Author: Christine Wyrtzen

WHAT IS A CHURCH?

For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.  Romans 12:4-5

            “I’m going to church” we say to one another.  What we really mean is, “We’re going to a building, one where a group of people meet.”  The only biblical definition of church is ‘the meeting of a group of people who have put their faith in Christ – a meeting where the Spirit of God rests.’  A church can meet in restaurant, the basement of a school, in a home, or in an institutional building with a steeple.  In the last few years, the resurgence of house churches are becoming more commonplace in the U.S.  That is a good thing since I can easily become close-minded to such an idea in Western culture.

            One disturbing thing though was revealed in a recent USA Today survey.  Of the 56 percent of Americans who attend church, 46 percent do so because “It is good for me”, and 26 percent go because it is where they hope to find “peace of mind and spiritual well-being.” Continue reading “What Is A Church?” →

THE MINDSET OF HUMILITY

For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.  Romans 12:3

            When I am good at something and people admire my gift, conceit will most likely be birthed.  Being able to do something that is unique and admirable is a powerful cocktail.  Where is the line of thinking too much of myself?  Am I allowed to be confident in what I do?  Am I allowed to graciously accept a compliment?  What is humility anyway?

            These questions are ever in front of me.  I have a public gift.  I have had my share of standing ovations.  I have seen hundreds of women come forward after teaching for an hour.  I receive many emails from those who read books and devotionals telling me that God used my words to make a difference in their lives.  Am I allowed to enjoy others praise?

            Paul encourages me to think of myself with sober judgment.  In other words, I take stock of my gifts, the ones that cause others to be so generous with their feedback.  If I played the piano at 3 yrs. old, who gave the gift?  If I have long fingers that can play technical passages, who made my hands?  If I have the stamina to sustain a 36-year ministry, who gave me health?  If my teaching is persuasive, who inspired the ideas and anointed my lips to speak?

            To think of myself soberly is to come to a realization of the truth that God gives all things, even my very breath.  To boast in myself is to pretend that I am the one who generates gifts.  I am not.  I will not steal the glory of my God.  As soon as I accept the praise that belongs to God, I have crossed the line.

            However, to defer all glory to God does not mean that I hang my head and live in a state of worthlessness.  Continue reading “The Mindset Of Humility” →

METAMORPHOSIS

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.  Romans 12:2

            As a good Christian, I may act like I’m not conformed to this world but if people could see everything I’m thinking; they’d know that my actions are only putting on a good show.  My thoughts are still trapping me, tormenting me, and deceiving me.  I live in a constant battle and only because I know how I should think and what I should believe do I do the right thing.  But here’s the thing ~ Christianity, the real thing, is not about just modifying my behavior.  God promises transformation of the mind; total renewal.  No more putting on good behavior out of a need to look good or a need to assuage my guilt.

            If I fail to engage in this renewal process and continue to think like the world thinks, who is in charge?  Paul, himself, revealed the answer in another letter.  .. “In which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air.”  Eph.2:2  The author of the world’s thinking is not the world.  May I not be deceived!  The author is Satan himself.  I am allowing the enemy, my enemy and Jesus’ enemy, to infiltrate my mind and dictate how I’m going to process life.  No wonder my mind can be a series of traps, never bringing peace and hope.

            What does God offer each of His children?  Transformation.  The word is the same as metamorphosis.  And that word is the same for what happened to Jesus in the transfiguration.  “And He was transfigured before them and His face shone like the sun.” Matt.17:2  He underwent a physical and spiritual transformation that defied anything human.  This is the kind of spiritual surgery God promises me if I engage Him on a process of mind renewal.

            How does it happen?  How can I stop believing that others should like me?  How can I stop believing that a family situation is hopeless?  How can I stop fearing that I am unforgiven or being punished?  1. By recognizing that such thinking is of Satan, the one who authors the world’s mindset.  2.) Continue reading “Metamorphosis” →

THE DESPERATE ACT OF BEGGING

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.  Romans 12:1

         In this next chapter, Paul is starting to teach us how to live as a believer of Jesus.  Everything up until now has been foundational.  He begins his teaching with the word ‘urge’.  It really means ‘plead’ or ‘beg’.  This is a very strong way to start out, isn’t it?

         I’m trying to think if I have ever really begged someone for something.  The thought has always been distasteful to me because of how I was raised.  In fact, my sister and I were not allowed to dress up and go out on Halloween because we were told that to go to someone’s door and ask for candy would be begging.  It was nothing but pride that created such a rule.  So rigid was the rule of begging that we thought twice before asking our parents for anything.

         To beg is to put your heart on the line.  The one who is being pleaded with has a lot of personal power at that point.  Continue reading “The Desperate Act Of Begging” →

A SLAVE TO A DEBT

Or who has given a gift to Him that He might be repaid?  Romans 11:35

            If I try to repay someone for a gift they have given me, it offends them.  Well, if they truly gave it without strings attached.  Some give – in order to entrap.  How well I know.

            I was once enslaved to some people who insisted that they were owed an exorbitant amount of money.  (I trusted them though there was no paper trail.)  I lived to repay them and felt strangled by the debt as the years mounted.  No matter how much money I handed them, I was made to feel like any payment, large or small, was insignificant.

            I remember the day I was riding in the car with one of the parties that I supposedly owed.  In quiet desperation, I asked…. “How long it take for me to pay you back?”  I held my breath for the answer.  Without flinching, I heard the word… “Forever!”  Continue reading “A Slave To A Debt” →

WHAT SPRINGS TO MY MIND

Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!  How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!  Romans 11:33

            A.W. Tozer said, “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.”  When Paul thought of God, he exclaimed about things like riches, wisdom, and knowledge.  How close to that is my ‘first thought’ of God ~ the one that arises in private that no one else ever hears because I dare not speak it.

            How I perceive God dictates the kind of relationship we share.  Satan loves to encourage a distorted picture because he knows that if I believe it, the ability to trust anything God says will be shattered.  Without trust, there is no love, security, beauty, and significance.  At one time, my first thought of God brought words like ‘distant’, ‘demanding’, ‘passive’, and ‘one who plays favorites’.  My relationship with Him was cold as a result.  He was warm; I was not. Continue reading “What Springs To My Mind” →

NO LONGER DISPOSABLE

For just as you were at one time disobedient to God but now have received mercy….Romans 11:30

Mercy is cheap if I perceive it as something I barely need.  Take a hardened criminal, he needs mercy, right?   I only need a little in comparison.  This is the deception in the church as we can easily think we’re different from other people, other nations, other cultures.  When I watch the news and see bands of gang members in the back of pickup trucks in Sudan, wielding weapons and machetes, I have no trouble seeing them as needing vast amounts of mercy.  But am I like them?  Do I need the same amount of mercy?

Mercy is only of infinite value when it’s placed against the backdrop of sin and hopelessness.  Until I see myself as utterly lost and condemned, then what Jesus did in giving His life for me will be a story that causes me to yawn in boredom.  Who will feel the most ecstatic over being forgiven?  The one who knows how deeply he has sinned and offended God.  Who will embrace salvation with his whole heart?  The one who has despaired of being justly condemned with no way out. The Pharisees made no admission of being lost.  Therefore, Christ Jesus was of no value to them.

I’m not one who likes ‘forwards’ in emails.  Rarely do I even read them.  However, this was sent recently.  The source is unknown.  The story paints a moving picture of mercy that even our children can understand.  I’m asking God to take the precious gift of mercy home to my heart in a more profound way today. Continue reading “No Longer Disposable” →

THEY’RE STILL FOR ME!

The gifts and calling of God are irrevocable.  Romans 11:29

         Once God makes a promise, a covenant, it is irrevocable.  The one upon whom God places His favor cannot ‘un-earn’ covenant love.  “But God, didn’t you know that Abraham’s descendants would commit gross sins against you?  Didn’t you know they would bow down to other gods?  Didn’t you know that they would throw their own children in the fire for sacrifices?  Didn’t you know they would hear You calling and choose to turn their backs?”

         Yes, He knew.  His love remains to this day.  Though He has experienced anger, even pronounced temporary judgment, His covenant still stands.  Their calling is irrevocable.

         While praying for you this morning, God showed me that some of you are reading these daily devotionals with one eye closed, head turned to the side, as if to lessen the impact.  Continue reading “They’re Still For Me!” →

ONCE GOD HAS SPOKEN

As regards the gospel, they are enemies for your sake.  But as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers.  Romans 11:28

         Paul lived in a time when he saw absolutely no proof that what he was writing (regarding the Jews collectively embracing the gospel) would come to pass.  In fact, just the opposite.  They were vehemently rejecting Christ and persecuting all who became disciples.  Can you imagine telling the parents of a child who was murdered, “Right now, the killer is your enemy.  But one day he will be beloved by God, and by you.”  How offensive and potentially explosive unless it was absolutely true.

         God had once spoken.  Abraham would be blessed and Israel would be His people.  Nothing could shake that.  Paul’s certainty in his writing is due to His belief in the unchanging character of God.  Even though it appeared God’s promise was ludicrous, his faith didn’t waver.

         God has given each of us a promise that is specific to us and our story.  It comes to us in prayer, built upon our time in the Word, and we know – that we know – that God has promised it.  Continue reading “Once God Has Spoken” →

A SWEEPING ACT OF UNFATHOMABLE LOVE!

“The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will banish ungodliness from Jacob; and this will be my covenant with them when I take away their sins.”  Romans 11:26-27

         Every child I know trembles when he hears the words, “Just wait till your father comes home.”  It is associated with anger and disappointment, as well as punishment and shame.  Human parenting can be so far removed from the perfect parenting of our Heavenly Father.  What is behind a ‘deliverer coming from Zion to banish ungodliness?’  A covenant.

         Some covenants are made between two people.  “If you do this, I will do that.”  This is not the covenant God makes with Abraham.  In fact, he put Abraham in a deep sleep and God did all the talking.  His covenant was one-sided.  Not matter how obstinate or submissive the children of Israel were, or are, or will be, His covenant still stands because God promised it with His eyes fully open.

         God exposes, dies for (through Christ), and forgives sin because He loves.  If sin exists, there is a breach in the relationships He prizes above all else.  The distance between the hearts of His people and His heart wounds Him deeply.  He calls out into the night of men’s souls with mournful cries to return to the One who loves them without condition. Continue reading “A Sweeping Act Of Unfathomable Love” →