Free To Be Me

I was finishing up Judges the other day, and the last verse of chapter 21 not only stood out to me - it struck me as a good theme for entirety of the book.

"In those days, there was no king in Israel.  Everyone did what was right in his own eyes."  Judges 21:25

If you aren't familiar with Judges, the short version is this:  the Israelites would do evil in the sight of the Lord, they were then taken captive or invaded by the enemy, then they cried out to God for deliverance, then a judge came and helped them out, then they had peace for a while, and then the process was repeated all over again.  The first time you read a cycle you kind of feel for the Israelites a little bit.  The sixth time through, not only is it redundant, but you're almost screaming at the page - "Why don't you get it already?!"  The Israelites can be pretty dense at times.


The reason this particular verse stood out to me, I think, is because I started wondering how many times that would be said about my own life.  How often, were there a book of Jacob, would there be a verse that said, "And Jacob did what was right in his own eyes."  It scares me, really.  Every day, probably every hour and minute, I do what I want, when I want to do it.  And the way I choose isn't always the way God expects from a follower of His.


I am realizing more and more that while I laugh to myself at how silly and dense the Israelites were at times, I can be just as silly and dense - if not more so.  Lessons like these are hard to learn because they strike at the core of the issue, my pride.  In order to truly work on being more like Christ in this area, I must first swallow my pride and admit my fault.  It is also lessons like these that make me glad for verses like Romans 8:29: 

"For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers." (emphasis added)

God is daily working to conform me to the image of his Son.  It is a work in progress and I am not nearly there.   It is a long road to travel toward Christ's completed work of sanctification in our lives, but the good news is that we are in it together as brothers and sisters in Christ.

So, if you catch me being like the Israelites, you have my complete permission to give me a gentle reproach - in the form of an all-out head-knocking, if necessary...

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?

Blood

I'm starting to get a glimpse of how the Jews might feel about the Old Testament sacrificial system.


Burdened. Overwhelmed. Hopeless. Lost.


My Bible reading plan for 2011 involves reading through the whole Bible.  Part of that includes the book of Leviticus - which I've been avoiding (most likely subconsciously) due to its content.  I mean, who wants to read rules we don't even follow anymore?  Right?


I have to be honest, though, reading through the book of Leviticus so far has been a very eye-opening experience.  I think I came across the whole point of Leviticus in today's reading.  Chapter 11, verse 45.  "You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy."


My thoughts are all jumbled when it comes to the subject of Leviticus because I'm still new to the concept of ritual sacrifice.  I'm still processing all that Leviticus means to me and how it affects my faith and my relationship with God.  In words, the idea that keeps coming to mind and weighing on my heart is "burden."  I mean, I read through the first 7 chapters and literally got up from each reading feeling heavy.  I felt weighed down and burdened by the amount of blood that had to be shed just for the atonement of the priest, not to mention all the Jews who also had to sacrifice for their sins.  I started to think about my own life, my own sins, and what I would have to sacrifice were I living during that time.  How much blood would I have to offer for myself and my family?  It's too much!  How can anyone live under that burden?  How can anyone exist knowing that what you offer will never be enough, will never satisfy the burden of sin that is on your life and can never be fully atoned for?  It's just too much!


"You shall be holy therefore, for I am holy."


And yet God's standard is the same.  For all of us.  Be holy.


You might recognize Romans 3:23, "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God"


It's a verse that makes it clear - none of us has met the standard God has set for us.  None of us are perfect.


Maybe less recognized, but all the more important, are verses 24 and 25:

"and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood..."

If there is one thing I come away from reading Leviticus with, it's an even greater appreciation for my salvation.  Christ, a perfectly sinless man, died a cruel death on a Roman cross, so that through the shedding of His blood, we who are sinners - who have no hope and would otherwise be "dead in our trespasses" - can be justified and redeemed.  In light of that, how can we do anything but praise Jesus for His sacrifice and tell others about this incredible gift we've received?


"O, praise the One who paid my debt and raised this life up from the dead!"

Trust and Obey

Obedience.


This theme keeps coming up in my life lately - through conversations, sermons, experiences - so I think the best thing I can do is write it down.  It's a guaranteed way for me to remember it.


Sunday night in small group we were talking about Romans 12:1-2 and the topic came up.  "...present your bodies as a living sacrifice..."  "...be transformed by the renewal of your mind..."  To do these things requires obedience.


Every time Isabella does something (whether it's doing what we asked her not to do or not doing something that we asked her to do), we talk to her about obedience.  For right now, it goes something like this:  "Isabella, you need to listen and obey."


In church we've been talking about Abraham's life, the most recent installment being where he is commanded by God to sacrifice Isaac as a burnt offering.  What does the Bible say that Abraham did?  "So Abraham rose early in the morning..."  He obeyed.


It's an interesting thing, this obedience.  I looked up the definition of the word and the dictionary says that to obey means "to submit or conform in action to."  I guess technically that is a correct description of obedience.  However, growing up I learned a different definition.  My parents always described obedience something like this:

"Jacob, when we ask you to do something we want you to do it right away and with the right attitude." 

You see, as a child growing up in my parents house, obedience was much more than just "doing what you're told to do."  Did you catch emphasis in my definition?  Right away.  Right attitude.


Right away - the task is to be done at that very moment, no questions asked.
Right attitude - the task is to be done without grumbling, complaining, pouting, etc.


It adds a whole new element to obedience, doesn't it?  Yeah, I didn't really like it much either.  But here's the thing, the point I'm trying to get at.  God expects the same from us.  God wants us to obey Him with that same frame of mind.  Right away.  Right attitude.


Look at Abraham's example.  He "rose early in the morning" to go kill his only son - simply because God commanded it to be done.
Or what about Jesus' example?  He willingly went to his death, on the most brutal form of punishment known at the time, because God commanded it to be so.


I know sometimes we have questions about what God is doing and why He's doing it.  I have them all the time.  I don't think God gets mad at us when we question Him either (within certain boundaries, check out Moses' run-in with that).  It's important to remember though, that we can't see everything that God sees.  Think about it this way (Thank you, Dad, for this example - it's stuck with me all these years):


You are out in the front yard tossing a football with a friend and one of you clumsily drops it.  The ball rolls ever so conveniently out of the yard and into the street.  Of course, not wanting to miss a single second of this riveting game of catch, you immediately dash toward the street to retrieve the ball.  From the front porch you hear your Dad (who has spied a car coming entirely too fast down the street in your direction) yell, "STOP!!!"  At this point you can do one of two things: you can either continue on your way and get the ball or you can listen to your Dad and stop.  Which do you do?


For us, the third party observer, the choice is simple.  Stop.  Listen.  Obey.  Easy choice, Jacob, why ask?


Think back to the time when that was you, though.  Obviously if you continue in your path, you will be struck by a car and potentially killed because of your disobedience.  Your Dad doesn't have time to explain all the details of what he sees.  He barely has time to get the words out that save your life.  If you wait until you have all the explanation, it's too late.  If you wait until it all makes sense to you, it's too late.  The same is true with obedience to God.


It may not be necessary for you to know the "why" behind God's plan for you.  It may not be possible for you to understand every detail of what God has commanded you to do.  All we know is that we must trust that God knows what He's doing and obey Him.


Regardless of how we feel about it.

Full

For almost a week now I've been reading through the book of Acts (continuing the L3 Journal Bible reading plan that my church provides) and I've been struck over and over by the example of the early Church.  Their effectiveness, boldness, faith, passion - basically, everything they did - is exciting to read about!


Even more than exciting, it's convicting to read as well.  Seriously.  When's the last time you saw a miracle?  Not that they don't happen - I believe they still do - but it's not an every day occurrence like seems to be the case in Acts.  So while the passionate, Bible-believing, Gospel-preaching side of me loves to read the book of Acts, at the same time my complacent, comfortable-where-I-am, safety-seeking side doesn't like to read it at all.  Conflict of interests...


Stephen is the man I encountered in today's reading.  If there was ever a person to make me feel convicted about how I currently live my life, it's Stephen.  He was "full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people."  He was called to the synagogue for a little argument and "they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking."  Talk about a man who is on fire for Christ!  He so frustrated the Hellenistic Jews who confronted him that they had to call in people to give false testimony about him just so that they could have something to hold against him.  As sad as it makes me to see people so against this man, it is absolutely an example worth living up to.  I  hope all believers today come to the point where they would be a modern day Stephen in the face of persecution.


One thing I noticed about Stephen that I just had to write down (before I forget!) - he is described as "full of grace and power."  Not "half full".  Not "half empty".  Not "a few little drops at the bottom of the cup that's mostly backwash anyway".  FULL.  As in, "if you touch this cup water is spilling out" full.  If I were writing the book of Acts, this is how I would have phrased it:

"Stephen was so full of the grace of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit that there was no room left inside of him for petty personal preferences or selfish ambitions or any desires that might take him away from the work that the Lord had for him to do here on this earth."

It took me reading this passage a couple of times before I got it, but once I did...well, let's just say I have a lot of work to do.  Let me rephrase, God has a lot of work left to do in me.  There's no way I can do this on my own.  There's no way I can fill myself with the power of God to the point of overflowing.  That's a work only He can do.  But it's a work that I desperately need Him to do.


Father, fill me up.  To overflowing.  Fill up the Church.  Help us spill out all over the world so that people will know and worship the name of Christ.

Quadragesima

Lent is coming soon and, while I'm not a typical observer of the tradition, I love the idea of giving up something in order to spend the forty days before Easter in prayer, anticipating Easter Sunday when we remember and celebrate Christ's death on the cross and resurrection from the grave.


To me, it's a chance to sacrifice (albeit temporarily) something I spend time doing and to spend that extra time remembering the permanent and ultimate sacrifice Jesus made on the cross.  A worthy endeavor, to say the least.


For some reason, it's a little over a month before that time is supposed to begin and I'm already thinking about Lent and what I want to give up during those 40 days.  I'm selfish, to be honest, and I want so badly to say "Look what I gave up!  Isn't that such a sacrifice?" (*pats self on back)  The problem is, that's not the attitude Christ had while here on earth and it's not the point of Lent.  I think that maybe God is trying to teach me that His plan is so much bigger than myself and that the world doesn't revolve around me.


So, I suppose I'm just posting this as a reminder not to forget the true meaning behind Lent and the posture of humility that Christ had during His time here on earth.  I know it seems like a long time from now, but wouldn't it be awesome if we were already in the right mindset before Lent and Easter get here?  Wouldn't it be awesome if we were praying and lifting that time up to the Lord, that He would be magnified during that time, that His name would be heard across the world as believers celebrate the single, perfect death that made eternal life a possibility?

Forever Reign

I keep hearing this song at church and it resonates in my heart every time.  For my first post of 2011, a new year and new decade, I'm just typing out the lyrics.  They make me re-evaluate so many things about my walk with the Lord and I hope that they also move you to action.  Read through them, ask some questions yourself.


Is God really your goodness and your love?  Your light and hope?  Your peace and truth?  Your joy and life?


Would you truly walk away from the wealth and material things of this world just for the love and light of God to reign in your life?

You are good, You are good

When there's nothing good in me

You are love, You are love

On display for all to see

You are light, You are light

When the darkness closes in

You are hope, You are hope

You have covered all my sin

You are peace, You are peace

When my fear is crippling

You are true, You are true

Even in my wandering

You are joy, You are joy

You're the reason that I sing

You are life, You are life

In You death has lost its sting

Oh, I'm running to Your arms, I'm running to Your arms

The riches of Your love will always be enough

Nothing compares to Your embrace

Light of the world forever reign

You are more, You are more

Than my words will ever say

You are Lord, You are Lord

All creation will proclaim

You are here, You are here

In Your presence I'm made whole

You are God, You are God

Of all else I'm letting go

Oh, I'm running to Your arms, I'm running to Your arms

The riches of Your love will always be enough

Nothing compares to Your embrace

Light of the world forever reign

I'm running to Your arms, I'm running to Your arms

The riches of Your love will always be enough

Nothing compares to Your embrace

Light of the world forever reign

My heart will sing no other name

Jesus, Jesus

My heart will sing no other name

Jesus, Jesus

My heart will sing no other name

Jesus, Jesus

My heart will sing no other name

Jesus, Jesus

Oh, I'm running to Your arms, I'm running to Your arms

The riches of Your love will always be enough

Nothing compares to Your embrace

Light of the world forever reign

I'm running to Your arms, I'm running to Your arms

The riches of Your love will always be enough

Nothing compares to Your embrace

Light of the world forever reign

My heart will sing no other name

Jesus, Jesus

My heart will sing no other name

Jesus, Jesus