Consistency

This post is a tribute to my amazing wife.  If you have met her, you know exactly what I'm talking about.  If you haven't, well...let's just say you are really missing out.  She's awesome. For real.


Last night we were talking about a lot of things, life choices and parenting being the top two.  (*News flash: parenting = the hardest and most rewarding thing we've ever done)


As we talked, this idea of consistency kept coming up.  Whether it's how consistently you live your life and make your choices or how consistently you stick to the boundaries that you've set for your children, it seems like everything in life comes down to how consistent you are.


For me, it has been especially apparent in the Old Testament as I have read about how the Israelites were to consistently live up to the standard of the law.  In parenting, we've seen time and again how consistency (or lack thereof) can make or break a child.  In life, people watch you whether you know it or not and they see plain as day whether you live life consistently or hypocritically.


The problem, however, comes in the fact that we are sinful human beings.  We can try our whole lives to be consistent, to live up to the standard that God has called us to, and we will always fail.  The Bible is clear - "all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God."  Our strength is never going to be enough because we were sinful from the moment of our birth.


Back to the discussion from last night.  The feelings of difficulty in living this life can get overwhelming if you think too much about it, maybe even to the point of despair.


"I try to be consistent but keep failing - so, why bother?!"


Ever felt that way?  I know I have.


Back to my wonderful bride.  I woke up this morning to a note.  Handwritten.  From her :)

"My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."  Psalm 73:26

Thank you, Beth (and the psalmist), for the reminder that if we are in Christ it is not our strength by which we live, but Christ's in us.  It is not our works by which we're made righteous, it is Christ's work in us.


It's true.  We can never be consistent in and of ourselves.


BUT, Christ in us?  He is our strength and our portion forever!  He is our righteousness.  He is our consistency.


Live today in gratitude and praise to God that we can be consistent - through Christ.

A Heart Issue

Let me just preface today's entry by saying that I have discovered a new love for the Old Testament.  Ever since I started reading through the whole Bible this year, I've grown to look forward to reading each passage from the Old Testament.  For me, it's because every page points forward to the Savior, every passage speaks of the hope we have in Christ.  It's a beautiful picture of what God has had in mind for us all along.


There I go rambling...


Deuteronomy 9 and 10 were part of my reading this morning and they spoke volumes.  Here's my favorite verse, from chapter 10 verse 16:

"Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stubborn."

It's a graphic picture, I know, but I think Moses got it exactly right.  He perfectly captures a striking truth for me today.  The CEV says, "Remember your agreement with the Lord..."  Moses knew that his audience would understand exactly what he meant when he used the word 'circumcise.'  They would immediately think back to God's arrangement with Abraham.  They would be instantly reminded of the physical representation of covenant relationship with God.


The great thing is that while we don't physically signify our covenant with God, this still continues to hold true today.  Set apart your heart to be in covenant relationship with the Lord.  But, how do we do that?  Verse 12 gives some pointers:

"And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways, to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commands and statutes of the Lord, which I am commanding you today for your good?"

This passage reminds me of Micah 6:8 quite a bit, but regardless it's a calling to live a life set apart.  Fear the Lord.  Walk in His ways.  Love Him.  Serve Him.  Keep His commands.


Is it going to be easy to do?  Not by any stretch of the imagination.  Just like the real procedure has pain associated with it, for God to do a circumcision work in your heart will be painful.  We all have sin that we have to confront and deal with and God will have to cut it out of our lives through His redeeming work.  Don't forget the end of this verse, though.  "...for your good."  This whole process is for our good, for our benefit.  Ultimately, it's for the glory of God the Father.  As painful as it may be, in the end it's worth it all.


So, the take away is this:


Quit being stubborn.  We have a heart issue that needs to be taken care of.

Jamais Forget

This morning as I progressed in reading through the Bible in a year, the passages (Deuteronomy 5 and 6) continued to reflect a theme I've been noticing throughout the Old Testament, especially the past few mornings of readings.

"You shall teach them diligently to your children..." Deut. 6:7

Teaching.  Passing down.  Leaving a legacy.

The Old Testament is full of references for being sure not to forget the lessons of the past, of passing down these lessons to our children and our children's children, and of obeying the commands of the Lord.  

"then take care lest you forget the Lord..." Deut. 6:12

I don't want to forget any lesson the Lord teaches me.  I don't want my children to grow up and not know about the impact the Lord has had on my life.  I want to leave a legacy of faith for my family to cherish.


It's interesting to me that Moses, who wrote this book, was so insistent about not forgetting 
the Lord.  Hebrews 11 (the faith chapter) devotes 7 verses to the faith of Moses and credits Moses with "choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin" and says that he "considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt."  Moses taught his children never to forget, they taught their children, and so on.  Eventually Moses' faith became his legacy - remembering the Lord and teaching God's truths to our children.


Our eyes are to be set on the Lord and our hearts are to be seeking Him.  One of the easiest ways to do that, to set our eyes and focus our hearts, is to tell future generations about the works the Lord has done, about the favor He has shown, about the grace and mercy He has so generously poured out on us - and to bring glory to His name in doing so.  Just as it is a lesson to the younger generations, so also is it a reminder for ourselves of just how faithful the Lord has been.


I met a new friend and brother in Christ last week in Paris named is Amir.  As the week ended and we were saying our goodbyes he told me, "Jamais forget" (jamais is French for 'never').  Amir's mixture of French and English has even more meaning to me now.  He meant for me to never forget our trip to Paris, to never forget the work that is being done or the people that we met or the souls that still need saving.


But it's bigger than that.


Never forget the Lord or His works.  Never forget the great sacrifice that's been paid for your sins.  Never forget to share these truths with your children and your children's children.


Jamais forget.

Suffer

According to dictionary.com, there are four definitions of the word suffer.  All have to do with loss, distress, pain, disadvantage, disability, or death.  There is one thing missing from each definition, though - Christ.  None of the definitions have anything to do with the life of a believer and what we are guaranteed to go through because of our faith in the Savior who has called us to Him.


I've been reading through 1 Peter the last five days.  The theme of the whole book is suffering and rejoicing in the suffering that we go through.  He views suffering as a good thing:

"If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the spirit of glory and of God rests upon you." 1 Peter 4:14

A great friend, Wesley, and I meet on Friday mornings and part of our discussion yesterday had to do with putting together a working definition of Christian suffering.

"The patient and willing endurance of pain, loss, disadvantage, distress, and even death because of Christ."

There is a lot that can be said about the suffering of the believer.  I'm sure there are books and books on the subject.  The most convicting part of my thinking about suffering, particularly the fact that my faith in Christ guarantees my suffering, is:


Do I truly suffer for the name of Christ?


If I do, then there is nothing more to be said.  My suffering is proof enough of the genuineness of my faith.  But if I do not...then the question that will forever haunt me is...


Why not?