Hope With God

Ephesians 2
v.1: And you were dead in your trespasses and sins
v.2: in which you previously walked according to this worldly age, according to the ruler of this atmospheric domain, the spirit now working in the disobedient.
v.12: At that time, you were without the Messiah, excluded from the citizenship of Israel, and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, with no hope and without God in the world.

Can you imagine that?? "No hope and without God in the world". I think sometimes when we talk of being saved and Jesus' sacrifice, we hear it so often, we actually become numb to the magnitude of it. Jesus saved us...rescued us from being without God. Think about that!! What would it be like to live in this world without God?? There would be absolutely no hope here or for eternity. Can you imagine facing trials in your life without God?? Trials such as losing a loved one unexpectedly; suffering an accident that leaves you permanently disabled; being diagnosed with a terminal illness; facing the financial ruin of a company you built from scratch; or finding out your child is a drug addict. To face trials such as these without the hope of God in my life...I can't imagine.

Recently, I was going through a time when I had a lot on my plate. I had a full class schedule in seminary, was serving as an intern pastor at my church, dealing with some health issues, not to mention going through menopause. Emotionally, I was coming uncorked. I found myself unexpectedly weeping and becoming depressed to the point of debilitation. As I talked with my doctor about it, I told her that the worst thing was that I felt far away from God. I couldn't hear Him; I couldn't feel Him; and I felt like I had lost my Best Friend. (I emphasize felt because it only felt like it, but God was always there.) My doctor was surprised to hear me say this considering the fact that I was in seminary and serving at my church. But that's not God. That's not the one-on-one intimate relationship with Him. None the less, she encouraged me to make my God time a priority along with some meds. That night was the beginning of making my God time a bigger priority in my life. As soon as I did that, the hope, the connection and the peace with God came flooding back.

This example is only a feeling of no hope. I always had the hope of God with me. But, to not have that hope is a frightening thought. I wouldn't want to live without it. There's only one way to have that hope...faith in Jesus, the Messiah.

Ephesians 2
v.4: But God, who is abundant in mercy, because of His great love that He had for us, 
v.5: made us alive with the Messiah even though we were dead in trespasses. By grace you are saved!
v.8: For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God's gift
v.9: Not from works, so that no one can boast.

Love your neighbor

Galatians 5
v. 13: For you are called to freedom brothers; only don't use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but serve one another through love.
v. 14: For the entire law is fulfilled in one statement: Love your neighbor as yourself.

If we love our neighbors, we won't steal, we won't kill, we won't commit adultery... We will love. We often hear I Corinthians 13:4-8a read at weddings:

v. 4: Love is patient; love is kind. Love does not envy; is not boastful; is not conceited;
v. 5: Does not act improperly; is not selfish; is not provoked; does not keep a record of wrongs;
v. 6: Finds no joy in unrighteousness, but rejoices in the truth;
v. 7: Bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
v. 8: Love never fails.

This is always so beautiful at a wedding...but have you ever considered this definition of love when it comes to loving your neighbor?? Think about it. That means you would always be kind; you would not be envious when your neighbor gets a brand new car and you're still driving the one that's being held together with duct tape; you would walk away when a friend has a piece of juicy gossip about your neighbor; and you would be patient when your neighbor cuts you off in traffic. I think you get the idea. So, who is your neighbor?? Jesus was asked that question. His answer was the story of the good samaritan. (If you're not familiar with the story, check out Luke 10:30-35) When he finished telling the story, Jesus asked who was a neighbor to the man that was robbed. The answer: the one who showed him mercy. Your neighbor is not just the person who lives next door to you; your neighbor is your fellow man.

Yesterday morning, our city lost one of its finest. An Indianapolis Police Officer who had made a routine traffic stop Sunday morning, was shot and yesterday died from his injuries. Whenever I hear of the death of a police officer, fire fighter or soldier in the line of duty, my heart is touched deeply. These people show the greatest love according to John 15:13...they lay down their lives for their friends...for their neighbors. When you think of it in those terms, the sacrifices we have to make in loving our neighbor don't seem quite so big.

May we ask God to help us to love as He would.

No one has greater love than this, that someone would lay down his life for his friends.  John 15:13

Thank you Officer David Moore

The Core of the Faith

Galatians 3:
v. 1a: You foolish Galatians! Who has hypnotized you...?

There's an interesting way to start a chapter. Why was Paul so upset? It was about works vs. faith. Paul went on to say...

v. 1b: ...Who has hypnotized you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was vividly portrayed as crucified?

Paul was aghast that anyone who saw Jesus as crucified could possibly believe that living by the law or works saves them. You see, this is the core of the true Gospel message... believing that Jesus, Who is the Son of God, came to this earth, lived among us and was crucified as a sacrifice for our sins. It's believing that three days later, Jesus rose from the dead, having conquered sin and death once for all and was then seated at the right hand of God, His Father.
Paul continued...

v. 10: For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, because it is written: Cursed is everyone who does not continue doing everything written in the book of the law.
v. 11: Now it is clear that no one is justified before God by the law, because the righteous will live by faith.

It is humanly impossible, I don't care how good you are, to live to the letter of the law. Our flesh is so limited and so weak. God knows that. God knows that on our own, in this spiritual battle for our souls, we are defenseless. It is a far greater battle than we could ever imagine. Understand...there is one who wants your soul. One who wants to destroy you here and in the life to come. One who doesn't care one iota about you and seeks only to take your hope, your future and your life.

...and God knows that. God does care about you, He loves you...adores you. In His love for you, He sent His Son, Jesus as a sacrifice for you. All you have to do is surrender. Confess to God that you are, indeed, defenseless on your own. Confess that you have sinned and fallen short and you need saved. Believe in your heart and soul and declare outloud that Jesus died on the cross as the ultimate sacrifice for your sins.

Then God will look at you and see you washed clean and white as snow. Glowing with purity. Free from the stains of sin. You will receive the Holy Spirit as your constant companion and you will be a child of Almighty God. You will have the hope and promise of eternal life with God. You will belong to God.

Romans 8
v. 15b: ...but you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry out, "Abba, Father!"
v. 16: The Spirit Himself testifies together with our spirit that we are God's children.

Do you know what "Abba" means? It means in our English words, "Daddy". How intimate is that?? That is the kind of relationship God wants to have with you. Intimate. Personal. Real.

A lot of times in a writing such as this, the author will give you a prayer to pray word-for-word to ask Jesus into your heart. I don't want to do that. If you're reading this and have never confessed your sins to God and gave your life to Christ, I believe you should pray from your heart with your words, not mine. I will, however, give you a few suggestions...

CONFESS THAT YOU ARE A SINNER
ADMIT YOU NEED HELP
BELIEVE AND DECLARE THAT JESUS DIED FOR YOUR SINS AND IS YOUR SAVIOR
THANK HIM

If you've done this for the first time, leave me a comment and let me know. Let me welcome you to the family of Almighty God.

John 3
v. 16: For God so loved that world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.

Believe!!

No Favorites

Galatians 2
v. 6: But from those recognized as important (what they really were makes no difference to me; God does not show favoritism) - those recognized as important added nothing to me.

God has no favorites. I hadn't really thought of that before. Some translations say that God is not a respecter of persons. That's how I've always heard it and that translates, God has no favorites. This is confirmed throughout the New Testament:

Matthew 22
v. 16: They sent their disciples to Him, with the Herodians, "Teacher," they said, "We know that you are truthful and teach truthfully the way of God. You defer to no one; for you don't show partiality."

Mark 12
v. 14: When they came, they said to Him, "Teacher, we know you are truthful and defer to no one. For you don't show partiality but teach truthfully the way of God."

Ephesians 6
v. 9: And masters, treat them the same way, without threatening them, because you know that both their and your Master is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with Him.

Colossians 3
v. 25: For the wrongdoer will be paid back from whatever wrong he has done, and there is no favoritism.

I Peter 1
v. 17a: And if you address as Father the One who judges imparially based on each one's work...

I think it's pretty clear that God has no favorites. God is an equal-opportunity, equal-loving God. That can be a hard concept to grasp. Especially in our society. Everywhere we turn entertainers, athletes, politicians, authors, etc. are being lifted up...exalted as nothing shy of gods. They are idolized and our children (and sometimes in our hearts, even the adults) want to be just like them. They want to look like them, act like them, talk like them, have the same skills they have and, in some cases, even have the same habits they have, good or bad. Why? Because we believe that somehow they are better than we are. But that is so wrong.

In the eyes of God, (the Only One who is to be exalted, worshipped or idolized) we are all on a level playing field. No one catches the eye of God or His attention over another. No one is being compared. We are God's creation, made in His image and He loves us all the same. That's hard for us to wrap our heads around. In the land of competition, being the best, heck, we even rank our friends, "best". But God's not like that. He loves you because you're you. Not because your better than but because you're you.

So, the next time you think maybe God listens to your pastor more because he or she is more focused on Him; or God loves your big brother more because he was born first and that makes him special...think again. You are treasured by God just like everyone else. No favorites!!

People Pleasing

Galatians 1:
v. 6: I am so amazed that you are so quickly turning away from Him who called you by the grace of Christ, and are turning to a different gospel-
v. 7: not that there is another gospel, but there are some who are troubling you and want to change the Gospel of Christ.
v. 8: But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel other than that we have preached to you, a curse be on him!
v. 9: As we have said before, I now say again: If anyone preaches to you a gospel contrary to what you received, a curse be on him!

Wow!! Powerful words Paul wrote. A curse be on anyone who preaches a different gospel. And he doesn't say it once but twice!! In this day of "political correctness" and "inclusiveness", that would not fly. Some would truly be offended by such a statement...and I'm sure they were back then. But you see, Paul's devotion to Jesus and His Gospel was so strong that he truly didn't care what people thought. He was speaking the truth and speaking to please the only One...the One who called him...the One true God.

v. 10: For am I now trying to win the favor of people or God? Or am I striving to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a slave of Christ.

Here's a trap we often fall into...people pleasing. What are we willing to do to get the approval of people? Are we willing to go in debt to buy that fancy car we really can't afford? Have invasive surgical procedures to make our bodies look "better" or younger? Go to a party and drink as much as we can so we'll fit in only to be sick the next morning? Or are we willing to deny the true Gospel of Jesus Christ so no one will be offended and everyone will be happy and live in peace?

Matthew 10:
v. 33: But whoever denies me before men, I will also deny him before my Father in heaven.

The truth is, we want the right kind of peace. The people pleasing peace is temporary and false. While we may think an open, politically correct, inclusive gospel that denies the one true Gospel of Jesus Christ, will make everyone happy, it won't. There are still going to be those who will be offended. But even more than that, the happiness and peace will be short lived in the eyes of eternity. When we die, we have to answer to the One who will either acknowledge us before the Father or deny us before the Father.

Which one will you be??

His Power in Our Weakness

II Corinthians 12
v. 7b: Therefore, so that I would not exalt myself, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of satan to torment me so I would not exalt myself.
v. 8: Concerning this, I pleaded with the Lord three times to take it away from me.
v. 9: But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christs power may reside in me.
v. 10: So because of Christ, I am pleased in weaknesses, in insults, in catastrophies, in persecutions and in pressures. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

As I read these words today, I am in my 4th week of home-rest due to a cough that is now under the care of a pumonologist. The coughing has caused two of my ribs to misalign from my sternum...OUCH!! Frustrating? You have no idea. And yet, during this time, God is revealing truth to me; He is giving me a hunger for his word; He is prompting me to write about my studies in His word on my blog. He is not only revealing His power to me but through me to you who are reading my blog. In my weakness, He is strong!!

I can't help but think of two people who have had an enormous thorn in the flesh and God's immense power radiates through them.



Joni Eareckson Tada



The first is Joni Eareckson Tada. As a teenager, Joni was healthy, athletic and strong. But one fateful afternoon while swimming at a lake with friends, Joni dove into a shallow end of the lake. Her life changed dramatically when she broke her neck and became quadriplegic. She went from being healthy and independent to needing help with every day tasks that we do without thinking. I know we can't begin to fathom the frustration, the anger, the hopelessness and the fear she must struggle with. She contemplated suicide. She questioned God. But now, 44 years later, she has a worldwide ministry as an author, speaker, radio host, artist, singer as well as providing thousands of wheelchairs to disabled people worldwide through her ministry, Wheels for the World. Could she have reached the people she has reached had this not happened? Would she have the heart for the disabled if she didn't understand? Could those with disabilities relate to her if she were not in the wheelchair? Would our hearts be as touched when we see her sing praises to God and speak of His love if she weren't in the chair? Does she want healing? I'm sure she would say, "Yes." Can God heal her? Of course.

II Corinthians 4
v. 16: Therefore, we do not give up; even though our outer person is being destroyed, our inner person is being renewed day-by-day.
v. 17: For our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory.



Nick Vujicic

 Nick Vujicic is another person whose life displays the amazing power of God. Nick was born with no arms and no legs. He is now 28 years old and loves God passionately. Though he has obvious limitations, he swims, plays golf, surfs, and texts, facebooks, and twitters on his iphone with one of the two tiny feet God has given him. But, like Joni, he also has a worldwide ministry that takes him to schools, churches, prisons and foreign lands. He has starred in a mini-film called "The Butterfly Circus" that has earned several awards and is slated to be made into a full-length feature film. It's not always been easy for him. He struggled with kids at school...that is until he bloodied the nose of the biggest bully with a headbutt. He attempted suicide as a young boy but changed his mind in the midst and stopped it. Does he believe God can heal him? Yes. So much so, that he has a pair of shoes in his closet, just in case. Until then, God's power and love show strong  in this man and he continues to touch the lives of so many around the world.

Joni Eareckson and Nick Vujicic

God wants to show HIS power in this world so that we would know Him. Sometimes He shows that in healing, as Jesus described when He and His disciples saw a man who was blind from birth. His disciples asked Jesus if he or his parents sinned to cause this.

John 9:
v. 3: "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," Jesus answered. "This came about so that God's work might be displayed in him."

But sometimes He shows it in our weakness.

Don't believe you've done something wrong or your faith is not strong enough if you continue to struggle with your own thorn of the flesh. Continue praying for God's healing but be willing to rejoice in the thorn if that is what God chooses to show His power in your life.

One and Only One

II Corinthians 11
v. 3-4: But I fear that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your minds may be corrupted from a complete and pure devotion to Christ. For if a person comes and preached another Jesus, whom we did not preach, or you receive a different spirit which you had not received or a different gospel which you had not accepted, you put up with it splendidly.
v. 13: For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.
v. 14: And no wonder! For Satan himself is disguised as an angel of light.
v. 15a: So it is no great thing if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness.

When reading this, a Christian might think they are secure enough that they could never be taken in by such false prophets. I've heard them. I've listened as they declare Jesus yet their "gospel" message is not the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I've watched as true followers of Christ have begun to question the truth of God's word and get sucked into the lies. I've watched and listened as the blood of Christ has been dismissed as being too violent and God would have nothing to do with that. I have heard those who suggest that there are other ways of salvation other than Christ and that to think otherwise is unacceptable and offensive. I have wept. I have been angry, frustrated and shocked.

I'll let God's word speak for itself...

Acts 4

v. 11-12: Jesus is the stone despised by you builders, who has become the cornerstone. There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to people by which we must be saved.

John 14:

v. 6: Jesus told him: I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

John 3:

v. 16: For God so loved the world in this way, He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.

v.18: Anyone who believes in Him is not condemned, but anyone who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the One and Only Son of God.

Ephesians 1

v. 7: In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace that He lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.

May all come to believe in the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The One true hope of salvation and eternal life with the Father. 

A house not made by human hands...

II Corinthians 5

v: 1-2: For we know that if our earthly house, a tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made by human hands, eternal in heaven. And, in fact, we groan in this one, longing to put on our house from heaven.
v. 4: Indeed, we who are in this tent groan, burdened as we are, because we do not want to be unclothed but clothed, so that mortality shall be swallowed up by life.
v. 8: Yet we are confident and satisfied to be out of the body and at home with the Lord.

It's reading scriptures such as these that cause me to ask the question, "Why is death a bad thing?" It is no secret that on this earth, in this world, in our earthly bodies; we groan and we suffer. But when we die, God has an eternal body made for us...a body we long for...an existence unparalleled to anything here on earth.

For anyone in Christ, death is hope. When a child of God dies, we cry for us...not for them. If we could fully comprehend what they are experiencing in their eternal body in the kingdom of God, we would rejoice for them. We would congratulate them. We would long to go too.

This hope is what gives me great comfort when I think about my mom. She died on April 19, 2009. She suffered almost her entire adult life with severe scoliosis (curvature of the spine). Her body was very twisted and caused her tremendous pain. She was sick, in pain and disabled most of her life. But, I knew when she died, she had been released from that twisted prison of pain. She was experiencing no pain, no sickness, no suffering. These words from Chris Tomlin's song, "I Will Rise" comfort me greatly when I think of her...

I will rise when He calls my name.

No more sorrow

No more pain

I will rise  on eagle's wings

before my God

fall on my knees...

Be comforted and know...



Join Me In Study

Last week, I felt God prompting me to get more out of my time in His word. As a result, I have begun writing about what I have found in scripture...I guess you might call it a commentary of sorts. Anyway, I have again felt God's prompting to share my writings with my blog friends. I know it's been a while since I've blogged and I hope you'll forgive me. But, this may keep me in blog world on a more consistent basis. Can't promise every day but I will try.

The more I read God's word, the closer I get to God and the more I desire Him, the more I realize the temporary, unimportance of the things of this world. Today as I prayed whole-heartedly to die to myself so that God could take this vessel and use it to His glory, these lyrics from an hold hymn sang through my heart...

Turn your eyes upon Jesus

Look full in His wonderful face.

And the things of this earth,

will grow strangely dim

in the light of His glory and grace.

Over the past few years, I have become so aware of eternity. It causes me to look at this world with different eyes. Even with that, I'm always amazed how this world can suck me in and cause me to think it is the end all, be all. But it's not. Not even my body that has stolen so much emotional energy with its imperfections will go to eternity with me. It's a vessel and will not last after I die. It will rot and become unrecognizable.

My reading this morning in II Corinthians 4:16-18 says this:

Therefore, we do not give up; even though our outer person is being destroyed, our inner person is being renewed day by day. For out momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory. So we do not focus on what is seen, but what is unseen; for what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Paul got it. He understood. How easy was it for him to keep his mind set on that truth? I can't help but wonder about him and people like Brother Lawrence who lived in an easier, less distracting time. How would they fare with today's distractions? This world SCREAMS for our attention. It makes the temporary and pointless seem like life and death. It titillates our senses and tries to convince us that it is our reason for living.

It's all about God and His kingdom. Eternity is very real and forever.