GIVING UP IS A GOOD THING SOMETIMES

The righteousness based on faith says, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ down)   “or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).  Romans 10:6

         Think of someone you know who is a bit deluded and out of touch with reality.  Have that person in mind?  Now, imagine asking them later this morning, “What are your plans today?”  Their answer, “Two things are on my list.  First, I plan to make a trip to heaven to bring Jesus down to earth.  If that doesn’t work, I’ll assume He’s dead and go down into the belly of the earth and retrieve Him that way.”  I think you’ll be calling 911.

         These examples are preposterous.  Yet, these are the lengths Paul goes to ~ to make sure I understand that believing that God will just accept me outside of Christ is as ludicrous as believing that I can plan a trip to heaven or hell and make it happen.  Continue reading “Giving up Is A Good Thing Sometimes” →

THE LAW WAS A POINTER

For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.  Romans 10:4

         The Law was never an end unto itself.  It was designed by God to be fulfilled in Christ.  The sacrifices that were made were just pointers to the once-and-for-all sacrifice of Christ.  He gave His life as the perfect Lamb – doing away forever with the need to sacrifice anything else.  He was morally perfect and because of that, He was the only One who could fulfill the law and forgive sin.

         Yet everyday, people live as if the law still exists and as if, by keeping it, God is appeased.

         Unbelievers live their lives by a self-made set of scales.  They perceive bad deeds on the one side and good deeds on the other.  By ‘keeping the law’ enough times, their good deeds outweigh the bad and earn them God’s favor and an eternal home in heaven.  The problem is, God never suggested this exercise in morality.  Continue reading “The Law Was A Pointer” →

For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.  Romans 10:2

To many, zeal counts for everything.  Zeal means sincerity and in our present day society, it is believed that if one is sincere, then a person is entitled to whatever opinion they hold.

Paul would be the first one to tell us that zeal can be misguided.  No one was more passionate to protect the Jewish traditions of his spiritual fathers than Paul.  So much so, that he hunted down followers of Jesus.  He believed them to be heretics.  His zeal was commendable but it worked against the purposes of the God he believed he loved.

I have known a few pastors and Christian leaders who were so zealous to protect their people from the influence of ‘what they considered’ liberal views on lifestyle preferences, that they considered a large sector of the body of Christ enemies. Nasty letters, disparaging remarks from the pulpit and in print; these may have convinced their followers that their zeal was commendable but it was really misguided.

My zeal, my passion, must be surrendered to Christ.  I want to be passionate about truth but not so passionate about peripheral issues that I alienate the body of Christ.  Zeal must cause me to pick my battles carefully, prayerfully, to make sure I feel strongly about the things that Jesus feels strongly about.  Much of the things I’m zealous for may just arise out of personal baggage.  This is the ‘zeal – not according to knowledge.’

         Passion is a stunning thing when it is pure.  But when it is not, it can  leave a wake of bodies in its path.

Am I passionate about the right things?  Is my passion holy?  Only You can tell me.  Amen

Save

HOW DEEPLY DO I LOVE UNBELIEVERS?

Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved.  Romans 10:1

         How do I feel about unsaved people in general?  While my heart may break for a close family member who has yet to embrace Christ, my heart is not that engaged when it’s my city.  Too often, I am someone who shakes her head and says, “They’re hard-hearted.  There will be eternal consequences if they don’t repent.”  I may pray for them but nowhere with the urgency that Paul describes.  Would I exchange my own salvation for theirs if God would allow me?

         The unceasing anguish Paul feels is not a momentary kind of sadness.  Anguish, which like Paul I have felt over some relationships in my lifetime, never really leaves.  It’s the thing that tears at your heart and makes your whole body ill.  You can’t sleep, can barely eat, and though you carry on with life, you are going through the motions while feeling sick to your stomach.  Anyone who really knows you and loves you can see that something is very wrong.  Continue reading “How Deeply Do I Love Unbelievers?” →

A REVIEW OF PAUL’S CALLING

Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to an apostle… Romans 1:1

            Paul, a servant of the One who became a suffering servant to us, was called by Him to be an apostle.  An apostle is someone who is sent out with a message.  At his conversion, Paul was given this assignment that would define the rest of his life.  He probably thought, before his conversion, that his duty was to protect the sanctity of the Jewish faith from Christian heresy.  As it turned out, he was to encounter Christ and become what he had once hated.  Continue reading “Sent To Do What?” →

A SPLIT-SECOND DELIVERANCE

For He will give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. Psalm 91:11

I went alone yesterday to our local Trader Joes, a grocery store, for some last minute shopping for Christmas.  As soon as I opened my car door, I could see a man approaching me, eyeing me.  I ignored him, put up the tailgate of my Volvo wagon to get some grocery bags out to bring inside.  Immediately, he was under the tailgate with me, striking up a conversation, wanting to shake my hand.  He asked for money and seemed edgy.  I was polite but all the while, I was asking God how to get out of this potentially dangerous situation.  Continue reading “Split-Second Deliverance” →

WHERE BELONGING BECOMES DANGEROUS

He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but God knows your hearts. What is highly valued among men is detestable in God’s sight.  Luke 16:15

            My need to be accepted has taken me down some unfortunate paths.  Because I didn’t know how to connect with God, I put myself through some pretty ridiculous contortions to fit in.  I pretended to believe as the group did.  I worshipped as they worshipped.  I attended functions I had no desire to attend because I feared the repercussions.  Eventually, who I really was got lost, even to me.  I had become so homogenous with my surroundings that my identity was blurred.

            How many today have joined a group just to experience being a part of a pseudo-family?  Continue reading “Where Belonging Becomes Dangerous” →

I will give you the treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name.  Isaiah 45:3

            The dailyness of our struggles can often obscure our vision of any good that could come out of pain.  One difficult day leads to the next and we just can’t seem to view our story from God’s vantage point.  We can not see that we are sharing in the suffering of Jesus, the greatest redemptive suffering in all of history.

            A few days ago, I was personally given a picture that reinforced this truth.  An intercessor for Daughters of Promise was entrusted with this dream and she was faithful to share it with me.  As I have lived with it, I have come to realize that the dream was not just for me but for you as well. Continue reading “A Name In Gold” →

FINAL WORDS

Whoever is wise, let him understand these things; whoever is discerning, let him know them.  For the ways of the Lord are right, and the righteous will walk in them.  Hosea 14:9

    These are God’s final words in the book of Hosea.  After all is said and done, this is how He chooses to end His communication to His people.  He does not punish with an abrupt ending, leaving His people hanging.  He wraps up His message with grace.

    The storyline of Hosea has had all the elements of a great novel.  God professed His love, took a bride, and hoped for fidelity.  Love was unappreciated, spurned, and tested by the sin of unfaithfulness.  God has been anything but stoic throughout these pages.  He has been generous to express His heart.  He showed them He is a God who feels intensely.  He loves, hurts, weeps, longs, reaches, and forgives.  He aches to bless, restores when there is repentance, and is willing to put the past behind His back.   Continue reading “Final Words” →

CYPRESS

I am like the mighty cypress; from Me comes your fruit.  Hosea 14:8

    God is aware of the language barrier that exists between the spiritual realm and the physical.  Because we are earth-bound and our ability to comprehend His greatness and glory is compromised by our mortality, He is willing to tell us what He is like in terms we can understand.  He is quick, throughout Scripture, to say….”I am as a _____________.”  He employs the use of  illustrations and metaphors that are common to our everyday life. Continue reading “Cypress” →