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.
Sunday, May 17, 2015
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.
Sunday, April 19, 2015
A Kiss from the King
Last week, I was helping a little kindergartener write about "Sleeping Beauty," which the teacher had read to the class. Studying his semi-decipherable kindergarten writing, I asked him, "What does it say?" He proudly replied, "The princess got a kiss from the king!"
Now, I don't normally promote sexist fairytales, but my kinderbaby's confidence in the king's kiss got me thinking. Women aren't meant to wait around for a human man to marry so that their lives can begin. However, as the Church, we are the bride of Christ--that's plain, black-and-white scripture. Although it's wonderful, human love cannot wake us up into our true identities, give us eternal purpose, or complete us. (Sorry, Jerry Maguire.) BUT, a kiss from the King--a life-altering encounter with the all-consuming, blazing inferno of Jesus' love--can and does do those things. In fact, it's the only thing that can.
I think, as the Church, many of us are asleep, still waiting for a kiss from the Beloved that has already come.
For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith--that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:14-19)
That's Paul's prayer for you, Beloved. Yet a great many of us are anesthetized, like the needle-pricked princess in the story. We check the church box on Sundays, then go home and live just like the world for the rest of the week, as if Jesus never said anything that He said. We don't realize that, all along, this was the plot of the evil villain. If he can get us believing that the life of the early church no longer exists, that we are not empowered by the Holy Spirit to affect supernatural change, that the things of the world are far more attractive than an intimate walk with Christ, then his work is done. He doesn't even have to attack us.
Even more of us have a beggar mentality when it comes to prayer. Like Oliver Twist, we approach God as though we were walking up to the big, intimidating pearly gates to knock and cry out, "Please, sir, I want some more." We think we have displeased Him with our sin, and that we have to make a bargain with Him or beg Him for our basic needs. I heard a pastor say this, and I'm going to steal it: a human father would be insulted if his daughter came up to him and cried, "Please, Daddy, take care of my basic needs. Please give me food and water. Please give me a roof over my head." How much more is the heavenly Father's heart broken when His children come to Him as beggars, thinking they're displeasing and disgusting to Him, bowing their heads in shame, when He has already forgiven our every sin on the cross?
Can I rock your boat a little bit more? Sin isn't even the biggest issue to God. Yes, He hates it, because it hurts His children. But if you read through the entire Old Testament in one day (which I doubt very many people have done), you would notice that, whenever God sent a prophet to the Israelites, His biggest complaint about them wasn't that they infringed upon the Law, but that "they don't know Me."
If they had known Him, living in true, deep, meaningful, vulnerable intimacy with Him on an individual level, they wouldn't have had a sin problem in the first place. Separation from Him is what causes sin. God's desire is that we would know Him, and He made a way for us to do that through His Son. With the Old Testament prophets, we get a shadow of New Testament reality: it is no longer your sin that separates you from God, but your separation from God that causes you to sin.
Did you catch that? The more time you waste believing you're a sinner, the more you will separate yourself from the Lord because of your shame. That separation breeds distance from the only One who loves you with a passionate love, and that distance breeds more sin.
As a believer in Jesus, YOU ARE NOT A SINNER. You have been REDEEMED. Redemption means all parts of you--even those places you have been, those sins you have committed, that make you cringe. The ones you don't even want to think about. He has forgotten them. They have been nailed to the cross (Colossians 2:14).
If you're offended by this, good. The gospel is offensive. It was so offensive to the religious people in Jesus' day--those who supposedly knew the Father--that they killed Him.
If you are shocked at what I'm saying, then I must be doing my job right.
Beloved, beloved, beloved: you are IN CHRIST. And is Christ a sinner?
Ok then.
You are worthy to approach God as a son or daughter not based on your own spotless record, but based on Jesus. What He did was enough.
My heart burns to see the Church wake up to believe this: Christ is enough.
No "buts."
Can you imagine what the world would look like if we prayed like we had the authority of sonship?
Believer, the Lord wants you to approach Him with confidence, because His eyes roam the earth, looking for those who can get beyond themselves enough to truly love Him (2 Chronicles 15:9, John 4:23-24). We have died with Christ, and we have been raised and seated in heavenly places with Him (Ephesians 2:6). We pray from the throne room, not to the throne room.
Don't get mad at me. Blame the Bible.
To bring it back around to kissing (after that totally unplanned tangent of passion...ahem...#sorrynotsorry....), take a look at the story of the prodigal son in Luke 15. The Prodigal is kind of pitiful. Even after he wastes his entire inheritance in sin, he only decides to return to his father because he wants a meal that's better than what hogs eat. As Christians, many of us come home to Jesus for the same reason: we have a preference for something better than what we have, and we still don't properly understand our identities. The Prodigal goes home as a beggar, intending to strike a bargain with his father: "Hey, Dad, if you feed me, I'll work for you."
Examine your own heart. Do you ever approach God this way?
I think we all do.
But note what the father does when he sees his son approaching from a long way off: he runs to him and kisses him. And before his son can even try to bargain with him, he slaps him with a royal robe and ring and kills the best calf for a feast.
Can you imagine the son's thoughts? Does he still believe that he is worth something to his father only through what he can do? Does he believe he is really forgiven? Does he accept his father's mercy with gladness? Or is he ashamed to wear fine clothing? Is he angry that he isn't allowed to work to regain favor?
Do you see where I'm going with this?
The truth is, the son has gotten a kiss from his father--a kiss from the king. And (at the risk of sounding weird) our King, Jesus, wants nothing more than to be that close to you--close enough for a kiss.
Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me (Revelation 3:20).
You're not a beggar who is cowering at the door of the palace, too afraid to knock. He is knocking on your door. He wants you.
Sleeping Beauty had no part in her own awakening other than to respond--involuntarily--to the love of the king. And, if you're a bride who knows who she is, you will rise to do the same with joy and confidence.
Now, I don't normally promote sexist fairytales, but my kinderbaby's confidence in the king's kiss got me thinking. Women aren't meant to wait around for a human man to marry so that their lives can begin. However, as the Church, we are the bride of Christ--that's plain, black-and-white scripture. Although it's wonderful, human love cannot wake us up into our true identities, give us eternal purpose, or complete us. (Sorry, Jerry Maguire.) BUT, a kiss from the King--a life-altering encounter with the all-consuming, blazing inferno of Jesus' love--can and does do those things. In fact, it's the only thing that can.
I think, as the Church, many of us are asleep, still waiting for a kiss from the Beloved that has already come.
For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith--that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:14-19)
That's Paul's prayer for you, Beloved. Yet a great many of us are anesthetized, like the needle-pricked princess in the story. We check the church box on Sundays, then go home and live just like the world for the rest of the week, as if Jesus never said anything that He said. We don't realize that, all along, this was the plot of the evil villain. If he can get us believing that the life of the early church no longer exists, that we are not empowered by the Holy Spirit to affect supernatural change, that the things of the world are far more attractive than an intimate walk with Christ, then his work is done. He doesn't even have to attack us.
Even more of us have a beggar mentality when it comes to prayer. Like Oliver Twist, we approach God as though we were walking up to the big, intimidating pearly gates to knock and cry out, "Please, sir, I want some more." We think we have displeased Him with our sin, and that we have to make a bargain with Him or beg Him for our basic needs. I heard a pastor say this, and I'm going to steal it: a human father would be insulted if his daughter came up to him and cried, "Please, Daddy, take care of my basic needs. Please give me food and water. Please give me a roof over my head." How much more is the heavenly Father's heart broken when His children come to Him as beggars, thinking they're displeasing and disgusting to Him, bowing their heads in shame, when He has already forgiven our every sin on the cross?
Can I rock your boat a little bit more? Sin isn't even the biggest issue to God. Yes, He hates it, because it hurts His children. But if you read through the entire Old Testament in one day (which I doubt very many people have done), you would notice that, whenever God sent a prophet to the Israelites, His biggest complaint about them wasn't that they infringed upon the Law, but that "they don't know Me."
If they had known Him, living in true, deep, meaningful, vulnerable intimacy with Him on an individual level, they wouldn't have had a sin problem in the first place. Separation from Him is what causes sin. God's desire is that we would know Him, and He made a way for us to do that through His Son. With the Old Testament prophets, we get a shadow of New Testament reality: it is no longer your sin that separates you from God, but your separation from God that causes you to sin.
Did you catch that? The more time you waste believing you're a sinner, the more you will separate yourself from the Lord because of your shame. That separation breeds distance from the only One who loves you with a passionate love, and that distance breeds more sin.
As a believer in Jesus, YOU ARE NOT A SINNER. You have been REDEEMED. Redemption means all parts of you--even those places you have been, those sins you have committed, that make you cringe. The ones you don't even want to think about. He has forgotten them. They have been nailed to the cross (Colossians 2:14).
If you're offended by this, good. The gospel is offensive. It was so offensive to the religious people in Jesus' day--those who supposedly knew the Father--that they killed Him.
If you are shocked at what I'm saying, then I must be doing my job right.
Beloved, beloved, beloved: you are IN CHRIST. And is Christ a sinner?
Ok then.
You are worthy to approach God as a son or daughter not based on your own spotless record, but based on Jesus. What He did was enough.
My heart burns to see the Church wake up to believe this: Christ is enough.
No "buts."
Can you imagine what the world would look like if we prayed like we had the authority of sonship?
Believer, the Lord wants you to approach Him with confidence, because His eyes roam the earth, looking for those who can get beyond themselves enough to truly love Him (2 Chronicles 15:9, John 4:23-24). We have died with Christ, and we have been raised and seated in heavenly places with Him (Ephesians 2:6). We pray from the throne room, not to the throne room.
Don't get mad at me. Blame the Bible.
To bring it back around to kissing (after that totally unplanned tangent of passion...ahem...#sorrynotsorry....), take a look at the story of the prodigal son in Luke 15. The Prodigal is kind of pitiful. Even after he wastes his entire inheritance in sin, he only decides to return to his father because he wants a meal that's better than what hogs eat. As Christians, many of us come home to Jesus for the same reason: we have a preference for something better than what we have, and we still don't properly understand our identities. The Prodigal goes home as a beggar, intending to strike a bargain with his father: "Hey, Dad, if you feed me, I'll work for you."
Examine your own heart. Do you ever approach God this way?
I think we all do.
But note what the father does when he sees his son approaching from a long way off: he runs to him and kisses him. And before his son can even try to bargain with him, he slaps him with a royal robe and ring and kills the best calf for a feast.
Can you imagine the son's thoughts? Does he still believe that he is worth something to his father only through what he can do? Does he believe he is really forgiven? Does he accept his father's mercy with gladness? Or is he ashamed to wear fine clothing? Is he angry that he isn't allowed to work to regain favor?
Do you see where I'm going with this?
The truth is, the son has gotten a kiss from his father--a kiss from the king. And (at the risk of sounding weird) our King, Jesus, wants nothing more than to be that close to you--close enough for a kiss.
Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me (Revelation 3:20).
You're not a beggar who is cowering at the door of the palace, too afraid to knock. He is knocking on your door. He wants you.
Sleeping Beauty had no part in her own awakening other than to respond--involuntarily--to the love of the king. And, if you're a bride who knows who she is, you will rise to do the same with joy and confidence.
Wednesday, April 15, 2015
Testimony Spotlight
Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations. He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street; a bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice. He will not grow faint or be discouraged till he has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands wait for his law.--Isaiah 42:1-4
Hello, everyone. It's about time to continue my series of testimonies. The one below was graciously provided by my friend Katie of Northern Virginia. (I have to specify NORTHERN because it is very important to her.)
I have watched this girl's testimony unfold in person, and it is pretty amazing. I've only been a part of the journey for about a year and a half, but it has been going on much longer than that. And it's better than must-see TV. (SOOO much better....)
Have fun reading!
Katie, age 26
Hello, everyone. It's about time to continue my series of testimonies. The one below was graciously provided by my friend Katie of Northern Virginia. (I have to specify NORTHERN because it is very important to her.)
I have watched this girl's testimony unfold in person, and it is pretty amazing. I've only been a part of the journey for about a year and a half, but it has been going on much longer than that. And it's better than must-see TV. (SOOO much better....)
Have fun reading!
Katie, age 26
I was raised as an atheist, by an atheist, before I knew Jesus. To be honest, Jesus was never something I ever thought about or even talked about. It was so far removed from anything I knew that His name didn't ever come up. In fact, I can clearly remember being instructed not to discuss religion or anything close when I was younger. (I think this was an effort to protect us when we were younger and growing up - kids can be cruel when you're different.) Other than my grandmother taking us to church a few times (Easter twice and maybe Christmas?), I don't think I ever even set foot in a church. I managed to make it through high school without even knowing "the basics," to the point where when someone asked me who the Messiah was, I hesitantly guessed, "Moses?" When I finally did get to Bible study (not a Christian, just observing), I didn't even understand how the chapter and verse numbering system worked.
I wouldn't say I was first interested in the gospel, but in the people who claimed to be following it. It sounds cliche, but it's the truth - there was just something different about them. They weren't just the standard Christian hypocrites I'd come to expect. They were really walking out their faith and believing it whole-heartedly. It blew my mind. I didn't understand how such rational people - some of the smartest people I knew, in fact - could believe what I considered at the time to be a bunch of old fashioned brainwashing.
I attended Bible study for about two years (during which time I started attending church as well), but very much from a distance. It was not something I was personally interested in, just intellectually curious about. It wasn't until I went to Thailand that all of it became real to me, at least the God part. To be honest, that was hard part for me - believing in God. Once I couldn't deny He existed, the rest of it fell into place (although I remember laying in bed, talking to Him many nights, saying, "Please God, I'll do anything but become a Christian.") I was really proud of the fact that I wasn't one of those "Jesus freaks." Luckily, God is great at teaching us how to be humble, and several weeks later, I became a Christian.
My first reaction was panic and dread. How would I tell my parents? How would I tell my family? A lot of people have these really emotional encounters. For me, I felt sick to my stomach and like I'd done something terrible. But I stuck with it. It wasn't a decision I made lightly and it wasn't one I would have made without being ready to fully commit, emotions and feelings aside. Six years later, I can clearly say it has been the best decision I ever made. But it was an uphill battle for awhile there.
For a long time, there was a lot of "box checking" - I read my Bible, I went to church, I went to Bible study, I prayed at night. Check, check, check. It wasn't until I found a church two and a half years later that really introduced me to how Jesus and the Holy Spirit could truly transform your life that I began to understand what had first caught my eye in those friends from college. That "something different" turned out to be the Holy Spirit and His amazing ability to free us from ourselves. It was the first time I think I can actually remember being told that I didn't have to struggle through things, that I wouldn't always get knocked down by the devil. I had power and authority from Jesus, and it was for freedom that He set me free. I was a new creation, and one seated up in Heavenly places - not stuck here with all the craziness and soul-sucking of day-to-day life.
I went to a conference in June of 2014 called Power and Love up in New Jersey. I'd seen a few of the speakers on YouTube/online before, but I'd never witnessed someone getting healed in person. While there, a girl was cured of blindness in one of her eyes. She came up to the front, crying. It's moments like that that complete wreck your normal life. I'd always believed in my head that the Bible was true, but suddenly my heart was on fire for it. I couldn't NOT be part of what God wants to do here on earth. It put a lot of things in perspective.
Can I get a witness? Oh yeah...I just did. This is a small picture of the larger story of Katie's journey to freedom. She could probably write a book about all the amazing ways the Holy Spirit has brought her out of darkness and transferred her to the kingdom of light. (Couldn't we all?) And now I'm proud to report that Katie is definitely a Jesus Freak. #jointheranks #everybody'sdoingit #nohighliketheMostHigh (The hash tags are for you, Katie.)
Just one more story that shows the heart of Jesus. Thank you, Katie, for sharing.
For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. (Galatians 5:1).
Saturday, April 11, 2015
King
I was what they call "raised in church," but it took me a long time to realize who Jesus was.
I mean, like any children's pastor's kid, I knew that Jesus was "the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6), but I think that throughout my childhood, I had only a vague understanding of what that meant. As a third-grader, even a highly-churched one, I really only understood Jesus as the Savior...which is, of course, a foundational truth. I didn't really get it yet that Jesus' main objective was not rescuing us, at the last moment, from the grasp of that big mean monster, the devil (who actually does not have authority to put people in hell...or really any authority at all). He actually had a much bigger plan than that.
Jesus' mission--as He stated Himself--was to simply do what He saw His Father doing and bring heaven to earth. His assignment was to lay aside this sin nonsense so we could be reconciled to Him, and then to call us into the real business: restoring the world to a beautiful, heavenly order.
For a long time, I only really saw Jesus on the cross. It has only been over the past few years that I have begun to look into the empty tomb. Yes, He died; but He didn't stay dead. He rose again. And not only did He rise, He brought us back to life with Him. He is no longer a suffering servant; He is a powerful king.
We in the Church should no longer be third-graders worried only about "getting saved." Yes, that's important, but it's only the beginning. We should move into greater maturity and adopt a kingdom mindset. But in order to do that, we have to catch a revelation of who the King really is.
If you're struggling to understand the identity of Jesus, just read about Him in His own words as He addresses the churches in the book of Revelation (chapters 2 and 3). In the letters that He dictated to John, He introduces Himself in these ways:
Fear not, I am the first and the last....
I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades....
...him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands...
...the first and the last, who died and came to life....
...him who has the sharp two-edged sword....
...the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze....
....him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars....
....the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens...
....the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God's creation....
Now, I don't know very much about the stars thing, and there's a lot of theological discussion about the lampstands and whatnot, but all I have to say is, if somebody is holding a star--not to mention seven--in his right hand, he's probably a pretty powerful guy. And the inferno eyes alone would intimidate anyone, even without the two-edged sword. And don't forget all the keys. What with the stars and such, He must be very good at holding many things at once. But, you know, the Bible does say that "in him all things hold together."
In fact, let's just look at that passage, too.
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.--Colossians 1:15-19
I think that pretty much sums up the totality of Jesus' authority. If it is not visible or invisible, He didn't make it. If it was not on heaven or earth, then it has not been reconciled to Him through Him.
Yes, if you are a believer in the gospel today, this guy saved you. But He did so much more than that. He bought back your sonship or daughtership, and He is now in authority over everything in your life--and that means everything. Unless your problems, storms, pain, sin, or failure are neither visible nor invisible, He is Lord over them.
Not only is He Lord over your life, He loves you with a fire that cannot be tamed. He doesn't use the two-edged sword to kill you, but rather to protect you. He opens doors that no man can shut, and He shuts doors that no one can open, in order to make the path clear for YOU. AND, not only that, but He shares His authority with you. What other king does that?
Jesus is not running around putting out the devil's fires. He is actually seated at the right hand of God, completely obliterating the devil with one breath of his mouth (2 Thessalonians 2:8). I like to think the breath comes from His laughter, so in love and in joy He is to have married us, the Church, His bride.
I mean, like any children's pastor's kid, I knew that Jesus was "the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6), but I think that throughout my childhood, I had only a vague understanding of what that meant. As a third-grader, even a highly-churched one, I really only understood Jesus as the Savior...which is, of course, a foundational truth. I didn't really get it yet that Jesus' main objective was not rescuing us, at the last moment, from the grasp of that big mean monster, the devil (who actually does not have authority to put people in hell...or really any authority at all). He actually had a much bigger plan than that.
Jesus' mission--as He stated Himself--was to simply do what He saw His Father doing and bring heaven to earth. His assignment was to lay aside this sin nonsense so we could be reconciled to Him, and then to call us into the real business: restoring the world to a beautiful, heavenly order.
For a long time, I only really saw Jesus on the cross. It has only been over the past few years that I have begun to look into the empty tomb. Yes, He died; but He didn't stay dead. He rose again. And not only did He rise, He brought us back to life with Him. He is no longer a suffering servant; He is a powerful king.
We in the Church should no longer be third-graders worried only about "getting saved." Yes, that's important, but it's only the beginning. We should move into greater maturity and adopt a kingdom mindset. But in order to do that, we have to catch a revelation of who the King really is.
If you're struggling to understand the identity of Jesus, just read about Him in His own words as He addresses the churches in the book of Revelation (chapters 2 and 3). In the letters that He dictated to John, He introduces Himself in these ways:
Fear not, I am the first and the last....
I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades....
...him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands...
...the first and the last, who died and came to life....
...him who has the sharp two-edged sword....
...the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze....
....him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars....
....the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens...
....the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God's creation....
Now, I don't know very much about the stars thing, and there's a lot of theological discussion about the lampstands and whatnot, but all I have to say is, if somebody is holding a star--not to mention seven--in his right hand, he's probably a pretty powerful guy. And the inferno eyes alone would intimidate anyone, even without the two-edged sword. And don't forget all the keys. What with the stars and such, He must be very good at holding many things at once. But, you know, the Bible does say that "in him all things hold together."
In fact, let's just look at that passage, too.
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.--Colossians 1:15-19
I think that pretty much sums up the totality of Jesus' authority. If it is not visible or invisible, He didn't make it. If it was not on heaven or earth, then it has not been reconciled to Him through Him.
Yes, if you are a believer in the gospel today, this guy saved you. But He did so much more than that. He bought back your sonship or daughtership, and He is now in authority over everything in your life--and that means everything. Unless your problems, storms, pain, sin, or failure are neither visible nor invisible, He is Lord over them.
Not only is He Lord over your life, He loves you with a fire that cannot be tamed. He doesn't use the two-edged sword to kill you, but rather to protect you. He opens doors that no man can shut, and He shuts doors that no one can open, in order to make the path clear for YOU. AND, not only that, but He shares His authority with you. What other king does that?
Jesus is not running around putting out the devil's fires. He is actually seated at the right hand of God, completely obliterating the devil with one breath of his mouth (2 Thessalonians 2:8). I like to think the breath comes from His laughter, so in love and in joy He is to have married us, the Church, His bride.
Sunday, April 5, 2015
Happy Easter
And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. And he said to them, "Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here" (Mark 16:5-6).
Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God....On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords (Revelation 11-13 &16).
For many, life is just a process of death. Every day, they move closer and closer to the finality of physical death. But the good news is this: for those of us who are alive in Christ, life is a process of constant regeneration and resurrection. Every day for us is a revival. We have "taken hold of that which is truly life" (1 Timothy 6:19).
This message is not just for Easter. Every morning when we rise, we should remember that, when Christ rose from the dead, we did too (Romans 6:4). In His resurrection, we also have a new name.
After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him (Hosea 6:2).
Your new name is Beloved. Redeemed. Righteous. The message of the cross isn't crucifixion but resurrection.
And, if you're distressed about a world that is dying, here's some even better news:
The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us (2 Corinthians 5:17-20).
The Great Commission isn't about running around the world to "convert" people, build churches, and baptize as many people as possible as fast as possible. It's simply about reaching out a hand to a dying people, awakening them to the revelation that there is a Father who wants to be reconciled to them in order that they might live.
I could write a long time about Easter, about the cross, about the resurrection, and about what it all means. But today, just remember that there is a man who didn't stop at death. He rose so that you could, too.
Happy Easter!
Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God....On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords (Revelation 11-13 &16).
For many, life is just a process of death. Every day, they move closer and closer to the finality of physical death. But the good news is this: for those of us who are alive in Christ, life is a process of constant regeneration and resurrection. Every day for us is a revival. We have "taken hold of that which is truly life" (1 Timothy 6:19).
This message is not just for Easter. Every morning when we rise, we should remember that, when Christ rose from the dead, we did too (Romans 6:4). In His resurrection, we also have a new name.
After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him (Hosea 6:2).
Your new name is Beloved. Redeemed. Righteous. The message of the cross isn't crucifixion but resurrection.
And, if you're distressed about a world that is dying, here's some even better news:
The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us (2 Corinthians 5:17-20).
The Great Commission isn't about running around the world to "convert" people, build churches, and baptize as many people as possible as fast as possible. It's simply about reaching out a hand to a dying people, awakening them to the revelation that there is a Father who wants to be reconciled to them in order that they might live.
I could write a long time about Easter, about the cross, about the resurrection, and about what it all means. But today, just remember that there is a man who didn't stop at death. He rose so that you could, too.
Happy Easter!
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