"I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted."--Job 42:2
Onions need to be cooked at a low temperature, because if you get your skillet too hot, you're going to burn the butter and blacken the onions. You will end up with a sizzling mess.
But I have a bad habit when it comes to cooking onions. Impatience, twenty-first-century addiction to instant gratification, and simple hunger kick in. I end up turning the temperature high because I want my onions to cook faster. As a result, instead of perfectly tender onion strips, I end up with pieces that are black on one side and raw on the other. This makes for a meal that is ready faster but is not nearly as appetizing as one that is timed properly.
Just like I have a hunger for dinner, I have a strong hunger for full-time ministry. (This blog is going to speak to those of you who have the same desire.) I want the bing bang boom of the Christian life: moving to a third-world country, adopting some orphans, picking out people's lice, praying for the sick, casting out demons--everything. I have a wild imagination. I want to do the stuff that other people say I'm crazy for doing. I want the fire! I want the kind of life people want to read books about....you know, books like Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. I'm into the epic stuff, the Acts life, the sell-all-you-have-and-follow-me directive. (At least, this is what I tell people.)
I'm a pretty extreme person. Any onion I've ever cooked can testify to that. (Can I get a witness?? ...Nope, they're all burned to a crisp.)
I wanna get to it. Sometimes my everyday American life (Texas style) seems to have about as much flavor as a saltine cracker compared to the Asian buffet adventures I dream up for myself. I can get restless and impatient--even though moving here and teaching elementary school were steps of faith, pretty extreme. In fact, they were exactly what God told me to do.
I was half-mindedly contemplating all of this while cooking dinner recently. As I struggled impatiently to watch slow onions cook, I considered turning them up. But God said to me, Stop. Don't burn the onions.
Just as it takes the perfect amount of time and temperature to cook onions to the perfect consistency, so it takes just the right conditions for God's plan for me to come to pass in the way He intends. He's the cook, not me. He knows just how to spice, just how to stir, just how much time He needs to get it just right. It's not that I'm a smelly, belligerent, raw onion; it's just that the big plan is much more intricate than I can imagine and involves way more people than I would choose to involve in my onion-burning impatience. Since He created me, He knows perfectly how to prepare my life.
While He cooks, the table must be set. Other dishes must be prepared, other ingredients chopped, other pots boiled. If I neglect to do those things and concentrate only on the onions, I will end up with nothing for dinner but burnt onions.
See what I mean?
I know it's a cheesy metaphor, but I think you're tracking with me.
What's more, if you rush His process trying to get to your big dream, you miss the amazing gifts He has placed in your path.
Picture a wife on date night with her husband. She knows they're going to her favorite restaurant, because he's already told her. She can't stop thinking about that big, juicy steak that she knows is waiting for her. So she throws aside the chocolates, the little notes left all over the house, the conversation in the car, the whole movie he brings her to watch (which she asked to see in the first place). She completely ignores her husband, in fact, because she wants to eat steak.
Getting the picture? The husband doesn't care as much about the steak as he does about spending time with his bride.
Like I say, I know all this sounds pretty cheesy, and I don't like sounding cheesy. I am not trying to give you prescribed answers to fix your spiritual problems. I know firsthand: waiting is HARD, especially if what you're waiting for is something you've been promised by God Himself, something you know is so wonderful and so amazing and beyond your wildest dreams because, after all, He does for us beyond what we could ask, think, or even imagine (Ephesians 3:20). It's easy for restlessness to kick in. Restlessness breeds impatience; and impatience, resentment.
That's a dangerous combo, people...hot enough to scorch any meal the Celestial Chef is trying to prepare.
Not that you can really ruin His plan for your life anyway. But you can make it way less fun than He intended for it to be for you.
I don't mean we shouldn't contend for those big ministry dreams we have. We should definitely ask for and pursue them. Actually, I believe we should hold on to those dreams, because they're already happening. We should remember that God is a right now God. In His eyes, the ministry is already around you right now. Don't forget to set the table because you're so ready to eat. Don't neglect to stop and pray for a stranger, feed the orphans, be faithful at work, train your tongue, forgive your family member, serve at church, wash someone's feet, because you are "waiting" for "big ministry" to happen.
You're called. Don't make excuses for not doing what is right in front of you. If you don't do small things now, you'll probably wimp out about big things later. (I may already know about this from experience, so don't think I'm condemning you.)
But also remember that you can relax and rest easy, because the One who does the ministry isn't you. Not only is ministry being done through you, it is being done on you, like, at the same time!
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them (Ephesians 2:10).
He prepares everything for the meal beforehand, then cooks it for you. Don't forsake a single morsel of the feast prepared for you by a God who cares more about the details and the big picture than you do. Believe me, if He promised it, He will do it.
Onions really don't take that long to cook, anyway.
Wednesday, May 27, 2015
Sunday, May 17, 2015
Re-Mind
When I was a little kid, I used to be terrified that carnivorous animals would escape from the zoo and eat my family while we were asleep. I would lie in bed and think about this with my covers pulled completely over my head, sweating it out (it was Mississippi, after all) and breathing through a tiny air hole that I formed in the blanket.
Obviously I knew how stupid this was, even as a seven-year-old; I mean, on the off chance that tigers and lions did escape from the zoo, they were unlikely to hike the 5.6 miles to our house, somehow break in the window, and eat us when there were plenty of other tasty cats, dogs, and Mississippi wildlife in between.
I knew that it was crazy, yet I still lay perfectly still, without a sound, as I tried to fall asleep some nights, my imagination running wild.
We all know the verse: ...for God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and self-control (2 Timothy 1:7).
Let's look at it in the Amplified Bible: For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear), but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control.
Boy, is that a mouthful.
When I first started this blog, I wrote a post about this very verse. But now I want to elaborate even more.
Paul assures Timothy that fear is not from God. It's a gag gift from the devil. On the outside, it looks nicely wrapped with a bow on top, but when you rip off the paper, it's really not what you wanted at all. But this verse goes even deeper than that, because Paul is defining what fear is not. I think it's interesting the things that are listed in opposition to fear in this verse.
Fear is not power, love, or a sound mind. In fact, where those things exist, fear flees.
It's obvious that if you see the power of God visually displayed (like watching someone healed before your eyes, for example), you're going to lose a lot of fear. And it's amazing how being fully assured of someone's love really takes the edge off of insecurity. How much more so a revelation of the totality and purity of the love of the Father, the Creator of the universe?
But when you combine power and love, you get the third element here: a sound mind. (Clearly not what I possessed when I was cowering under the sheets as a kid.)
Fear is the opposite of "a sound mind." Hm.
We could take apart every element of a "sound mind" listed in the Amplified Bible and then spin out on a "self-control" tangent, but let's keep it simple. Think about a "sound mind" in terms of being "level-headed" and "disciplined." Then consider what the world calls "a sound mind, level-headed, disciplined"...or at least, the American middle class.
We would say financial security, a 401k, a house with two and a half baths, and the respect of a community are "sound" pursuits. "Look before you leap," we would say. "Don't take risks," we would say. "Are you really going to do that?" we would ask. All of our advertisements hook us by selling us comfort and security. I'm sure those of us who are concerned about breaking-and-entering zoo animals are much comforted by ADT ads. We spend our time pursuing what the world calls "good" and what looks to us like it is secure. Every day, we are afraid that these things will suddenly disappear, and we work hard to keep them in our possession (which is what we consider "discipline").
We call it all kinds of things: "Practicality," "being responsible," "providing for your future," "keeping yourself safe." The truth of the matter is that all of these are nicknames for humanity's closest friend, Mr. Fear.
I'm not saying there's anything wrong with a 401k. (To be honest, I don't really know what a 401k is, but I know lots of people have them.) And I believe in planning for the future. But I also believe in hoping for the future. And if your future is in your 401k, then you're not really hoping in much, are you? I want my hope to be eternal, the steadfast anchor of my soul (Hebrews 6:19). If you're anchored by your financial stability, your house, a relationship...your anchor is not steadfast. It's not going to hold.
Your mind is not sound, because you are motivated by security in the temporal, not security in the eternal.
We've all heard this idea put this way: "Well, you have to hold on to Jesus, because what if there's a flood or you go bankrupt? He's going to be all you have left." We think of our earthly possessions with a loss mentality. We think of Jesus as backup for our earthly security--just another insurance policy. Insurance is about loss.
But I think God wants us to have a gain mentality when it comes to our relationship with Christ.
Paul said, "I count every [earthly] thing as loss" (Philippians 3:8)--not because it was literally lost, or because he expected it to be, but because his mind was focused on "the surpassing worth of knowing Jesus Christ." Jesus isn't "all we have left." He is the beginning and end of what we have. (Or haven't you read Revelation?)
You see, God doesn't want you to put your hope in Him because He is going to destroy your house in a flood or cause you to go bankrupt. He wants you to have your hope in Him, in spite of how materially blessed you are, because He wants to give you so much more spiritually than you have in the natural.
(I wrote another post about hope a few months ago. Yes, I realize how pretentious it is to cross-reference yourself more than once in your own blog. Jesus is laughing at me right now, since initially I balked at the idea of blogging because it was for "pretentious people.")
Fear is negative hope. It's "I hope this doesn't happen," rather than "I know God's heart toward me is so good that I am going to step out and do this crazy thing, because He won't let me fall."
The reason I know this is because I've experienced this type of rational-irrational fear. For example, sometimes I will catch myself being afraid to check the mail in case there is bad news, a bill, some type of letter saying I've committed some type of traffic violation I wasn't even aware existed. Silly, right? As children of God, we have the divine privilege to expect good news, because that's our reality. I'm not saying we never get a bill, but to be terrified of checking the mail just because we have wild imaginations is ridiculous. As a child of God, I am more likely to find $150 worth of anonymously-sent gift cards (true story) than a citation for accidentally breaking a rule I didn't even know about (which has never happened).
Whenever I get that ridiculous, sudden hiding-under-the-covers terror--of anything--I have to remind myself of who I am in Christ. I have to return that gag gift to the devil, because the joke's on him: in Christ, I'm forever totally fearless.
Don't focus on the fear of losing your reputation or your stuff. Your stuff earthly life isn't your backup for your heavenly life. Jesus is Plan A. There is no Plan B. Catching hold of this revelation is what having a "sound mind" is. It's seeing your life in terms of the supernatural rather than the natural.
I'm not saying everyone needs to sell all they own today, move to a foreign country, and adopt a bunch of orphans. (Although there are many people who have done that completely in faith at God's word.) I'm just suggesting that you examine your attitude. If God tells you to do something, to give something away, you must be ready to do it immediately, knowing He's going to care for you much better than you could. If He asks you to go somewhere dangerous, know that you are doubly and triply protected because He's the one sending you there...after all, He is the Lord of Hosts. (And from what I hear about warrior angels, I don't want to mess with them.) If He asks you to take a risk--even if it involves possible or even certain loss of earthly security--know deep in your heart that it will be a risk well worth taking. Be eager to follow after Him, because I promise you, you will be much better off if you do.
Why can believers have a "sound mind" even in the scariest of circumstances? Because we aren't looking with human eyes, beloved. We are looking with heavenly perspective.
Do you know where Jesus was when His disciples were freaking out about a storm going on all around them? He was asleep, my friend, in the bottom of the boat (Mark 4:38). This was a small enough boat that water was probably splashing all over His face; but He knew, "Hey, I can rest easy. My dad has got this."
We as believers aren't just getting saved and then hiding out in a bunker, waiting to die and go to heaven. Additionally, we aren't chumming it up with Jesus in the hopes that He will glance our way when something bad happens to us. We are not meant to try to understand the supernatural through the natural; we are meant to do the opposite. We are meant to see heaven on earth. What's more, we're meant to bring it here. That was kind of the point all along. Instead of allowing Adam to stay in the Garden, God reversed the whole sin problem so that the Garden could extend all over the earth.
You live in the Garden, and the Garden lives inside of you...because the Garden is Jesus Christ.
The fact is, God can see to your needs way way WAY better than you can. Trust me. He's got a plan for you, if you'd only just let Him do it....but more on that in my next blog.
I think a biblical "sound mind" is the opposite of everything the world would say it is. It's being completely fearless to seek after all that God has for you.
If you don't have a close relationship with the Holy Spirit, this probably sounds completely foreign to you. And for those people, maybe that is the fear you have to overcome first. You don't need a mediator anymore, some other person who tells you what the Lord says--Jesus did away with that when He ripped the temple to the Holy of Holies in two (Matthew 27:51). I would encourage you to risk seeking intimacy with the Lord through the Holy Spirit. Listen to what He wants to tell you, even if you are afraid of being "that crazy person who thinks she hears from God." (The author of this blog was once afraid of the exact same thing.)
Then, even crazier: when He tells you to do something, do it.
The fact is, even if you don't feel like you hear from the Lord, He still tells us in the Bible to do crazy things. So if you believe the Bible, then you're already being challenged to live a fearless lifestyle, nothing short of crazy. (Go read Acts if you don't believe me.) The faith examples given in Hebrews 11 are Abraham, Sarah, and Moses--all of whom had great power, authority, and blessing in spite of their own failures...but none of whom were exactly considered "sane" by their friends and relatives. If you really follow the Word of God, the world will say, "Wow, that person really has an unsound mind." (Or, in colloquial terms, "That girl cray-cray!")
Really, you have no excuse for being boring, because you're not in your born-again spirit! If you are, then you're just pretending. Time for your cover to get blown and for you to embrace the crazy adventure God designed specifically for you.
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect (Romans 12:1-2).
Man. I know your eyeballs are already hurting, so I won't unpack that verse like I want to. But notice this: the "sacrifice" here is giving up thinking in the flesh. Your flesh, in fact, is "holy and acceptable to God," because Jesus made it that way--and that includes all your stuff as well as your body. Present your security in the earthly realm to God, who is the only one who can actually make your earthly life secure. And then renew your mind, which means simply this: to see the heavenly realm in the natural. To see that YOU are His will in Christ Jesus. To see that, in His Son, YOU are "good and acceptable and perfect."
To renew your mind is to feed on Scripture and know who you are, then make every decision based on that and NOT on fear. THAT'S a sound mind.
(Whew, finally got to my point. I know you're relieved, ten pages later.)
Ironically, when I was a kid hiding under the covers, I had security. My parents were in the very next room. My house was secure (along with the gates of the zoo, I am sure). I was protected. I just didn't believe it.
I really think that when we consider the greatness of our God, all of our fears are actually that illegitimate. And, just as I was never scared during the day when I was actually playing outside, vulnerable to lions, I consider that the fear of earthly loss is completely silly when revealed in the light of the Bright and Morning Star, Jesus. So renew your mind with that. Take on that new mentality. Re-mind yourself, if you will. You'll see with heavenly eyes, and you'll never look back.
Obviously I knew how stupid this was, even as a seven-year-old; I mean, on the off chance that tigers and lions did escape from the zoo, they were unlikely to hike the 5.6 miles to our house, somehow break in the window, and eat us when there were plenty of other tasty cats, dogs, and Mississippi wildlife in between.
I knew that it was crazy, yet I still lay perfectly still, without a sound, as I tried to fall asleep some nights, my imagination running wild.
We all know the verse: ...for God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and self-control (2 Timothy 1:7).
Let's look at it in the Amplified Bible: For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear), but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control.
Boy, is that a mouthful.
When I first started this blog, I wrote a post about this very verse. But now I want to elaborate even more.
Paul assures Timothy that fear is not from God. It's a gag gift from the devil. On the outside, it looks nicely wrapped with a bow on top, but when you rip off the paper, it's really not what you wanted at all. But this verse goes even deeper than that, because Paul is defining what fear is not. I think it's interesting the things that are listed in opposition to fear in this verse.
Fear is not power, love, or a sound mind. In fact, where those things exist, fear flees.
It's obvious that if you see the power of God visually displayed (like watching someone healed before your eyes, for example), you're going to lose a lot of fear. And it's amazing how being fully assured of someone's love really takes the edge off of insecurity. How much more so a revelation of the totality and purity of the love of the Father, the Creator of the universe?
But when you combine power and love, you get the third element here: a sound mind. (Clearly not what I possessed when I was cowering under the sheets as a kid.)
Fear is the opposite of "a sound mind." Hm.
We could take apart every element of a "sound mind" listed in the Amplified Bible and then spin out on a "self-control" tangent, but let's keep it simple. Think about a "sound mind" in terms of being "level-headed" and "disciplined." Then consider what the world calls "a sound mind, level-headed, disciplined"...or at least, the American middle class.
We would say financial security, a 401k, a house with two and a half baths, and the respect of a community are "sound" pursuits. "Look before you leap," we would say. "Don't take risks," we would say. "Are you really going to do that?" we would ask. All of our advertisements hook us by selling us comfort and security. I'm sure those of us who are concerned about breaking-and-entering zoo animals are much comforted by ADT ads. We spend our time pursuing what the world calls "good" and what looks to us like it is secure. Every day, we are afraid that these things will suddenly disappear, and we work hard to keep them in our possession (which is what we consider "discipline").
We call it all kinds of things: "Practicality," "being responsible," "providing for your future," "keeping yourself safe." The truth of the matter is that all of these are nicknames for humanity's closest friend, Mr. Fear.
I'm not saying there's anything wrong with a 401k. (To be honest, I don't really know what a 401k is, but I know lots of people have them.) And I believe in planning for the future. But I also believe in hoping for the future. And if your future is in your 401k, then you're not really hoping in much, are you? I want my hope to be eternal, the steadfast anchor of my soul (Hebrews 6:19). If you're anchored by your financial stability, your house, a relationship...your anchor is not steadfast. It's not going to hold.
Your mind is not sound, because you are motivated by security in the temporal, not security in the eternal.
We've all heard this idea put this way: "Well, you have to hold on to Jesus, because what if there's a flood or you go bankrupt? He's going to be all you have left." We think of our earthly possessions with a loss mentality. We think of Jesus as backup for our earthly security--just another insurance policy. Insurance is about loss.
But I think God wants us to have a gain mentality when it comes to our relationship with Christ.
Paul said, "I count every [earthly] thing as loss" (Philippians 3:8)--not because it was literally lost, or because he expected it to be, but because his mind was focused on "the surpassing worth of knowing Jesus Christ." Jesus isn't "all we have left." He is the beginning and end of what we have. (Or haven't you read Revelation?)
You see, God doesn't want you to put your hope in Him because He is going to destroy your house in a flood or cause you to go bankrupt. He wants you to have your hope in Him, in spite of how materially blessed you are, because He wants to give you so much more spiritually than you have in the natural.
(I wrote another post about hope a few months ago. Yes, I realize how pretentious it is to cross-reference yourself more than once in your own blog. Jesus is laughing at me right now, since initially I balked at the idea of blogging because it was for "pretentious people.")
Fear is negative hope. It's "I hope this doesn't happen," rather than "I know God's heart toward me is so good that I am going to step out and do this crazy thing, because He won't let me fall."
The reason I know this is because I've experienced this type of rational-irrational fear. For example, sometimes I will catch myself being afraid to check the mail in case there is bad news, a bill, some type of letter saying I've committed some type of traffic violation I wasn't even aware existed. Silly, right? As children of God, we have the divine privilege to expect good news, because that's our reality. I'm not saying we never get a bill, but to be terrified of checking the mail just because we have wild imaginations is ridiculous. As a child of God, I am more likely to find $150 worth of anonymously-sent gift cards (true story) than a citation for accidentally breaking a rule I didn't even know about (which has never happened).
Whenever I get that ridiculous, sudden hiding-under-the-covers terror--of anything--I have to remind myself of who I am in Christ. I have to return that gag gift to the devil, because the joke's on him: in Christ, I'm forever totally fearless.
Don't focus on the fear of losing your reputation or your stuff. Your stuff earthly life isn't your backup for your heavenly life. Jesus is Plan A. There is no Plan B. Catching hold of this revelation is what having a "sound mind" is. It's seeing your life in terms of the supernatural rather than the natural.
I'm not saying everyone needs to sell all they own today, move to a foreign country, and adopt a bunch of orphans. (Although there are many people who have done that completely in faith at God's word.) I'm just suggesting that you examine your attitude. If God tells you to do something, to give something away, you must be ready to do it immediately, knowing He's going to care for you much better than you could. If He asks you to go somewhere dangerous, know that you are doubly and triply protected because He's the one sending you there...after all, He is the Lord of Hosts. (And from what I hear about warrior angels, I don't want to mess with them.) If He asks you to take a risk--even if it involves possible or even certain loss of earthly security--know deep in your heart that it will be a risk well worth taking. Be eager to follow after Him, because I promise you, you will be much better off if you do.
Why can believers have a "sound mind" even in the scariest of circumstances? Because we aren't looking with human eyes, beloved. We are looking with heavenly perspective.
Do you know where Jesus was when His disciples were freaking out about a storm going on all around them? He was asleep, my friend, in the bottom of the boat (Mark 4:38). This was a small enough boat that water was probably splashing all over His face; but He knew, "Hey, I can rest easy. My dad has got this."
We as believers aren't just getting saved and then hiding out in a bunker, waiting to die and go to heaven. Additionally, we aren't chumming it up with Jesus in the hopes that He will glance our way when something bad happens to us. We are not meant to try to understand the supernatural through the natural; we are meant to do the opposite. We are meant to see heaven on earth. What's more, we're meant to bring it here. That was kind of the point all along. Instead of allowing Adam to stay in the Garden, God reversed the whole sin problem so that the Garden could extend all over the earth.
You live in the Garden, and the Garden lives inside of you...because the Garden is Jesus Christ.
The fact is, God can see to your needs way way WAY better than you can. Trust me. He's got a plan for you, if you'd only just let Him do it....but more on that in my next blog.
I think a biblical "sound mind" is the opposite of everything the world would say it is. It's being completely fearless to seek after all that God has for you.
If you don't have a close relationship with the Holy Spirit, this probably sounds completely foreign to you. And for those people, maybe that is the fear you have to overcome first. You don't need a mediator anymore, some other person who tells you what the Lord says--Jesus did away with that when He ripped the temple to the Holy of Holies in two (Matthew 27:51). I would encourage you to risk seeking intimacy with the Lord through the Holy Spirit. Listen to what He wants to tell you, even if you are afraid of being "that crazy person who thinks she hears from God." (The author of this blog was once afraid of the exact same thing.)
Then, even crazier: when He tells you to do something, do it.
The fact is, even if you don't feel like you hear from the Lord, He still tells us in the Bible to do crazy things. So if you believe the Bible, then you're already being challenged to live a fearless lifestyle, nothing short of crazy. (Go read Acts if you don't believe me.) The faith examples given in Hebrews 11 are Abraham, Sarah, and Moses--all of whom had great power, authority, and blessing in spite of their own failures...but none of whom were exactly considered "sane" by their friends and relatives. If you really follow the Word of God, the world will say, "Wow, that person really has an unsound mind." (Or, in colloquial terms, "That girl cray-cray!")
Really, you have no excuse for being boring, because you're not in your born-again spirit! If you are, then you're just pretending. Time for your cover to get blown and for you to embrace the crazy adventure God designed specifically for you.
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect (Romans 12:1-2).
Man. I know your eyeballs are already hurting, so I won't unpack that verse like I want to. But notice this: the "sacrifice" here is giving up thinking in the flesh. Your flesh, in fact, is "holy and acceptable to God," because Jesus made it that way--and that includes all your stuff as well as your body. Present your security in the earthly realm to God, who is the only one who can actually make your earthly life secure. And then renew your mind, which means simply this: to see the heavenly realm in the natural. To see that YOU are His will in Christ Jesus. To see that, in His Son, YOU are "good and acceptable and perfect."
To renew your mind is to feed on Scripture and know who you are, then make every decision based on that and NOT on fear. THAT'S a sound mind.
(Whew, finally got to my point. I know you're relieved, ten pages later.)
Ironically, when I was a kid hiding under the covers, I had security. My parents were in the very next room. My house was secure (along with the gates of the zoo, I am sure). I was protected. I just didn't believe it.
I really think that when we consider the greatness of our God, all of our fears are actually that illegitimate. And, just as I was never scared during the day when I was actually playing outside, vulnerable to lions, I consider that the fear of earthly loss is completely silly when revealed in the light of the Bright and Morning Star, Jesus. So renew your mind with that. Take on that new mentality. Re-mind yourself, if you will. You'll see with heavenly eyes, and you'll never look back.
Sunday, May 10, 2015
Yo' Mama
Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not listen to the law? For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and one by a free woman. But the son of the slave was born according to the flesh, while the son of the free woman was born through promise. Now this may be interpreted alegorically: these women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; she is Hagar. Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia; she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother. For it is written,
"Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear;
break forth and cry aloud, you who are not in labor!
For the children of the desolate one
will be more than those of the one who has a husband."
Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise....So, brothers, we are not children of the slave but of the free woman.--Galatians 4:21-31
You can tell when I am quoting scripture that is quoting scripture that this might be a long post. But it's only appropriate for Mother's Day. I know my mother would expect nothing less. (After all, she might be the one and only fan of this blog. Holla, Mom!)
I was praying for someone the other day that he would realize that he is a favored son of God, and that God would give him a "coat of many colors." It seemed a random image, so I started thinking about Joseph (of Genesis, not Matthew, fame). He was the favorite son of his father, Jacob--alias: Israel, through whom "all the nations of the world" were blessed in Christ Jesus (Genesis 28:14).
Joseph's father gave him a magnificent coat. His brothers were so jealous of him and so annoyed by his confidence in his authority that they sold him to Egypt as a slave. But of course, he was so favored that this turned around for his good, and he became the right-hand man of Pharoah, basically second in command over the entire land of Egypt.
But let's back up a bit. If you remember the story of Jacob, you will recall that he had two wives, Leah and Rachel. (Skip back to Genesis 29 if you need a refresher.) To make this ill-advised polygamy more complicated, his two wives were sisters....and his cousins. (That's a daytime drama waiting to happen. Or perhaps a reality show.)
To make matters even more intriguing, the only reason Jacob had two wives was because his uncle Laban (their father) tricked him into marrying Leah first, because she was older than Rachel, when in fact Rachel was the only one he loved. And to make matters even more intriguing, Leah bore Jacob children while Rachel was barren. Needless to say, in a day when a woman's children determined her worth, this caused a LOT of family drama.
Jacob eventually ended up with four wives, because Leah and Rachel's idea of competition was to also give their handmaidens to him to bear children on their behalf. It was like an epic race to see who could bear the most children the fastest. Talk about messed up. I'm just glad they didn't celebrate Mother's Day, because that probably would have been the source of some family tension, to say the least.
As mentioned in my Galatians reference above, Jacob's grandfather Abraham also had a son by his wife and a son by a slave woman. I think we all remember how that went. <#it'safamilyaffair #BabyMamaDrama> (Again, polygamy: so many problems.) Abraham's son Ishmael was rejected in favor of his son Isaac. The illegitimate versus legitimate son is a recurring theme in scripture, and there's a reason for that.
We, as followers of God's own Son, are favored children. The thing is, Jacob loved Rachel even when she didn't bear him children. So, when she did, that son became his favorite. Joseph was the creation of genuine love between his parents (in spite of the drama his mom caused). Like Joseph, we as believers are adorned in beautiful robes of righteousness (hopefully technicolor, maybe with sequins) that have been given to us by our Father. We walk in such divine favor that someone could throw us into a pit and sell us into slavery, and we would still end up a prince over a nation. (Whatever form that takes...I'm not a fan of moving to Egypt myself.) Authority is promised to us through Jesus Christ.
There's a reason why Jacob gave his son a coat of "many colors." The rainbow symbolizes God's promise not to pour (literally, since it appeared after a flood) His wrath upon mankind. Joseph was a child of promise, and so are we. The problem occurs when we fail to believe it.
"And Leah conceived and bore a son," the Bible says, "and she called his name Reuben, for she said, 'Because the Lord has looked upon my affliction; for now my husband will love me'" (Genesis 29:32).
Many members of the Bride of Christ feel obligated to please our husband in order to earn his favor and love. "Because I did this good work, and because I didn't do this bad work, now my husband will love me." I think many of us believe we are Leah's children, at best ignored by or displeasing to our Father, at worst rejected and despised by Him. We are afraid that, like Jacob, when He looks at us, He sees only a mistake.
"Oh," many of us say, "that Joseph kind of favor is only for super-spiritual people, you know, people who read the Bible all the time and wake up early to pray. I'm just a sinner saved by grace."
If you're going around saying you're a "sinner saved by grace," you don't understand what grace is. It means that you WERE a sinner, and now you are NOT. It means that you WERE a slave, and now you're a SON. While reading the Bible and praying is essential, it's not going to earn you favor with God. It can't. Nothing can except the beloved firstborn son of God, Jesus Christ--and He already did. Reading your Bible, praying, going to church, witnessing, walking in joy and freedom are not works that we do to earn the favor of God; they're only a manifestation of a revelation of your righteousness in Christ. They're evidence that you have no fear approaching your Father and spending time in His presence because you know how beloved you are to Him. You're Rachel and Joseph: not only beloved, but positioned to inherit a kingdom.
I read a story of a man who was a missionary in a poverty-stricken country and was so poor himself and so unwilling to ask for help that his own children were starving. Now, I don't know him personally, so I'm making a generalization, but it seems to me like this man was an Ishmael, a Leah--believing, to an extreme, that he had to perform to earn God's favor, and refusing to ask his Father for the help he needed as a son. I am sad to think about all the miracles he--and many others like him--miss out on because they refuse to ask boldly for their inheritance. Yet, in the church, we applaud that type of "sacrifice." If you read the Bible closely, however, it's not "sacrifice" God desires, but mercy, aka real, humble love (Matthew 9:13--another scripture quoting scripture--I'm on a roll!). For us to abuse ourselves like slaves when we are legitimate, honored, and worthy sons is not just sick, it's insulting to God.
I am willing to bet that all of you have a key to your parents' house. How would your mother feel if you came all the way there, then set up camp in the front yard in a pitiful pop-tent with a sleeping bag and a can of beans and refused to come inside? How ridiculous would it be for you to say, "I know you love me more out here, since I haven't called you since Tuesday, and, ooops, I forgot to send you a birthday card"?
Conversely, how ridiculous would it be if you walked into your father's house and said, "Wazzup, Dad? Since I did the dishes and vacuumed the floor, I now feel worthy to partake of the contents of your fridge. I know you wouldn't have fed me unless I did something to deserve it."
No, in reality, you know you're walking straight into your parents' house and chugging milk right out of the carton. (Don't lie.)
Sadly, these ridiculous examples are closer to the truth for some people than they are for me, but they can still help us imagine how silly our attitudes are towards God, if we are really and truly His sons and daughters.
If we were slaves, yes, those attitudes would be on point. But we are not. "And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, 'Abba! Father!' So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God" (Galatians 4:6-7).
It can't get any more plain than that. You are the children of Sarah, of Rachel. They are yo' mama. You are children of promise. I don't care what you did last week. The inheritance, says Paul, comes by promise, not by the Law (Galatians 3:18).
"Well," some of you say, eyebrow raised, "what about the Law? Shouldn't we always try to do the right thing?"
The Galatians asked Paul the same question. His reply?
"Is the law then contrary to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law. But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe" (3:21-22).
The Law is Jesus Christ. He fulfilled Himself, and then gave us the right to His inheritance through Himself.
#mindblown
You're an adopted child of God, and He has changed your DNA. If you spend time with Him in His Word and realize who He is and who you are, your behavior will begin to manifest who you already are in Jesus. Your sin problem will take care of itself. (Check out Galatians 5:16-18 if you don't believe me. Just go read it before I start preaching about that.)
I want to close (yes, finally close) with the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15). Actually, BOTH sons were favored; but the elder son didn't believe it. As a result, he ignored all the blessings right under his nose and chose to grump about his no-good spoiled brother receiving the golden ring, robe, and fattened calf--which he, b-t-dub, had never asked for. He had a Leah mentality, confused that his behavior didn't yield his desired results, when in fact our inheritance has nothing to do with us and only to do with who our Father is and how much He loves us.
While being honest with ourselves about sin is an essential part of our walk with the Holy Spirit, it is of the most crucial importance to always remember this little truth (which we should probably all tattoo on our foreheads): it's not about you.
For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, "Abba! Father!" (Romans 8:15)
Our Father is as much a better father to us as Jesus is a better husband to His Bride than Jacob was to Leah. We do not have to fear rejection. We will never be illegitimate again, for God keeps His promises. Let that truth sink into every crevice of your heart and manifest in every thought, word, and action in your life.
Wink at yourself in the mirror, because you look good in that rainbow coat.
"Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear;
break forth and cry aloud, you who are not in labor!
For the children of the desolate one
will be more than those of the one who has a husband."
Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise....So, brothers, we are not children of the slave but of the free woman.--Galatians 4:21-31
You can tell when I am quoting scripture that is quoting scripture that this might be a long post. But it's only appropriate for Mother's Day. I know my mother would expect nothing less. (After all, she might be the one and only fan of this blog. Holla, Mom!)
I was praying for someone the other day that he would realize that he is a favored son of God, and that God would give him a "coat of many colors." It seemed a random image, so I started thinking about Joseph (of Genesis, not Matthew, fame). He was the favorite son of his father, Jacob--alias: Israel, through whom "all the nations of the world" were blessed in Christ Jesus (Genesis 28:14).
Joseph's father gave him a magnificent coat. His brothers were so jealous of him and so annoyed by his confidence in his authority that they sold him to Egypt as a slave. But of course, he was so favored that this turned around for his good, and he became the right-hand man of Pharoah, basically second in command over the entire land of Egypt.
But let's back up a bit. If you remember the story of Jacob, you will recall that he had two wives, Leah and Rachel. (Skip back to Genesis 29 if you need a refresher.) To make this ill-advised polygamy more complicated, his two wives were sisters....and his cousins. (That's a daytime drama waiting to happen. Or perhaps a reality show.)
To make matters even more intriguing, the only reason Jacob had two wives was because his uncle Laban (their father) tricked him into marrying Leah first, because she was older than Rachel, when in fact Rachel was the only one he loved. And to make matters even more intriguing, Leah bore Jacob children while Rachel was barren. Needless to say, in a day when a woman's children determined her worth, this caused a LOT of family drama.
Jacob eventually ended up with four wives, because Leah and Rachel's idea of competition was to also give their handmaidens to him to bear children on their behalf. It was like an epic race to see who could bear the most children the fastest. Talk about messed up. I'm just glad they didn't celebrate Mother's Day, because that probably would have been the source of some family tension, to say the least.
As mentioned in my Galatians reference above, Jacob's grandfather Abraham also had a son by his wife and a son by a slave woman. I think we all remember how that went. <#it'safamilyaffair #BabyMamaDrama> (Again, polygamy: so many problems.) Abraham's son Ishmael was rejected in favor of his son Isaac. The illegitimate versus legitimate son is a recurring theme in scripture, and there's a reason for that.
We, as followers of God's own Son, are favored children. The thing is, Jacob loved Rachel even when she didn't bear him children. So, when she did, that son became his favorite. Joseph was the creation of genuine love between his parents (in spite of the drama his mom caused). Like Joseph, we as believers are adorned in beautiful robes of righteousness (hopefully technicolor, maybe with sequins) that have been given to us by our Father. We walk in such divine favor that someone could throw us into a pit and sell us into slavery, and we would still end up a prince over a nation. (Whatever form that takes...I'm not a fan of moving to Egypt myself.) Authority is promised to us through Jesus Christ.
There's a reason why Jacob gave his son a coat of "many colors." The rainbow symbolizes God's promise not to pour (literally, since it appeared after a flood) His wrath upon mankind. Joseph was a child of promise, and so are we. The problem occurs when we fail to believe it.
"And Leah conceived and bore a son," the Bible says, "and she called his name Reuben, for she said, 'Because the Lord has looked upon my affliction; for now my husband will love me'" (Genesis 29:32).
Many members of the Bride of Christ feel obligated to please our husband in order to earn his favor and love. "Because I did this good work, and because I didn't do this bad work, now my husband will love me." I think many of us believe we are Leah's children, at best ignored by or displeasing to our Father, at worst rejected and despised by Him. We are afraid that, like Jacob, when He looks at us, He sees only a mistake.
"Oh," many of us say, "that Joseph kind of favor is only for super-spiritual people, you know, people who read the Bible all the time and wake up early to pray. I'm just a sinner saved by grace."
If you're going around saying you're a "sinner saved by grace," you don't understand what grace is. It means that you WERE a sinner, and now you are NOT. It means that you WERE a slave, and now you're a SON. While reading the Bible and praying is essential, it's not going to earn you favor with God. It can't. Nothing can except the beloved firstborn son of God, Jesus Christ--and He already did. Reading your Bible, praying, going to church, witnessing, walking in joy and freedom are not works that we do to earn the favor of God; they're only a manifestation of a revelation of your righteousness in Christ. They're evidence that you have no fear approaching your Father and spending time in His presence because you know how beloved you are to Him. You're Rachel and Joseph: not only beloved, but positioned to inherit a kingdom.
I read a story of a man who was a missionary in a poverty-stricken country and was so poor himself and so unwilling to ask for help that his own children were starving. Now, I don't know him personally, so I'm making a generalization, but it seems to me like this man was an Ishmael, a Leah--believing, to an extreme, that he had to perform to earn God's favor, and refusing to ask his Father for the help he needed as a son. I am sad to think about all the miracles he--and many others like him--miss out on because they refuse to ask boldly for their inheritance. Yet, in the church, we applaud that type of "sacrifice." If you read the Bible closely, however, it's not "sacrifice" God desires, but mercy, aka real, humble love (Matthew 9:13--another scripture quoting scripture--I'm on a roll!). For us to abuse ourselves like slaves when we are legitimate, honored, and worthy sons is not just sick, it's insulting to God.
I am willing to bet that all of you have a key to your parents' house. How would your mother feel if you came all the way there, then set up camp in the front yard in a pitiful pop-tent with a sleeping bag and a can of beans and refused to come inside? How ridiculous would it be for you to say, "I know you love me more out here, since I haven't called you since Tuesday, and, ooops, I forgot to send you a birthday card"?
Conversely, how ridiculous would it be if you walked into your father's house and said, "Wazzup, Dad? Since I did the dishes and vacuumed the floor, I now feel worthy to partake of the contents of your fridge. I know you wouldn't have fed me unless I did something to deserve it."
No, in reality, you know you're walking straight into your parents' house and chugging milk right out of the carton. (Don't lie.)
Sadly, these ridiculous examples are closer to the truth for some people than they are for me, but they can still help us imagine how silly our attitudes are towards God, if we are really and truly His sons and daughters.
If we were slaves, yes, those attitudes would be on point. But we are not. "And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, 'Abba! Father!' So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God" (Galatians 4:6-7).
It can't get any more plain than that. You are the children of Sarah, of Rachel. They are yo' mama. You are children of promise. I don't care what you did last week. The inheritance, says Paul, comes by promise, not by the Law (Galatians 3:18).
"Well," some of you say, eyebrow raised, "what about the Law? Shouldn't we always try to do the right thing?"
The Galatians asked Paul the same question. His reply?
"Is the law then contrary to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law. But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe" (3:21-22).
The Law is Jesus Christ. He fulfilled Himself, and then gave us the right to His inheritance through Himself.
#mindblown
You're an adopted child of God, and He has changed your DNA. If you spend time with Him in His Word and realize who He is and who you are, your behavior will begin to manifest who you already are in Jesus. Your sin problem will take care of itself. (Check out Galatians 5:16-18 if you don't believe me. Just go read it before I start preaching about that.)
I want to close (yes, finally close) with the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15). Actually, BOTH sons were favored; but the elder son didn't believe it. As a result, he ignored all the blessings right under his nose and chose to grump about his no-good spoiled brother receiving the golden ring, robe, and fattened calf--which he, b-t-dub, had never asked for. He had a Leah mentality, confused that his behavior didn't yield his desired results, when in fact our inheritance has nothing to do with us and only to do with who our Father is and how much He loves us.
While being honest with ourselves about sin is an essential part of our walk with the Holy Spirit, it is of the most crucial importance to always remember this little truth (which we should probably all tattoo on our foreheads): it's not about you.
For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, "Abba! Father!" (Romans 8:15)
Our Father is as much a better father to us as Jesus is a better husband to His Bride than Jacob was to Leah. We do not have to fear rejection. We will never be illegitimate again, for God keeps His promises. Let that truth sink into every crevice of your heart and manifest in every thought, word, and action in your life.
Wink at yourself in the mirror, because you look good in that rainbow coat.
Tuesday, May 5, 2015
(Un)Restricted
We have spoken freely to you, Corinthians; our heart is wide open. You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted in your own affections. In return (I speak as to children) widen your heart also.--2 Corinthians 6:11-13
Paul told the Corinthians that they were not restricted by him--or, rules and discipline imposed by him--as they were probably thinking. (If you've ever read 1 Corinthians, you know what scathing fool-slapping Paul did to the Corinthian church...in love, of course.) Rather, they were "restricted" by their "own affections." "Affections" are anything that draws your attention away from God. Anything that demands your attention and time until it becomes an idol.
That's a pretty broad and ambiguous definition, but I'll bet right now you're picturing your pet affection--some person, habit, sin, insecurity, attitude, etc, which displaces your relationship with God and misplaces your intimacy in something other than Him. I can name a few I've fallen into myself. (Quite a few, in fact.) It can really be anything--something as drastic as a codependent relationship or eating disorder (maybe I'm speaking from personal experience?) or as seemingly innocent as telling dirty jokes, gossiping (just one little comment at the water cooler), or a WWE obsession (NOT personal experience...thank goodness).
Paul's letter in 2 Corinthians (Subtitle: Fallout of Fool-Slappin') contains the famous verse, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come" (5:17).
His aim was not to condemn, but to remind the Corinthians: "Uh, hey, your flesh is dead, just like Christ's was dead, and you're raised to new life, like Christ is. Put away your former sins, because they're long gone in the spiritual realm. Your flesh is not the boss of you."
Although folks like to blame the Law (aka the Word of God, aka Jesus Christ) for "restricting" them, the fact is that the Law does nothing but expose the unrighteousness that is already in human kind. If people are restricted--don't miss this--it is by their own affections, which shrink and squeeze their heart until there isn't any room for the beautiful love of Jesus that we were created to enjoy. In other words, you're not doing yourself any favors by holding on to those old habits, as hard as they are to break.
Playing with sin is like playing with a boa constrictor.
Homework assignment: read Romans 8. We don't put away sin to "get right with God." As believers, we already are...trust me (and Paul...and everyone who wrote the New Testament....) there is nothing we can do to earn that righteousness. We put away sin so that we can "widen our hearts" to the relationship God has for us with Himself.
Intentionally asking Him to reveal our pet affections (like we don't know what they are already) and then praying to be released from them isn't easy. It takes honesty and some hard work sometimes. But you're not working toward salvation; Jesus did that already. You're working to know the heart of a Father who loves you with a love that is so big and so powerful that you can't understand it.
I think that's even scarier to us sometimes than just believing we have to work to earn our salvation. God's love is a hurricane. But it's well worth it. (Another homework assignment: read Ephesians 3...or just the whole Bible, really).
To make it personal, I used to care a lot about my weight. If you've ever met me, you will realize how ridiculous that is; but our affections often don't make sense, do they? So for awhile I over-exercised and under-ate. In psychology, that's called an eating disorder, whether mine was severe enough to be diagnosed or not. The worst part was the mental stuff: the constant obsession with calories (what really are calories, anyway?).
Twisted as this problem was, it was an affection. It captivated my heart. I was addicted to the control. In a very literal way, I was being ruled by my flesh.
God opened my eyes to my problem before it became destructive, for which I am very grateful. This is one of the benefits of walking daily and intimately with the Holy Spirit (again, Romans 8): He makes it pretty much impossible to live by the flesh for any extended period of time. The Holy Spirit is the solution for daily temptations to sin. He reveals your issues and then heals them in front of your face. *BOOM* #redemption
Over the years, I still had to address body image issues, but the Holy Spirit has brought me to the tender point of revelation and then to the immediacy of His healing every time. Many of these moments had deeper roots to insecurities that seemed unrelated to body image at all. See, the Holy Spirit doesn't just expose the surface problem--He goes down deep and heals you of those wounds that are even harder to face. But He wouldn't be a good Father or a loving husband if He didn't know and care about every little issue in the heart of His beloved. He wants it healed and widened, so we may realize the purpose for which we were created: to know and be known by Him. I am still amazed to say that He has released me from the prison of body image issues by unlocking those doors that I didn't want to open in my heart, airing out the chambers, and moving in Himself.
What kind of God does that?
He wants so much to do it for you.
Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.--2 Corinthians 5:20-21
Like Paul, I'll close by reminding you of your identity. You are not the righteousness of you. (Thank goodness!) You are the righteousness of God.
Like, God.
His righteousness.
You are....HIS righteousness...through Jesus Christ.
Did you get that, people??!!!????
Those old affections just need to go, because they aren't good enough for the righteousness that you are already in Christ. Dang, that's a blog post in itself. Or, rather, a giant book (probably one with 66 books inside it, composed of every literary genre known to man, that spans across centuries).
It's like this. If you play around with the world, you're going to get the world. If you hang around with Jesus, you're going to get what He's giving out--and he don't give like the world gives (John 14:27). You can have the world if you want it. But, beloved, His love is unrestricted. Therefore I urge you, widen your hearts also, for the King of Glory to come in.
Paul told the Corinthians that they were not restricted by him--or, rules and discipline imposed by him--as they were probably thinking. (If you've ever read 1 Corinthians, you know what scathing fool-slapping Paul did to the Corinthian church...in love, of course.) Rather, they were "restricted" by their "own affections." "Affections" are anything that draws your attention away from God. Anything that demands your attention and time until it becomes an idol.
That's a pretty broad and ambiguous definition, but I'll bet right now you're picturing your pet affection--some person, habit, sin, insecurity, attitude, etc, which displaces your relationship with God and misplaces your intimacy in something other than Him. I can name a few I've fallen into myself. (Quite a few, in fact.) It can really be anything--something as drastic as a codependent relationship or eating disorder (maybe I'm speaking from personal experience?) or as seemingly innocent as telling dirty jokes, gossiping (just one little comment at the water cooler), or a WWE obsession (NOT personal experience...thank goodness).
Paul's letter in 2 Corinthians (Subtitle: Fallout of Fool-Slappin') contains the famous verse, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come" (5:17).
His aim was not to condemn, but to remind the Corinthians: "Uh, hey, your flesh is dead, just like Christ's was dead, and you're raised to new life, like Christ is. Put away your former sins, because they're long gone in the spiritual realm. Your flesh is not the boss of you."
Although folks like to blame the Law (aka the Word of God, aka Jesus Christ) for "restricting" them, the fact is that the Law does nothing but expose the unrighteousness that is already in human kind. If people are restricted--don't miss this--it is by their own affections, which shrink and squeeze their heart until there isn't any room for the beautiful love of Jesus that we were created to enjoy. In other words, you're not doing yourself any favors by holding on to those old habits, as hard as they are to break.
Playing with sin is like playing with a boa constrictor.
Homework assignment: read Romans 8. We don't put away sin to "get right with God." As believers, we already are...trust me (and Paul...and everyone who wrote the New Testament....) there is nothing we can do to earn that righteousness. We put away sin so that we can "widen our hearts" to the relationship God has for us with Himself.
Intentionally asking Him to reveal our pet affections (like we don't know what they are already) and then praying to be released from them isn't easy. It takes honesty and some hard work sometimes. But you're not working toward salvation; Jesus did that already. You're working to know the heart of a Father who loves you with a love that is so big and so powerful that you can't understand it.
I think that's even scarier to us sometimes than just believing we have to work to earn our salvation. God's love is a hurricane. But it's well worth it. (Another homework assignment: read Ephesians 3...or just the whole Bible, really).
To make it personal, I used to care a lot about my weight. If you've ever met me, you will realize how ridiculous that is; but our affections often don't make sense, do they? So for awhile I over-exercised and under-ate. In psychology, that's called an eating disorder, whether mine was severe enough to be diagnosed or not. The worst part was the mental stuff: the constant obsession with calories (what really are calories, anyway?).
Twisted as this problem was, it was an affection. It captivated my heart. I was addicted to the control. In a very literal way, I was being ruled by my flesh.
God opened my eyes to my problem before it became destructive, for which I am very grateful. This is one of the benefits of walking daily and intimately with the Holy Spirit (again, Romans 8): He makes it pretty much impossible to live by the flesh for any extended period of time. The Holy Spirit is the solution for daily temptations to sin. He reveals your issues and then heals them in front of your face. *BOOM* #redemption
Over the years, I still had to address body image issues, but the Holy Spirit has brought me to the tender point of revelation and then to the immediacy of His healing every time. Many of these moments had deeper roots to insecurities that seemed unrelated to body image at all. See, the Holy Spirit doesn't just expose the surface problem--He goes down deep and heals you of those wounds that are even harder to face. But He wouldn't be a good Father or a loving husband if He didn't know and care about every little issue in the heart of His beloved. He wants it healed and widened, so we may realize the purpose for which we were created: to know and be known by Him. I am still amazed to say that He has released me from the prison of body image issues by unlocking those doors that I didn't want to open in my heart, airing out the chambers, and moving in Himself.
What kind of God does that?
He wants so much to do it for you.
Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.--2 Corinthians 5:20-21
Like Paul, I'll close by reminding you of your identity. You are not the righteousness of you. (Thank goodness!) You are the righteousness of God.
Like, God.
His righteousness.
You are....HIS righteousness...through Jesus Christ.
Did you get that, people??!!!????
Those old affections just need to go, because they aren't good enough for the righteousness that you are already in Christ. Dang, that's a blog post in itself. Or, rather, a giant book (probably one with 66 books inside it, composed of every literary genre known to man, that spans across centuries).
It's like this. If you play around with the world, you're going to get the world. If you hang around with Jesus, you're going to get what He's giving out--and he don't give like the world gives (John 14:27). You can have the world if you want it. But, beloved, His love is unrestricted. Therefore I urge you, widen your hearts also, for the King of Glory to come in.
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