Entitled to what?

September 6, 2012

Maria Attitude, Fear, Joy, Romans , , 2 Comments

Entitlements are a hot potato in today’s political climate.  You want someone’s vote?  Promise that you will fight to increase what is their ‘due’.  But what sounds like a benefit is actually poisonous and harmful to one’s wellbeing.

The feeling of entitlement sets us up for:

  • Anger
  • Bitterness
  • Resentment
  • Anxiety
  • Fear

You can recognize the seed of entitlement within when you start to say, “I deserve…..”

Truthfully, there is only one thing we deserve:  DEATH!!!

God says, “The wages of sin are death.” (Romans 6:23)

Starting back in Eden’s paradise, sin required the death of someone.  When Adam & Eve turned from trusting in God, animals died:

Satan:  “You DESERVE unlimited access to all the trees in Eden. Is it fair that God should withhold from you that tree over there – the ‘Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil’?”

Adam & Eve:  “Hmm…no that ISN’T fair.  We deserve……”

**

Closer to our day, consider these common scenarios. Think of the feelings they might engender:

  • I deserved that promotion, not Joe!
  • When I get on the scale and I’ve deprived myself for a week, I should weigh……
  • My husband should know that I need adult conversation after 12 hours at home dealing with toddlers!
  • Who does that idiot driver think he is, cutting me off like that! He should know how to drive before he gets behind the wheel!
  • My time is valuable- Walmart should hire more clerks!
  • No one ever notices the work I do.  I try to make a difference here at the office.  But I never get any credit.  They don’t appreciate me at all!
  • After my long commute and the hours I put in at the office, I need some chill time to myself.  The kids ought to know better and leave me in peace.
  • He knows my hot buttons.  He shouldn’t have said that!
  • I deserve the A, not him!  I did my research the correct way, wrote a rough draft first before my final copy.  All Sam did was pull it out of the air during an all-nighter.  Why can’t our prof see that!!!

My friend and I are reading a book that is changing how I see my life.  It’s called  Calm My Anxious Heart – A Woman’s Guide to Finding Contentment

The author’s premise is that when we COMPLAIN or COMPARE or WONDER how the past might have been different or FANTASIZE about the future or DWELL on tomorrow – We are destroying our contentment.

I am actually beginning to catch my internal complaints.  I have come to realize that my normal sinful bent to be impatient is a form of complaining.  When someone is taking up MORE of my time than I want to give, I am actually saying, “This should not be happening!”

Not only does contentment evaporate like rain on a hot Tampa afternoon, I am actually lying.  Who says that THIS should NOT be happening?  Who says that I SHOULD have designer-life?   After all, I deserve death.

Let’s get honest, though.

The above examples are actually not the ones that try my soul.  It is my fears that pose a greater challenge.

  • When I start to fear the death of a loved one in a car accident…….
  • When I start to fear not being able to find another job teaching French…..
  • When I start to fear a family member never being saved by Christ…..

I think what I am really saying to God is this:

I have a vision of the future that I think is best.  I’m afraid that it is not going to work out the way I want because I know that I am not in control.  I actually NEED you, God, to make it like I want!

A more precise translation would be:  I should be guaranteed the exact unfolding of my vision of the future as it concerns me.

**

The antidote to my misplaced, misinformed sense of entitlement? – Repentance and trust in Jesus

This is why the Gospel has to be my life, every breath of the day.  Exhale-repent/ inhale-trust.  This is the only way to walk in Christ, to live by means of Christ, by means of His light, by means of His love.  When I detour off HIS path toward MY entitlements, the raucous WARNING-WARNING-WARNING of fear, anger, resentment, bitterness, impatience alerts me.

Once again, it’s back to:    Breathe out my sin – breathe in His Grace – feel His joy and presence.

Re-interpreting the Word

October 27, 2011

Maria Romans , Leave a comment

“And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us” Romans 5:5

Once upon a time there was a Christian woman who thought that she was unlike those liberals who dismiss parts of the Bible that don’t fit with their viewpoint or worldview.

She once dined with a lapsed Catholic who had stumbled over the Bible’s teaching on homosexuality.  This woman loyally defended a dear nephew who had come out about his sexuality.  Since the aunt knew what a kind and loving young man he was, she chose to reject the Bible’s clear precepts against any sex outside of covenant marriage between a man and a woman.

Contrary to this ‘confused former Catholic’, our Christian woman clearly thought that she did not suffer from that kind of buffet/ pick and choose mentality view of the Bible.

So it came as a shock when one day the Holy Spirit gently pointed out HER blind spot.  It turns out that she was guilty of the very same sin!

**

Here’s what happened.  See the above verse about God’s love having been poured out/ shed abroad/made to flow (ekcheo– in the Greek)?   For quite a while, I have dismissed this verse as not true, because it does not match my experience.  I don’t FEEL a lot of love in my heart.  So I have sought to re-interpret that verb to mean IS BEING POURED OUT.  That makes more sense to me.  Maybe I’ll feel more love later on as I grow in my faith.

But that is not what the verse says.  It presents this bestowal/ filling of love in my heart as a done deal, a completed action.  We learn from the passage that this divine love is given to us by the Holy Spirit. It does not take a leap of logic to figure out the timing of this ‘love gift’.  It must have been when we were regenerated, when we were given saving faith and then in turn responded to the light.

This past Sunday, it hit me that I had dismissed the verse entirely.  I had approached the verse with my pre-supposition (if it doesn’t fit my beliefs, experiences, it must not be true).  What a shock!!!  I didn’t think I was capable of that.

Thank you Holy Spirit for giving me MORE light, so I can see the devious plot of the Evil One.

**

Back to our ‘once upon a time’ gal:   Since that HS revelation, she is proceeding cautiously ahead, eyes open to other errors she has probably made in understanding scripture.  Here’s her new axiom:

“If my first reaction to God’s truth in the Bible is – THAT CAN’T BE!, then I should stop and humbly ask the HS to guide me in my understanding, confident that He will answer the genuine request for wisdom.”

Worth pondering:  How does this new fact that God has ALREADY filled my heart with His love, change how I look at others?

 

Rendez-vous in Canada

October 12, 2011

Maria Romans, Thankfulness, Trust, Uncategorized , 2 Comments

God graciously answered many prayers last week.  He is far more faithful to perform His word than I am in trusting His word.

On Thursday and Friday our family made our way to Toronto for Uncle Steve’s wedding.  Steve is my husband’s younger brother.  Turning 52 this month (October 2011) he finally graduated from bachelorhood and became one with Eve, my new Canadian sister-in-law.  As a married couple, they are no longer Eve & Stephen, but a new creation in Christ.  The adventure begins!

If you follow this blog you know how God has been teaching me about trials.  Paul challenges us to look at troubles and afflictions with gratitude instead of the way we humans normally respond.  He writes in Romans 5: 3-5(amplified translation),

“Moreover [let us also be full of joy now!] let us exult and triumph in our troubles and rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that pressure and affliction and hardship produce patient and unswerving endurance.    And endurance (fortitude) develops maturity of] character (approved faith and tried integrity). And character [of this sort] produces [the habit of] joyful and confident hope of eternal salvation.  Such hope never disappoints or deludes or shames us, for God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit Who has been given to us.

The Greek word for troubles or trials is ‘thlipsis’. The purpose of this pressure or distress is multifold.  Through problems and adverse circumstances, we come face to face with our helplessness and dependence on God.  He helps us SEE that He is enough as our resource and that HE alone is trustworthy and that in Christ we can do all things.   Learning experientially that God suffices is worth more than gold.  Unfortunately, the only way we ‘get this’ is by living out our inadequacy and being forced to depend on God. Probably like you,  I don’t relish problems.  I want to know that all things are working out according to my desires.

Last weekend, Air Canada chose to strike during the busy holiday weekend of Canadian Thanksgiving.  I ended up fretting more than trusting God.  Both of the travel days that our kids and grandkids were making their way to Toronto, I did NOT rest in the Lord.  I just wanted them to get there.  I personified ‘angst’.   I did not cling to bible truths and promises.  I complained to my heavenly Father.   But thanks be to God who blesses us with the gift of repentance and the reminder that in Christ there is no condemnation.  So multiple times those two days I asked for forgiveness and for help in trusting Him to work out the circumstances gone awry.

And our two young families eventually arrived.

The rest of the weekend was lovely.  The weather cooperated.  The little ones did well despite NO routine and missed naps.  We had time to hang out with family and catch up on lives.  And Eve & Stephen were happily united.  Here are some pictures.

The sin of fear and how to fight it

August 20, 2011

Maria Deuteronomy, Fear, Hebrews, Romans, Sin , , Leave a comment

A young Christian woman I met confided that she had recently lost a baby at 28 weeks and that was after 2 previous miscarriages.  She asked that I pray for God’s help in dealing with her persistent fear that she might lose other precious members of her family:  her 3 yr old daughter or her husband.  My heart lurched when I read her email.  What pain! Imagining what she might be going through made my heart sink.  I could well understand her fear, her drawing back and throwing herself in front of her husband and daughter as a brave ‘warrioress’, shouting:  “No further, Angel of Death!”

John Piper gave a talk at a recent Passion weekend to college students about why we should memorize scripture.  He reminded the audience that the Sword of the Spirit, i.e. God’s Word, is the ONLY offensive weapon we have.  He said that when we talk, announce, declare, shout out God’s promises which are ‘alive and full of power’ (Hebr 4:12) we wage active war against our sin.  And the first sin he mentioned was FEAR.

Fear and its cousin, anxiety, are ever-present enemies.  They are sins because they replace our trust in God.  John Piper who has battled depression and fear throughout his life has a useful acronym.  I shared it with the grieving mom and thought it would help all of us.  It is:  A-P-T-A-T

A – admit you have a need and are helpless, whether it is worry, lack of wisdom, money problems, ANYTHING that you can articulate. Spell out the problem.

P – pray and ask for help from God (remember that we have not because we ask not – James 4:20)

T – trust God that He will provide.  Pick a particular promise and make that your friend.  I googled ‘verses to fight fear’ and found a whole list. Here’s a good one from Deuteronomy 31:6   Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them (i.e. fearful, anxious thoughts); for the LORD your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.”   When the fear thought pops in to your mind, you can say, “No!! I will not fear.  I WILL be strong and courageous for God is my Lord; He is THE ONE who goes with me.  He will not leave me or forsake me….and…(you can add other truths like – He is Jehovah Sabaoth – Lord of the angel armies)

A – act and do what you have to do, counting on the Holy Spirit to be with you and provide what He has promised.  We have to move out despite the fear.

T – thank God for what He IS doing and has done to slay that sin.

And I would add an R.  APTAT and Re-APTAT…as in, when we succumb to the sin of fear, anxiety, lust, idolatry, self-centeredness (and the list goes on…) that we REPENT and start again.  Even if we have to use this tool multiple times a day, it doesn’t matter.  There is ‘NO (SHAME or) CONDEMNATION for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1).  It’s pure pride to give up and say, “That’s just the way I am, I am a worrier, I am a fearful person, I cannot overcome this sin of ______!”

Let’s put on our boxing gloves, and fight the good fight of faith, using the ONE weapon God has given us, His Holy Word.

If you want to hear the talk by John Piper on God’s word as a weapon and the power of memorizing scripture, here’s the link:

John Piper’s talk

 

Decisionmaking and God’s Will

August 15, 2011

Maria Romans, Trust, Uncategorized , , , 7 Comments

Talks from a conference on knowing God\’s will

You’ve probably heard of or read Kevin de Young’s book, Just Do Something.

You should read it.  It’s short and will change your mind about how to make a ‘godly’ decision.  Before I talk about it, I want to share 3 anecdotes from my own life that are probably fairly typical of how Christians act.

Before Mike and I were Christians, when we were just faithful church-attendees, we would make decisions pretty rapidly………. and then ask God to bless them.  Once we became Christians, we started on that journey of actually growing into those ‘new creations’ by being ‘transformed by the renewing’ of our minds via God’s Word.  But that was a slow process.  The very first Bible Study we ever attended was 23 years ago in Chipping Norton, England.  We had never consistently nor seriously examined God’s word.  At the time, we faced a major decision about Mike’s job and the financial stakes seemed very scary.  We prayed at length for guidance.  We eventually made a decision in the absence of FEELING God’s guiding hand.  I remember how for years after I would boast that though we had repeatedly asked God for a sign, He had never come through.  My boast had the kind of tone of ‘what’s wrong with God that He wouldn’t respond to such a sincere and Godly prayer!!!’

Fast forward to our older son Graham and a life decision he faced the spring of his freshman year.  Should he stay at his college or transfer to a famous music school?  His grandfather would have paid the difference, so money was no object.  It was the first serious decision he made as a new Christian.  I, frankly, was curious how God would answer that. To me it seemed that the stakes were high because Graham’s faith was nascent.  His technique was to try out each scenario in his mind’s eye and see how he felt.  As he flip-flopped his way through the days after receiving his acceptance, he finally got angry with God and gave him an ultimatum.  (I’m not sure WHAT he saidJ )  But the next day, he woke up FEELING Choice A – Stay and just left it alone, with some suspicion.  But the following day, the sense to go with Choice A had grown silently stronger.  So he opted to remain at his current college and turned down the music opportunity.  It was obviously the right choice, because he married his wife Shay, plugged into a church, launched a career and the rest is another story.

My last example had to do with leaving a teaching position.  I truly wanted to wait on the Lord and not do anything ‘out of His will’, so my intentions were A-OK.  And by this time, after 10 years of serious Bible study and growth, I truly had grown into the new creation that I was positionally.  But I did not know how God would let me know ‘His Will For My Life’.

When a senior colleague announced to me that ‘next year I would have to toe the line with her foreign language philosophy of teaching’ I knew instantly that I had received my sign from God, because what she was suggesting was 100 % unacceptable to me.  But when I told my Christian friends, two of them straight away assured me that the way to know if the decision was right was if one had a sense of peace.

Looking back at these three decisions, I realize that many Christians ( I don’t think I’m alone in this) look for

a)   A direct communication or sign from God

b)   And/or a feeling of peace

According to Kevin de Young and Dr. Garry Friesen, those are NOT biblical.  I have read Kevin’s book twice in the past 2 years, but recently I listened to the talks that are hyperlinked at the beginning of this blog post.  What they teach is VERY FREEING!

Their talks revealed to me that when we camp on our need for a sign, it really is a decoy for our lack of trust in God and our FEAR of making wrong decisions.  According to these pastors, decision-making is not rocket science for the Christian.  In summary here are the steps one should take:

a)   We should look at our heart’s desire and our talents & gifts.  What do we WANT to do?   It makes sense to start there.

b)   Make sure that what we propose does not violate the moral will of God (doesn’t go against His commands).  This involves more than just the Ten Commandments.  We have to study and meditate on what God says throughout the entire Bible.  Therefore, it makes sense that Paul counsels us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds.  This is NOT a quick step, but a life process.

c)    Where God does NOT prohibit, then we should enjoy the liberty He gives us and act responsibly.

d)   Make sure that the proposal is WISE and PRUDENT.  It is scriptural to pray and ask God for wisdom.  We should read the ‘wisdom’ books of the Bible.  We should ask godly mature Christians who know us for their advice.  What do they see in us?  Do they think what we are proposing is a good fit with our talents?

e)    We should pray, NOT for guidance, but to be godly and wise, courageous and honest when we take the next step TOWARD a decision.

f)     If we have a choice between two equally good courses of action, we need to ask ourselves this question:  Which one will make us love God and love others more?

g)    Finally, once we move out and make a decision, we are to continue to trust God that He will work all things together for our good (that is: our sanctification).  The grace will be sufficient for each future day.  Anxiety is living out the future before it gets here.

I was comforted to hear that problems and obstacles and lack of peace are NOT signs that we made the wrong decision.  That is part of life.  Dr. Friesen talked about expecting to make at least FIVE mistakes a day.  Whew!  What a freeing idea.  I realize that I expect perfect, problem-free days.  Talk about unrealistic pressure!

You’ll enjoy listening to the talks.  I downloaded them to my iPod, but you can listen on line just as well.

May God give you godly courage and a willingness to make some mistakes while you risk big, adventuresome and fun things for the glory of God!

Exploring the gifts of Grace

May 25, 2011

Maria Anxiety, Grace, Joy, Peace, Romans , , , , Leave a comment

You & I live our life in the “you must DO this and DO that” world in order to “be X, Y or Z.”  I get tired of ‘DO’ing, don’t you?  Whether it is at work or church or in relationships, it’s all exhausting and unceasing.

Christianity is different.  Christianity is the only religion that proclaims DONE, not DO!  What other religion has its God seek out his creation?  What other God died for his people?

Consider Romans 14:17, one of my new favorite verses:  For the Kingdom of God is not (religious rules governing) eating and drinking, but RIGHTEOUSNESS and PEACE and JOY in (by means of) the Holy Spirit.

This verse explains the essence of Christianity.  Living as a son or daughter in the Kingdom of God is not about following rules.  Instead it’s about treasuring what accrues to us as children of God.  By grace, (read: ‘a gift’) we are given:

  • Righteousness.  This is the Greek word ‘dika-ios-oo-nay’ (phonetic – # G1343).  It means that since we have been justified by God, we have right standing with our judge, God the Father.  When we become a Christian, we are made a new creation; we are united with Christ. The most eternally significant benefit is that our sins have been transferred over to Christ and paid for, so justice is done.  And we also have had transmitted to us Christ’s perfect life, as a credit.

Righteousness that belongs to someone else (but given to us) is not just a New Testament concept.  Consider Jeremiah 23:6. God is called Jehovah Tsedeq – the Lord our Righteousness.  We are not told to seek our own righteousness; we already have his if we belong to Him.

What follows from being ‘right’ with God?  Peace!  Remember Paul’s opening in Romans 5?  “Since we have been justified….let us grasp the fact that we have PEACE with God..”

  • Peace.  This is the Greek word, ‘ei-re-ne’ (#G1515).  Irene is the lovely name derived from this concept.  Here’s how the Blue Letter Bible website describes this peace, “the tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and content with its earthly lot, of whatsoever sort that is.”  If we have peace with God, we can reason from the greater to the lesser.  That is, if God has taken care of our biggest and eternal problem, we can rest assured that He will work temporary peace in our earthly relations to the extent that we trust Him and yield to His will.

Finally, the 2nd benefit of being made ‘right’ with God through what Jesus has done for us, is JOY by means of the Holy Spirit.

  • Joy.  ‘Chara’ is the Greek word (# G5479) The world attempts to sell us temporary happiness based on obtaining  ‘stuff’, ‘achievements’ or ‘experiences’.  But happiness is fleeting.  What we are starved for is permanent Joy.  We are wired for Joy; that is why happiness seems so desirable.  But happiness is the cheap version of joy.  Think about what a great God we have.  He desires our joy.  He could have said, “the Kingdom of God is about RULES or PLEASING ME or BEING BEST in the Kingdom or SACRIFICE or any other depressing version of DO THIS IN ORDER TO”.  But God wants our true joy.  When our answers to prayer result in NO and our happiness seems threatened, let us remember that our Heavenly Father desires something far better than what we can ask or imagine.

The last few words of our verse, “…in the Holy Spirit”, are important.  We need to remember that we cannot go after righteousness, peace & joy in our own strength.  But the good news assures us that if we are born-again believers, we have had our nature changed.  Our essence is different, we are united to Christ.  This change is passive in the sense that we do NOT do anything actively to bring it about.  We receive NEWS of what God himself has done.  If we respond to this news by executing an about-face and trust (‘receive’) what He says, then this new nature is ours. What follows is the family right to have fullness of peace and joy.

A caveat as I end: the joy and peace that are available to us, given both our right standing with God and our new nature IN Christ, won’t come to our awareness automatically.  We have to RE-CALL them frequently. We have to remind ourselves of our RIGHTS, our current inheritance.  But what a small effort for such a marvelous gift!  Each time we succumb to anxiety or internal churn, we can repent (think of the military command to make an About Face) and return our thoughts to the truth of who we are, whose we are and what belongs to us as beloved children of God.

Are you a member of the ‘ Pure Joy Club’?

May 10, 2011

Maria James, Joy, Romans , Leave a comment

What do disappointments, setbacks, problems, disasters and overall trouble have in common?  God sovereignly uses them ALL to conform us to the image of our brother and savior Jesus Christ.  Knowing that the apostle James exhorts us to count all these trials as ‘pure joy’, I invite you to embrace your status and learn with me as members of the Pure Joy Club.

  • Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.  James 1:2-4
  • …. We also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.  Romans 5: 3-4

Recently my dear husband had a disappointing setback, and this added to an on-going unpleasant situation.  On top of that, he came down with a case of impacted sinuses that he can’t shake.  It’s enough to make one not want to get out of bed some mornings!

But even though it is totally normal and legitimate to mourn frustrating and painful turn of events, Christians have to look to God’s Word to draw correct conclusions and know how to live.  Therefore, Mike and I are in the midst of encouraging one another with several truths that pertain to his situation.  He would be the first to admit that this is hard.  That’s why Christian community and prayer support from friends and family who know their Bible really helps.

Our pastor’s sermon Sunday was helpful.  He stressed that NOTHING is out of God’s control and that whatever happens IS the will of God.  The disciples were sad and bewildered to hear Jesus talk about his imminent departure.  But he encouraged their confidence by reassuring them that since He knew what was going to happen, they could trust him and ‘rest’.  Strengthening their faith, Jesus explained, “I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe” John 14:29

Relying on the fact that our Father not only knows but sovereignly controls what happens in our life is hugely reassuring. Other advice can also help us develop a right perspective.  For example, John Piper exhorts, “Don’t waste your cancer”!  By this he means that we can learn from our suffering and grow from the shocking jolt of tragedies.  As one of my colleagues quipped this morning,  “Our ‘crap’ makes good ‘compost’ for growing some very lush & hardy plants later on down the road.”

Tullian Tchividjian (pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church) suggests another use for our trials:

“In the crucible of pain, you discover what you really worship.  How is your present trial, suffering, disappointment a window on what has captured your heart?  What do you use to invest your life with meaning?  What you build your life on is your idol.”

Finally, remember we are not alone.  The spirit world watches how we react to life’s trials.  Remember Job?  When God boasted of him, Satan suggested that it was only for the ‘goodies’ from God that Job worshipped Him.  The demons certainly watched closely how Job reacted.  Would he curse God and die as ‘Mrs. Job’ bitingly suggested?  And don’t you think all the members of Job’s community watched him as well?  Our suffering is always more than just about us.  Much is a stake.  We can make it holy, if we offer up our suffering to God as a sacrifice.  Most assuredly this is impossible in our own strength. But we can count on Christ to bear this burden with us.  To God be all the glory!

« ..No Condemnation.. » The Best Two Words in the Bible

April 28, 2011

Maria Romans , , , Leave a comment

A speaker at chapel the other day mentioned that his favorite two words in scripture were, “But God..”   Compelling indeed, these two words introduce hope into a situation where none is by nature.

I now offer you my favorite words in the Bible.  If you want hope plus something else, think about Paul’s startling announcement: “No condemnation!”  Paul reinforces and explains this comforting fact in his letter to the Romans. He describes the freedom belonging to those who have been transferred from the world where Death dominates to the world of Everlasting Life.

Do you remember Venn Diagrams from Geometry Class? They can provide a visual representation of these two worlds.   Everyone born to human parents is born into the Kingdom of Darkness, one of the two Venn circles.  Growing up and living in this ‘Death Camp’, one is under God’s justifiable wrath for her inherited God-hostility (thanks Father Adam!)  No hope there!

But God (okay – these 2 words ARE pretty cool!) can transfer us OUT of the Kingdom of Darkness into the other Venn diagram – the Kingdom of Light, the Kingdom of the Son.  It’s a legal transfer – a one-way, one-time, permanent judicial action.  Why judicial?  Because our guilty charge has been dealt with.  Our name has been cleared, thanks to Christ who has assumed onto himself our guilt.  There’s NO LONGER any guilty sentence tied to us.

Since we have a new status, there is no longer any condemnation.

Here are a couple glorious implications –

1)    If I do something wrong, hurtful, embarrassing, sinful, I can remember that Jesus has already paid for this. What else do I need to do?  Repent and make restitution as necessary.  But under NO circumstances should I indulge in self-condemnation.

2)    I have perfect access to God as Father since I have been freed from any condemnation.  I have Jesus as my big-brother advocate.  And I have the presence of the Holy Spirit within in me.  Besides all the ‘stuff’ the Trinity does for me as an adopted child in the Kingdom of Light, as one who is freed from condemnation, I have fellowship with the Trinity and with other believers.  Don’t you long for genuine community?

I find myself recalling multiple times throughout the day, ‘no condemnation, Maria’.  I need that truth check because the world is pretty hostile.

But since the other night, I have paired that two-word fact with another equally powerful reminder.  This thought comes courtesy of Jonathan Edwards who was quoted in a book about puritan prayers.  He described the Holy Spirit as the ‘choicest of gifts’.  What an uplifting way of looking at the 3rd member of the Trinity!!   If we are IN CHRIST, in the Camp of Christ, in the Venn Diagram of Life, in the Kingdom of Light, in the Kingdom of the Son whom God loves, then we already have the ‘choicest of gifts’.  We have the Holy Spirit who permanently lives in us, directing and encouraging and helping us with God’s resurrection power, God’s universe-creating force, wisdom and love.

What gifts!  What a God!

Grace Redux

April 12, 2011

Maria Grace, Isaiah, Philippians, Romans , Leave a comment

I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.  Phil 4:13

I have finally awakened to the PRESENCE of supernatural GRACE (“charis – # 5485”) in the new Maria.  What new Maria?  I’m referring to the new creature that I became when I was born again.  God’s Holy Spirit was deposited in me at that moment when I passed from death to life.  I am now a daughter of God the Father and equipped with a new nature and new rights.  As His child, He deposited faith in me and gave me access to all the grace needed to obey His will.  And if the HS was powerful enough to raise a dead Jesus to life, He can do anything in me that is His will.

Newly aware of the GRACE that is rightfully mine (according to the inheritance stipulations), I am sorting out logical implications.

What is this logic?  If God saved us by GRACE, can’t we now expect God to continue to provide us with GRACE to live faithfully day by day?  Why would we, once we began the life of faith, then revert back to living our lives powered by our own strength, skill, talent & knowledge?

To be honest, you & I probably were unaware that GRACE saved us, that it was not something we did ourselves.  (It might FEEL like we made a decision to follow Christ, but that only was possible once God made us alive in Him.  Dead men don’t choose God and we were born dead.)   A moment in time changed our status and destination forever.

And since that time, we are growing into mature Christians.  (If we are not growing, maybe we haven’t been born again!).  We are learning from Scriptures how we were saved by GRACE, through faith deposited in us by God.  Once aware of this GRACE as redeemed sinners in the process of being renovated, we have time to savor, to muse about this GRACE.

Understanding GRACE is important. Remember the silly Galatians?  Paul saves his harshest words for them.  He point blank asks them whether they intend to walk with God, powered by their own strength or in total dependence on God’s strength.   This is not a trifling point of doctrine.  Paul did not call them silly, but sinful.

The Bible is very clear that anything we do on our own, not relying on God through faith is sinful, disobedient and repugnant to God.  He calls all such works filthy, no matter how ‘good’ in the eyes of the world. (Isaiah 64:6)  In Romans 8, Paul calls deeds done on our own, ‘deeds done in the flesh’.  And what is done in the flesh God calls a hostile deed, leading to death and by definition SIN.  Further in Romans, Paul wraps up God’s view this way: “…. and everything that does not come from faith is sin?” (Romans 14:23b).  ‘Coming from faith’ means ‘done by/ powered by faith’

In conclusion, EVERYTHING we do in our own strength without relying on God’s supernatural, Holy Spirit is not even worth doing.  This morning I heard a pastor pray, “Lord, I have so little time left in my life at age 57 that I don’t want to waste my life doing anything that requires no faith”.  Francis Chan asks his readers in Crazy Love, something like, “What are you doing in your life that requires any faith?”

As we seek to avoid the sin of assuming we can do ANYTHING pleasing to God powered by human strength, let us not forget all we will be able to do in obedience to God IN/ BY/ THROUGH Christ.  This is reassuring and freeing.  We are like little one-year-olds, learning to walk.  Picture a daddy, holding on to both raised hands of his little one, ‘walking’ his precious child.  The child is being held up by his dad as his little feet move.  But Dad and all the family applaud warmly and with resounding ‘bravos’ as the soon-to-be toddler takes his first assisted steps.  This is how God wants us to be.  He gives us all the help we need to do His will and then praises us for depending totally on Him.  What a deal!

What’s the catch?  It feels costly, since it deprives our most precious sin of any food.  We can no longer boast that our deeds were due to us!  But, in both the long and short run, this is a small price to pay to please our heavenly father.

Seeing is not believing…… or the need to renovate your mind.

March 15, 2011

Maria Renewing, Romans, Zechariah , , 2 Comments

Ps 63:2   I have contemplated you with pleasure in the sanctuary IN ORDER to see your power and glory.

If ‘seeing were believing’, then all those who witnessed Jesus’ miracles would have become followers.  And no one would have crucified Jesus, because they would have all believed Jesus.

Actually the above conclusion is false. Observing actions or hearing words does not necessarily cause new knowledge. Faith must be mixed in with raw data.  Some bystanders in 33 AD were powerless to arrive at truth even with eyes wide open. Then there is the category, one far worse, in which people are blinded by a motive hostile to truth.  Into this group fell some Romans, some Jews and most of the Jewish leadership.  These people could actually see and believe that Jesus was who he says he was.  Yet they were not believers.   This should not surprise us.  After all, even the demons believe that Jesus is the son of God.  When a person unequivocally acknowledges the truth of Christianity, he has gotten as far as Satan!  A crucial successive step requires a grateful reliance on this truth.

Yet, no one is off the hook for their lack of saving faith. Everyone SEES evidence for God, even if they don’t draw the right conclusions.   Paul, as well as the psalmists, tells us that.  Natural theology connects the many signs, the major clues all around us in nature, to the existence of God.  But what Christ has done for us, however, cannot be deduced from the natural world.  For that we need the spirit-empowered Gospel preached to us.  We need the ‘grammar’ or facts of this news but packaged in a way by the Holy Spirit that pierces our cold hearts to awaken us.  Once we are awakened and with new baby spiritual eyes we actually see Jesus’ rescue plan for us, the news becomes glorious.  The saving step of sinking into this truth, of grabbing hold of the rescue line thrown to us is a ‘no-brainer’ at this point.

But, this kind of seeing doesn’t end with the new birth.  Every day, we must follow Paul’s exhortation to renovate or renew our minds and thus strengthen our transformation from dead worldling to living child of God.   The verb ‘renew’ sounds like extending one’s subscription to a news magazine or paying for another year of a Barnes & Noble membership.  That’s why I like the translation ‘renovate’ for the Greek word – anakainōsis  ….be transformed by the renovating of your mind. # 342 (Romans 12:2)

It’s the same word in Titus 3:5 – “He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal (making new, renovation of our whole self )of the Holy Spirit.

God has transplanted us OUT of the Kingdom of Darkness (Col 1:13) and into the Kingdom (or Garden) of Light and set us growing in new dirt. He is the master gardener and we need to feed on Holy Spirit Sap (no disrespect intended).  Here is how we can do this, daily. ‘ “Not by might, nor by (our own) power, but by my spirit” says  the Lord’ Zechariah 4:6

Think of a sunflower.  It lifts its yellow blooming head toward the power source and grows strong, exulting in the glorious rays.  So too we must look to Jesus, to gain (in)sight and thus power.   Then we can be like the psalmist who returns to God often to align his priorities with Truth and be infused with inner strength not his own.  This is the first and constant work of being a believer.

 

 

 

 

 

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