we will be transformed. It would appear that if we don't give ourselves--mind, body, and spirit--to the Lord, that we are still living in the world. The world's way is to get what I want, when I want it, and how I want it. When our minds are renewed and transformed, we will much more want what God's wants. That brings me to my next point.

2) A renewed and transformed mind will see God more clearly, and we will realize that He is good.

"For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations." Psalm 100:5

3) Not only is God good, but He desires good things for His children.

"For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless." Psalm 84:11

4) Not only does He desire good for us, but He has promised good for us.

"Sovereign LORD, you are God! Your covenant is trustworthy, and you have promised these good things to your servant." II Samuel 7:28

"Many, LORD my God, are the wonders you have done, the things you planned for us. None can compare with you; were I to speak and tell of your deeds, they would be too many to declare." Psalm 40:5

So we know that God is good, and the only thing that come come from a good God is a good plan. We will understand that more and more as we leave the ways of the world and allow God to make us more like Him.

What is the risk? Well, I suppose we would have to give up our plans that often go awry and end up causing us a big mess to clean up. Sure, once in awhile we hit a bull's eye and our plan goes perfectly. But even when that is true, I wonder if we have traded the best for something less.

Door Number One is God's plan. It comes with a guarantee of joy and contentment. The only requirement of you is that you enter that door completely and fully.

Door Number Two is your plan. It comes with risk and responsibility of working the plan. It may fail, and could result in lots of pain and sorrow and loneliness.

Put that way, which would you choose?

Thoughts?

Decision vs. Commitment

Let's review! We differentiated between making a decision to follow Christ and being committed to Him. Remember the illustration we used of the pig and the hen who are discussing donating a couple of bacon and egg breakfasts to the local charity fundraiser? The hen gives an egg or two (a donation) but the pig's contribution of a ham constitutes a commitment!

We used Romans 12:1-2 as our text:

"Therefore, I urge you brothers, in view
of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as
living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship.
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--His good, pleasing and perfect will."

A living sacrifice? Being a sacrifice is definitely a commitment! It is much more than a decision. It is a commitment to give all for the Lord. Time. Talent. Resources. Everything. We talked about making a commitment to grow. We emphasized the importance of commitment to the local body. We also looked at the need for commitment to ministry.

In practical terms, what does it look like to make a decision, and how is that different from a firm commitment?

Well here are some examples:

In the area of commitment to spiritual growth:

Decision - I decide to study the Bible more. I do it for a week or so, but then get distracted and fizzle out.

Commitment - I commit to study the Bible more, and I do it. I ask for accountability on it, and give my accountability partner permission to check in with me about my struggles. I KEEP GOING!

In the area of commitment to a local body:

Decision - I decide that my family will be in church every Sunday and that we all will get involved in small groups. We go faithfully for a few weeks, but then we make other plans on a given Sunday. It happens again three weeks later, and then two weeks after that. Within a few weeks, we are back to our old ways.

Commitment - I commit to being in church every Sunday and getting into a small growth group. I go faithfully on Sundays and when "activities" come along, I choose to work the other activity around my church commitment. My small group becomes important to me, and I regularly attend and participate. When I must miss either of these because of vacation or being sick, I notice that I miss it a lot!

In the area of commitment to ministry:

Decision - I decide to join the weekly prayer ministry. I attend meetings for several weeks, but find it difficult to remember to pray for people between meetings. Gradually I start missing prayer meetings.

Commitment - I commit to join the prayer ministry. I attend meetings and make notes of what the prayer needs are. I put the list in my Bible so I can pray for people during the week. I also start sending cards of encouragement to those that are on the list.

A decision is like "trying something out to see if it works." A commitment is saying "no matter what, I will do this until God says not to."

What are your thoughts?

Being the Body of Christ

Today we talked about the practical side of being the Body of Christ. Most of us accept the concept of praying for or encouraging one another. And many of us understand the concept of practical help with finances, food, rides, childcare, etc. Most of us readily sign up to reach out and help.

But what about when we are the one who NEEDS help? That is usually where the difficulty comes. We don't ask. We believe that we should not need help. We believe that if we do need help then it is our fault so we shouldn't ask someone else to help "clean up our messes." We also believe that if we need help it is a sign of immaturity. Lies. All lies.

In Acts 2:41-47, read how the early church lived together in community:

All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper and to prayer. A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.

They lived in community--sharing, giving, receiving with no one being more or less than anyone else. Apparently, the norm of the day was learning to walk in the Spirit of Christ and exhibit His fruit in relationships--

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. Galatians 5:21-22

Paul wrote about carrying one another's burdens. He exhorts the church in Galatia to "carry each other's burdens" and that "each one should carry his own load." While that might seem like a big contradiction, I think it is simple and clear. We are not to be purposely lazy and let others do for us while we sit by and watch, but there are times when we cannot carry a burden by ourselves, nor should we.

We are, as believers, to be people who live like we belong to God. That means putting off the old way of independence and self-sufficiency and then humbly acknowledging that we agree with God when He says that we need each other.

So the next time you need help, ask. In doing so you will be obediently glorifying God by living as He intended those in His Church to live!

Loving Works

Thanks so much to Lew for his ministry to us this morning.

He gave us a list of "works of love" to consider, and I thought I would repost it here along with the scripture references he gave. I encourage you to look up the scriptures, meditate on them, and see what God would ask of you.

Works of Love

Speak truth Watch your words
Be kind and compassionate.
Forgive one another Pray for each other
Give generously and cheerfully Serve one another
Teach Lead Encourage Show mercy
Meet material needs of others Prophesy
Visit others Strengthening one another
Hold each other accountable Avoid division
Confront Correct Exercise discernment
Healing Hospitality Administering
Shepherding Be available Helping
Calling Submit to leaders

So now for the scriptures. Read them and let God use them to plant a new seed in your heart that will lead to "works of love" that can bless those around you!

Ephesians 4:15
Ephesians 4:29
Ephesians 4:32
Ephesians 6:18
II Corinthians 9:6-7
Romans 12:6-9
I Corinthians 1:10
Hebrews 12:14-15
Matthew 18:15

I'd love to hear how God speaks to you this week! Post a comment!

What About Hell?

We digressed this week to address a topic that I believe is important to our understanding of all we have learned in Romans. After all, if we really don't understand the enormous consequences of our sin, how can we grasp the reality of what Jesus and His grace has done for us?

We talked about hell starting with getting our identity from anything other than God. Ultimately, it all boils down to "me." I feel good about myself because I am handsome or beautiful, or because I have an amazing job, or because I am a wonderful mom, dad, kid, teacher, bookkeeper, gardener, babysitter, student or.... You get the idea. It's all about me.

What I want to focus on in this post is the last part of yesterday's sermon. People can't be scared into heaven. What? Let me say that again! People can't be scared out of hell and into heaven!

The reason that is true, is because if I start serving God and following His commandments and going to church because I don't want to go to hell, it is still all about me! I am now using God for my purposes (to go to heaven) but there has been no change in my heart!

A quote from yesterday's sermon:

Radical unconditional love is the only thing that will take our mistrustful, in denial, conniving hearts and shock them into a whole new way of living and being.

When man sinned in the Garden of Eden, it began with a thought of pride and arrogance and wanting what I want. If I begin to "straighten up" solely for purposes of escaping hell, all of those same sinful elements are there:

• Pride - I can do this myself. I can escape hell through my own choices and my own good works.
  
• Arrogance - I can beat the system. I can prove God wrong by doing it myself.
• Wanting What I Want - Forget the worship and the submission to God, I'll just do this thing to get what I want.
  

What God wants from us is a radical response to His radical love. He wants a bended knee and a contrite heart. He wants you to agree with His assessment of your helplessness and come to Him with a grateful heart. Not waving the white flag of surrender, although surrender is involved.

When a weary enemy surrenders in the battle of war, he waves the white flag, but in his heart he is still angry and hates the one he is surrendering to. He is only surrendering because he wants to save himself. But there is no change of heart.

When we come to God, it is more than a white flag surrender. It is a radical change of mind because we see the light and understand God's radical love and amazing grace. We are filled with gratitude that calls us to give our lives and everything we are and everything we have to our Savior.

Embrace God's Grace

This morning we talked about dying to sin and offering our bodies to Christ to be instruments of righteousness. We cannot do this without God's help. It takes focus. It takes determination. But mostly it takes the power of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit resides in all of us who have received Christ as our Savior. But we still have our free will whether to behave in ways we are prompted by Him, that is to obey, or to choose to continue to be an instrument of wickedness and disobey. The Holy Spirit is our Guide and He will give us warning when we are headed into danger.

But you still have to choose. I love the way it is stated in The Message:

That means you must not give sin a vote in the way you conduct your lives. Don't give it the time of day. Don't even run little errands that are connected with that old way of life. Throw yourselves wholeheartedly and full-time—remember, you've been raised from the dead!—into God's way of doing things. Sin can't tell you how to live. After all, you're not living under that old tyranny any longer. You're living in the freedom of God. Romans 6:12-14

Are you "running errands for the devil" or are you on a mission of love for your Father? Each and every day we are all confronted with choices to do right (die to the flesh) or to do wrong and continue to be a slave to sin.

So think of it this way. When you choose wrongly, it is kind of the same thing as standing by your old dead fleshly self (that died with Christ) and shaking it and slapping it, saying "wake up!"

Do you really want it to wake up? I'm thinking no. Paul wrote that sin is no longer our master (v.14), but we have to choose to serve our new Master.

Thoughts? Talk to me!

A Contrast of Two Trees

Yesterday we talked about being in Adam when he sinned and therefore inheriting all of his sin automatically. I suppose one of the best ways to understand it is to liken it to a woman who is pregnant and ingests drugs or alcohol and her baby is born addicted or with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome.

It isn't a perfect analogy, of course, the point of it is that the baby suffers the consequence of a choice his mother made. He did not use drugs, but deals with the consequences. It's similar with us suffering the consequences of sin that Adam committed.

Interestingly, though we did not choose to disobey God in the Garden of Eden, we have chosen time and time again to sin because we have inherited that sinful nature. We sin because we're sinners, and we're sinners because we sin. And so it goes.

Finally, I want to end with the contrast of the two trees that we talked about yesterday. It is pretty awesome!

The First Tree: The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil in the Garden of Eden.

The Second Tree: The Cross of Calvary

The First Tree was planted by God.
The Second Tree was crafted by man.

The First Tree: God forbade men to eat of its fruit.
The Second Tree: Men are freely invited to draw near and eat of the fruit.

The First Tree: Eating the fruit brought sin and death.
The Second Tree: Eating the fruit brings life and salvation.

The First Tree: When Adam ate the fruit, he was driven out of paradise.
The Second Tree: The thief on the cross ate of the fruit and entered paradise.

I suppose it could be said that eating of the fruit of the second tree (repenting and receiving Christ as savior) is an antidote for the poison you ingested by being in Adam when he ingested the fruit of the first tree.

Thoughts? Post a comment!

100 Monkeys

On Sunday morning, I shared with you the story of the monkeys who learned to wash their sweet potatoes in order to eliminate dirt that disagreed with their tastes. You'll recall that the washing trend grew slowly until the hundredth monkey started washing dirty sweet potatoes. At that point, it became a phenomenon that literally took on a life of its own.

It strikes me that this is exactly what happened in the early church.

If you read the book of Acts, which is the history of the first century church, it is a book about the struggles, triumphs, and persecution of those first followers of Christ.

I find it so interesting that there was such a widespread movement to eradicate this group of believers that literally had started with a ragtag group of people with little or no credentials. Why were they considered so dangerous? They had no education to speak of. They were not among the elite. They were not the ones who held political power. Why not just let them "do their thing" and let it just die out naturally?

The answer to that is simple. This ragtag group, the first followers of Christ, were literally turning the world upside down (see Acts 17:6). After the day of Pentecost when the fire of heaven came down and they received the Holy Spirit, they were from that point on a force to be reckoned with.

We don't know how many people were there in the house that day, but we do know that it couldn't have very many by the very fact that they were in a house. The point is that the gospel began to spread and the church began to grow exponentially from very humble beginnings.

A handful of men and women with no credentials allowed God to use them in a way that 2000 years later the Church continues to grow and thrive. That is their legacy. What will yours be?

Think about it, and tell me what you think?

The Great Exchange

This morning we studied Romans 5:12-21, which is a rich and complex passage. Paul is laying out clearly what we "got" from Adam and what we "get" from our relationship in Christ. As we said this morning, it is a passage of contrasts:

From Adam came the entrance of sin and death.
From Christ came the entrance of righteousness and life.

In Adam, many died.
In Christ, many received grace.

To those in Adam came judgment and condemnation.
To those in Christ came righteousness and justification.

Those in Adam are ruled by death.
Those in Christ rule in life.

One transaction brought condemnation to all associated with Adam.
One act of righteousness brought justification to all associated with Christ.

One man's disobedience made many sinners.
One Man's obedience will make many righteous.

The law augments and intensifies sin.
Grace always outdistances sin.

Sin ruled in death through Adam.
Grace rules to bring eternal life through Christ's righteousness.

It boils down to this: What do you choose? Do you choose death, judgment, condemnation, and being hopelessly mired in your sin? Or do you choose life, grace, righteousness, justification, grace, and eternal life? That's it. One choice can make the difference!

There's a line in the sand. Christ says are you with me or against me? If you step across that line, you step into all of the benefits of being in Christ. This is a transaction that is "trading up" if ever there was one!

Talk to me! What are you thoughts?

Rejoice in God!

Today we talked about rejoicing. That seems to be a theme of Paul's in the fifth chapter of Romans, doesn't it? We took a look at Psalm 145 and went through some of the things about God that cause us to rejoice. So today, in this post, I want to simply give you a challenge.

Take a look at Psalm 103. I want you to read through it and as you do, write down ten things that would cause you to rejoice in God. This psalm offers much to choose from!

¹ Praise the LORD, my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
² Praise the LORD, my soul,
and forget not all his benefits—
³ who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
⁴ who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
⁵ who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

⁶ The LORD works righteousness
and justice for all the oppressed.

⁷ He made known his ways to Moses,
his deeds to the people of Israel:
⁸ The LORD is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in love.
⁹ He will not always accuse,
nor will he harbor his anger forever;
¹⁰ he does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities.

¹¹ For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; ¹² as far as the east is from the west, that's how far has he removed our transgressions from us.

¹³ As a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him; ¹⁴ for he knows how we are formed,
he remembers that we are dust.
¹⁵ The life of mortals is like grass,
they flourish like a flower of the field;
¹⁶ the wind blows over it and it is gone,
and its place remembers it no more.
¹⁷ But from everlasting to everlasting
the LORD’s love is with those who fear him,
and his righteousness with their children’s children— ¹⁸ with those who keep his covenant
and remember to obey his precepts.

¹⁹ The LORD has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all.

²⁰ Praise the LORD, you his angels,
you mighty ones who do his bidding,
who obey his word.
²¹ Praise the LORD, all his heavenly hosts,
you his servants who do his will.
²² Praise the LORD, all his works
everywhere in his dominion.

Praise the LORD, my soul.

Read it! List your ten reasons to rejoice in God! And then post a comment and tell me one or two that stand out to you.

One, two, three, GO!

Saved...Saved! Part Two

This morning we explored some of the things that salvation accomplishes in us and for us. For now I want to talk a bit about hope. There is much talk about hope, and for different people it means different things.

I think most people think of future hope. "I hope I find a good paying job." "I hope I marry a wonderful person." "I hope my friend recovers."

In the church, however, when we talk about hope we often are talking about future hope of heaven and all that goes with it. We think of no more trials. We think of streets of gold, dancing with the angels, and singing praises for an eternity. No more sorrow. No more pain.

But I think that Paul writes to the Philippians about hope that is past, present and future all at the same time:

"He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." Philippians 1:6

PAST: We have hope in the completed work of Christ on the cross on our behalf. Our salvation is a done deal. Jesus said, "It is finished" before He died. It's done. We can add nothing to the pot to sweeten the deal. Christ's offer of salvation includes reconciliation with God and freedom from guilt, shame, and death. We are now friends of God.

PRESENT: Our hope in the present is that He didn't just save us and then leave us to our own devices to figure out how to be like Him. He is doing the work in us. We are fully saved from our sin, but still have our struggles in terms of behavior, attitude, and heart issues. We are learning to "walk out" our salvation. This means allowing God to bring our lives in line with who we are in Christ. Another word for this is "sanctification," and it is the process of putting away those old things of the flesh and becoming more like Christ. It isn't instantaneous. It's a process, but it takes us submitting to the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

FUTURE: Our future hope is the hope of one day being like Him and not dealing any more with the pressure and trials of our flesh. We will have new bodies and will be with Him in eternity. Again, we don't have to figure out how to get there. He said, "I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am." (John 14:2-3)

Also, consider this:

"Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory."
I Corinthians 15:51-54

So allow me to paraphrase Philippians 1:6. It's the verse we started with at the beginning of this blog post. It kind of puts hope in perspective of how God sees it.

"He, in the past, began a good work in you by totally buying and providing salvation. He didn't stop there, because He is presently doing His work in you, and He will not stop until it's done. He will continue to carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus when you are with Him in eternity sporting a new body, and a heart that is like His."
Philippians 1:6

Tell me what your thoughts are! What does this past, present and future mean to you? How does it impact how you live your life?

Saved...Saved! Part One

We talked this morning about the amazing gift of salvation that we have through grace. We have done nothing to achieve salvation, nor have we done anything to earn it.

We talked about God putting His stamp on the work He's done, similar to the work of an artist who signs the picture he paints. God wants us to know that He alone has accomplished this.

It makes me think of the creation story. After each part of creation, the Bible tells us that God saw that it was good. I wonder if that is how He feels about His work of salvation as well.

Think about it.

Remember the terms we went over this morning to describe our condition apart from Christ? Let's review:

citizens of the kingdom of darkness
dead afar off lost sheep
children of wrath treacherous
sons of the devil sinners enemies
helpless without strength condemned
ungodly unrighteous adulterous
stiff-necked arrogant without life
sons of disobedience in bondage

Then there were the words that describe what we have become in Christ:

citizens of the Kingdom of light
alive in Christ brought near saved found
sons of love selfless sons of the Father
saints friends empowered
forgiven and justified godly righteous
faithful obedient humble free
obeying from the heart full of life

We come into this life broken, belonging in the first category--ungodly, treacherous, and stiff-necked. He does His work of grace in our life and we now fit into the second category--saved, sons of love, friends, and righteous. What a difference He makes in our lives.

"For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." Ephesians 2:10

Just like an artist admires and signs his amazing work, I kind of think that God does the same thing. Just like in the creation story, He sees that His work is good and then He says, "I did that!" He is pleased with what He has done, but we need to keep in mind that He has not just created us so that He could be pleased with His work. He also has prepared good works for us to do. We are not to sit idly so He or others can admire us. We are to do whatever good thing He has in mind for us.

Thoughts? Post a comment!