I love today's Psalm for its applicability to my life, and it's ability to convict me when I need it! I like it better in the hard-cover version I read most days:
"I will study the way that is blameless. When shall I attain it?
I will walk with integrity of heart within my house; I will not set before my eyes anything that is base." Psalm 101:2-3a NRSV
I've had years of practice at walking with the Lord at home-- from being a stay-at-home mom with three kids, to a work-at-home artist and writer. Most of the time it is only the Lord who knows whether I have lived with integrity or not, although the fruit that I have borne, good or bad, all comes from this tree, grown at home. Especially now, when the routine of raising children is over, there are lots of opportunities to waste time on worthless things. Even though I'm careful not to get into evil things, I've discovered that even "harmless" things can steal the fruit I was meant to bear. Since Jesus Himself is my righteousness, and the Way in which I'm to walk, staying in His presence is the only way I'm going to attain a useful and blameless life that pleases Him. If I don't purposely set myself to live before Him at all times, I can easily drift (and occasionally do).
As a person who spends a great deal of time alone, I've discovered that my worst enemy is myself. I believe David realized this as well, and expressed it in this Psalm. If I do nothing but look into the mirror, I'm going to have to deal with a person who could possibly: do something base, fall away from grace, be perverse of heart, think evil thoughts, secretly slander someone, have a haughty or arrogant attitude, practice deceit or utter lies. If I don't face up to the wickedness that dwells in my own selfish nature, I've already practiced deceit with myself. So I'm with David-- I'm not going to wear a mask to fool myself (and I can't fool God, of course). Instead, I'm going to get into conflict with all evil that thinks it wants to dwell in my private lodgings. "Morning by morning I will destroy all the wicked in the land, cutting off all evildoers from the city of the Lord." vs 8 NRSV
And in the holographic sense, I'm the city of the Lord, and so are you.
Showing posts with label the Way. Show all posts
Showing posts with label the Way. Show all posts
Friday, October 29, 2010
Monday, August 9, 2010
August 9, 2010 God's Clear Guidelines For Social Networking
Today the Lord reminded me of some things I'd learned, and clarified them for me. I thought they might be relevant to you as they are to me. They have to do with our interactions with people in the world, and with fellow Christians.
First, it is most important that we do what we say. The issue of living what we preach came up first; often that's going to take crying out to God for help in order to do so. Without that kind of integrity, we lose our good witness and end up ashamed. God comes through with aid when we're committed to actually doing the Word, not just reading it and talking about it.
The issues of "intermarrying with pagans" and "sexual immorality" got a lot of attention: these are obviously really important to the Lord. With the Old and New Testament passages juxtaposed like this, I got a clearer understanding of what the Lord is trying to say, at least to me right now. I think as Christians, we mostly know we're not to marry outside of Christ, or have sex outside of marriage. But I think we can apply this to ourselves in a deeper understanding of intimacy and partnership. We shouldn't be birthing anything of mixed spiritual seed (children of the devil birthing something together with children of God; birthing something that's partly of the devil and partly of God). We shouldn't even take the risk of that kind of illegitimate relationship -- it creates all sorts of trouble.
On the other hand, the Apostle Paul made it clear that the Lord wasn't telling us to go around judging the world for its idolatrous and sexually immoral behavior, or for all the rest of the things he listed (and there is so much more)! God's got it covered. He said he wasn't even telling us to avoid contact with the people in the world, "since then you would need to go out of the world." How could we be a witness in the world if we're not allowed to hang around with people in the world?
If you'll think about it for a minute, Jesus came down out of a holy heaven and entered into a very sinful world, in human form, to hang out with us sinful people. It wasn't because He loved the sin! Obviously He doesn't! He came because He loves people, and He wanted to share God's good news with them. He wanted to give them a way out of the sin, and a way to escape the corruption in the world and the judgement of the world that is to come. He is the Way, and He made it possible for us to see that.
Now it's up to us to do the same. He never engaged in the sinful behavior, however. He was always Himself, yet He made Himself accessible. He was engaging without compromise. Jesus is the best example of how to do godly social networking. Not only that, He's given us His Spirit to help us do it right.
Paul brought up a major issue about how to deal with people who call themselves Christians and don't live like it (and it seems to me that he is talking about habitual lifestyle, not just mistakes, since he called them "evil people"!). As I said before, we should not be one of those. But here we see that we shouldn't even hang around with one of those! Does this seem contradictory? Hang out with the sinners in the world, but don't hang out with the sinners in the Church.
Well, think about it. First, there's the possibility that it might be an imposter (poser, infiltrator), possibly a wolf. Or it could be a person under the influence of a Jezebel spirit. Any of these types are stalking around looking to lead people astray and devour them. Someone doing immoral things within the body of Christ ends up leading others to do the same, usually the lambs. It despoils the testimony of the Church, and it grieves the Spirit of God. The Church is about oneness with God and each other. God will not be one with evil! There may be other reasons besides these. Whatever the reasons for God saying it's a big deal, Paul makes it clear that it's dangerous and that we are to take action. Yes, we are to judge it. We are to disengage from fellowship with them, and we are not to associate. [If you have read further in the letters of Paul, you will see that this choice is to be redemptive always].
As you can see, the things we read in Scripture are very relevant and applicable to our daily lives. I received some clear instruction today, and some things on which to seek God further. I hope you did too.
Questions to ponder:
How committed are you to obeying what the Word of God teaches?
What do you do when you are up against a compromising situation?
Have you ever gotten too involved with an unbeliever? How did that turn out?
How much say does God have in your own social networking practices?
How does God's Word affect how you relate to people in the world? people in the church? Is He calling for any change in these areas?
Have you ever had to give up a Christian friend because they were living a sinful lifestyle? What would tell someone facing that type of choice?
First, it is most important that we do what we say. The issue of living what we preach came up first; often that's going to take crying out to God for help in order to do so. Without that kind of integrity, we lose our good witness and end up ashamed. God comes through with aid when we're committed to actually doing the Word, not just reading it and talking about it.
The issues of "intermarrying with pagans" and "sexual immorality" got a lot of attention: these are obviously really important to the Lord. With the Old and New Testament passages juxtaposed like this, I got a clearer understanding of what the Lord is trying to say, at least to me right now. I think as Christians, we mostly know we're not to marry outside of Christ, or have sex outside of marriage. But I think we can apply this to ourselves in a deeper understanding of intimacy and partnership. We shouldn't be birthing anything of mixed spiritual seed (children of the devil birthing something together with children of God; birthing something that's partly of the devil and partly of God). We shouldn't even take the risk of that kind of illegitimate relationship -- it creates all sorts of trouble.
On the other hand, the Apostle Paul made it clear that the Lord wasn't telling us to go around judging the world for its idolatrous and sexually immoral behavior, or for all the rest of the things he listed (and there is so much more)! God's got it covered. He said he wasn't even telling us to avoid contact with the people in the world, "since then you would need to go out of the world." How could we be a witness in the world if we're not allowed to hang around with people in the world?
If you'll think about it for a minute, Jesus came down out of a holy heaven and entered into a very sinful world, in human form, to hang out with us sinful people. It wasn't because He loved the sin! Obviously He doesn't! He came because He loves people, and He wanted to share God's good news with them. He wanted to give them a way out of the sin, and a way to escape the corruption in the world and the judgement of the world that is to come. He is the Way, and He made it possible for us to see that.
Now it's up to us to do the same. He never engaged in the sinful behavior, however. He was always Himself, yet He made Himself accessible. He was engaging without compromise. Jesus is the best example of how to do godly social networking. Not only that, He's given us His Spirit to help us do it right.
Paul brought up a major issue about how to deal with people who call themselves Christians and don't live like it (and it seems to me that he is talking about habitual lifestyle, not just mistakes, since he called them "evil people"!). As I said before, we should not be one of those. But here we see that we shouldn't even hang around with one of those! Does this seem contradictory? Hang out with the sinners in the world, but don't hang out with the sinners in the Church.
Well, think about it. First, there's the possibility that it might be an imposter (poser, infiltrator), possibly a wolf. Or it could be a person under the influence of a Jezebel spirit. Any of these types are stalking around looking to lead people astray and devour them. Someone doing immoral things within the body of Christ ends up leading others to do the same, usually the lambs. It despoils the testimony of the Church, and it grieves the Spirit of God. The Church is about oneness with God and each other. God will not be one with evil! There may be other reasons besides these. Whatever the reasons for God saying it's a big deal, Paul makes it clear that it's dangerous and that we are to take action. Yes, we are to judge it. We are to disengage from fellowship with them, and we are not to associate. [If you have read further in the letters of Paul, you will see that this choice is to be redemptive always].
As you can see, the things we read in Scripture are very relevant and applicable to our daily lives. I received some clear instruction today, and some things on which to seek God further. I hope you did too.
Questions to ponder:
How committed are you to obeying what the Word of God teaches?
What do you do when you are up against a compromising situation?
Have you ever gotten too involved with an unbeliever? How did that turn out?
How much say does God have in your own social networking practices?
How does God's Word affect how you relate to people in the world? people in the church? Is He calling for any change in these areas?
Have you ever had to give up a Christian friend because they were living a sinful lifestyle? What would tell someone facing that type of choice?
Thursday, August 5, 2010
August 5, 2010 When All Seems Lost, God Makes A Way
I was suicidal once, years back; for a month or more, I struggled with thoughts of how I could end my life because chronic depression had left me hopeless, and my circumstances seemed unchangeable. I had lost connection with my faith in God, although I would not have denied it consciously. The only thing that kept me going was that I needed to take care of my children. I thank God for a dad who heard God, comprehended where I was at, and offered to pay for therapy. This was the beginning of a long journey of healing and restoration for me. That I now have abiding peace and joy in my life, and a stable environment and relationships, is a great example of the power of the cross of Christ. It is in Him alone that I have found reality, sanity and purpose.
I share this because it is the first thing I thought of when I saw the heading for today's reading in Ezra: End of the Babylonian Captivity. What I saw in the passage was that if God could stir up the spirit of Cyrus, He can do whatever needs to be done to rescue us from our distresses. He did do that for me. When I thought no good could come from my life (that was of course, a deception), God broke through my darkness and brought me out. My sinful choices had gotten me into captivity in the first place. God used it for good in my life anyway.
When humanity had fallen into the depths of depravity, God made a way. When Jesus went to the cross to die, He took upon Himself the whole of mankind's mess. He came back from the depths of death bringing our deliverance with Him. As Paul said, it sounds like foolishness to a lot of people, but I say, foolishness or not, it's wisdom and life. I can testify first hand-- I'm only alive because of Him.
The Corinthians passages are some of the most powerful and hopeful I know of: I love them! When you put them together with the Ezra account, the Psalms and the Proverbs, today's reading packs a powerfully hopeful punch! I completely embrace being a "foolish thing"! It means I'm chosen to put to shame the "high and mighty" things of the world. I just said to my husband this morning, that I didn't belong in the big, bad world-- that I just wanted to hide out "in a cave" and be a little girl. The fact is, I am God's little girl! I don't have to fit in with, or be accepted by, the world (that's perishing anyway); I don't belong! I belong to the Kingdom! I'm in Christ and Christ is in God. I can be strong in the power of His might! I can glory in Him! I don't have to be anything, because He is everything. However, as I keep pressing into Him, the foolishness that is me gives way to the wisdom that is Him. I begin to realize that in the Kingdom I have substance, significance, sustainability.
If you are lost, Jesus is the Way. If you have been found by Him, Jesus is still the Way. Along the Way you find Truth and Life. These things are worth living for! Whether you know it or not, Jesus already died for you and proclaimed you "forgiven." Your future love relationship with God began at that moment. Whenever you awake to this reality and say "yes," the adventure begins. Never give up on your life! You will be totally surprised at the wondrous things He has in store for you, even if you feel like a foolish thing right now.
Bonus: Negativity is the beginning of the suicidal road; here's how not to get there, ever:
"I would have lost heart, unless I had believed
That I would see the goodness of the LORD
In the land of the living.
Wait on the LORD;
Be of good courage,
And He shall strengthen your heart;
Wait, I say, on the LORD."
Psalm 27:13-14
Questions to ponder:
Have you ever struggled with despair or suicidal thoughts? How did you get out from under them?
If you have had victory in this area, have you ever shared it with others?
Do you know anyone who struggles with depression or suicidal thoughts?
How do you deal with that?
Even if these things are far from your own experience, what have you learned that is applicable to you?
Truth: Whatever you've overcome in your life is what the Lord will use to minister life to others through you.
I share this because it is the first thing I thought of when I saw the heading for today's reading in Ezra: End of the Babylonian Captivity. What I saw in the passage was that if God could stir up the spirit of Cyrus, He can do whatever needs to be done to rescue us from our distresses. He did do that for me. When I thought no good could come from my life (that was of course, a deception), God broke through my darkness and brought me out. My sinful choices had gotten me into captivity in the first place. God used it for good in my life anyway.
When humanity had fallen into the depths of depravity, God made a way. When Jesus went to the cross to die, He took upon Himself the whole of mankind's mess. He came back from the depths of death bringing our deliverance with Him. As Paul said, it sounds like foolishness to a lot of people, but I say, foolishness or not, it's wisdom and life. I can testify first hand-- I'm only alive because of Him.
The Corinthians passages are some of the most powerful and hopeful I know of: I love them! When you put them together with the Ezra account, the Psalms and the Proverbs, today's reading packs a powerfully hopeful punch! I completely embrace being a "foolish thing"! It means I'm chosen to put to shame the "high and mighty" things of the world. I just said to my husband this morning, that I didn't belong in the big, bad world-- that I just wanted to hide out "in a cave" and be a little girl. The fact is, I am God's little girl! I don't have to fit in with, or be accepted by, the world (that's perishing anyway); I don't belong! I belong to the Kingdom! I'm in Christ and Christ is in God. I can be strong in the power of His might! I can glory in Him! I don't have to be anything, because He is everything. However, as I keep pressing into Him, the foolishness that is me gives way to the wisdom that is Him. I begin to realize that in the Kingdom I have substance, significance, sustainability.
If you are lost, Jesus is the Way. If you have been found by Him, Jesus is still the Way. Along the Way you find Truth and Life. These things are worth living for! Whether you know it or not, Jesus already died for you and proclaimed you "forgiven." Your future love relationship with God began at that moment. Whenever you awake to this reality and say "yes," the adventure begins. Never give up on your life! You will be totally surprised at the wondrous things He has in store for you, even if you feel like a foolish thing right now.
Bonus: Negativity is the beginning of the suicidal road; here's how not to get there, ever:
"I would have lost heart, unless I had believed
That I would see the goodness of the LORD
In the land of the living.
Wait on the LORD;
Be of good courage,
And He shall strengthen your heart;
Wait, I say, on the LORD."
Psalm 27:13-14
Questions to ponder:
Have you ever struggled with despair or suicidal thoughts? How did you get out from under them?
If you have had victory in this area, have you ever shared it with others?
Do you know anyone who struggles with depression or suicidal thoughts?
How do you deal with that?
Even if these things are far from your own experience, what have you learned that is applicable to you?
Truth: Whatever you've overcome in your life is what the Lord will use to minister life to others through you.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
April 11, 2010
I think it would be wonderful to make a "scrapbook" or "memory book" of the things God has done in our life. Don't you? We take photos of our kids growing up, and the major events in our life, like weddings and birthdays, and we document our vacations and our mission trips. We collect memorabilia from our various activities and event we want to remember. Then we look at them occasionally, and these scrapbooks bring back the memories or our best times, strengthening them every time we do. We talk to our kids about our life before they were born: "Look, there's mommy and daddy with really funny hairdo's and clothes!" or the funny things they did when they were little: "There you are at one year old, with a pie pan on your head!" It's easy to laugh and share with our kids with something to look at that's organized and picturesque.
God did similar things with Israel it seems, only they didn't have iphones! When Joshua led them across the flooded Jordan, heaping up the water, the Lord instructed them to take twelve stones out from the Jordan and pile them up in the Promised Land as a memorial for what He had done for them. "Then he spoke to the children of Israel, saying: “When your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, ‘What are these stones?’ then you shall let your children know, saying, ‘Israel crossed over this Jordan on dry land’; for the LORD your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you until you had crossed over, as the LORD your God did to the Red Sea, which He dried up before us until we had crossed over, that all the peoples of the earth may know the hand of the LORD, that it is mighty, that you may fear the LORD your God forever.” Joshua 4: 21-24
If we are to accomplish the things that God gives us to do, it is imperative that we bring to remembrance the times that He has worked in our life, the times He has empowered us and brought us through. Otherwise we tend to lose faith in the midst of difficulty. This has been one of my largest shortcomings throughout my Christian walk. I'm a great starter, but carrying through is not so easy, and finishing something has always loomed before me like an impossible task.
I very much related to this Scripture verse today: "For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it— lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish’? Luke 14: 28-30 The thing is, when I start something by the inspiration of the Spirit and the word of the Lord, I know the Lord can do it through me, because I know His power and ability. But do I really count the cost?
Jesus knew the kinds of trials, struggles, temptations and oppositions we would face as we walked through life as His disciples. He gave us the perfect antedote to failure: "pick up your cross and follow me," and "whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple." The cost of fulfilling God's will and following Christ to the end, the finish line, is EVERYTHING. You just don't quit! And you let nothing stop you from obeying Him, not even yourself.
A scrapbook of remembrance, in lieu of stone monuments, might help us remember not only God's faithfulness to us and to our ancestors; but it might also remind us of the times we chose, yet again, to commitment ourselves to faithful discipleship. We need reminders that we were once willing to pick up our cross and give up everything, so that we will continue in that choice when we feel ready to quit.
I like how so many of the verses tied together today, and I like how Proverbs sums up the concept of follow-through:
The lazy man does not roast what he took in hunting, But diligence is man’s precious possession. In the way of righteousness is life, And in its pathway there is no death. Proverbs 12: 27-28
There is only one righteous path, and that is Jesus Christ. If we stop following Him, we fail, but if we continue to follow Him, enduring until the end, we succeed, because there is no death or failure in Him.
God did similar things with Israel it seems, only they didn't have iphones! When Joshua led them across the flooded Jordan, heaping up the water, the Lord instructed them to take twelve stones out from the Jordan and pile them up in the Promised Land as a memorial for what He had done for them. "Then he spoke to the children of Israel, saying: “When your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, ‘What are these stones?’ then you shall let your children know, saying, ‘Israel crossed over this Jordan on dry land’; for the LORD your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you until you had crossed over, as the LORD your God did to the Red Sea, which He dried up before us until we had crossed over, that all the peoples of the earth may know the hand of the LORD, that it is mighty, that you may fear the LORD your God forever.” Joshua 4: 21-24
If we are to accomplish the things that God gives us to do, it is imperative that we bring to remembrance the times that He has worked in our life, the times He has empowered us and brought us through. Otherwise we tend to lose faith in the midst of difficulty. This has been one of my largest shortcomings throughout my Christian walk. I'm a great starter, but carrying through is not so easy, and finishing something has always loomed before me like an impossible task.
I very much related to this Scripture verse today: "For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it— lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish’? Luke 14: 28-30 The thing is, when I start something by the inspiration of the Spirit and the word of the Lord, I know the Lord can do it through me, because I know His power and ability. But do I really count the cost?
Jesus knew the kinds of trials, struggles, temptations and oppositions we would face as we walked through life as His disciples. He gave us the perfect antedote to failure: "pick up your cross and follow me," and "whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple." The cost of fulfilling God's will and following Christ to the end, the finish line, is EVERYTHING. You just don't quit! And you let nothing stop you from obeying Him, not even yourself.
A scrapbook of remembrance, in lieu of stone monuments, might help us remember not only God's faithfulness to us and to our ancestors; but it might also remind us of the times we chose, yet again, to commitment ourselves to faithful discipleship. We need reminders that we were once willing to pick up our cross and give up everything, so that we will continue in that choice when we feel ready to quit.
I like how so many of the verses tied together today, and I like how Proverbs sums up the concept of follow-through:
The lazy man does not roast what he took in hunting, But diligence is man’s precious possession. In the way of righteousness is life, And in its pathway there is no death. Proverbs 12: 27-28
There is only one righteous path, and that is Jesus Christ. If we stop following Him, we fail, but if we continue to follow Him, enduring until the end, we succeed, because there is no death or failure in Him.
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