Last day we were talking about rejoicing in the Lord. It is the first verse in the “pressing in” passage Philippians 4:4-7 which says “4. Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! 5. Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. 6. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God; 7. and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus”.
I wrote earlier about working these verses as one might work the 12 steps in a 12 step program. Part of what I mean by this, is that our progress through the steps will be progressive and cumulative, getting stronger as we go. We do not strive to perfect the previous step before working the next step. What we do do, is to revisit the steps over and over, until we receive the promised peace.
Note that the command to rejoice is repeated. Repeated commands are obviously important. Note too that our rejoicing is to be in the Lord, in our relationship with Him, in the comfort and the strength He brings (2 Corinthians 1:3,4; Psalm 27:14 NKJV). There is more, but I will not repeat last day's post.
Next we are to let our gentleness be made known to all because the Lord is close. I don't know about you, but my response has not always been gentle, and I have not always responded in love! But we cannot be full of God's presence (and or peace) and full of negatives! We may need to repent, we may need to mend some fences, to apologize for the wrong on our part, even if the other party does not do their part. There is great strength in gentleness, a soft answer turns away wrath (Proverbs 15:1), and His gentleness makes us great (Psalm 18:35).
Next we are told not to be anxious about anything. Stop it, right now, stop being anxious, stop worrying, stop fretting, it only causes harm (Psalm 37:8). “Easier said than done” you might be saying, but He has already equipped us to do this. We need to take authority over our thought life. He has given us weapons of warfare to do this (2 Corinthians 10:4,5 – I probably need to do a post on this one!). Jesus tells us “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28), it also comes as the promise at the end of the passage.
Another aspect of this not being anxious is learning to sort out what is my responsibility from His (see March 17th). I need wisdom to know what I need to let go of, to know when to speak in love and when to ignore the offense. I need to know when to speak what to speak and what not to speak. I have often prayed “Lord I do not want to speak one word more than you want me to speak, but also not one word less". I also need to know when to speak what He wants me to speak, so I need to learn to wait on Him (another post?). I also need to stop beating myself up betimes, and to learn to enter rest. I need to remember and live the truth, that He is in control.
Coming to the next point, they say nature abhors vacuum. I mean how do you get the air out of a glass? Answer you fill it with something else (milk, beer, wine :) ). The simple answer to getting rid of anxiety is to be filled with Him. This is where the “prayer and petition” comes in. Prayer is much more than a grocery list of “I wants this, and I wants that”. Certainly, as James tells us, “We do not have many times, because we do not ask” (James 4:2b), this is "the petition" part. We do need to tell Him our needs (even though He knows them). But prayer is much more than petition. For me part of this is that with King David “I pour out my complaint before Him; I declare before Him my trouble” (Psalm 142:2). I find the Psalms helpful here, as so often the Psalmist starts with his problems and ends up praising God. We are back to rejoicing again already.
We also need to consider the “with thanksgiving” part of verse 6 in our passage. How easy it is to forget the good and concentrate on the bad. How easy to forget God's faithfulness. His mercies are new every morning. When was the last time I stopped and just gave Him thanks for the good. If all else fails, I can thank Him for writing my name in His book, and for the hope that setting my heart on Him brings. I can thank Him for His promises. I can thank Him that He is in control, that I do not need to be God, because He is. Hooray!
Part of what needs to happen in prayer, is that we learn to “be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10). He will have His way in the end. When we stop and allow Him space to speak to us, He brings His peace. It is a peace the world does not understand, or know. Jesus tells us “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid" (John 14:27). When we sit in His presence, the joy starts to bubble up, and this helps us to “sharpen the saw” as we work the process. The joy is there by the way, waiting for us to allow it to surface. Yes we need to rejoice, but joy is also part of the fruit of the Spirit. It comes as we rest and abide, and we abide as we rejoice and rest. It is a divine circularity, but He has provided everything we need to enter in and be at peace, even in the midst of the storm.
May the Lord bless you as you press into His presence. You can do this, you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you. It is just one of His exceedingly great and precious promises (2 Peter 1:4).
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
I can do all things through Christ .. VI The process of pressing in I. Rejoice in the Lord.
Solomon in Ecclesiastes 3, says that there is a time for all things, a time to hate and a time to love, a time to mourn and a time to dance. If you have just lost a child, it is not a time to dance, it is a time to mourn. There are many times and many things that we need to grieve and/or that we will need to wrestle with. But we do need to realize that we can get stuck in our grieving/wrestling, in our pain, in our bitterness in our hopelessness, in our anger. There is a time to mourn and a time to grieve, a time to weep and a time to heal. A time to wrestle and a time to let go. A time to accept what we cannot change (see March 17) and a time to move on! But it is always the time to trust Him, and it is always the time to claim our inheritance.
It may take us a while to get to the place where we say “Satan has kept me bound for long enough, I want my inheritance – life in its abundance”. Satan is a thief, a robber and a destroyer, and he will rob you and me of our joy and your inheritance, if we let him (John 10:10). We may need to direct our anger at him rather than the persons or events he has manipulated to trip us up. We must not use the devil as an excuse for our own sin as in “The Devil made me do it”. But we do need to see that these things often lie behind a lot of what comes our way, and focusing on the persons and/or the circumstances he tweaks, can be counterproductive.
Scripture tells us “our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the spiritual wickedness in heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12). Sure enough this one or that one hurt you, and as will we all, this one or that one will have to give an account, for there is a day of reckoning (Isaiah 61:2). But in the end, the real enemy, the one who plotted to hurt you is not the person or circumstances we tend to fixate on, no the real enemy is the one who uses them and their hurt and their pain and their emptiness to hurt you. As long as we direct our anger against “flesh and blood” we will be in prisons of our own making. To say this another way, as long as I believe that my happiness depends on another person changing, I am unlikely to achieve happiness. I have said it before and will need to say it again. It is not what happens to, us or what was done to us, that keeps us locked into the prisons of the past, it is our response to those things. When we are ready to move on, Paul in this wonderful book of Philippians, instructs us how to proceed. Is it a process, we will not achieve this in a day. I suspect that we need to get mad at the devil, and direct our natural stubbornness to making sure he has no foothold in our lives.
It is not for the feint of heart, and I don't believe that it can be done without Him, but it starts off with “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4). The first reaction to this may be “what”? I know mine was. At a very difficult time in my life, the Lord gave me new song based on Isaiah 61:10f. The first part went like this:
I will greatly rejoice in the Lord,
and my soul shall exult in my God;
For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation,
He has covered me with the robe of righteousness.
Some translations translate exult as 'be joyful'. It felt like a cruel joke at the time. All I could think was “Lord how do you expect me to rejoice at a time like this?” I have come to realize that not only was He not joking, but He was deadly serious. Isaiah probably had a hard time too. Paul certainly did, he wrote His letter to Philippians from Jail (1:16). But his letter is full of his joy in the Lord. He was not a “do as I say, not as I do” kind of guy. He and Silas were rejoicing and singing hymns at midnight the very day they were beaten with rods and thrown into prison (Acts 16:23-25). Paul makes the same point that the last two stanzas of the quotation above from Isaiah makes (covered in His righteousness), he says “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18). Elsewhere he calls his sufferings light momentary afflictions (2 Corinthians 11:23-28; 4:17). The point is that when we set our minds and our hearts on the things which are above, it helps us to deal with the garbage down here (Colossians 3:1;1 Corinthians 2:9).
How do we do this? Well 'I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”. Philippians 4:4 is a command. We just need to do it. God does not command something He does not, with the command, give the wherewithal to perform (Philippians 2:13). It is as I say a process. I do not claim to have arrived. But I hear and seek to follows his example “But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:13,14). Part of this goal is the ability to rejoice in the Lord always. It's a powerful witness!
It may take us a while to get to the place where we say “Satan has kept me bound for long enough, I want my inheritance – life in its abundance”. Satan is a thief, a robber and a destroyer, and he will rob you and me of our joy and your inheritance, if we let him (John 10:10). We may need to direct our anger at him rather than the persons or events he has manipulated to trip us up. We must not use the devil as an excuse for our own sin as in “The Devil made me do it”. But we do need to see that these things often lie behind a lot of what comes our way, and focusing on the persons and/or the circumstances he tweaks, can be counterproductive.
Scripture tells us “our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the spiritual wickedness in heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12). Sure enough this one or that one hurt you, and as will we all, this one or that one will have to give an account, for there is a day of reckoning (Isaiah 61:2). But in the end, the real enemy, the one who plotted to hurt you is not the person or circumstances we tend to fixate on, no the real enemy is the one who uses them and their hurt and their pain and their emptiness to hurt you. As long as we direct our anger against “flesh and blood” we will be in prisons of our own making. To say this another way, as long as I believe that my happiness depends on another person changing, I am unlikely to achieve happiness. I have said it before and will need to say it again. It is not what happens to, us or what was done to us, that keeps us locked into the prisons of the past, it is our response to those things. When we are ready to move on, Paul in this wonderful book of Philippians, instructs us how to proceed. Is it a process, we will not achieve this in a day. I suspect that we need to get mad at the devil, and direct our natural stubbornness to making sure he has no foothold in our lives.
It is not for the feint of heart, and I don't believe that it can be done without Him, but it starts off with “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4). The first reaction to this may be “what”? I know mine was. At a very difficult time in my life, the Lord gave me new song based on Isaiah 61:10f. The first part went like this:
I will greatly rejoice in the Lord,
and my soul shall exult in my God;
For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation,
He has covered me with the robe of righteousness.
Some translations translate exult as 'be joyful'. It felt like a cruel joke at the time. All I could think was “Lord how do you expect me to rejoice at a time like this?” I have come to realize that not only was He not joking, but He was deadly serious. Isaiah probably had a hard time too. Paul certainly did, he wrote His letter to Philippians from Jail (1:16). But his letter is full of his joy in the Lord. He was not a “do as I say, not as I do” kind of guy. He and Silas were rejoicing and singing hymns at midnight the very day they were beaten with rods and thrown into prison (Acts 16:23-25). Paul makes the same point that the last two stanzas of the quotation above from Isaiah makes (covered in His righteousness), he says “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18). Elsewhere he calls his sufferings light momentary afflictions (2 Corinthians 11:23-28; 4:17). The point is that when we set our minds and our hearts on the things which are above, it helps us to deal with the garbage down here (Colossians 3:1;1 Corinthians 2:9).
How do we do this? Well 'I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”. Philippians 4:4 is a command. We just need to do it. God does not command something He does not, with the command, give the wherewithal to perform (Philippians 2:13). It is as I say a process. I do not claim to have arrived. But I hear and seek to follows his example “But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:13,14). Part of this goal is the ability to rejoice in the Lord always. It's a powerful witness!
Thursday, March 24, 2011
I can do all things... V. Pressing on, pressing in - to the presence.
Still unpacking the context of our primary verse “I can to all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13), I want to look today at two passages in Philippians, which surely pay a big part in empowering us to take this as our own. The first 3:13,14 has to do with “pressing on”. Paul says “ .. one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind ... I press on toward the goal to win the prize....” I alluded earlier to the second (4:4-7) as the process of choosing to rejoice, being gentle to all, being thankful and in bringing our concerns and and requests to God in prayer. I call this pressing into the presence, for it is in His presence that “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, (which) will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” will come to us (the word in brackets is mine).
In terms of pressing in, how many times, in the battles of life, have I felt driven to find a quiet place with Him to bring my hurts and pains and conflicts to Him, for His comfort and help to sort out. He is the God of all comfort (2 Corinthians 1:4), He is the God of all Grace (1 Peter 5:10), He brings a peace that the World knows nothing about. He is the one who, when I press in, guards my heart. This guarding of the heart is so necessary to the successful living of the Christian life. It is the heart that gets drawn away in temptation (James 1:14), it is the heart that condemns us many times, it is the heart that we allow to get hardened when someone crosses us, or when we obsess on the past. These things shut Him out. Yes it is God who guards our hearts when we press in, but we have an important part to play in the process. “Keep your heart with all diligence” we are told, “For out of it spring the issues of life” (Proverbs 4:23). When we allow bitterness or jealousy or resentment or pride or fear to have their way in our hearts, these things inevitable show up in our speech and our behaviour, for “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:34). We cannot stay in His presence when we allow these negatives to come in. And when we step outside of His presence, we loose the benefits of abiding (living) there (see John 15), including His enabling power.
The two things in the title of the post are connected, forgetting the past (and so pressing on) and pressing in. Taken together they help move us forward in our Christian walk and our healing. I said earlier that forgiving a person is not the same as saying 'it does not matter' (see 'Full of poison, or full of the Spirit' Jan 2011). In the same way forgetting the past is not the same as pretending it did not happen. The fact of the matter is however, that many of us are imprisoned by the past. Paul in the passage from Philippians 3, tells us of his imprisonment to what at first sight looked like good things. These things included his position and training and zeal, and he believed at the time, that that zeal was for God. But these are the very things that kept him from knowing Christ. Paul was relying on his own goodness, his own righteousness which he came to see was like filthy rags (see Isaiah 64:6; Phil 3:9). For many of us, it can be the negative things that keep us imprisoned. We have talked about how bitterness and the like can poison us (January 27,31), but there are many other things that imprison us including pain, fear, jealousy, hate, pride, stubbornness, guilt, shame etc., etc. Many times there are lies we have believed. “I don't deserve to be forgiven”, “I have done to much bad to be accepted by God” (July 20, 2010), “I will always be in this much pain”, “God loves others, but not me”. Lies get attached to abuse “its all my fault”. We can get trapped in regret “if only ..”
The language of being born again is greatly abused, misunderstood and overused in our culture. But when it was first used in John 3, it was startling. One of the things that has gotten lost in its overuse, is that it speaks of new beginnings. The point is that at conversion and significant points in our journey, there is in Christ for ever this possibility of starting over. We can blow it in many ways, and many times we do. But God does not put us on the shelf when we do. He may, in the word picture of Jeremiah, make of us a “different vessel”, that is have a different plan or destiny for us, but He always has a plan and it is always good (Jeremiah 18:1f; 29:11).
The Bible tells us of God's forgiveness and His forgetfulness of our sin when we confess and forsake it. He “will cast our sins into the deepest sea” (Micah 7:19). As one preacher added – He also posted a sign “no Fishing”. He “Blots our our transgressions and remembers them no more” (Isaiah 43:25). What God chooses to forget we should not bring to remembrance. It is not God who constantly reminds us of our failures. Bill Johnson says “I cannot afford to have a thought in my head about me that is not in His”. In 3:13 Paul talks about forgetting those things which are behind. Like Paul, we need to put behind us the things that hinder. For Paul it was his religiosity. What is it for you? Is it your failures? Is it what was done to you?
When Paul tells us that he forgets the past, he is talking about not letting the past defeat us. He is not talking about denial, or pretending that we have not been deeply hurt and affected by things in the past. We need to bring such things to Him to fix. King David in Psalm 142:2 tells us that he poured out his complaint before the Lord telling Him all his trouble. The Lord “heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds” (Psalm 147:3). He wants to restore all that has been taken from us, and to set us free from the past. This was why Jesus came (Luke 4:18). He does this healing and restoration in the intimacy of His presence. Many of the Psalms testify to this, they chronicle the change as the Psalmist comes to the Lord and allows Him to smooth his ruffled feathers. Sometimes we are mad at God and stay away, but God is bigger than our anger, and He would rather we went to Him in our anger than stayed away in it. That way He has a chance to comfort us. How many times in my imagination have I pounded God's chest with my fists even as He held me close?
This putting the past in the past and leaving it there is a process, it involves pressing on, - continuing to draw close, continuing the way we know He wants us to go. It involves getting back on the path as soon as possible when we stray. For me it often involves working the steps in Philippians 4:4-7. It involves pressing in to Him, spending time in His Word and in His presence. It is there that hope is reborn and our shattered and broken lives and hearts are mended. Press on, and press in to His presence. You can do this, you can do it and all things, in and through Jesus Christ the Lord. You will not regret it.
In terms of pressing in, how many times, in the battles of life, have I felt driven to find a quiet place with Him to bring my hurts and pains and conflicts to Him, for His comfort and help to sort out. He is the God of all comfort (2 Corinthians 1:4), He is the God of all Grace (1 Peter 5:10), He brings a peace that the World knows nothing about. He is the one who, when I press in, guards my heart. This guarding of the heart is so necessary to the successful living of the Christian life. It is the heart that gets drawn away in temptation (James 1:14), it is the heart that condemns us many times, it is the heart that we allow to get hardened when someone crosses us, or when we obsess on the past. These things shut Him out. Yes it is God who guards our hearts when we press in, but we have an important part to play in the process. “Keep your heart with all diligence” we are told, “For out of it spring the issues of life” (Proverbs 4:23). When we allow bitterness or jealousy or resentment or pride or fear to have their way in our hearts, these things inevitable show up in our speech and our behaviour, for “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:34). We cannot stay in His presence when we allow these negatives to come in. And when we step outside of His presence, we loose the benefits of abiding (living) there (see John 15), including His enabling power.
The two things in the title of the post are connected, forgetting the past (and so pressing on) and pressing in. Taken together they help move us forward in our Christian walk and our healing. I said earlier that forgiving a person is not the same as saying 'it does not matter' (see 'Full of poison, or full of the Spirit' Jan 2011). In the same way forgetting the past is not the same as pretending it did not happen. The fact of the matter is however, that many of us are imprisoned by the past. Paul in the passage from Philippians 3, tells us of his imprisonment to what at first sight looked like good things. These things included his position and training and zeal, and he believed at the time, that that zeal was for God. But these are the very things that kept him from knowing Christ. Paul was relying on his own goodness, his own righteousness which he came to see was like filthy rags (see Isaiah 64:6; Phil 3:9). For many of us, it can be the negative things that keep us imprisoned. We have talked about how bitterness and the like can poison us (January 27,31), but there are many other things that imprison us including pain, fear, jealousy, hate, pride, stubbornness, guilt, shame etc., etc. Many times there are lies we have believed. “I don't deserve to be forgiven”, “I have done to much bad to be accepted by God” (July 20, 2010), “I will always be in this much pain”, “God loves others, but not me”. Lies get attached to abuse “its all my fault”. We can get trapped in regret “if only ..”
The language of being born again is greatly abused, misunderstood and overused in our culture. But when it was first used in John 3, it was startling. One of the things that has gotten lost in its overuse, is that it speaks of new beginnings. The point is that at conversion and significant points in our journey, there is in Christ for ever this possibility of starting over. We can blow it in many ways, and many times we do. But God does not put us on the shelf when we do. He may, in the word picture of Jeremiah, make of us a “different vessel”, that is have a different plan or destiny for us, but He always has a plan and it is always good (Jeremiah 18:1f; 29:11).
The Bible tells us of God's forgiveness and His forgetfulness of our sin when we confess and forsake it. He “will cast our sins into the deepest sea” (Micah 7:19). As one preacher added – He also posted a sign “no Fishing”. He “Blots our our transgressions and remembers them no more” (Isaiah 43:25). What God chooses to forget we should not bring to remembrance. It is not God who constantly reminds us of our failures. Bill Johnson says “I cannot afford to have a thought in my head about me that is not in His”. In 3:13 Paul talks about forgetting those things which are behind. Like Paul, we need to put behind us the things that hinder. For Paul it was his religiosity. What is it for you? Is it your failures? Is it what was done to you?
When Paul tells us that he forgets the past, he is talking about not letting the past defeat us. He is not talking about denial, or pretending that we have not been deeply hurt and affected by things in the past. We need to bring such things to Him to fix. King David in Psalm 142:2 tells us that he poured out his complaint before the Lord telling Him all his trouble. The Lord “heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds” (Psalm 147:3). He wants to restore all that has been taken from us, and to set us free from the past. This was why Jesus came (Luke 4:18). He does this healing and restoration in the intimacy of His presence. Many of the Psalms testify to this, they chronicle the change as the Psalmist comes to the Lord and allows Him to smooth his ruffled feathers. Sometimes we are mad at God and stay away, but God is bigger than our anger, and He would rather we went to Him in our anger than stayed away in it. That way He has a chance to comfort us. How many times in my imagination have I pounded God's chest with my fists even as He held me close?
This putting the past in the past and leaving it there is a process, it involves pressing on, - continuing to draw close, continuing the way we know He wants us to go. It involves getting back on the path as soon as possible when we stray. For me it often involves working the steps in Philippians 4:4-7. It involves pressing in to Him, spending time in His Word and in His presence. It is there that hope is reborn and our shattered and broken lives and hearts are mended. Press on, and press in to His presence. You can do this, you can do it and all things, in and through Jesus Christ the Lord. You will not regret it.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
I can do all things ... IV Through knowing Christ.
They say that behind every famous man there is a woman. If you can ignore the elements of sexism in the statement, there is truth here, and it is that supportive and loving relationships in life make a huge difference. Relationships can be enabling or debilitating. For Paul, it was coming into relationship with Christ that changed him radically from one who breathed out murderous threats against Christians, to one who preached the faith he once tried to destroy (Acts 9:1; Galatians 1:23). We are not talking here about knowing something about God, or trying to be good, though I am not saying that these things are not important. No what we are talking about here is a life changing encounter with the Living God in and through Jesus Christ.
What does Paul have to say about this? Still in the context of the primary verse of these posts (Phil 4:13) he tells (see chapter 3:5-8) that before conversion had a lot going for him in the natural. But when he met Jesus, he turned his back on these things and looked on them with contempt. This is because they had kept him from knowing Christ. He says “I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things”. Elsewhere he tells us that the love he found in this relationship with Christ constrains and urges and compels him to share the good news that this relationship is available to all (2 Corinthians 5:14). Paul then was motivated by the Love he found in his relationship with God.
This relationship changes everything. The good news is that God has done everything that is needed in order for it to happen for you and for me, and/or for it to be restored when it has been neglected or abused. He tells the backsliding Church in Revelation 3:20 “ Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me”. His standing at the door indicates that He is near, nearer than we can possibly think. The “anyone” means you and me. The eating part speaks to us of hospitality and has to do with acceptance, fellowship and intimacy. The knocking part tells us He is taking (and has taken) the initiative and that He wants to come in (to our hearts). The knocking is also an invitation into this fellowship of which I speak, with the door indicating a barrier we have the power to remove. He is standing, He is waiting, He is knocking, and in doing this He is inviting us into that fellowship. A door is a barrier that can be opened. In a famous picture depicting this verse the door has no handle on the outside. We are the ones who must open it for “if anyone hear my voice and open the door" is the condition of this wonderful promise.
In saying (above) that He has done everything that is needed in order for it to happen, we should not forget the incredible cost to Himself. “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). How should we respond? In my post “You will search for Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all of your heart” (July 2010) I suggested that anything less than total commitment and surrender is unworthy of His sacrifice. In the context of the quotation from Revelation above (verse 16), He tells us exactly what He thinks of a lukewarm and half hearted response. It makes Him sick! We cannot expect the benefits of an intimate relationship with Him if we are passive in our relationship with Him. As with relationships in the natural, they work best when both sides are committed and passionate. If in the natural a friend died in your place to save you, would a ho hum “whatever” type response be appropriate? In the context (the previous verse) of the above quotation from Romans Paul tells us “Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die”. The point is (verse 8) that Christ died for you and for me even though we are not righteous, he did this while we were still in rebellion, still in effect shaking our fist in His face.
For some reason it seems to be easy to dismiss or marginalize the incredible sacrifice Jesus made for us saying “well He was God”, or something similar. And yes He was and is God. He is both God and man (see “God is Trinity? Who can understand or believe that?" July, 2010), but it was as a man that He suffered and bled and died (Romans 5:15). The apostle John makes it very clear that the spirit of those who say otherwise are displaying the spirit of Antichrist (1 John 4:3).
There is probably not one of us who has not, at one time or another, felt and shown apathy toward the Lord. But when we do, we need to repent, and to ask Him if He will, by His Spirit, bring our emotions and responses more into line with what is appropriate. Paul puts it this way “I entreat you therefore brothers (and sisters) that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service" (spiritual worship - Romans 12:1,2 NIV, KJV). The “therefore” in this quotation refers back to all that Christ has done (Chapters 1 through 11). In light of this is it indeed the only reasonable response.
One thing is for sure, when find ourselves lacking passion and sitting in apathy, we also find that we are a long way from tapping into the source of joy and peace and strength that Paul was talking about when he wrote “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”. It is only in close union with Him that we are able to rise above what we can do in the natural. In Ephesians 1:17,18 Paul prays that God would give us the “ spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened....”. Taking note of this, we need to pray for ourselves and each other that our hearts may see, and hear and understand, so that in the revelation of Himself we may think and feel with the mind and Heart of God, and (as the prayer continues v. 18f) we may enter into the fullness of the power and the treasure of our inheritance in the here and now, as well as in the future. Paul wrote his letter to the Philippians from jail, yet this same epistle overflows with joy and victory and hope. Heaven forbid that we should allow the cares of the world, or the deceitfulness of riches, or the desire for other things to rob us of all that is rightly ours in Christ Jesus (Mark 4:1-20; Corinthians 2:9).
So we can find it and we can loose it, this closeness with Him and its accompanying power to live the Christian life. If you can identify with what I am saying here, I invite you to pray with me “Father please forgive me of times when I am lukewarm and apathetic. Bring me (back) into to the passion of my first love and even deepen it. I turn my back on my ingratitude and lack of enthusiasm. Show me Your Glory. Have mercy upon me and change my heart. Bring me back into the closeness with You that enables me to do all things in and through You. In Jesus Name”
What does Paul have to say about this? Still in the context of the primary verse of these posts (Phil 4:13) he tells (see chapter 3:5-8) that before conversion had a lot going for him in the natural. But when he met Jesus, he turned his back on these things and looked on them with contempt. This is because they had kept him from knowing Christ. He says “I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things”. Elsewhere he tells us that the love he found in this relationship with Christ constrains and urges and compels him to share the good news that this relationship is available to all (2 Corinthians 5:14). Paul then was motivated by the Love he found in his relationship with God.
This relationship changes everything. The good news is that God has done everything that is needed in order for it to happen for you and for me, and/or for it to be restored when it has been neglected or abused. He tells the backsliding Church in Revelation 3:20 “ Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me”. His standing at the door indicates that He is near, nearer than we can possibly think. The “anyone” means you and me. The eating part speaks to us of hospitality and has to do with acceptance, fellowship and intimacy. The knocking part tells us He is taking (and has taken) the initiative and that He wants to come in (to our hearts). The knocking is also an invitation into this fellowship of which I speak, with the door indicating a barrier we have the power to remove. He is standing, He is waiting, He is knocking, and in doing this He is inviting us into that fellowship. A door is a barrier that can be opened. In a famous picture depicting this verse the door has no handle on the outside. We are the ones who must open it for “if anyone hear my voice and open the door" is the condition of this wonderful promise.
In saying (above) that He has done everything that is needed in order for it to happen, we should not forget the incredible cost to Himself. “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). How should we respond? In my post “You will search for Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all of your heart” (July 2010) I suggested that anything less than total commitment and surrender is unworthy of His sacrifice. In the context of the quotation from Revelation above (verse 16), He tells us exactly what He thinks of a lukewarm and half hearted response. It makes Him sick! We cannot expect the benefits of an intimate relationship with Him if we are passive in our relationship with Him. As with relationships in the natural, they work best when both sides are committed and passionate. If in the natural a friend died in your place to save you, would a ho hum “whatever” type response be appropriate? In the context (the previous verse) of the above quotation from Romans Paul tells us “Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die”. The point is (verse 8) that Christ died for you and for me even though we are not righteous, he did this while we were still in rebellion, still in effect shaking our fist in His face.
For some reason it seems to be easy to dismiss or marginalize the incredible sacrifice Jesus made for us saying “well He was God”, or something similar. And yes He was and is God. He is both God and man (see “God is Trinity? Who can understand or believe that?" July, 2010), but it was as a man that He suffered and bled and died (Romans 5:15). The apostle John makes it very clear that the spirit of those who say otherwise are displaying the spirit of Antichrist (1 John 4:3).
There is probably not one of us who has not, at one time or another, felt and shown apathy toward the Lord. But when we do, we need to repent, and to ask Him if He will, by His Spirit, bring our emotions and responses more into line with what is appropriate. Paul puts it this way “I entreat you therefore brothers (and sisters) that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service" (spiritual worship - Romans 12:1,2 NIV, KJV). The “therefore” in this quotation refers back to all that Christ has done (Chapters 1 through 11). In light of this is it indeed the only reasonable response.
One thing is for sure, when find ourselves lacking passion and sitting in apathy, we also find that we are a long way from tapping into the source of joy and peace and strength that Paul was talking about when he wrote “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”. It is only in close union with Him that we are able to rise above what we can do in the natural. In Ephesians 1:17,18 Paul prays that God would give us the “ spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened....”. Taking note of this, we need to pray for ourselves and each other that our hearts may see, and hear and understand, so that in the revelation of Himself we may think and feel with the mind and Heart of God, and (as the prayer continues v. 18f) we may enter into the fullness of the power and the treasure of our inheritance in the here and now, as well as in the future. Paul wrote his letter to the Philippians from jail, yet this same epistle overflows with joy and victory and hope. Heaven forbid that we should allow the cares of the world, or the deceitfulness of riches, or the desire for other things to rob us of all that is rightly ours in Christ Jesus (Mark 4:1-20; Corinthians 2:9).
So we can find it and we can loose it, this closeness with Him and its accompanying power to live the Christian life. If you can identify with what I am saying here, I invite you to pray with me “Father please forgive me of times when I am lukewarm and apathetic. Bring me (back) into to the passion of my first love and even deepen it. I turn my back on my ingratitude and lack of enthusiasm. Show me Your Glory. Have mercy upon me and change my heart. Bring me back into the closeness with You that enables me to do all things in and through You. In Jesus Name”
Thursday, March 17, 2011
I can do all things ... III. Courage, Wisdom, Peace
There is a famous and wonderful prayer attributed to Reinhold Niebuhr which has been adopted by many twelve-step programs. It is “God, grant me the serenity (peace) to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference” (the word in brackets is mine).
I said last day that we need to learn to stop fighting the people and circumstances God allows in our lives. We need to stop stressing over things we can do nothing about. One of the things I had to learn the hard way was that I am the only one I can change. Trying to change others simply does not work. In marriage you might try to change your spouse, but if you do more likely than not, you will just finish up with a resentful partner (or worse without one). We can guide our children for sure, but we cannot make decisions for them. As much as we would like to, we cannot make decisions for other people. The old saying is true “you can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make him drink!”
I am not saying there is no room for persistence, for endurance and stick-to-itiveness. This is a big part of the Christian life. William Wilberforce's life long battle for the abolition of slavery, is a fine example of courage and determination and it inspires us to enter into our own destiny (see the 2006 movie Amazing Grace). It is however the nature of life that there are some things we cannot change. We may fight and rage and stress and obsess over things, being like the dog with the proverbial bone. We do such things to our own harm (see for example “Don't get mad ...”). As I write we are finding ourselves dealing with the aftermath of two young ladies known to us, who were hit by a drunk driver. Severely injured these two young women have amazed us by the Grace they are displaying as they deal with their injuries, and for one her long term recovery. With every right to be angry and even bitter, we are challenged and inspired by the peace and even joy they are showing in the midst of it all. We see Jesus in their radiant countenances, in their acceptance and grace.
At some level it is all very logical. I mean what is the use railing about something you cannot change? The reality though, it that it is easier said than done to maintain positive attitude in the face of intense pain, tragedy and injustice. It's not fair, and its no use pretending that it is. It's easy to say “get over it”, but we need (I need) God's help and mercy, many times to let go. We need to pray “God grant me the serenity, the peace I need to accept those things I cannot change”. Paul in the context of the title verse of this series of posts, points us to a process that will help us. In Philippians chapter 4:4-7, Paul outlines this as choosing to rejoice, being gentle to all, choosing to be thankful, bringing our concerns and and requests to God in prayer. I have memorized these verses, and work them as progressive steps, and then work them again until I experience the peace promised in verse 7 starts to take root in my heart. Then I work it again until the peace reaches that level that it is incomprehensible to the world (verse 7b). It is incomprehensible because while it is not logical, it is real, and it brings Glory to the God who makes it all possible. I can do this for “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”. You can do it too, and I (and I believe He) invites you to enter into this peace that passes all understanding, that keeps our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:7 again).
If you are like me, letting go will be a process. There are still times that I think I can change others. Have you ever thought “If only they would listen to me?” But you will not get through to one who does not want to hear no matter how good you are with words! There is a lot of it about (deaf ears - see Jeremiah 5:21). Of course we all seem to be sensible and wise and more than reasonable in our own eyes (Isaiah 5:21). But when we have tried and tried and tried at something and got nowhere, it is wise to ask God if He is wanting us to let go. The saying “Let go and let God” has a lot of wisdom many times! It is not easy, accepting what we cannot change, but we give ammunition to the enemy when we don't or won't (John 10:10a). We need to learn to give no place to the Devil (Ephesians 4:27), and not letting go when we need to, does give him place. It gives him a foothold into our hearts, a foot hold that can easily turn into a stronghold!
But this is just half of the equation. We are called to step outside the box, out of our comfort levels. It has been said that faith is spelt r-i-s-k. We are called to victory, to be in transformation (Romans 12:1,2), to enter into fullness of life and fruitfulness and fulfillment. I hear many people say that if you expect nothing, then you will not be disappointed, and from what I can tell, they seem to live boring or pain filled lives. But is this any way to live, and is it really living? In Christ life is intended to be an adventure. He will lead us into the unknown, and will give us the courage to do what He calls us to do if we ask Him. We ask ourselves “But what if I fail?” We do need to count the cost, but God will not lead us to do anything that He will not equip us to do. So we pray “God give me the courage to change the things in me and in my World that You are calling me to change”.
But how will I know what is of Him and what is of self? It's all in the “serenity prayer”, so we need to pray “Lord show me the difference between my wishful thinking and Your will and plan and purpose for my life.” And let's make no mistake about it, He does have plans for our lives, and they are good plans, plans with a future and a hope (Jeremiah 29:11). Jesus came that we might have life and life in all its fullness (John 10:10b). This is my inheritance my birthright. How hard would you fight for your in inheritance if someone left you a million dollars? This inheritance is worth a lot more than that! We need to show the same determination in the spiritual arena as we would in the natural!
Its a good prayer, this serenity prayer, and I invite you to pray it now and to mean it “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference”.
I said last day that we need to learn to stop fighting the people and circumstances God allows in our lives. We need to stop stressing over things we can do nothing about. One of the things I had to learn the hard way was that I am the only one I can change. Trying to change others simply does not work. In marriage you might try to change your spouse, but if you do more likely than not, you will just finish up with a resentful partner (or worse without one). We can guide our children for sure, but we cannot make decisions for them. As much as we would like to, we cannot make decisions for other people. The old saying is true “you can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make him drink!”
I am not saying there is no room for persistence, for endurance and stick-to-itiveness. This is a big part of the Christian life. William Wilberforce's life long battle for the abolition of slavery, is a fine example of courage and determination and it inspires us to enter into our own destiny (see the 2006 movie Amazing Grace). It is however the nature of life that there are some things we cannot change. We may fight and rage and stress and obsess over things, being like the dog with the proverbial bone. We do such things to our own harm (see for example “Don't get mad ...”). As I write we are finding ourselves dealing with the aftermath of two young ladies known to us, who were hit by a drunk driver. Severely injured these two young women have amazed us by the Grace they are displaying as they deal with their injuries, and for one her long term recovery. With every right to be angry and even bitter, we are challenged and inspired by the peace and even joy they are showing in the midst of it all. We see Jesus in their radiant countenances, in their acceptance and grace.
At some level it is all very logical. I mean what is the use railing about something you cannot change? The reality though, it that it is easier said than done to maintain positive attitude in the face of intense pain, tragedy and injustice. It's not fair, and its no use pretending that it is. It's easy to say “get over it”, but we need (I need) God's help and mercy, many times to let go. We need to pray “God grant me the serenity, the peace I need to accept those things I cannot change”. Paul in the context of the title verse of this series of posts, points us to a process that will help us. In Philippians chapter 4:4-7, Paul outlines this as choosing to rejoice, being gentle to all, choosing to be thankful, bringing our concerns and and requests to God in prayer. I have memorized these verses, and work them as progressive steps, and then work them again until I experience the peace promised in verse 7 starts to take root in my heart. Then I work it again until the peace reaches that level that it is incomprehensible to the world (verse 7b). It is incomprehensible because while it is not logical, it is real, and it brings Glory to the God who makes it all possible. I can do this for “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”. You can do it too, and I (and I believe He) invites you to enter into this peace that passes all understanding, that keeps our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:7 again).
If you are like me, letting go will be a process. There are still times that I think I can change others. Have you ever thought “If only they would listen to me?” But you will not get through to one who does not want to hear no matter how good you are with words! There is a lot of it about (deaf ears - see Jeremiah 5:21). Of course we all seem to be sensible and wise and more than reasonable in our own eyes (Isaiah 5:21). But when we have tried and tried and tried at something and got nowhere, it is wise to ask God if He is wanting us to let go. The saying “Let go and let God” has a lot of wisdom many times! It is not easy, accepting what we cannot change, but we give ammunition to the enemy when we don't or won't (John 10:10a). We need to learn to give no place to the Devil (Ephesians 4:27), and not letting go when we need to, does give him place. It gives him a foothold into our hearts, a foot hold that can easily turn into a stronghold!
But this is just half of the equation. We are called to step outside the box, out of our comfort levels. It has been said that faith is spelt r-i-s-k. We are called to victory, to be in transformation (Romans 12:1,2), to enter into fullness of life and fruitfulness and fulfillment. I hear many people say that if you expect nothing, then you will not be disappointed, and from what I can tell, they seem to live boring or pain filled lives. But is this any way to live, and is it really living? In Christ life is intended to be an adventure. He will lead us into the unknown, and will give us the courage to do what He calls us to do if we ask Him. We ask ourselves “But what if I fail?” We do need to count the cost, but God will not lead us to do anything that He will not equip us to do. So we pray “God give me the courage to change the things in me and in my World that You are calling me to change”.
But how will I know what is of Him and what is of self? It's all in the “serenity prayer”, so we need to pray “Lord show me the difference between my wishful thinking and Your will and plan and purpose for my life.” And let's make no mistake about it, He does have plans for our lives, and they are good plans, plans with a future and a hope (Jeremiah 29:11). Jesus came that we might have life and life in all its fullness (John 10:10b). This is my inheritance my birthright. How hard would you fight for your in inheritance if someone left you a million dollars? This inheritance is worth a lot more than that! We need to show the same determination in the spiritual arena as we would in the natural!
Its a good prayer, this serenity prayer, and I invite you to pray it now and to mean it “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference”.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
I can do all things ... II. Learn to stop fighting the people and circumstances God allows in our lives
If you plant a plant in good soil and water it regularly, it will grow. If you allow God's Word to settle in your soul and trust it, believe it and obey the One who gave it, you will grow too. If you keep digging up the plant you will stunt its growth or worse. If you keep taking holidays from trusting God your growth will be stunted too.
It is easy to trust God in the good times, but our faith is seen to be genuine (in fact made genuine) in the furnace of difficult times. You can do it though, you can with His help learn to trust Him even in times of testing. This is at least part of what today's and last day's verse is all about. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Phil 4:13). This does not mean you won't stumble. A child does not learn to walk without taking a few falls. What brings them through, is the determination not to give up, and to get up after a fall over and over and over if necessary. And the legs of our faith are strengthened (He strengthens them) as we learn to walk in the Spirit, as we learn to trust no matter what.
The verse in Philippians 4 has a context. Paul says in verse 11 and 12 of the same chapter “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances”, and “I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want”. Note first and foremost it is something that he learned. There are things to be learn in the good times and in the bad. We need to learn not to take the good times for granted, we need to learn to be thankful, we need to learn not to take too much of the credit for the good (we are in partnership with the Lord). But perhaps the most enduring lessons are learned in the hard times.
Paul likely suffered more than you or I are ever likely to suffer (see 1 Corinthians 11:22-29). Yet in spite of, perhaps even because of it, he learned to be content no matter what the circumstances. Part of this is that he knew (had an intimate relationship with) the One whom he had believed. “I am convinced” he tells us that “that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day” (2 Timothy 1:12). He was trusting in God not in himself, and he was drawing on his relationship with Him to comfort and strengthen him (2 Corinthians 1:3-5). Another part of his learning (as in the title of the post) was that he had to stop fighting the people and the circumstances that God had allowed to come into, and disrupt, his life. We see this supremely in Acts 16:23-25. In the Christian life, in recovery, it is not so much what happens to us that determines our state, as how we (with God's help) respond to the the things that happen.
Let's get in touch with reality here, life is not fair, it is not! Stuff happens (you may have noticed). Stuff will happen for “the rain falls on the just and on the unjust” (Matthew 5:45). But for the one who loves and trust God, there is an amazing promise : “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). This verse is not saying that evil is good. It is not saying that stuff that happens is easy to deal with, or that it doesn't matter. We don't have to pretend that it is all “small stuff”! What it is saying is that God is actively at work even in and through the evil to bring good to the one who loves and trusts and obeys Him. It does not promise that we will always understand what God is doing, or how He is doing this. It only promises that He is. We may not see it until eternity, but “God is not a man that He should lie or change His mind” (1 Samuel 15:29), and what He has promised He will perform.
Before we leave this verse from Romans, I want to say one more thing. The promise is only to His Children (those who love Him). Part of this is that love shows itself in trust. When we “have to look after number one, because no one else will”, especially when we go round taking revenge or trying to fix others, God has no choice but to take his hands off the other buddy. It is like the older sibling trying to parent a younger child. The parent has to deal with that sibling before he or she can deal with the younger one. So we too need learn to stop fighting the people and circumstances that God has allowed, and give Him space to deal with what needs to be dealt with. It's called trust. Certainly there is a time and a place to say and/or do things. But for sure when we have tried everything and still failed, we need to stop and ask Him if He is waiting for us to get out of the way. There is a time to speak and a time to be silent, a time to embrace and a time to cease from embracing. There is a time for all things (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8). But it is always the time to trust Him. When we do, and when we give Him space and time to do His work, He brings us into rest (Matthew 11:28,29), and after we have suffered a little while He will settle and establish us (1 Peter 5:10). This is humbling many times, but when we humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God He will in His time, lift us up (1 Peter 5:6). He has promised!
It is easy to trust God in the good times, but our faith is seen to be genuine (in fact made genuine) in the furnace of difficult times. You can do it though, you can with His help learn to trust Him even in times of testing. This is at least part of what today's and last day's verse is all about. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Phil 4:13). This does not mean you won't stumble. A child does not learn to walk without taking a few falls. What brings them through, is the determination not to give up, and to get up after a fall over and over and over if necessary. And the legs of our faith are strengthened (He strengthens them) as we learn to walk in the Spirit, as we learn to trust no matter what.
The verse in Philippians 4 has a context. Paul says in verse 11 and 12 of the same chapter “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances”, and “I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want”. Note first and foremost it is something that he learned. There are things to be learn in the good times and in the bad. We need to learn not to take the good times for granted, we need to learn to be thankful, we need to learn not to take too much of the credit for the good (we are in partnership with the Lord). But perhaps the most enduring lessons are learned in the hard times.
Paul likely suffered more than you or I are ever likely to suffer (see 1 Corinthians 11:22-29). Yet in spite of, perhaps even because of it, he learned to be content no matter what the circumstances. Part of this is that he knew (had an intimate relationship with) the One whom he had believed. “I am convinced” he tells us that “that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day” (2 Timothy 1:12). He was trusting in God not in himself, and he was drawing on his relationship with Him to comfort and strengthen him (2 Corinthians 1:3-5). Another part of his learning (as in the title of the post) was that he had to stop fighting the people and the circumstances that God had allowed to come into, and disrupt, his life. We see this supremely in Acts 16:23-25. In the Christian life, in recovery, it is not so much what happens to us that determines our state, as how we (with God's help) respond to the the things that happen.
Let's get in touch with reality here, life is not fair, it is not! Stuff happens (you may have noticed). Stuff will happen for “the rain falls on the just and on the unjust” (Matthew 5:45). But for the one who loves and trust God, there is an amazing promise : “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). This verse is not saying that evil is good. It is not saying that stuff that happens is easy to deal with, or that it doesn't matter. We don't have to pretend that it is all “small stuff”! What it is saying is that God is actively at work even in and through the evil to bring good to the one who loves and trusts and obeys Him. It does not promise that we will always understand what God is doing, or how He is doing this. It only promises that He is. We may not see it until eternity, but “God is not a man that He should lie or change His mind” (1 Samuel 15:29), and what He has promised He will perform.
Before we leave this verse from Romans, I want to say one more thing. The promise is only to His Children (those who love Him). Part of this is that love shows itself in trust. When we “have to look after number one, because no one else will”, especially when we go round taking revenge or trying to fix others, God has no choice but to take his hands off the other buddy. It is like the older sibling trying to parent a younger child. The parent has to deal with that sibling before he or she can deal with the younger one. So we too need learn to stop fighting the people and circumstances that God has allowed, and give Him space to deal with what needs to be dealt with. It's called trust. Certainly there is a time and a place to say and/or do things. But for sure when we have tried everything and still failed, we need to stop and ask Him if He is waiting for us to get out of the way. There is a time to speak and a time to be silent, a time to embrace and a time to cease from embracing. There is a time for all things (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8). But it is always the time to trust Him. When we do, and when we give Him space and time to do His work, He brings us into rest (Matthew 11:28,29), and after we have suffered a little while He will settle and establish us (1 Peter 5:10). This is humbling many times, but when we humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God He will in His time, lift us up (1 Peter 5:6). He has promised!
Thursday, March 10, 2011
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me I. Co-Workers with Christ
There are so many things that we need to hold in tension if we are to be in the process of becoming whole, and becoming the men and women of God that He intends for us to be. The above verse from Philippians 4:13, in many ways illustrates two such things in what I have described as the trinity of helps (Bible help, self help and God's help). In particular it shows the need to marry self help and God's help.
Note carefully that the verse does not say “I can do all thing period”, nor does it imply that Christ does it all for me. In fact its true both that I have free will (and a part to play) and that God is Sovereign. It is at some level a mystery, but at least part of this is that He is requiring not only our cooperation, but He offers partnership. Paul puts it this way “we are labourers together with God" (1 Corinthians 3:9).
The Lord is a good and gracious and loving partner. He knows when we are weak, He loves us exactly where we are at, but loves us far too much to leave us that way. It is His intention to display His Glory in and through our transformation. Many times that is seen as He brings us from where we were at, to wholeness and fullness of life. He does not promise that it will be easy, but He has promised never to leave us nor forsake us. That does not mean we will not feel at times like He has deserted us. However at times like that, as with the wife of the truck driver who complained from the other side of the cab that “we are not as close as we used to be”, we need to ask ourselves “Who moved?”
God is committed to our wholeness and our growth, and because of this, there are times when He will need to say “no”, and He may lead us, or leave us, in places we would rather not be. If you are like me, I came to Him in the first place because I was in a lot of (emotional) pain. Not surprisingly I just wanted to get rid of it. But there were lessons He wanted me to learn as with His timing, He lead me out of that pain. Some of the lessons were about not making poor choices, but some of the lessons were to help me to trust His Sovereignty even when I did not understand.
We are in partnership with Christ, nevertheless He is the senior partner. Last day we were talking about the trichotomy “Lunatic, Liar or Lord”. It is vitally important for us to understand who we are in Him (see later posts), but we need to start with our understanding of who He is. He is Lord. He is the God-man. He shows us what God is like (John 14:9). He also shows us man as God intends for Him to be, for His goal for us is that we be like Him (1 John 3:2). In particular Jesus did only what He saw the Father doing (John 5:18).
If He is God (and He is) then He knows what is best for us even if (when) we don't understand all that He allows. It has been said that if He is not Lord of all, He is not Lord at all. This does not come easily, and it does not come without cost. Even Jesus needed to pray “Not my will, but Yours be done”. We need to grow into this. This is not faith/obedience 101 but it is the goal if we are to bring Glory to Him and in the process become mature and whole and fulfilled. We have been given weapons which, when we have learned to appropriate (i.e. to receive and to use) them, we will be able to bring even our thoughts captive to the obedience of Jesus Christ (2 Cor 10:5). In the same way if like Paul we are going to be able to say “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, ” then we will need to grow up into this too. But let me say it again, it is a partnership, and He has promised to be with us (and help us) all the way for “I will never leave you, nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5). I invite you to respond to Him. I have asked God to take every "no" out of me. More to come!
Note carefully that the verse does not say “I can do all thing period”, nor does it imply that Christ does it all for me. In fact its true both that I have free will (and a part to play) and that God is Sovereign. It is at some level a mystery, but at least part of this is that He is requiring not only our cooperation, but He offers partnership. Paul puts it this way “we are labourers together with God" (1 Corinthians 3:9).
The Lord is a good and gracious and loving partner. He knows when we are weak, He loves us exactly where we are at, but loves us far too much to leave us that way. It is His intention to display His Glory in and through our transformation. Many times that is seen as He brings us from where we were at, to wholeness and fullness of life. He does not promise that it will be easy, but He has promised never to leave us nor forsake us. That does not mean we will not feel at times like He has deserted us. However at times like that, as with the wife of the truck driver who complained from the other side of the cab that “we are not as close as we used to be”, we need to ask ourselves “Who moved?”
God is committed to our wholeness and our growth, and because of this, there are times when He will need to say “no”, and He may lead us, or leave us, in places we would rather not be. If you are like me, I came to Him in the first place because I was in a lot of (emotional) pain. Not surprisingly I just wanted to get rid of it. But there were lessons He wanted me to learn as with His timing, He lead me out of that pain. Some of the lessons were about not making poor choices, but some of the lessons were to help me to trust His Sovereignty even when I did not understand.
We are in partnership with Christ, nevertheless He is the senior partner. Last day we were talking about the trichotomy “Lunatic, Liar or Lord”. It is vitally important for us to understand who we are in Him (see later posts), but we need to start with our understanding of who He is. He is Lord. He is the God-man. He shows us what God is like (John 14:9). He also shows us man as God intends for Him to be, for His goal for us is that we be like Him (1 John 3:2). In particular Jesus did only what He saw the Father doing (John 5:18).
If He is God (and He is) then He knows what is best for us even if (when) we don't understand all that He allows. It has been said that if He is not Lord of all, He is not Lord at all. This does not come easily, and it does not come without cost. Even Jesus needed to pray “Not my will, but Yours be done”. We need to grow into this. This is not faith/obedience 101 but it is the goal if we are to bring Glory to Him and in the process become mature and whole and fulfilled. We have been given weapons which, when we have learned to appropriate (i.e. to receive and to use) them, we will be able to bring even our thoughts captive to the obedience of Jesus Christ (2 Cor 10:5). In the same way if like Paul we are going to be able to say “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, ” then we will need to grow up into this too. But let me say it again, it is a partnership, and He has promised to be with us (and help us) all the way for “I will never leave you, nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5). I invite you to respond to Him. I have asked God to take every "no" out of me. More to come!
Monday, March 7, 2011
Lunatic, Liar or Lord
The following paragraph is a direct quote from 'Mere Christianity' by C.S. Lewis (of Narnai fame). The comments in brackets are mine.
“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: "I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept His claim to be God." That is the one thing we must not say. A man who said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic--on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg--or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to”.
For more details of Lewis's argument see for example http://www.existence-of-god.com/lord-liar-lunatic.html
I quoted some of the things Jesus said last day. He said “I am the way the truth and the life, no-one comes to the Father but by me” (John 14:6). This is more than a bit much if it is not true! He also made statements the Jews understood well was blasphemy (if it is not true). He said “Before Abraham was, I am”. This is a very strong claim to be the One who spoke to Moses at the burning bush (Exodus 3:13,14). The reaction of the Jews makes it very clear that we have not misinterpreted this verse, because they took up stone to stone Him (John 8:58,59).
Some have a Sunday School picture of Jesus “Gentle Jesus meek and mild, would not hurt a fly”. But He drove the money changers out of the Temple with a whip of chords (John 2:15). They deserved it, they were cheating the people! This can hardly be described as mild! His actions and sayings seem almost provocative at times (i.e. Mark 2:5-11). He breaks all their man made rules (i.e. Mark 2:23; 3:1-6). He performed signs and wonders. He knew this behaviour would get Him crucified (Matthew 20:18,19), yet He “set His face to go to Jerusalem” (Luke 9:51). Jesus is a man's man, He shows us man as God intended man to be. He is not mild, flies beware. Jesus is a tiger at times, yet even so He is humble.
You cannot be neutral about Jesus, He has not given us that option. He tells us explicitly “He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad” (Matthew 12:30). There is no fence for “Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son" (John 3:18). The Amplified Bible translates “believes” as “cleave to, rely on, trust in”. So He is not talking about a mere intellectual agreement that He is God's Son, for from James 2:19 “Even the demons believe (that way) and tremble” (words in brackets mine)! You are either in or out, hot or cold, saved or lost, condemned or rescued!
Understanding and embracing Jesus and all He is, is important to recovery and to becoming all that we were created to be. Conversion and believing the Gospel brings us access unto the Lord of Life who heals the broken hearted (Luke 4:18-21). It starts, but does not end there. Receiving and trusting in what He says about us, will bring us into wholeness. In being vitally connected to Him we discover who we truly are, and in complete surrender we discover all we were made to be. As I said last day, we even get to like ourselves. In His embrace we are secure, for “no one can snatch them out of My hand” (John 10:28). In His hands we are treasured and loved and valued.
We will be exploring more of the healing power of all of this in the next few posts.
“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: "I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept His claim to be God." That is the one thing we must not say. A man who said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic--on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg--or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to”.
For more details of Lewis's argument see for example http://www.existence-of-god.com/lord-liar-lunatic.html
I quoted some of the things Jesus said last day. He said “I am the way the truth and the life, no-one comes to the Father but by me” (John 14:6). This is more than a bit much if it is not true! He also made statements the Jews understood well was blasphemy (if it is not true). He said “Before Abraham was, I am”. This is a very strong claim to be the One who spoke to Moses at the burning bush (Exodus 3:13,14). The reaction of the Jews makes it very clear that we have not misinterpreted this verse, because they took up stone to stone Him (John 8:58,59).
Some have a Sunday School picture of Jesus “Gentle Jesus meek and mild, would not hurt a fly”. But He drove the money changers out of the Temple with a whip of chords (John 2:15). They deserved it, they were cheating the people! This can hardly be described as mild! His actions and sayings seem almost provocative at times (i.e. Mark 2:5-11). He breaks all their man made rules (i.e. Mark 2:23; 3:1-6). He performed signs and wonders. He knew this behaviour would get Him crucified (Matthew 20:18,19), yet He “set His face to go to Jerusalem” (Luke 9:51). Jesus is a man's man, He shows us man as God intended man to be. He is not mild, flies beware. Jesus is a tiger at times, yet even so He is humble.
You cannot be neutral about Jesus, He has not given us that option. He tells us explicitly “He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad” (Matthew 12:30). There is no fence for “Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son" (John 3:18). The Amplified Bible translates “believes” as “cleave to, rely on, trust in”. So He is not talking about a mere intellectual agreement that He is God's Son, for from James 2:19 “Even the demons believe (that way) and tremble” (words in brackets mine)! You are either in or out, hot or cold, saved or lost, condemned or rescued!
Understanding and embracing Jesus and all He is, is important to recovery and to becoming all that we were created to be. Conversion and believing the Gospel brings us access unto the Lord of Life who heals the broken hearted (Luke 4:18-21). It starts, but does not end there. Receiving and trusting in what He says about us, will bring us into wholeness. In being vitally connected to Him we discover who we truly are, and in complete surrender we discover all we were made to be. As I said last day, we even get to like ourselves. In His embrace we are secure, for “no one can snatch them out of My hand” (John 10:28). In His hands we are treasured and loved and valued.
We will be exploring more of the healing power of all of this in the next few posts.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
I just want to be happy!
In case you had not noticed, we can be pretty shallow as a society. We value things like success, beauty, wealth, popularity, athletic abilities and the like. But these things do not bring lasting happiness. How many people who win substantial amounts on the lottery finish up with ruined lives? “I will take my chances” I hear people saying. But riches do not bring fulfillment, beauty fades like the flower, today's heros become tomorrow's disillusioned as the fickle crowd moves on. Hollywood's best and brightest put on brave faces, but more often than not live pain filled and broken lives. We are more taken with image than with character, outward appearance than with heart. We value brute strength over gentleness, dismiss sensitivity as weakness, we applaud revenge and despise forgiveness. Might makes right, power comes through the barrel of a gun. We have thrown commitment out of the window, changing our vows from 'as long as we both shall live' to 'as long as we both shall love'. We are uninvolved and shallow and self serving and lonely and empty. Many live “lives of quiet desperation”.
The phrase “like lambs to the slaughter” is a phrase that comes to mind, when I think about this generation in which we live. As a society, we have thrown out faithfulness, goodness, integrity, endurance, steadfastness, wholesomeness, nobility, righteousness, gentleness and self control. Our sit coms encourage us to selfishness, presenting it as normal. “Look after number one, who else will?” We call those who would council restraint, old fashioned outmoded and out of date. But even the secular literature warns us of the consequences of our poor choices. These choices seem to promise freedom happiness, and for a short time they may deliver, but only in the short term. And many of the things we choose because we think they will bring freedom and happiness, turn back on us and finish up costing a lot more than we want to pay. We have sown and continue to sow to the wind, and we wonder why we are reaping the whirlwind. But we are still not willing to hear the inconvenient truths that call us to account. Nevertheless God is not mocked we do reap the consequences of what we sow (Galatians 6:7).
“I just want to be happy”, we tell ourselves, but somehow it alludes us. It never seems to occur to us that we are looking in the wrong direction. Happiness when pursued as a goal is illusive, it comes more often than not as a result of pursuing something else, not in pursuing the gaudy baubles of our age. But actually none of this is new. Casting off restraint is as old as our Bible (Psalm 2:3), as are the cumulative effects of doing so. There is a famous quotation from Saint Agustin of old which reads “Our hearts are restless until they find their rest in You”. This quotation comes from his “confessions”. Saint Agustin had tasted all that the World had to offer, and like the wayward son in the Bible (Luke 15:11ff) had come to the end of himself, turned to the Lord and found hope and joy and fulfillment in his relationship with the Lord of Life.
This relationship with God is a far cry from the legalistic, rule making religion of the Pharisees, the Pharisees both of today, and of the Bible. What is offered us in Christ is not rules and regulations, it is not ritual, it is relationship, relationship with God Himself. To help us in the process of understanding who He is and how our connection with Him brings the very things that we seek Jesus, in John's Gospel, gives us a number of word pictures. He tells us, for example, that He is the bread of life (6:35), that is that He is what we need, for it is in living connection with Him that we live and breath and have our being. He is living water that truly satisfies (4:14). He is the light of the World (8:12) that not only shows us the way, but is actually not only the way, but also the truth and the life (14:6). He is the vine and we are the branches. When we abide in Him and He is us, we bear much fruit and the fruit remains and fulfills us (5:5). Our lives take on meaning and purpose. We recover hope and love and joy and peace and grace and all the fruit of His Spirit (Galatians 5:22). In Him is true freedom (8:32), and abundant life and mercy and Grace and truth and fulfillment (10:10). When we live in Him, we can make it. When we live in Him we can overcome. When we live in Him our lives have meaning. When we live in Him we can do it all (Philippians 4:13). We even get to like ourselves! When we live in Him we have joy that remains and joy that is full (15:11). This joy is so much deeper than the fleeting happiness that changes with circumstances. This joy is made of stronger stuff, it can even bring us through the fires trials of life (1 Peter 1:6-8).
The phrase “like lambs to the slaughter” is a phrase that comes to mind, when I think about this generation in which we live. As a society, we have thrown out faithfulness, goodness, integrity, endurance, steadfastness, wholesomeness, nobility, righteousness, gentleness and self control. Our sit coms encourage us to selfishness, presenting it as normal. “Look after number one, who else will?” We call those who would council restraint, old fashioned outmoded and out of date. But even the secular literature warns us of the consequences of our poor choices. These choices seem to promise freedom happiness, and for a short time they may deliver, but only in the short term. And many of the things we choose because we think they will bring freedom and happiness, turn back on us and finish up costing a lot more than we want to pay. We have sown and continue to sow to the wind, and we wonder why we are reaping the whirlwind. But we are still not willing to hear the inconvenient truths that call us to account. Nevertheless God is not mocked we do reap the consequences of what we sow (Galatians 6:7).
“I just want to be happy”, we tell ourselves, but somehow it alludes us. It never seems to occur to us that we are looking in the wrong direction. Happiness when pursued as a goal is illusive, it comes more often than not as a result of pursuing something else, not in pursuing the gaudy baubles of our age. But actually none of this is new. Casting off restraint is as old as our Bible (Psalm 2:3), as are the cumulative effects of doing so. There is a famous quotation from Saint Agustin of old which reads “Our hearts are restless until they find their rest in You”. This quotation comes from his “confessions”. Saint Agustin had tasted all that the World had to offer, and like the wayward son in the Bible (Luke 15:11ff) had come to the end of himself, turned to the Lord and found hope and joy and fulfillment in his relationship with the Lord of Life.
This relationship with God is a far cry from the legalistic, rule making religion of the Pharisees, the Pharisees both of today, and of the Bible. What is offered us in Christ is not rules and regulations, it is not ritual, it is relationship, relationship with God Himself. To help us in the process of understanding who He is and how our connection with Him brings the very things that we seek Jesus, in John's Gospel, gives us a number of word pictures. He tells us, for example, that He is the bread of life (6:35), that is that He is what we need, for it is in living connection with Him that we live and breath and have our being. He is living water that truly satisfies (4:14). He is the light of the World (8:12) that not only shows us the way, but is actually not only the way, but also the truth and the life (14:6). He is the vine and we are the branches. When we abide in Him and He is us, we bear much fruit and the fruit remains and fulfills us (5:5). Our lives take on meaning and purpose. We recover hope and love and joy and peace and grace and all the fruit of His Spirit (Galatians 5:22). In Him is true freedom (8:32), and abundant life and mercy and Grace and truth and fulfillment (10:10). When we live in Him, we can make it. When we live in Him we can overcome. When we live in Him our lives have meaning. When we live in Him we can do it all (Philippians 4:13). We even get to like ourselves! When we live in Him we have joy that remains and joy that is full (15:11). This joy is so much deeper than the fleeting happiness that changes with circumstances. This joy is made of stronger stuff, it can even bring us through the fires trials of life (1 Peter 1:6-8).
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