Tag: christianity

Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him. Psalm 32:1

The children of Israel knew well that God judges sin.  They experienced it firsthand. For them to believe that God would send a Messiah for reasons other than judgment was a stretch.  Never could they have imagined that Jesus would come, not to condemn but to extend mercy. 

Why, at the announcement of salvation, might I prefer condemnation?  I contend that self-hatred is addictive.  I’d rather despise myself than let God love me.  I can be like those who sinned against God in the wilderness and then refused to look at the serpent on the pole to be saved.  They nursed their grudges against His holiness and preferred to self-destruct. 

I’ve gone so far as to admit my guilt, confess it, but then wallow around in it, insisting that I don’t deserve to be forgiven.  Self-condemnation feels justified and quite comfortable the longer I wear it.  I throw myself a long pity party and shun the Forgiver. I feel quite powerful as I exert my freedom to say ‘no.’ Satan celebrates when this kind of twisted pleasure keeps God’s creation from salvation.  

Jesus did not come into the world to judge it as proven by sacrifice.  He affirmed that sin must be judged and paid for, but then paid for it Himself.  Oh, to have paid such a price only to see people reject the gift of this expensive pardon.  Jesus is the humblest suffering Servant of all.  

Does my own self-inflicted guilt keep me from receiving Your forgiveness?  Break my chains.  Amen

They remembered that God was their Rock, that God Most High was their Redeemer.  Psalm 78:35

One day, when Earth was still a barren planet, a sinister plot was being carried out in heaven.  Satan, one of the three archangels who enjoyed top level authority at God’s right hand, decided that he was entitled to more.  He set out to promote himself.   I will climb to heaven and place my throne above the highest stars. I will sit there with the gods far away in the north. I will be above the clouds, just like [El Elyon] God most high. Isaiah 14:13-14   With this twisted ambition, his gifts were corrupted. 

We must make a distinction between wanting to be like God and wanting to dethrone ‘God most high’ from His place of authority. This was the subject of John Milton’s famous confrontation in Paradise Lost.  It was clear that Satan’s ambition was to overthrow God, not emulate His holiness.

The price for setting oneself equal to ~ or greater than ~ El Elyon is a steep one. It was catastrophic for Satan, who lost his position in heaven, was judged, and then permanently expelled.  His ultimate end will be in hell, the place God created for him and all of the angels who defected with him.  

This kind of pride and entitlement are still rampant.  Satan, the god of this world, is driven to replicate his evil traits.  His children (Jesus called them children of the devil) refuse to bow down.  They are puffed up and exalt themselves as rulers over their own sphere of influence.  When those around them pray to thank God for divine provision, they are quick to say that they’ve made their own way.  Anything they enjoy is the product of hard work and ingenuity.  Know anyone like that?  

God is patient, giving such sinful men time to repent but grace has a time limit.  One day, they will face Jesus and will bow down.  It’s a certainty.  For every person who didn’t do it willingly on earth, their end will be a tragic one.

After this sobering review of Satan’s history, I lift both hands towards heaven, align myself yet again with El Elyon. I lay down pride and ask for the grace to be humble.  I forsake entitlement in favor of trust and gratitude.  I want to be like God most high, following Paul’s encouragement from Ephesians 5:1 Therefore, be imitators of God, as beloved children. 

And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them. Luke 2:9

The shepherds were doing their ordinary work in the dark, watching sheep on a hillside, when the unmerited favor of God intersected their story, giving them an experience they would carry with them for the rest of their lives. Nothing in their future would ever eclipse the night when the heavens opened, and for a brief moment, the veil over their spiritual sight was drawn back.

Are such defining moments still possible today? Yes. Not because we can demand them, but because the same God still delights to reveal Himself. There are days that become spiritual mountaintops, places that become a personal Bethel. We are not meant to settle into a gray monotony of going through the motions. We treasure yesterday’s manna, but we shouldn’t live on memories alone. We seek Him in His Word, we listen for His Spirit’s whisper, we pursue Him with a steady hunger, and in His timing, often when we least expect it, the glory of the Lord brushes close.

An ordinary day can be turned upside down when the eternal breaks into the ordinary: a conversation, a car ride, a quiet room, a hospital hallway. In a moment, His presence falls and everything changes. Others around you may not notice anything unusual. They may keep scrolling, talking, and rushing. But you will know. Inwardly, you will slip off your shoes because you recognize holy ground.

For a while afterward, you may move through your routines with a kind of spiritual disorientation, caught between this world and the one you just tasted. You will find yourself returning to that moment when you remember the God who came so close.

Lord Jesus, make my heart like those shepherds. I want to be awake in the ordinary, ready to be interrupted by Your glory. Amen

And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them. Luke 2:9

The shepherds didn’t ask to see the glory of God. They hadn’t done anything to earn the privilege. They certainly didn’t expect it. Yet, God’s favor punctuated their evening and brought an experience they would never forget. Nothing in their lifetimes would eclipse the night on the hillside when heaven opened. Do such miraculous moments still happen today? Sometimes. 

A pastor we knew well suffered an aortic rupture…. something you don’t usually come back from. While clinically dead on the table, he witnessed a battlefield. He saw evil forces and God’s angelic forces engage in a confrontation. When God brought the pastor back from death, he told everyone….. “If you could see what I saw, how outnumbered the enemy was, and how fearsome the angelic warriors were, you would never be afraid of anything ever again!”  I think of his testimony every time I battle fear. 

I know that most of us will not have a near-death encounter and come back to speak of it. But we still witness the glory of God. Sometimes there are angelic visitations. Sometimes Jesus will appear to someone in the night. He bears witness to Himself and brings the most unsuspecting convert to the kingdom. It’s happening all over the world. And what about the times when the heavens open and God’s Spirit brings illumination about a scripture we’ve never understood before! It is cataclysmic to our spirits, is it not? These comprise the ‘Bethel Moments’ that define life in profound ways.

 It is easy to separate the times of scripture from the times in which we live. Sadly, our skepticism can obscure the supernatural appearances of God’s glory. The supernatural is meant to punctuate my life with unforgettable moments. 

My trust in You does not depend on the miraculous, but every miraculous encounter changes me forever. Thank you for every single one! Amen

Then she kissed them and they wept aloud and said to her, “We will go back with you to your people.” Ruth 1:10

We cannot manufacture compassion where no emotional connection exists. We were created to be responders—to mirror what is extended. When we are loved, we open up and love freely. But when we are spurned, our hearts retreat. When affirmation is withheld, we grow smaller and become shy. When met with stoicism, we become guarded. And when cruelty comes, everything in us wants to return it.

Naomi’s daughters-in-law wept at the thought of leaving her. She had given them their freedom, yet their hearts broke at the thought of taking it. Their tears reveal the depth of Naomi’s love. If she had been a bitter widow, there would have been no weeping—only relief.

In an ideal world, love flows naturally between parents and children, husbands and wives, friends and kindred spirits. There are tears of joy at reunions and tears of sadness at farewells. We might feel guilty when we don’t have feelings of love for certain people but in this world, love is often blocked. Some children dread returning home. Some spouses share a house but not a heart.

That’s why Jesus came to show us another kind of love—agape love. A love not rooted in feeling, but in divine will. His love reached for us while we resisted Him. He steps into our broken patterns with full understanding. He knows rejection, betrayal, and indifference. Yet He offers His heart as the remedy: “Love as I have loved you.” He gives grace to act in love long before emotion follows.

When we withhold love because we’ve been wounded, we do more than protect ourselves—we defy the cross. But when filled with His Spirit, we love anyway. It astounds those who watch when kindness meets cruelty and coldness. It won’t feel natural. It will feel like crucifixion. But God’s Spirit supplies the strength for every holy act of love.

You don’t judge me for not having feelings of love. You understand why I don’t. But You promise to supernaturally love through me. Amen

Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you….. Jude 3a

Has God ever redirected your life? You thought you were headed one way, in a predictable direction. You weren’t ready for a divine interruption.

I’ve been in ministry long enough to have God change my teaching plans just moments before stepping onto the platform. If I were an adventurer by nature, which I’m not, I would find it easier to flow with the urges of God’s Spirit.  As one who likes predictability and order, I can strain against the loss of control when God asks me to go another direction on the spot.  But at 71, He’s done it enough times that I’ve had some practice.  With history in my rear-view mirror, I trace His faithfulness and the miraculous fruit of holy spontaneity.

Jude started his letter to the whole church, intending to write about the glories of the Gospel message. As he began to write, God made him aware of the threats against the pure Gospel: those who would add to it, those who would delete from it, or twist it to advance their own causes.  What initially was a praise-filled letter about Christ’s message turned into a call to defend something so precious.  He started with an encouraging message but was redirected to take on a tougher, more confrontational tone. His original words might have inspired.  But this word was meant to convict. Jude was ready to commit his pen to a gritty piece of literature for the glory of Christ and the advancement of the kingdom.

I just came across this John Piper quote. “My prayer for you is that your life and your ministry take on a radical flavor. A risk-taking flavor. A gutsy, counter-cultural, wartime flavor to make the average churchgoer uncomfortable ~ a strange mixture of tenderness ~ a pervasive summons to something hazardous and wonderful ~ a saltiness and brightness, something like the very message of Jesus.”

I just wrote this out and put it on a card.  It’s propped up on my desk.  I believe it coincides with some place God is taking me. It’s not yet defined.  But wherever it is, I will stand on the tenets of the faith ~ fueled by the power of the Holy Spirit.

I will follow You even when You call me to something so radical it is out of my comfort zone.  Amen

No one pours new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the skins burst and the wine is spilled out and the skins are destroyed.  Matthew 9:17

Don’t mix the old with the new.  That was the message Jesus wanted to convey in this passage. 

Wine, when poured into a wineskin, begins the aging process. As it ferments, the gases cause it to expand. A new wineskin will swell, and everything will be fine. However, when you pour new wine into an old wineskin, the wineskin has already stretched to its limit and may burst during fermentation. The skin can’t handle any new pressure. So, what is the allegorical meaning?

When Jesus arrived, people assumed that everything He was teaching (new wine) was to be added to their traditions (the old wineskin). But His message was clear that He came to change everything. They were instructed not to combine the old with the new.

Let me personalize it. If I’m a religious person and then encounter Jesus and am born again into God’s family, am I supposed to add Jesus to my previous religious practices? No way. I’ve been rescued from religion and all the trappings. 

When the Gospel brings with it a new paradigm, it turns my life upside down.  The old wineskin of past paradigms must be abandoned.  I called to turn away from anything associated with old religious archetypes. 

Old wineskins suffocate the dynamic Spirit of Christ. They can’t contain the fresh, transformative power that bursts forth from true faith.  Embracing new life in Christ invites us to seek vessels that blend reverence for our history but that nurtures a faith that expands and evolves.

If I have attached You to something that should be dead to me, show me.  Amen

For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39

Ever wonder where you belong?

Even in the best of homes, kids can feel lost.  Childhood sets them up to look for someone to invite them into a place of belonging.  Driven, and stretching out their arms indiscriminately, others own them and hurt them. 

And even in the best of churches, believers can feel lost. Dysfunctional congregational life sets them up to stay on the sidelines, wondering where they fit in. The only ones who enjoy community are the ones fortunate enough to be part of a clique.

Oh, there are no safe masters except Jesus. What is your marriage to Jesus like?  Your relationship began when you made the decision to enter into the kingdom through the door of Christ.  But perhaps you stepped inside and froze.  Afraid to trust.  Afraid to commit.  Afraid of intimacy.  Afraid of change.  Jesus is the patient bridegroom who waits for the timid with arms outstretched.  Steve Brown, of Key Life Ministries, said, “Many come to Jesus to get saved but don’t stay long enough to get loved.” Only those with a burning love for the God can endure the intensity of living in an increasingly godless age. This was the hallmark of the early Christians who went to their death singing.

First love is the only thing more powerful than the power of suffering – which is debilitating and turns people into cowards. The cords of love carry divine life.

Oh God, Your love is the greatest force in heaven, and on earth, and I know that nothing can quench it. Like a baby in a mother’s arms, I live securely. Amen