The Fear of the Lord

II Corinthians 5:11

11 Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord.....,

Meditations:

Knowing the fear of the Lord....Do I know and experience the fear of the Lord? And what does that look like? I often fear man-"what do they think about me?" But do I really fear God? I don't fear condemnation, and that's what I am hard-wired to do. When we fear people, when we get concerned about what they think about us, whether they accept me or not, whether they "like" me, I then fear rejection. I don't have to fear God that way. Do I want to please Him so very much that I fear that I am not? Do I have a healthy "knowing" that He is the God and maker of the universe and that knowledge then changes my thoughts and actions? Do I place Him in a different category enough that I show awe, reverence and devotion for Him? Or do I just act like God is my "cosmic" buddy ready to help me out in times of need?

God is God! He is someone that I can't see yet evidence for Him is all around me and inside of me too. I can't hear Him but His Word speaks to me everyday.

Things I really fear; my children's opinion (wanting to see them happy not necessarily holy), my husband's opinion of me, being the kind of friend that leads to acceptance and not rejection. When all I think of is making people happy (so they will like me, give me attention, think good of me), then I'm only thinking of myself. I should be thinking about what is best for them not only for me. I am to do all for God's glory.

Help me this day to see and hear You for who You are, to truly bow my heart to You-because You alone are God.

"Not just once, but everyday we must renounce our trust in other would be lords, saviors, providers, and promise makers. We must let go of our anxious grip on or own lives, our sense of being in control, our own integrity and confidence in our religious experience. We must renounce the contracts we have entered that promised to make our life meaningful and say 'Amen!' to the will as it is read to us." p. 109

Michael Horton in The Gospel Driven Life

I am just a "cracked" pot

II Corinthians 4:7

⁷ But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. ⁸ We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; ⁹ persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. ¹⁰ We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. ¹¹ For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body. ¹² So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.

I am the "cracked" pot-Christ is the power of God in me, that's the treasure.

The power is God's not ours. The power is God's not ours! We are (I am) just a cracked pot a jar of clay, molded and made to hold treasure, the promised Holy Spirit-the power of God.

How does a cracked pot shine? Through the cracks! By afflictions, perplexities, persecutions, brokenness that is how we shine. The world is driven to despair-there is nothing to hope for or to live for-but we who have tresure in jars of clay, die in order to live. We die through afflictions, perplexities, persecutions in order for Christ's life to triumph through us-we have the same trials as everyone else, but as we by faith triumph through them, we also die more to ourselves and live more unto God.

"Brokenness is not weakness, nor does it doom me to a life of uselessness. I am a cracked pot. My head knows that each broken place allows more of Christ’s light to shine into the world if I allow Him to be Lord of the cracks. If I stop trying to conceal them, patch them, cover them over, they can bring glory to God. my heart just struggles with the willingness to surrender."

Q. 35. What is sanctification?
A. Sanctification is the work of God’s free grace, whereby we are renewed in the whole man after the image of God, and are enabled more and more to die unto sin, and live unto righteousness.

Shorter Catechism

Wishing

I have been reading and meditating on II Corinthians for several months now. Having only made it to the sixth chapter I keep reading those first few chapters over and over again. It is chocked full of verses that encourage us not to lose heart, have courage, and to walk by faith.

Wishing

Wishing I were smarter, more organized, less talk, faster to listen,

could pour out my energy into one thing and have that one thing be beautiful,

much more compassionate, did I mention smarter,

not prone to wander,

where was I.......

Wishing all about me was all about You,

Your grace, Your Son.

All that I want to do should revolve around You-

where You want to go, who You want to befriend,

who You want to talk to, listen to, love-

more often than not it's all about where I want to go,

who I want to befriend, what I want to say,

and who I want to listen to,

You say.....

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those that mourn, for they shall be comforted.

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

Blessed are those that hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the Sons of God.

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness,

and all these things will be given unto you.

"Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God.

Not that we are sufficient in ourselves

to claim anything as coming from us,

but our sufficiency is from God."

II Corinthians 3:4-5

Poor in spirit, mourning over my sin, desperately hungry and thirsty,

merciful, pure in heart, peacemakers, and persecuted-

These are the ways You want for me.

Knowing that even when I manifest your ways,

they are still Yours.

So very different from what the world says to be-

completely opposite in fact.

Without trials, without sufferings, without times where all is withheld-

do we ever even catch a glimpse of these attributes?

Having trials, sufferings, withholdings, wilderness times we are called to die-

"Truly, truly I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies,

it remains alone;

but if it dies, it bears much fruit.

Whoever loves his life loses it,

and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life."

John 12:24-25

Wishing................all about You

The Cross

God's ways are so much more different than our ways. The Cross is a perfect example of that. In Matthew 16:16-18, Peter confesses that Jesus is the Son of God and that He is the Christ, that is, the savior of the Jews, the one who would eradicate all evil from the world. And because of Peter's profession, Jesus tells Peter that he and the apostles will be "the rock" that He will build his entire church upon. The funny thing is, that about four verses later, in the same chapter, Jesus calls Peter "Satan" (16:23). Why does he do this? Because after Jesus affirms Peter's place in the church and tells him that nothing can stop the church's success (16:18), He also begins to tell His disciples that He is going to Jerusalem to suffer and die. Peter was going to have no part of that.

Peter was thinking, "Sweet! Jesus is going to conquer Rome and the world and I am going to be his Vice-Regent." Jesus was going to conquer the world but not with a sword and fire, as Peter had thought. Hence, when Jesus told him that He was going to Jerusalem to die Peter couldn't understand it and wasn't about to let that happen.

Peter couldn't see how Jesus' going to die on the Cross would actually be the greatest event in human history, that is, apart from the Second Coming. And in many ways, if we are honest with ourselves, we forget that too. We think that life should be victorious, that we should have "our best life now." The reality of it is though, is that we do have "our best life now" and the reason why we don't see it that way much of the time is because we are letting our deceitful hearts and the world tell us what "our best life now" should be. We get envious because of this or that person's life, family, job, body, health, church, or whatever (you can pretty much put anything on the list). Like Peter, we assess victory through worldly measures.

A lot of this worldliness comes because we have made the Cross some common ornament on the Christmas tree of Christianity instead of the golden star that sits on top. Through the Cross of Christ, believers have been "blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 1:3). Paul says, "For all things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future--all are yours, and you are Christ's, and Christ is God's (1Corinthians 3:21-23). If you and I have true faith in Jesus' work on the Cross, we, right now, at this very second, are the most blessed creatures in the universe. Of course, it doesn't always seem that way. This life is hard, no doubt about it. But one of the fruits of the Spirit is joy. And we can always possess joy, no matter what our circumstances. And the only way we can do that is knowing that through Christ's completed work on the Cross, the sadness of this life will turn into inexpressible joy in the life to come. It's the hope assured that is found in Christ's work on the Cross that pulls us through.

Embrace the Crucifixion. Hebrews 12:1-2, tells us to look to Jesus, "the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God." What was the joy that was set before Him? It was that He would spend eternity with you. You are Christ's joy. When He returns, He will pour praise and glory upon you (1 Peter 1:7). All because of the Cross! Don't negate or despise the Cross like Peter did in Matthew 16. Live at the foot of the Cross every day, every hour. Revel in the Cross, celebrate the Cross. Don't mourn for the Cross, or get sad about the Cross. Don't tell God that you wish there was another way, like Peter did. The Cross was the Missio Dei, the mission of God. It is the victory of God in Christ. It is the only thing that can provide any true hope and joy for mankind. Embrace the Cross!

written by Nik

Living for Self

St. Paul says this in 2 Corinthians 5:14-15, "For the love of Christ controls us (or compels us in some translations), because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised."

There are a lot of things in our life that can and usually do control us besides Christ's love; personal comfort or security, family, relationships, money, career, pleasure, past hurts and disappointments, anxieties, etc. And when any one of these things apart from Christ is the primary force that is driving us, we slowly begin to grow colder and colder toward others around us and toward God Himself. The reason is because we are living for ourselves. And many people in this world will go through their entire life doing everything they can to worship the idol of self. And no matter what goals or accomplishments they attain, at the end of their life they are empty inside.

Life was meant to be lived for others. We are part of a bigger story that Christ is writing and he wants to us to be a part of it, but he can't if the only story that we think is important is our own personal story. The reason why Christians begin to get controlled by things other than Christ is because they have for gotten the deep, deep love that God in Christ has for them. You and I who believe in our hearts that Jesus was raised from the dead by God the Father so that we could be made righteous, are so loved that it is unfathomable. God loves you. It doesn't matter how well you are performing, if you messed up this week and snapped at a friend or relative, if you forgot to read your Bible, or you missed a church service; God loves you. That can never change (Romans 8:1; John 6:37). And many times when we are living for ourselves and not for God or others, it is because we have forgotten the sweet, unmerited, fully satisfying Gospel of God.

I am convinced that what changes people into mature Christians is that they grow more and more into a deeper understanding of the Gospel. For in doing so, you realize how selfish and ugly you really are, but yet how much Christ still loves you despite your filthiness. Jesus in John 7:47 says, "Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven--for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little." This is the story of the woman that came to Jesus, poured expensive perfume on him and then proceeded to kiss His feet, wipe them with her hair while using her tears as a cleaning solution. The reality is, we have all been forgiven much. It is just that at times in life we can take our minds and hearts off of the Cross, off of what God has done for us, off of His love for us. If love for others and for God has grown cold in your heart, when was the last time you meditated on the Cross? When was the last time you meditated on all the things that God has given you in your life? Of which the most important is eternal life. Following more rules, trying harder, or pulling yourself up by your bootstraps will never cause you to love people or God more. But knowing that you are unfathomably loved by God solely through the work of Jesus Christ and nothing in and of yourself, that will change you.

Devotion written by our RTS intern and friend, Nik Franks

Re-Run

*This post I wrote about a year and a half ago. So very relevant still. Someone replied to that particular post with great insight, that follows.

How many people sit in our pews devastated and disappointed, or have left the pews for the bars where everyone really does know their names? When it comes right down to it, it is not the people in the church that have let them down so much as, in their minds, it is God Himself. They came to Christ wanting....__________ (fill in the blanks); a family, healing, love, prosperity. After a while the Jesus that they expected was not enough, was not there, people shafted them, and the world once again looks like a much safer place than the Church. Been there done that!

This week I read a review of a book in World Magazine. The author is a former religion writer for the LA Times. The book is about his "journey" of giving up his faith, a faith he came to years ago through disappointment. He was disillusioned and disappointed with his life in his twenties which culminated in his "giving" his life to Jesus. Now "Jesus" has disappointed him through the lives of people in the pews. Is there a pattern here? This is a good opportunity to do some self reflecting, some soul searching. What were the circumstances surrounding how you came to Christ? Like this reporter, was it disappointment with life? Did you think that Christ would give you the life that you always dreamed of? Was it a lack of family? Whatever it was it will be tested. What ever our human motivations were, the bottom line is that Christ is the one that has found us, and our motivations will be tested. If you were trying to escape a harsh family, a life that chewed you up and spit you out, or a life that was one onslaught of sin after the other, God will test your faith, guaranteed. Whether we haven't realized it yet or not, we didn't deserve His attention in the first place, or His love, if anything we deserved our circumstances, we deserved Hell for crying out loud. In His grace God woos us and draws us using a myriad of experiences-He never wastes a sin! As we mature though, He tests those motives in order to show us even more of His great mercy and grace!

Have you gotten to the point in your experience, walking with Christ, that the trials, tribulations of life seem much worse than when You first came to Christ? Have Christian people disappointed you seemingly more than the ones in your non-Christian past? Have you begun to question just what are you living for, is this what you signed up for? Are you"losing" your faith as the above mentioned reporter has? Only time will tell, but God is changing you so that the lessons of life will not shake you, on that you can be very encouraged. He is turning timidity into boldness, double-mindedness into perseverance, sight into a strong faith that will never disappoint. His Word is the anchor, His presence is the ointment, and His grace is sufficient.

"Sometimes the sun stays hidden for years. Sometimes the sky rains night after night. When will it clear? But.....Our hope endures the worst of conditions. It's more than our optimism. Let the earth quake..our hope is unchanged."

Our Hope Endures by Natalie Grant

Sunday Ken preached from Mark 5. Jairus's daughter was dying, Jesus delayed, a woman was healed, professional mourners laughed, a twelve year old looks dead, and God's glory was revealed. We are all so very self absorbed to think that life's circumstances only revolve around us.

This was the reply from"anonymous", so good!

LIMITING THE BREAD JESUS OFFERS

After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with Him. So Jesus said to the twelve, "Do you want to go away as well?" John 6:66-67

What caused the crowd following Jesus to turn away and leave? Jesus words about eating His flesh and drinking His blood. They were content to eat the bread He offered as long as it was physical provision. When hungry, they eagerly consumed the loaves and fishes. As soon as the subject turned to spiritual food, their interest faded. The concept was too radical; the cost too high.
Today, I can be equally limiting. I can pray for the miraculous provision necessary to pay an overdue bill but reject the bread that promises to expose, then heal, my anger. I will embrace bread for the body but reject bread for the soul. Yesterday while in prayer, Jesus spoke to me about my life's story, and I felt the Spirit ask me the question, "Where would you still like to be changed? How would you like for your story to be different a year from now?" I'm still thinking about that and will be prayerfully carving out an answer.
Whatever landscape Jesus touches changes. I would be shortsighted if I only desired His effect in the physical and not the spiritual. I can ask Him to bring peace to my home but forfeit the opportunity for Him to bring peace to the tormented places in my mind. I can ask Him to bring healing to my body but still live in want of the inner healing of my deepest childhood wound. I can ask for Him to provide the next meal for my family yet fail to eat the sumptuous spiritual meal He has prepared for the renovation of my soul.
Following Jesus is to embrace all of His teachings. While He will allow me to pray for superficial things and give me the choice on whether or not to go deep, the only one who loses when I choose superficiality is me. At the end of my life, I don't want my testimony to sound like this. "In 1989, I prayed and Jesus miraculously provided the money I needed to pay my electric bill." Rather, I pray that this story will be told. "I was once afraid of everything, unsure of myself, and played it safe. I ate of the bread of life and over the course of my lifetime, He changed me completely."

I don't want to go away, like the crowd. Your questions are hard, Your bread sometimes threatens the places where I'm comfortable, but I eat of You today. I am hungry. Amen

Over Smoothies and Icecream.......

A friend and I were eating ice cream and sipping smoothies yesterday and both of us were lamenting the circumstances of life that we find ourselves in. Nothing very earth shattering, just unfulfilled expectations of a God that doesn't guarantee that our expectations are also His. I asked her what does it all do to her faith, she said, "faith, sometimes I wonder if I have ever truly trust God for anything in my life more than a few minutes." Me too, I said, Me too.

I had planned my life differently, so had she. In a nice little box where our expectations would all be met. Yes, there is suffering, but we were to come through it "leaping and shouting and praising God." Then God decided to touch our lives by withholding the very thing (s) we felt we could not live without, and the "props" that go with them. Our own petty comforts, triumphs, and feel goods that keep us believing that we are still in control. We all have them. I think for a great deal of years I honestly didn't know that I used them to my advantage to manipulate life into something that "I" could manage; a word of affirmation, a job admired, significance sought for and gained, being sought after.....to name a few. Notice in my list is nothing about God. It is all about me, what I want to feel comfortable with, to navigate through life trying to make sense of a fallen, messed up place. That is one of the lessons that I am learning. Life doesn't revolve around me. I have preached that to my kids, and lately have found myself going all the way back to childhood reliving lessons I thought were already learned.

What does this have to do with faith? Everything. No I am not where I want to be. No, I am not the paragon of virtue that I thought I would be at this stage of my life.

Ken has been preaching through the book of Jonah. Now that is one prophet I thought I would never, ever identify with. After all, he runs from God knowing full well who God is, calling Him almighty, slow to anger, abounding in loving kindness. Then he relents of his life more times than I can count. Read the 4th chapter:

Jonah 4

¹ But Jonah was greatly displeased and became angry. ² He prayed to the LORD, "O LORD, is this not what I said when I was still at home? That is why I was so quick to flee to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. ³ Now, O LORD, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live."

⁴ But the LORD replied, "Have you any right to be angry?"

⁵ Jonah went out and sat down at a place east of the city. There he made himself a shelter, sat in its shade and waited to see what would happen to the city. ⁶ Then the LORD God provided a vine and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was very happy about the vine. ⁷ But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the vine so that it withered. ⁸ When the sun rose, God provided a scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah's head so that he grew faint. He wanted to die, and said, "It would be better for me to die than to live."

⁹ But God said to Jonah, "Do you have a right to be angry about the vine?"

"I do," he said. "I am angry enough to die."

¹⁰ But the LORD said, "You have been concerned about this vine, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. ¹¹ But Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city?

I identify with Jonah's anger in a big way. I know that He has told us that He works through suffering. That we shouldn't be surprised when suffering comes into our lives. But, I have been ticked with Him. You know suffering is only suffering when it hurts. When our false images of God come crashing down, when faith is really something that you trust in but don't see, when we really aren't in control of anything that happens. Ken also reminded us that even though we might be frustrated by the way the book ends, someone had to write it. Someone who had gotten a lot less enamored by himself, someone that in the end realized that the world does not revolve around himself. Powerful.

Another friend sent me this quote:

"I know those moods when you sit there utterly alone, pining, eaten up with unhappiness, in a pure state of grief. You don't move towards me but desperately imagine that everything you have ever done has been utterly lost and forgotten. This near-despair and self-pity are actually a form of pride. What you think was a state of absolute security from which you've fallen was really trusting too much in your own strength and ability... what really ails you is that things simply haven't happened as you expected and wanted.

In fact, I don't want you to rely on your own strength and abilities and plans, but to distrust them and to distrust yourself, and to trust me and no one and nothing else. As long as you rely entirely on yourself, you are bound to come to grief. You still have a most important lesson to learn: your own strength will no more help you to stand upright than propping yourself on a broken reed. You must not despair of me. You may hope and trust in me absolutely. My mercy is infinite."

John of Landsburg, A Letter from Jesus

Couldn't have said it better myself.

End Well

II Kings 20 and 21 are very interesting. The last half of Hezekiah's life is worth some pondering. The other night at the class I take at RTS, Dr. Currid made the statement that it is difficult to end well. I think we might call this Hezekiah syndrome. Here we have a king of Judah, one of the very few, that followed Yahweh with a whole heart. He tears down all the high places, executes who he is supposed to, and does things the right way, Yahweh's way. Then towards the end of his life he is hit with a crisis of faith. He gets very ill. Isaiah comes to him and tells him the sickness is unto death, so get your house in order. Hezekiah turns his face to the wall and begins praying and begging God to save him. A good thing you say, yet his prayer shows us where his heart is at this point in his life. He begs God on the basis of his own righteousness.

³ "Remember, O LORD, how I have walked before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes." And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

⁴ Before Isaiah had left the middle court, the word of the LORD came to him: ⁵ "Go back and tell Hezekiah, the leader of my people, 'This is what the LORD, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will heal you. On the third day from now you will go up to the temple of the LORD. ⁶ I will add fifteen years to your life. And I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria. I will defend this city for my sake and for the sake of my servant David.' " II Kings 20:3-6

The story doesn't end there. Somewhere along the way Hezekiah entertains some guests in Jerusalem, the palace, and the treasuries in particular, to some officials from Babylon. Oh boy. What does this tell us about the king. He has come to think pretty highly of himself. Even in the above prayer he thinks that he is something else. He has fallen prey to the subtle slimy pit of success. He has been a very successful king up to this point. He has fought battles and won them, he has smashed the high places, defeated the Assyrians, and done it all in the name of the Lord. Success can be very seductive, and we see that Hezekiah fell for it. He pleads his case before God, not as a humble servant, but as a self righteous leader. For not following God's ways there are consequences, and for Hezekiah they are very sad. Back to the story....he shows off the treasuries, and Isaiah finds out and says, "What are you doing? Are you crazy?"

¹⁶Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, "Hear the word of the LORD: ¹⁷Behold, the days are coming, when all that is in your house, and that which your fathers have stored up till this day, shall be carried to Babylon. Nothing shall be left, says the LORD. ¹⁸And some of your own sons, who shall be born to you, shall be taken away, and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon." ¹⁹Then said Hezekiah to Isaiah, "The word of the LORD that you have spoken is good." For he thought, "Why not, if there will be peace and security in my days?" II Kings 20:16-19

Hezekiah, blinded still by success, comfort and peace, actually "looking good syndrome," has just responded to the whole sale take over of his people as, "well at least there will be peace in my time, my legacy is in tact." Here God through the prophet Isaiah has just said that his unborn, yet to be born sons are going to be eunuchs in Babylon! And all he has to say, is that well at least there will be peace in my time. How sad, and yet how I identify!

This all began with a crisis of faith concerning his sickness. Which causes me to ask some questions of myself. How do I respond in a crisis? Am I able to take good from God and good alone? How much do I count on "my ministry" being successful? How much credit to I take? Do I really see that it is all of God? How about my attitude about any righteousness that I might have or possess? Do I think too highly of myself? Or do I think too lowly of myself? Do I feel sorry for myself for not being as successful as I wish to be?

Dr. Currid said that it is difficult to end well, I think he is right, and we will only by God's grace alone as we humble ourselves before His throne.

Be Thou My Vision

Be Thou my vision, O Lord of my heart; Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art. Thou my best thought, by day or by night, Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light. 2. Be Thou my Wisdom, Thou my true Word; I ever with Thee, Thou with me, Lord; Thou my great Father, I thy true son; Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.

3. Be Thou my battle-shield, sword for my fight, Be Thou my dignity, Thou my delight. Thou my soul's shelter, Thou my high tower. Raise Thou me heavenward, O Power of my power. 4. Riches I heed not, nor man's empty praise, Thou mine inheritance, now and always: Thou and Thou only, first in my heart, High King of heaven, my Treasure Thou art.

5. High King of heaven, my victory won, May I reach heaven's joys, O bright heav'ns Son! Heart of my own heart, whatever befall, Still be my vision, O ruler of all.

Perseverance

II Peter 1:3-11:

3 His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. ⁴ Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

⁵ For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; ⁶ and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; ⁷ and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. ⁸ For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹ But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.

¹⁰ Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, ¹¹ and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

What happened to a perfectly good word like perseverance? I went to look it up in the ESV and it is practically non-existent. Now I am sure that the godly men who have put their heart and soul into translating the ESV have a wonderful reason for translating the greek word used in the NIV as perseverance, into the ESV word translated as steadfastness, but perseverance gets to me where it hurts. We live in an age of instant everything; instant pudding, instant cameras, instant money from the cash machines, instant gratification. An interesting study would be to compile a list of everything our not so distant relatives had to wait for and the things we don't have to wait for now at all. Steadfastness is a good word too, I am not really knocking it, but even in sounding out the word perseverance it grinds out like a mule grinding corn, round and round and round again.

This whole passage full of instruction that I frankly need in my life right now, but I want to just touch on this word and the action involved in it-perseverance.

Let's first mention who it is that just said that-Peter! Our impetuous, spur of the moment, mutilator of ears, and denying Peter. Wow. What a difference. How is it that he learned these things mentioned above? May I offer one of the ways, through failure. Jesus looked right at Peter after all was said and done, and asked him if he loved him, three times he asked if he loved him, which is the same amount of times that Peter denied him (John 21). Humble yourself Peter, humble yourself before me, don't think you can do it on your own, Peter. Love me, and know that I love you in spite of it all. Know that I can at any given time look into your eyes, into your heart and see exactly what is in it, and I love you in spite of it all. Now, learn. Learn humble yourself, continually. You fell, you fall, humble yourself, see how much you need Me, and go and feed my lambs. Show them that I love them too. Scenes like these have been a part of my experience for many moons. Failure, humility, seeing myself for who I really am, a sinner saved by grace alone, then seeing Him for who He really is, high and exalted, yet willing and able to look at my heart and love me anyway.

This is what perseverance is made of.......Oh, so waiting for my bridegroom...........Lynn

This is What it is All About

“This knowledge [of our own sinfulness], though it strikes man with terror and overwhelms him with despair, is nevertheless necessary for us in order that, stripped of our own righteousness, cast down from confidence in our own power,deprived of all expectation of life, we may learn through the knowledge of our own poverty, misery and disgrace to prostrate ourselves before the Lord, and by the awareness of our own wickedness, powerlessness, and ruin may give all credit for holiness, power and salvation to him.”

John Calvin Calvin’s First Catechism, A Commentary
From Graced Again.

I was talking to a gal last night who was wondering about why God had put her in the circumstances of being single. She was confused about the expectations people had put upon her, what she thought were the expectations of God, and of course, the desire to be married and raise a family. We all have things in our lives in which we are not happy with, where our expectations have not been met, where we just want what we want and are not getting it. It is the same for all believers. We were not meant to have it all on this earth. We will always be struggling with something, for the above mentioned reason by John Calvin; dependence, seeing our powerlessness so that we will see God for who He is, and ourselves for who we are and depend on Him alone.

Part of our sanctification is the renewal of our mind.

Romans 12:1-2:

^{1 "}Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. ² Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will."

God uses various circumstances to do that very thing, change our minds about that which the world tells us is right. God uses His Word in the light of our situation to show us just where our thinking is off base with His. This involves struggle; struggling with what we know to be true about God and that which screams at us everyday via, the media, the pundits, the siren songs of this world. We will never change or renew our minds if we do not face hard things. Those circumstances shows us the false props, the bad thinking, and the ways in which we are dependent on anything but Him. Which would be better, to live in dependence on God, or have just the right circumstances in life to make us dependent on the things the world counts as good? Believe me I say these things with fear and trembling, because I know I have false thinking, false understandings of things. I am struggling now with situations that are in my life that scream at me saying, "this was God's plan, does He really know what He is doing?" The things, circumstances, goodnesses, mercies that God has given me right now, are just that, mercies given to me by the God of all grace, and so are the circumstances that draw me deeper, and deeper into struggle with the Almighty. Pray with me today to be filled with a holy dependence not on the things or blessings that God has given, but the God Himself.

Blessed Be Your Name

by Matt Redman

- - -

Blessed Be Your Name

In the land that is plentiful

Where Your streams of abundance flow

Blessed be Your name

Blessed Be Your name

When I'm found in the desert place

Though I walk through the wilderness

Blessed Be Your name

Every blessing You pour out

I'll turn back to praise

When the darkness closes in, Lord

Still I will say

Blessed be the name of the Lord

Blessed be Your name

Blessed be the name of the Lord

Blessed be Your glorious name

Blessed be Your name

When the sun's shining down on me

When the world's 'all as it should be'

Blessed be Your name

Blessed be Your name

On the road marked with suffering

Though there's pain in the offering

Blessed be Your name

Every blessing You pour out

I'll turn back to praise

When the darkness closes in, Lord

Still I will say

Blessed be the name of the Lord

Blessed be Your name

Blessed be the name of the Lord

Blessed be Your glorious name

Blessed be the name of the Lord

Blessed be Your name

Blessed be the name of the Lord

Blessed be Your glorious name

You give and take away

You give and take away

My heart will choose to say

Lord, blessed be Your name

The Insidiousness of Loneliness

Loneliness can be a trap laying dangerously in front of us on our journey steeped in the enemies entanglements with the world. The Bible teaches us that we are to be there for our fellow members in the Body of Christ, we are to live out the one anothers of Scripture, we are to live life with one another. All of those are true, yet when those wonderfully, good and sweet tastes of Heaven become the meal, and the goal, then we have lost sight of what the real goal is.

Reading I Kings 17-19 this morning hit this point home to me. Elijah, the man of God that faced off the 400 prophets of Baal, won a tremendous victory for the God of the Hebrews within his own camp. This was not some foreign kingdom, these were the chosen people of God that had prostituted themselves to Baal and Molech. God calls Elijah, he uses him in a mighty way. Then Jezebel says she is going to do to him what he did to her beloved prophets, and he runs. He sits under the broom tree despairing of life, yet God feeds him and gives him gives him drink. He, through the angel of the Lord tells him, "the journey is too much for you so eat and drink." The Lord is taking pity and mercy on Elijah, he fellowships with him, he treats him as a friend would. From there Elijah travels on for 40 days and 40 nights to Mt. Horeb (Mt. Sinai), and hides himself in a cave. God shows up again. Elijah complains again, saying he alone is left to serve him, he alone. God continues to minister to this man of God. He shows him a strong wind, an earthquake, and a fire, and after the fire, God whispers to him. God once again asks him what is it that you are doing here, Elijah?" Elijah says once again, I alone am left to serve You. I am alone. God gives him a few things to do. He tells him to anoint a Hazael to be king over Syria, anoint Jehu to be king over Israel, and Elisha was to be anointed prophet in his place. The Lord also revealed to him that there are 7,000 faithful in Israel. I don't know about you, but 7,000 is not alone. Elijah leaves and goes to find Elisha, but he doesn't anoint him, and there's no record that he has anointed the above kings either. Elisha says let me go kiss my parents, and Elijah's response is less than enthusiastic. He says to him, "Go back again, for what have I done to you?" (v. 20) Elisha goes kisses his parents, and sacrifices his oxen. God in verse 18 says the people had "kissed" Baal symbolizing that they had abandoned the true God for Baal. Elisha destroys his means of livelihood, kisses his parent and runs to catch up to the pouting prophet Elijah. Elisha has abandoned his home and business for God.

These passages hit me like a ton of bricks. For I, over the last two years have had some of the same complaints (all of this is relative to what Elijah went through, but the application still stands) the same aloneness, and basically the same disobedience that Elijah has. Yet God over and abundantly provided for Elijah. We left a place where I had a lot of really close friends, to a place for the past two years I have felt sorry for myself because God had taken those friendships away. Of course it was all His sovereign plan, so who else can I blame? He has fed me, he has given me companionship through His Spirit, He has been there for me, tenderly showing me who He is and has always been, even in the painful past. I have continued to complain, wanting more than Him. I have fallen into the trap of the insidiousness of loneliness. I deserve these relationships, I want them, I am alone to fight to the battles, and yet God has been there all along. Oh, God please forgive me. Elijah basically, up to this point, has never learned his lesson, yet God never abandons him. I think some where along the way he does learn, grow, and become wiser, and God all along wanted to have fellowship with this lonely, pouting prophet.

Father I repent in dust and ashes. You know that I am but dust, please let me desire nothing on earth besides You.

Follow Him!

“I've been reading and meditating on Matthew 20:29-34 where the two blind men receive their sight. They cried out to Christ, louder and louder, even though they were being told to be quiet. "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!" This has been in my head day and night for a week or so. Hearing them cry, Jesus STOPPED. He stopped and called them and asked them point blank, "What do you want me to do for you?" In the same way you would ask me, "How can I help you? What can I do to make things better for you?" It just struck me, that all I (we) have to do is consistently call out to Him, even when others tell us it's no use or there's more effective things we could do, and He will STOP and ask me what He can do. Of course, He can do anything I need Him to, and of course, He already knows what I need. Yet, I think He wants me to TELL Him. For me to say I am depending on Him, abiding in Him, it is consistently calling out to Him louder and louder, no matter what others think. Waiting for Him to stop and have compassion on me and heal me. The best part of the passage is the end. They immediately receive their sight, and immediately followed Him.” Belinda (upsidedownbee.blogspot.com)

Read John 1:43

The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, "Follow me."

Jesus says, “Follow Me.”

Where does Jesus ask us to follow? Where did His road lead?

Jesus first led the disciples to the place where He stayed. Then immediately after that, the disciples were compelled to tell the most important people in their lives about Him. Does this come into your mind when you are out and about, at the gym, the with your buddies, on the road, in class? Telling others about Jesus doesn’t have to be relegated to those that we know are lost. Do you pray with your friends about things that are on your hearts? Are you talking to your friends about Jesus, and about what Jesus is teaching you? If you aren’t let me encourage you to do so. Last year, Liz Martin (a great friend of my daughter Margaret's at Covenant College) made the most significant impact on Margaret. Margaret was a freshman basketball player, she needed someone to come alongside her. She prayed with her, encouraged her, played with her, and had devotions with her. She didn’t wait till she was; out of High School, in a ministry, or on the mission field. You can do that right now, and just watch it catch on like wildfire!

Christ never tells us to follow Him where concern for others is not present, or where we are not led into a greater, deeper, and more profound relationship with Him and others. Do you have a great concern for others? Are you not only talking to others that may not know Him, but are you developing relationships with other believers?

God has brought you to where ever you are for a reason, why not find out just what that reason is. Follow Him today!

Diets, Paradox's, and Breakfast Cereal

I have been very silent of late.  Let me explain.  I have some major health concerns at this time, and it seems that being on a diet and exercising is taking a big chunk of my time and my concentration.  This diet "thing" is a priority over just about everything in my life right now, and I know it's the right thing to do, so, I have decided that the spiritual lessons that I learn from the physical lessons learned will be what I need to address in my blog.  Otherwise, I think I won't write at all.

Yesterday in the news was a new study of happiness in women.  According to this study, women are less happy than anytime in the last 30 years.  Amazing, since the libs have been telling us that to be liberated from family, children and especially husbands, would give us the utopia we have been craving for.  Not so, according to this study.  The main reason, it says, is because we have more choices than ever before, and we wrestle with decisions constantly.  Should we do this, did we make the right decision, did I marry the wrong man, did I choose the right breakfast cereal, should I have had children instead of giving my life to my career, or did I choose the right color for my car, or should I trade it in?  Those kinds of things.  Sometimes it does sound like our society at present puts breakfast cereal on the same plane as husbands and children doesn't it?  Yes of course we have too many choices today.  There is really only one choice to be made in this life that ultimately matters though, are we going to die in order to live or are we going to live in order to die?  

The greatest paradox in Scripture is of life and death.  We are all trying to escape death one way or the other.  Christ says to us in order to truly live we must die with Him.  He died and was raised, we die and will be raised to life anew.  All the struggles we have in this life; whether it is making the right decisions at the right time, or whatever, depends on what we do with this paradox.  Let's take breakfast cereal.  There are a great deal of choices out there to be made.  If this is one of the thousands that you struggle with a day, then ask whose am I, is my body His temple now?  Some of us do not even think twice about what breakfast cereal we buy, then great, do not even think about it, just do it.  When it comes to husbands and children, ask whose are we?  Do we live for ourselves, have we died to ourselves, and who is sovereign anyway, huh?  God has given us freedom, let us be free in deed!  The way to be free is to know we are HIS, in all areas of life,  breakfast cereal and beyond.  What do you think?

Things I am learning along the way as I wait for His appearing...................Lynn