"Delight yourself in the LORD; And He will give you the desires of your heart." (Psalm 37:4)
Sometimes when we read a verse like this we can almost let ourselves be stymied by the second half. We get hung up on thoughts like, "I can't seek God with such an impure motive" or "How can God really bless me if I seek Him so He will give me the desires of my heart?" Those thoughts aren't bad and actually reveal a heart that wants to honor the Lord, but we do need to get past them.
There are some things that we can consider that will help. The first is that we rarely seek God with a perfectly pure heart. Being human, we have issues, and we bring our issues wherever we go. The good news is that God is the fix for our issues. Seek the Lord and let Him deal with the issues. As you press into Him the impurities of your heart will begin to melt away. The Lord wouldn't have given us such a wonderful promise to hang us up in its application.
The other thing that helps is just to get after the first part of the verse. Delight yourself in the Lord. The second comes because of the first -- it really is a sowing and reaping in our walk with Him. Ask Him to help you do it. Press in and spend time with the Lord. Spend time in worship and prayer and in the Word. As you spend time with Him you will begin to delight in Him.
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Sunday, March 25, 2012
By Him All Things Consist
"Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures." (Luke 24:27)
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (John 1:1)
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (John 1:1)
For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. (Colossians 1:16)
What we believe about Jesus Christ is absolutely central to the Christian faith and our walk with God. Jehovah Witnesses believe that He is was the son of God, but not God Himself. Mormons offer up a pretty convoluted view of Jesus where Jesus is a son of God along with Satan, and earned deity status through righteous works. Islam teaches that He was a great prophet. A lot of people believe that he was some sort of sage or good teacher or revolutionary. All those beliefs, while containing a portion of the truth, are false because they deny the full power and glory of Jesus Christ.
The challenge before us in rightly interpreting and understanding the Word of God is always in dealing with the sections that challenge us. The books of the Bible were not written as large collections of individual sayings. Context, continuity, and consistency matter. Some understanding of the Old and New Covenants will help us to understand the whole. Grasping the whole truth of Jesus Christ will help us to see the Word and God's pursuit of mankind in all its fullness.
I love Colossians 1 and the statement Paul makes about Jesus Christ--
He is the image of the invisible God.
All things were created by Him and for Him.
He is before all things.
By Him all things consist.
Paul makes a powerful case for the deity of Christ. Jesus is more than a good man or teacher. He is the very one who created all that we see and by Him all things consist. That word consist in the Greek means placed or banded together. He came to redeem His very creation that He holds together. That is powerful!
In Luke 24 the resurrected Jesus encountered two men on the road the Emmaus. They spent some time together in conversation and in verse 27 we read how "beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself." I would have loved to have been a part of that conversation.
Philippians 2:11 tells us that one day "every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
I find it interesting that one common thread of false teachers is that while they claim to honor and respect Him they always deny the full reality of who He is. It's easy to like the partial Jesus. Find the verses where Jesus said things we like (Judge not seems to be a favorite) and ignore the ones that make us uncomfortable. That one about denying yourself and taking up your cross and following Him seems to be particularly onerous to some people. We want Jesus the lamb, but not Jesus the judge. We want the Jesus who ate with tax collectors and sinners, but not the Jesus who said, "Go and sin no more." We want a Jesus who makes us feel better about ourselves without actually challenging us.
The real Jesus is far more awesome than we can often conceive. He is worthy of our worship and worthy of our lives. Knowing and walking with Him is the pinnacle of human achievement. He changes everything. He is Lord and He is God!
What we believe about Jesus Christ is absolutely central to the Christian faith and our walk with God. Jehovah Witnesses believe that He is was the son of God, but not God Himself. Mormons offer up a pretty convoluted view of Jesus where Jesus is a son of God along with Satan, and earned deity status through righteous works. Islam teaches that He was a great prophet. A lot of people believe that he was some sort of sage or good teacher or revolutionary. All those beliefs, while containing a portion of the truth, are false because they deny the full power and glory of Jesus Christ.
The challenge before us in rightly interpreting and understanding the Word of God is always in dealing with the sections that challenge us. The books of the Bible were not written as large collections of individual sayings. Context, continuity, and consistency matter. Some understanding of the Old and New Covenants will help us to understand the whole. Grasping the whole truth of Jesus Christ will help us to see the Word and God's pursuit of mankind in all its fullness.
I love Colossians 1 and the statement Paul makes about Jesus Christ--
He is the image of the invisible God.
All things were created by Him and for Him.
He is before all things.
By Him all things consist.
Paul makes a powerful case for the deity of Christ. Jesus is more than a good man or teacher. He is the very one who created all that we see and by Him all things consist. That word consist in the Greek means placed or banded together. He came to redeem His very creation that He holds together. That is powerful!
In Luke 24 the resurrected Jesus encountered two men on the road the Emmaus. They spent some time together in conversation and in verse 27 we read how "beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself." I would have loved to have been a part of that conversation.
Philippians 2:11 tells us that one day "every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
I find it interesting that one common thread of false teachers is that while they claim to honor and respect Him they always deny the full reality of who He is. It's easy to like the partial Jesus. Find the verses where Jesus said things we like (Judge not seems to be a favorite) and ignore the ones that make us uncomfortable. That one about denying yourself and taking up your cross and following Him seems to be particularly onerous to some people. We want Jesus the lamb, but not Jesus the judge. We want the Jesus who ate with tax collectors and sinners, but not the Jesus who said, "Go and sin no more." We want a Jesus who makes us feel better about ourselves without actually challenging us.
The real Jesus is far more awesome than we can often conceive. He is worthy of our worship and worthy of our lives. Knowing and walking with Him is the pinnacle of human achievement. He changes everything. He is Lord and He is God!
Saturday, March 24, 2012
A Humble Heart
"O my God, incline Your ear and hear! Open Your eyes and see our desolations and the city which is called by Your name; for we are not presenting our supplications before You on account of any merits of our own, but on account of Your great compassion." (Daniel 9:18)
There are a number of common threads that run through both the Old and New Testament and testify to God's love and pursuit of mankind. Even though we know that grace and truth culminate in Jesus (John 1:17) we find shadows throughout the Old Testament of what was to come. In Daniel 9 we find Daniel praying for his people. Daniel offers up a prayer of repentance, hope and restoration.
Daniel approaches the Lord in the only way we can -- with humbleness of heart and trust in God's compassion. One of the issues we have in the Church today is our struggle to balance the love of God without making an idol of humanity. In doing so we too often embrace a subtle form of humanism where God can only be good if His chief aim is to please man. We raise our belief and sin above God and above His Word. Universalism is a great example of this. Judgment is such a terrible concept that we can't reconcile it with a loving God, so we declare all men saved, whether they realize it or not. We pick and choose Bible verses to back our point and ignore the rest. Paul becomes totally schizophrenic and his writings are now totally inconsistent, but we feel better. Another example is homosexuality. People generally want to be nice so they go along with the argument that God must have made some people that way, ignoring what both scripture and science say about the matter. Homosexuality is no longer an act, but an identity, but what it really has become is an idol -- something held higher than God and what He has said.
But back to Daniel. Daniel approaches the Lord with no excuses and no justification. Man is subservient to God. God is the one who is holy and righteous and full of mercy and compassion. Man is the one who has sinned against God and ignored his long suffering kindness and ongoing warnings. God is on the throne, not man. Just as it can truly only be. Daniel prayed, "we are not presenting our supplications before You on account of any merits of our own, but on account of Your great compassion." That is how we approach God and we can do so boldly, as His children, if we are born again. We don't approach God through our good works and we don't have to hold back because of our shortcomings, and yet we do have to approach humbly.
Humility means we lay our lives before Him -- not my way but yours O Lord. We don't approach God in our own righteousness, neither do we presume upon Him to accept what He has said is wrong. Both ways are idolatry because both attempt to raise man above God. Faith in Jesus is rooted in humility before God. It's not about getting everything right, but there ought to be a desire to want what God wants, regardless of how we personally feel, or even our ability to live up to it. That's a heart God can work with. Anything else is pride and vanity.
What attitudes and beliefs have you held above God's Word? There is no problem or sin that is too great for Him. It was for freedom that Christ has set us free. Freedom is not the ability to do whatever I want. That will only lead to bondage. True freedom is found in God. He is, after all, the only truly free being.
There are a number of common threads that run through both the Old and New Testament and testify to God's love and pursuit of mankind. Even though we know that grace and truth culminate in Jesus (John 1:17) we find shadows throughout the Old Testament of what was to come. In Daniel 9 we find Daniel praying for his people. Daniel offers up a prayer of repentance, hope and restoration.
Daniel approaches the Lord in the only way we can -- with humbleness of heart and trust in God's compassion. One of the issues we have in the Church today is our struggle to balance the love of God without making an idol of humanity. In doing so we too often embrace a subtle form of humanism where God can only be good if His chief aim is to please man. We raise our belief and sin above God and above His Word. Universalism is a great example of this. Judgment is such a terrible concept that we can't reconcile it with a loving God, so we declare all men saved, whether they realize it or not. We pick and choose Bible verses to back our point and ignore the rest. Paul becomes totally schizophrenic and his writings are now totally inconsistent, but we feel better. Another example is homosexuality. People generally want to be nice so they go along with the argument that God must have made some people that way, ignoring what both scripture and science say about the matter. Homosexuality is no longer an act, but an identity, but what it really has become is an idol -- something held higher than God and what He has said.
But back to Daniel. Daniel approaches the Lord with no excuses and no justification. Man is subservient to God. God is the one who is holy and righteous and full of mercy and compassion. Man is the one who has sinned against God and ignored his long suffering kindness and ongoing warnings. God is on the throne, not man. Just as it can truly only be. Daniel prayed, "we are not presenting our supplications before You on account of any merits of our own, but on account of Your great compassion." That is how we approach God and we can do so boldly, as His children, if we are born again. We don't approach God through our good works and we don't have to hold back because of our shortcomings, and yet we do have to approach humbly.
Humility means we lay our lives before Him -- not my way but yours O Lord. We don't approach God in our own righteousness, neither do we presume upon Him to accept what He has said is wrong. Both ways are idolatry because both attempt to raise man above God. Faith in Jesus is rooted in humility before God. It's not about getting everything right, but there ought to be a desire to want what God wants, regardless of how we personally feel, or even our ability to live up to it. That's a heart God can work with. Anything else is pride and vanity.
What attitudes and beliefs have you held above God's Word? There is no problem or sin that is too great for Him. It was for freedom that Christ has set us free. Freedom is not the ability to do whatever I want. That will only lead to bondage. True freedom is found in God. He is, after all, the only truly free being.
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Merry Christmas! Part 2
"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." (John 3:16-18)
And that's the real meaning of Christmas, Charlie Brown.
Merry Christmas Day!
And that's the real meaning of Christmas, Charlie Brown.
Merry Christmas Day!
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas! Have a blessed day tomorrow with family and friends. I'm writing this early in the AM Christmas morning. I'm about to head to bed myself. Tomorrow looks to be a nice day. We'll have our annual Christmas celebration with breakfast and opening of presents in the morning. and then at some point we'll get together with Mom and Dad and my brothers and sister. I'm truly blessed to have such a cohesive tight-knit family. Wish my twin brother Jim could be with us, but he'll be out in California with his family.
As I write this Chet Atkins is playing "Deck the Halls" on the turntable. Chester was truly something else on the guitar. The halls are decked, and the presents are wrapped. As usual it seemed like the month just flew by. It has been a nice month, but a busy one. Christmas is a wonderful time of year, but it sometimes seems it is hard to slow down and enjoy it. This week should be pretty slow though. I'm looking forward to it.
Chester is finishing side B with "Silent Night." That's where we are now. The house is silent, and I'm about to go to bed, but I would be remiss to head on without this last thought. I've been thinking today on thankfulness and the goodness of God. We human beings are so easily swept up into the negative. Sometimes it is hard to even slow down and enjoy days like this. If we're not careful, we can turn times of rest into times of worry. It's too easy when we find ourselves less busy to let our minds wander toward the future. That's when the care of the world can creep in and keep us from seizing the joys that this day holds. In Matthew 6:34 Jesus told us, "So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself."
I think thankfulness is a good antidote to worry. Thankfulness turns our focus back on the Lord and on to His goodness. It reminds us of His care and provision. Be thankful tomorrow as you go about your day. Take some time throughout the day to thank the Lord for all He has done in your life. I sure will.
God bless and have a wonderful Christmas Day!
As I write this Chet Atkins is playing "Deck the Halls" on the turntable. Chester was truly something else on the guitar. The halls are decked, and the presents are wrapped. As usual it seemed like the month just flew by. It has been a nice month, but a busy one. Christmas is a wonderful time of year, but it sometimes seems it is hard to slow down and enjoy it. This week should be pretty slow though. I'm looking forward to it.
Chester is finishing side B with "Silent Night." That's where we are now. The house is silent, and I'm about to go to bed, but I would be remiss to head on without this last thought. I've been thinking today on thankfulness and the goodness of God. We human beings are so easily swept up into the negative. Sometimes it is hard to even slow down and enjoy days like this. If we're not careful, we can turn times of rest into times of worry. It's too easy when we find ourselves less busy to let our minds wander toward the future. That's when the care of the world can creep in and keep us from seizing the joys that this day holds. In Matthew 6:34 Jesus told us, "So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself."
I think thankfulness is a good antidote to worry. Thankfulness turns our focus back on the Lord and on to His goodness. It reminds us of His care and provision. Be thankful tomorrow as you go about your day. Take some time throughout the day to thank the Lord for all He has done in your life. I sure will.
God bless and have a wonderful Christmas Day!
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Joy
We're beginning a series on joy at the church that I am really excited about. Interesting enough the primary Greek word used for joy in the New Testament, chara and the word we translate as grace, charis, both come from the root word chairo. This word, as with many Greek words, has a number of meanings. It was used as a salutation or greeting. It also means to rejoice or be glad, but it also means to be well or thrive.
Too many times we live a life of trying to get by when God has so much more for us. In John 10:10 Jesus even said that He came that we would have life and have it more abundantly. That doesn't mean we'll never go through stress or hard times or trouble. It does mean we should be living a life of meaning and purpose.
In Romans 14:17 Paul wrote that "the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit." If you read earlier in the chapter you see that Paul was responding to a controversy over food and observances of ritual. He was trying to get them off of focusing on things that don't matter and on what is real. Righteousness, peace, and joy come though Jesus. We so easily get our priorities out of whack and wonder why we are stressed out and overwhelmed.
Joy is a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22) and is an outworking of our fellowship with the Lord. Joy sets us free to be who God would have us to be. It changes us and transforms us. It helps us to lay down our defensiveness and insecurity and helps us to get outside of ourselves and focus on others. Joy is powerful and ever so necessary in this life. Joy will help us to thrive and to live life well.
Too many times we live a life of trying to get by when God has so much more for us. In John 10:10 Jesus even said that He came that we would have life and have it more abundantly. That doesn't mean we'll never go through stress or hard times or trouble. It does mean we should be living a life of meaning and purpose.
In Romans 14:17 Paul wrote that "the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit." If you read earlier in the chapter you see that Paul was responding to a controversy over food and observances of ritual. He was trying to get them off of focusing on things that don't matter and on what is real. Righteousness, peace, and joy come though Jesus. We so easily get our priorities out of whack and wonder why we are stressed out and overwhelmed.
Joy is a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22) and is an outworking of our fellowship with the Lord. Joy sets us free to be who God would have us to be. It changes us and transforms us. It helps us to lay down our defensiveness and insecurity and helps us to get outside of ourselves and focus on others. Joy is powerful and ever so necessary in this life. Joy will help us to thrive and to live life well.
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Submit to the Righteousness of God!
"For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God." (Romans 10:3)
The Bible clearly lays the case against trying to establish our own righteousness by our own works. Well meaning believers fall into the trap of trying to relate to God based on their own deeds. Unbelievers who acknowledge that they do believe in some sort of "god" fall prey to believing that God will accept them because they are a good person. The problem lies in the concept of righteousness. Romans 3:10 tells us that "There is none righteous, no, not one." Good deeds can't cover unrighteousness. If they could we wouldn't need a savior. 99 percent righteousness is still unrighteousness. The line is formed hard and fast.
Bur thanks be to God our Savior has made a way for us! Through Him we have the righteousness of God imparted to us by faith (Romans 3:22, Philippians 3:9). But what do we see in the human condition? We see such pride, arrogance and conceit formed in an unfounded and historically inaccurate view of the goodness of man. A view that manifests itself in people who believe that God must accept them because they are good. They refuse to submit to the righteousness of God. From the perspective of one who has been saved by the grace of God that is mind-boggling. Jesus has lovingly laid down His life and paid the price for us, but we refuse to accept the free gift He so willingly offers.
Christians who don't get this will live a Christian walk with a certain level of frustration, but thankfully it's not an eternal life and death decision for them. The grace of God is willingly extended to those who receive it by faith. We are saved by what we believe, and we're not disqualified by error in doctrine or belief in other matters. The grace of God is powerful. The true tragedy lies with those people who believe there is a God, but refuse to submit to what God has said. Those are the people who will try to pass muster by holding up their good works and will be tragically disappointed when told "I never knew you." In some ways those cases will be sadder than atheists who willfully argue against and reject God, but simply believing there is a God is just not enough. Even demons believe that.
The Bible clearly lays the case against trying to establish our own righteousness by our own works. Well meaning believers fall into the trap of trying to relate to God based on their own deeds. Unbelievers who acknowledge that they do believe in some sort of "god" fall prey to believing that God will accept them because they are a good person. The problem lies in the concept of righteousness. Romans 3:10 tells us that "There is none righteous, no, not one." Good deeds can't cover unrighteousness. If they could we wouldn't need a savior. 99 percent righteousness is still unrighteousness. The line is formed hard and fast.
Bur thanks be to God our Savior has made a way for us! Through Him we have the righteousness of God imparted to us by faith (Romans 3:22, Philippians 3:9). But what do we see in the human condition? We see such pride, arrogance and conceit formed in an unfounded and historically inaccurate view of the goodness of man. A view that manifests itself in people who believe that God must accept them because they are good. They refuse to submit to the righteousness of God. From the perspective of one who has been saved by the grace of God that is mind-boggling. Jesus has lovingly laid down His life and paid the price for us, but we refuse to accept the free gift He so willingly offers.
Christians who don't get this will live a Christian walk with a certain level of frustration, but thankfully it's not an eternal life and death decision for them. The grace of God is willingly extended to those who receive it by faith. We are saved by what we believe, and we're not disqualified by error in doctrine or belief in other matters. The grace of God is powerful. The true tragedy lies with those people who believe there is a God, but refuse to submit to what God has said. Those are the people who will try to pass muster by holding up their good works and will be tragically disappointed when told "I never knew you." In some ways those cases will be sadder than atheists who willfully argue against and reject God, but simply believing there is a God is just not enough. Even demons believe that.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)