Why?

Matthew 27:46

"And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" that is, My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" (emphasis mine)



Jesus, being fully God and fully man, was unlike you and me.

He lived without sin and was always in a relationship of perfect love and perfect submission to the will of God the Father.

While Jesus prayed in the garden, in intense distress, before the events that led up to His crucifixion, He implored God to let the cup pass from Him if there was any other way.

Jesus was clearly aware of what was going to happen. He also knew why he had to endure the shame and humiliation of the cross. He was in agreement with the plan and submitted and participated willingly in God's redemptive work. He never doubted God's love, faithfulness or sovereignty.

And yet, in His humanity, in the moment of His agony, what did Jesus cry out?

My God, My God, WHY....

Because Jesus, our Great High Priest, was not only fully God, but fully human.

And we, in our human frailty, even when we trust that God is loving, faithful and sovereign, often do the same.

My God, my God, WHY...

Astoundingly,we have a High Priest who can sympathize with our weaknesses. (Heb 4:15) Jesus actually knew the answer to the 'why.' Yet He cried out in agony anyway. We often don't know the 'why' and may never in this life.

But because of the mercy and compassion of our Great God, we are privileged to say in the same breath:

"My God, my God, have mercy on me, a sinner....my God, my God, WHY?"

Vampires and Other Imaginary Beings

Vampires, Bigfoot, Leprechauns and Fairies.

What do the four things listed above have in common with ex-Christians?

They don't exist.

Oh, there are plenty of people out there who think they do. And I'm sure you can even find large numbers of people who passionately claim to know from personal experience that one of the five fictitious creatures named above is as real as dirt and rocks. But they would be flat out, no mistake about it, excruciatingly WRONG. (By the way, this is yet another reason that personal experience as proof of a matter should be treated with skepticism, but that is a post for another day.)

I don't care what they say.

I'd even be willing to budge on the first four. Perhaps I could be convinced that small, elvish creatures with red beards and green pointy hats live in the wilds of Ireland somewhere. Well, maybe not. But I would probably just roll my eyes (discreetly) at anyone who claimed to believe in a leprechaun. (As fun as the whole idea is, and that whole pot of gold at the end of a rainbow thing, it's kind of a shame that isn't true either.)

But believing that such a thing as an ex-Christian exists is dangerous. It can cause some real problems for the true sheep. Things like doubt and disbelief.

Let me just be blunt and perfectly clear about this issue. I realize that I run the risk of alienating some of you, my dear readers, by taking such a bold stand. Because I do realize that there are many Christians who are disagree with me on this matter. Even if you are one of them, I hope you will still come by for a visit every now and again. But at the risk of permanently irritating you, allow me to present my case from Scripture.

The most compelling case for the "perseverance of the saints" (that is the fancy term which means basically, once really saved, always saved, you can't lose salvation,) is found in John 10:27.

John 10:27-29

"My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand."

If you believe what these verses proclaim, then in order to remove a sheep from the Father's hand, one would have to be greater than the Father. The very power and sovereignty of God, in His ability to keep the true sheep from straying, are at stake. I don't see any way around that.

Notice that I said the true sheep. Because you can't deny that there are people who once professed to be Christians, who now disavow the whole thing entirely. Some of them were even the really passionate, committed type of "Christian." (Maybe even most of them, which is a rather strange phenomenon, that probably bears exploring at a later date.) I personally know of two who at one point, seemed to all of the outside world to be the real deal. But who now profess to be atheist.

Are they ex-Christians? No. They were never Christians to begin with. Jesus did not call them by name, they never belonged to Him. They might dispute me on that point, based on their personal experience. And while I mourn for them, and feel somewhat confused that they are so blind, I don't believe that they ever belonged to Christ at all.

We know from Matthew 7:21-23, that not everyone who says to Jesus, "Lord, Lord" will enter the kingdom of heaven. To some of them He will say, "I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness." So obviously there are people out there who have some trappings of Christianity, but who are really the wolves in sheep's clothing referred to in Matthew 7:15.

Another passage of Scripture that speaks to the perseverance of the saints is Romans 8:29-30:

"For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified."

Obviously, even Christians, the real kind, go through periods of what is so elegantly termed "backsliding." You know what that is don't you? It is when a believer goes through a time of sin and rebellion. It happens. You are deceived if you think it doesn't.

In fact, the beauty of the gospel, of God's faithfulness to the sheep, is that He makes promises to us, even knowing ahead of time that we will fail, we will sin, and yes, we will even backslide. The thing that distinguishes the wolf in sheep's clothing from the backsliding believer is the final outcome. A true believer will ultimately come to repentance, will seek forgiveness and be restored to faithful service to God. That wolf ain't going to do any such thing. (The repentance might be a long time coming, too, which is why we should be pretty cautious about pronouncing judgment one way or the other.)

But if there is never repentance and restoration, there was never a Christian.

And you can be as sure of that as you are of the fact that nobody is going to suck out all of your blood and turn you into an immortal bloodsucker yourself.

Philippians 1:6

"being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ."

Isaiah 54:10

"For the mountains shall depart
And the hills be removed,
But My kindness shall not depart from you,
Nor shall my covenant of peace be removed,
Says the LORD, who has mercy on you."

Hurt Feelings

One of the toughest lessons to learn in this life is that your personal feelings are often irrelevant. I really mean that. Of course, there are some situations and relationships in which your hurt feelings are the most relevant aspect involved. But those situations are very close to home and heart, and for most of us, a great deal of our lives are lived beyond our most intimate circles.

And even there, we sometimes get it wrong when we let our personal feelings be the judge. I could totally flip out on my husband and have an emotional fit--and be not only wrong for exhibiting the fit, but wrongly motivated for having it to begin with.

It takes hard work to look past our personal feelings and evaluate a situation from an impartial point of view. I'm talking across the spectrum here, in everything from our relationships with family, with friends, with acquaintances and even that jerk driving too slowly in the car in front of me. When I've made the struggle to look past my FEELINGS, I have often seen that I am completely in the wrong. That, of course, is hardly any fun at all, which is why I think most of us avoid looking too closely, most of the time. (Am I being harsh? Maybe you do this all of the time?)

Anyway, here is where all of my rambling comes into play with God. I can't even count the number of things in the Bible that hurt my feelings. I'm not trying to be flip about this either. I should more accurately say that there are many things in Scripture that deeply offend my sense of justice and my own personal opinions.

Let's start with sin. The Bible tells me that all are sinners. That ALL is comprehensive. It includes that sweet little lady that I sometimes see walking around in my neighborhood, the funny guy who makes everyone laugh at every gathering, the person who reads the news to me on television, the crossing guard who stands in the middle of the road and seems to take her authority to the extreme by flailing and stamping her feet at every car driving past. Every one of them, no matter how kind, charming, famous or quirky, is a sinner who deserves God's condemnation.

That offends me sometimes, even though I know and accept that it is true. I didn't mention myself in the above list, because I have no illusions that I am free from sin. I have gotten to know myself too well over the years and I am not at all deceived about my lack of inherent goodness. But when it comes to other people, it is harder to swallow.

On a smaller scale, suffering and tragedy offend me. I know too many people who have suffered through gut-wrenching circumstances to gloss over this reality of life. You probably do too, when you stop and think about it. Or you could just turn on the news and listen for a few minutes. Your own personal bubble of life might be pretty charming and peaceful, but that is not the case for the majority of people in the world. Painful things, horrible things, really happen.

And that offends me. Where is God? How could He let this happen? Why is He allowing this? How can this be good? If God is so loving, why did he let that child die? If God is just, how can life be so unfair?

But, as usual, my feelings (while normal) are wrong. God is just, He is loving, and He is in control. I don't understand how all of those seemingly inconsistent things fit together, but I accept by faith that they do. And I accept that God sees things differently than I do. And He is the one who is right, and I am the one who is wrong.

Isa 55:9 "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts."

Fortunately, God is bigger than my puny emotional reactions. He has compassion on my confusion and weakness and invites me to struggle through those feelings by interacting with His revealed Word, Scripture. You see, I can't go around struggling with shadows and imaginations. I have to deal with God in truth. And the place to discover who God really is and what God really said is in the Bible ALONE. My feelings and I the things that I think are right don't count. Because, usually, they are flat out wrong.

If you have never studied something in the Bible that has offended you somehow, I can't imagine that you are actually paying attention to what you are reading. The Bible is not some kind of happy-happy-joy-joy fluff story about a swell guy named Jesus who just really liked and loved people an awfully awful lot.

It is the story of a Holy Creator God and the creation that rebelled and hated Him. It is a story of gut-wrenching, sacrificial love on the part of the Creator, and rejection and scorn on the part of the created. And the amazing Redemption of that creation back into fellowship with the Holy One, at the total cost to, and initiative from, God.

It's a hard read, but an amazing one. Because you and me and all of humanity don't get to play the hero's role in this true story. We get to play the villain. And a crazy reversal of justice takes place, as the villain becomes the cherished, adopted son of the hero, despite it all. If it wasn't such a good deal on my behalf-and yours-I would be tempted to be offended. But, as usual, I would be flat out wrong.

P.S. - I really shouldn't go for so long without posting. I tend ramble when I finally get around to writing something. Hope all of the above actually seems cohesive.

Retreat

I've just gotten back from an overnight women's church retreat. It was delightful.

It felt sort of like diving into a refreshing spring of sparkling water, in more ways than one. Fellowship with like-minded sisters in Christ is better than a day at the spa to me. (And a day at the spa is pretty good, I'll be the first to admit.)

The music was such a treat, too. I got to belt out all four verses of Amazing Grace at the top of my lungs, and still only hear the combined harmony of worshipping voices without my own caterwauling standing out. I love that. I cried like a baby when two women from Cameroon sang some worship songs in their native African tongue. And I walked around all day today humming "My chains are gone, I've been set free, my God my Saviour has ransomed me."

Actually I cried like a baby about pretty much everything this weekend. A casual observer would be tempted to think that my life is in shambles upon seeing all the salty trails steaming down my cheeks over the past 24 hours. But really, nothing could be further from the truth. My life is fine. I'm not suffering from any major trauma at the moment. I'm not wrestling with past hurts and failures right now either. I've dealt with all of those things before, but I don't happen to be right now. I'm simply overwhelmed by God.

As soon as the speaker read the first Bible verse on Friday night, I got misty. And it only got worse after that. About mid-morning Saturday I even gave up on that trying-not-to-let-the-others-see-my-embarassing-tears business. It was a lost cause anyway. I was dripping. A sprinkler. A leaking faucet.

It wasn't even that the message the speaker delivered was revolutionary. I've heard most of it before, maybe in a slighty different presentation, but still, the same basic prinicples were presented. I just needed to hear it again I suppose.

It's been a while since the gospel made me weep. It felt good.

Such Good News

Did you know that the word "gospel" actually means "good news?" I betcha did.

It is easy to forget, though, that this whole Christianity thing is supposed to be news that is actually good to hear. So much of what we hear focuses on our responsibility to "do better" and "be better." And of course all believers are called to be holy, just as Christ is holy.

But there is the problem, you see. Christ actually was, and is, holy. We...aren't. Sometimes we fool ourselves into thinking that we can be if we just try hard enough. (Hello! Pride and Self-Righteousness! Hello!)

But the simple truth of the matter is that we never will measure up. We won't ever do good enough or be good enough. We simply aren't capable of it. Plus, all of the good that we earnestly attempt to do is totally undone by the smallest guilty action.

Its enough to make a girl depressed and exhausted...all that trying and doing and being and never measuring up despite it all.

THAT my friends, is why the good news is so, well, good. It isn't up to us at all. We don't have to do it. The good news is that Jesus already has done it...all of it...and He did it perfectly. The better news is that He will give us all the credit for the righteousness that He accomplished.

If that isn't the most amazing news you've ever heard, then I'd like to gently suggest that you don't actually understand what the news is.

Psalm 40:9

"I have proclaimed the good news of righteousness in the great assembly"

Submission of the Gut Wrenching Variety

And just so you know, I'm not talking about husbands and wives in this post. Although I could, cause, boy, is that fertile ground for the topic of submission. But, nope, I'm going to be talking about Jesus.

There are times when we read Scripture and it is just kind of, well...a thing to get through. I have those mornings just like the rest of you.

And then, there are those days when you see something in the text that makes the hair on your arms stand up and your gut suck in a deep breath. I had one of those moments a few days ago.

Most of you are probably familiar with the story of Jesus being arrested by the mob of thugs in the Garden of Gethsemane. It's a Bible story that we church-grown folks grew up hearing. Maybe we even heard it so often that we got kind of casual and flippant about it. Sometimes reading it afresh divulges a gem that is so astounding we can't believe we've MISSED IT all these years!

Let me set the stage a little bit for you and then see if I can wrangle the same WOW out of you that I experienced.


Jesus was a perfect man. He was also fully a man. However, unlike any of us, He was also fully God. The theological term for this seeming contradiction is hypostatic union. And as God in the flesh, Jesus had at His disposal all of the power of God. As a man, who walked around on the earth and felt human needs like hunger and fatigue, He was also the same God who created the heavens and the earth by speaking words. Now, I should be able to stop typing at this point and just leave you with that thought. Because, honestly, if that doesn't make you go, "Whoa," then you haven't thought about it long enough, or deep enough.

But there is more. Jesus, as God, also had at His disposal command and control of the angels. Far from the chubby babies with feathery wings of our popular culture, angels are actually pretty fearsome things. Think of the angel that swept through Egypt and killed all of those first born sons before Pharaoh agreed to let the Israelites go. And that was just the work of one lonely angel. Imagine the power that Jesus had at His command as a man who could call down the power of all the angels in heaven at his whim.

NOW, imagine Jesus as He is praying in the Garden, just hours and moments before He knows He will die a humiliating, painful and horrible death on the cross.

He doesn't really want to go through with it. Now, bear with me here. Jesus is always in perfect, sinless submission to God the Father. But as a human being living in flesh, Jesus the Son had some real anxiety about what was going to happen to Him.

Matthew 26:39

"He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, "O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will but as You will."

Jesus says, I will do your will. But, Father, if it is possible, let there be another way. But there isn't. Jesus must die. There must be atonement for the sins of His children. It has to happen this way.

And so, despite the natural resistance of His human nature, Christ willingly submits to the will of the Father. I say willingly, because nobody ever forced Jesus to do it. He willingly submitted to all of the horrors of the cross and all of the horrors of broken fellowship with the Father as He endured the holy wrath of a holy God in order to redeem OUR lives from the pit of destruction.

As the multitude carrying swords and clubs laid hands on Jesus and arrested Him, Peter couldn't contain himself. You can imagine that they were roughing Jesus up in the process of arresting him. And in reaction, Peter drew his sword and struck off the ear of the servant of the high preist.

It is what Jesus said next that is so astounding.

Matthew 26:52-54

"But Jesus said to him, "Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Or do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide me with more than twelve legions of angels? How then can the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must happen thus." (emphasis mine)

Did you catch that? The Father will provide angels. Not He might, or He may, or its possible that He will take that into consideration. He will do it. If I ask, He will. If I ask, this whole plan will not be fulfilled, it will not happen.

But Jesus didn't ask. He died on the cross.

And that, girls, is submission of the gut wrenching variety. Wow. Is there anything else to say?

Hebrews 12:2

"looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."

On Bows and Rainbows

I don't have time for a "real" post right now. I've been out of town all weekend and I'm trying to play catch-up before the start of what I expect to be a super busy week. (I'm teaching Ruth Session Two on Wednesday, so please pray for me if you think of it. And I'll try to post the audio by the end of the week.)

But I wanted to share something really interesting that I heard twice this weekend, that I think you will enjoy as well.

Several weeks ago I happened to be riding through town after a wet and rainy afternoon. It was about an hour before dusk and the sky was still filled with gray, misty clouds. Suddenly, my husband pointed out an amazing sight: two full arcs of a double rainbow brilliantly displayed in the sky. I had never seen a double rainbow before, and it was breathtaking. Not only were there two visible arcs, but you could see the full arch from one end of the horizon to the other for each individual rainbow. We pulled the car over and unloaded our family in the middle of an empty parking lot just to stare at this wonder in the sky.

If you remember your Sunday School lessons, you will remember that the rainbow is endowed with special meaning by God. In Genesis 9:13-16, we read the following:

"I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind of the earth."

To understand the significance of this particular covenant agreement that God made between Himself and all life on earth, you need to remember what God just finished doing. We love to tell the story of Noah and his ark to our children. But how often do we point out to them that the real point of Noah and the ark was to save them from the massive wiping out of life that God purposed and performed? God literally destroyed every person and creature on earth, expect for the inhabitants of that relatively little floating capsule we call the ark.

God did not put the rainbow in the sky as a warm fuzzy feel good to make us smile and reflect kindly on Him when we happen to see one. No, He wanted to assure mankind and all of creation that He was never going to bring such a war upon them again. At least, not in the form of a flood.

While I was at a conference this weekend, the speaker made an offhand point about the shape of the rainbow. It is very similar to the spape of a bow, as in a bow and arrow. The bow and arrow are mostly employed as a sport by archers today, with perhaps some hard-core bow hunters thrown in the mix. But in the days of ancient warfare, the bow and arrow were deadly and effective weapons.

And some have speculated that when God put that bow shaped arch in the sky, He was signifying that He had hung up His weapon of war, never to use that particular one against His creation ever again. I've also heard it speculated that not only was the weapon hung upon the wall, but its curve was pointed up, toward heaven itself, instead of down to the face of the earth.

Because, you see, God did still need to declare war. A war against sin. And we all know who ended up taking the brunt of that war upon Himself. It was God, in the human flesh of Jesus Christ. God put all of His holy wrath upon Himself in order to redeem His fallen children. And that is why the "bow" of the rainbow pointed up to the sky. It was a reminder, a promise and a foreshadowing all at the same time.

Cool, huh?

Got Guilt?

Got guilt? Oh, of course you do. And if you haven't done anything lately to feel guilty over, I bet it doesn't take much effort to think back to some occasion that brings that unwelcome sinking sensation in your gut.

So what are we supposed to do with guilt?

To start with, I think we should recognize that not all guilt is a bad. Sometimes we are so eager to get rid of the unpleasantness of guilt that we fail to deal with the problem that is causing us to feel guilty to begin with. This is a bad thing. If you feel guilty, ask yourself why. It might be that you actually need to repent of something. Often, we are reluctant to repent, and guilt is the byproduct.

But there are plenty of times when guilt is just self-condemnation.

The Bible teaches clearly, and in so many places, that those who are found in Christ have absolutely no reason to feel condemned. This truth is so startling and revolutionary that I think we sometimes gloss over the profoundness of it. I mean, come on, God can't really mean that we are totally washed clean and forgiven can He? Surely there is going to be some cosmic extraction of penance or sudden onslaught of punishment, isn't there?

No. There isn't.

It has already been taken care of. Yes, all of it. Yes, really, even THAT thing.

When Jesus came to this world in the flesh, and died on the cross, every bit of it was paid for. The big word for this is "propitiation" and the Greek for propitiation is hilasmos. The literal definition of hilasmos is atonement. Jesus atoned for our sins. He made them right by paying the price for them.

1 John 4:10

"In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins."

We, who have faith in Christ, are declared pure, because Christ has made us pure.

1Jn 3:3

"And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure."

What right in the world do I have to accuse and condemn what God has declared pure, including myself?

Romans 8:33,34

"Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies.
Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us."

Have you ever thought about it that way? When you point a finger of self-condemnation at yourself, you are disagreeing with God. You are claiming that what Jesus did on the cross wasn't really sufficient for you and your sins. Do you really think you are that significant? Do I?

Listen, I need to be reminded of this just as much as anyone. Lately, in particular, I feel like Satan has been making quite an effort to remind me of who I used to be.

But God, through Scripture, tells me who I am in Christ. And that is the opinion that not only counts, but is perfect truth.

Rom 8:1

"There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit."

Against You, You Only, Have I Sinned

I've been in a weird place the last few weeks. You can see that my blog posts have been less than frequent lately. And I can't seem to get anything significant done on the Ruth study I am working on. I had a big breakthrough in that area a few weeks ago, and it was thrilling: I finished the first speaking session and discussion outline. But since then, nothing. I literally feel a deep resistance to working on it any further. I keep writing outlines in my head, and thinking of scripture that would be good to bring into the discussion, but I can't make myself sit down and write anything.

Last night I prayed for some clarity, and I think I got some this morning. I read Psalm 51, David's prayer of repentance after he was confronted by the prophet Nathan over his affair with Bathsheba. I was struck by David's astounding statement in Psalm 51:4,

"Against You, You only, have I sinned,
And done this evil in your sight--"

How is it possible that David can qualify his sin as being only against God? Um, what about poor Uriah? Or Bathsheba for that matter? Or David's many other wives whom he dishonored by committing adultery with Bathsheba? How about the entire nation of Israel? Didn't they get cheated by a king who acted so deceitfully and treacherously?

Yet despite all of that, it is God (only!) who David says he sinned against. Have you ever really thought about that and its implications? We think about sinning against other people all the time; gossiping or lying or cheating or stealing from someone. Or even just treating people disrespectfully or without love. Aren't all of those things sins? Aren't they sins against our neighbor? I've always assumed that they were. But the longer I think about it, the more convinced I am that David's words in Psalm 51:4 are more profound than I originally gave them credit for.

God is the one to whom we owe obedience. Every time we sin against our fellow man, we are ultimately sinning against the commands of a holy and righteous God. Our neighbor may get caught in the crossfire of our sinful actions. But come judgement day, it is not our sinned-against-neighbor who will sit in jugement of our actions. It is God. And all of our sin will be counted as offenses against His holiness and His commands.

Which brings me back around to the spiritual slump I find myself in. I've tried to think of all the reasons that I find myself in this situation. I could lay the blame on any number of things, and believe me, I've tried. But this morning, as I was reading Psalm 51, I saw something very clearly. If there is anything to blame for this thickness I am struggling to cut through, it is my sin, specifically, my sin against God.

I can't blame it on this, that or the other. I have to look straight inside at my own heart. It is a disheartening prospect (slight pun slightly intended.) I've been on the spiritual high. I've been to the peak. I've been dedicated and motivated and everything you associate with a woman who is "on fire" for God. But I don't think any of us get to stay there forever. We have, and will always have, too much natural sin remaining in us in this present flesh. There is no final escape from it until we leave this life for the better life that comes next.

Not to say that I won't get back to the peak. In fact, I'm determined to push past my natural inclinations and get back up there again. But it's hard. I have to fight myself in the process.

I don't want to stand out as strange. I don't want people to think of me as bizarre. I don't want women to walk the other way when they see me coming, because I might want to talk about something spiritual. I don't want to be constantly vigilant against pride or anger or idols or apathy creeping up on me. I'd rather just float through life, enjoying the luxurious and self-absorbed modern American lifestyle, and worry about eternity, well, right before I get there. Those are the things that I want.

Thank goodness its not all up to me. Thank goodness that God has sent me a Helper, the Holy Spirit, who lives in me and constantly transforms me from glory unto glory.

But the path to the peak has a crucial first step that you can't hop over if you ever want to get up there. Its the all-important step of repentance. And if I want to get past stalled and start moving forward again, I need to get on my face and repent.

Against You, You only, have I sinned, O God. Against you have I withheld my heart, my mind, my soul and my strength. Forgive me.

Psalm 51:1,2,12

"Have mercy upon me, O God,
According to Your lovingkindness;
According to the multitude of your tender mercies,
Blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
And cleanse me from my sin."

"Restore to me the joy of Your salvation,
And uphold me by Your generous Spirit."

The Consolation of Israel

In Luke chapter 2, Jesus is called by what I think is one of His most tender names: the Consolation of Israel.

Luke 2:25

"And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him."

The Messiah that the Jews long expected was often referred to as the The Consolation of Israel, or simply as the Consolation. Which I find fascinating, because it seems that the nature of the consolation they expected to receive was completely off the mark. You see, the Jews were expecting a great military leader, a man like the mighty warrior-king David, to come and avenge them of their enemies and destroy the Roman rulers of their day. What they got instead was Jesus, a man who willingly died a humiliating death on the cross, beaten, betrayed, mocked and scorned, spit upon and crucified.

It doesn't seem to make sense. How was a willing death on the cross supposed to console anyone?

The problem is not that Jesus failed to live up to the Jewish expectations of the Messiah. The problem was that the Jews were expecting the wrong kind of consolation.

Jesus death on the cross and His subsequent resurrection from the grave do indeed provide powerful consolation, to the proper kind of mourning. The kind that I am thinking of, and the kind that Jesus was utterly effective at providing comfort for, is the mourning that we must do over our seperation and alienation from God. And that alienation from God is caused by our sin; our great, inescapable, with-us-from-birth, sinfulness.

I've sort of written about this topic before, but I'm pretty sure it's an old enough post that most of you have never read it. There is an excellent example of the kind of mourning I am referring to in the book of Nehemiah. In Nehemiah's day, the Jews have just recently returned from an exile in Babylon. Because the temple was destroyed when they were taken into captivity, they have not been participating in regular worship services. There is a specific scene in which the people gather together and the Book of the Law of Moses (God's Word) is read out loud to them.

An amazing thing happens. In Nehemiah 8:9, we are told, "all the people wept, when they heard the words of the Law." You see, when they heard God's perfect law read out loud, they were peirced with the reality of their great sin. When they were confronted by what God required of them, they saw their great "missing of the mark." And it affected them so deeply that they wept. They wept so dramatically in fact, that the priests had to tell them, "This day is holy to the LORD your God; do not mourn nor weep." (Nehemiah 8:9) And again in verse 10, "Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord, Do not sorrow, for the joy of the LORD is your strength." (emphasis mine)

That is exactly the kind of mourning for which Jesus is the Consolation. Because He died on the cross, bearing our sins in His flesh, we are comforted. Because He rose again from the dead, defeating the sting of death, we are comforted. Because He reconciled us to a holy and perfect God, whose very presence we could not enter without the atoning work which Jesus completed on the cross, we are comforted.

To be sure, there are many other ways in which Jesus is the consolation of us, His people, in our day to day lives. But it is the work that Jesus did on the cross, the work which reconciles us, who are desperate sinners, to a God who is holy beyond our wildest imaginations, which is the greatest consolation of all. Jesus is The Consolation of Isreal, the comforter of those who mourn.

Isaiah 40:1-2

"'Comfort, yes, comfort My people!'
Says your God.
'Speak comfort to Jerusalem, and cry out to her,
That her warfare is ended,
That her iniquity is pardoned;'"

Immanuel

In the second chapter of Daniel, King Nebuchadnezzar has a dream. He is so troubled by this dream that he is unable to sleep. He calls all of the magicians and sorcerers of his court to come before him and explain this dream to him.

Only it would seem the King had reason to believe that his “wise men” were full of baloney. He tells them that not only must they explain the meaning of his dream, but they must also tell him what happened in the dream. And if they can’t deliver, then they are all going to be cut to pieces and their houses will be turned into heaps of ash. Sounds like a nice boss, huh?

You can imagine that the sorcerers and magicians were pretty upset by the request, because they certainly had no ability to tell him the contents of his dream. And so they responded to him in part by saying, “It is a difficult thing that the king requests, and there is no other who can tell it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.” (Daniel 2:11, italics mine)

Those sorcerers were dead wrong.

God does indeed dwell with us, and at a specific point in history, He even came to earth and dwelt with us in the flesh. Check out these two verses:

Isa 7:14 Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.

Mat 1:23 "BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD, AND BEAR A SON, AND THEY SHALL CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL," which is translated, "God with us."

Don’t miss the last few words in the verse from Matthew. Immanuel is literally translated, “God with us.”

This is probably one of those ideas that you have heard so many times it has become sort of rote. You say it or express it or read it, perhaps without thinking through what it actually means. God is with us. God is with me, as in right now while I am typing this post. And He will be with me all night long while I sleep in my bed. Tomorrow as well, as I, hopefully, play tennis and get some cleaning and laundry done. Even in those mundane moments, God is WITH me.

And there is more. On the day I almost bled to death, God was with me. On the day I had a hissy fit and kicked my kitchen cabinets, God was with me. As a child, when I flew away from a country and a life that I loved, never expecting to return to either one again, God was right there with me. Even as I was being knit together in the womb of my mother; God was there alongside my unformed frame. In all of the years that followed, even in the years that I didn’t want much to do with God, He was with me. What a thought.

There was a time when all of this “withness” would make me uncomfortable to think about. Because if God has been with me through it all; He has also seen it all. And some of it wasn’t very pretty. OK, most of it wasn’t pretty. Fine! All of it!

But I don’t even worry about that anymore. Honestly, I have made peace with the past. I know that my sins are forgiven. Not just kind of forgiven, but removed from me as far as the east is from the west. That’s a long way. And I have let the concept of grace sink deep down into my bones. But, I digress.

As I go about my day tomorrow, I am going to make a concerted effort to focus on the fact that God is with me every moment. I’m not expecting tomorrow to be any kind of extraordinary day, but you never know. As long as God is with me, I suppose anything could happen.

Isaiah 43:2 “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;

Matthew 28:20 “and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

(emphasis mine)

Wrestling With God

Genesis 32:24-31

"Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day. Now when He saw that He did not prevail against him, He touched the socket of his hip; and the socket of Jacob's hip was out of joint as He wrestled with him. And He said, "Let Me go, for the day breaks."

But he said, "I will not let You go unless You bless me!"

So He said to him, "What is your name?" He said, "Jacob."

And He said, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed."

Then Jacob asked, saying, "Tell me Your name, I pray."

And He said, "Why is it that you ask about My name?" And He blessed him there.

So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: "For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved." Just as he crossed over Penuel the sun rose on him, and he limped on his hip."

Have you ever wondered about this part of Jacob's story? I know that I spent several years being aware of it, but not really understanding its significance, or even what it really meant. I used to chalk it up as one of those strange Old Testament stories that just seemed plain confusing.

I don't feel that way anymore, but I only saw the meaning of this encounter between Jacob and the Angel after I went through something similar in my spiritual life. Don't get me wrong. I never have seen an angel, and I don't expect to in this lifetime. And that naturally precludes my wrestling with an angel in the flesh. But I have wrestled with God. In fact, I spent most of my young life and early adulthood doing exactly that.

You see, I have had the privilege of being raised in a Christian home. In fact, my parents were Christian missionaries in a foreign country for most of my childhood. And when we did return to America, I was brought up in a wonderful, Biblically solid church.

Jacob, likewise, was brought up by parents, who, however flawed, believed in and worshiped the one true God, Jehovah. Yet for all of his life up until this wrestling match with the Angel, Jacob was a striver and a schemer who relied on his own cunning and trickery to get ahead. His very name, Jacob, means trickster. And his name proved to be an accurate appraisal of Jacob's character. We see it in his dealings with his father Isaac and his brother Esau, and again in his dealings with his father-in-law, Laban.

Then here, in this climatic episode, Jacob and God have it out. They literally wrestle together in full body-to-body contact. Interestingly, it is God that initiates this struggle. And it is not an easy match, Jacob does not willingly concede to his opponent. In fact, Jacob struggles so hard and for such a long period of time, that the Angel reaches out and touches (strikes) the hip of Jacob, putting it out of joint.

If Jacob had any doubt that he was wrestling with God, at this point you would have to assume he realizes that this is no ordinary man he is fighting with. So does he give up the fight, realizing that his opponent is God? Nope. We read that "the socket of Jacob's hip was out of joint as He wrestled with him."

I hate to admit, but I can relate to that. I've had a few experiences that, in retrospect, I would characterize as God "touching" my hip. In other words, things have happened to me that should have caused me to submit. I should have given up and given in to the Lord. But, in my stubborn resistance and pride, I didn't. I stupidly kept up the struggle: "I want to be in charge, I want to have my way, I want to be right, I don't want to submit to anyone, even God."

So the wrestling continues, until the Angel brings it to a close by announcing, "Let Me go, for the day breaks."

It is at this point that a change occurs in Jacob. All of his life up to this point, he has relied on himself, his smarts, his cunning, his trickery and strength to get what he wants and needs. Now, after wrestling with God, and continuing to wrestle even after he has been disabled, he finally submits, and pleads, "I will not let You go unless You bless me!"

It might seem like a simple statement at first, but loaded into it is the implication that Jacob recognizes and admits that the Angel (God) is the one with the power to bless, and that Jacob's power lies in seeking God's blessing. It is a paradigm shift, as our popular culture likes to say. The rules have changed. Jacob has admitted he cannot prevail, He has recognized God's ability to bless, and he has pleaded with God to give him blessing. In prayer and supplication his strength now lies, and that is exactly where our power lies as well.

Then, what I think is the best part of the story takes place. The Angel asks Jacob his name. Now clearly God is perfectly aware of what Jacob's name is. I always assume that when God asks a person to speak something out loud that God obviously already knows, it must be for the benefit of the speaker, and not for the benefit of God. I think that is the case here. Jacob admits, out loud, that he is Jacob, the trickster, the striver.

The Angel answers, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed." God has changed who Jacob is! The name Israel is translated "Prince with God" or, alternately, "One who has power with God." Jacob is no longer the trickster, he has been remade as the prince. Interestingly, throughout the rest of his life, Jacob is referred to sometimes as Jacob, and sometimes as Israel. I think, that just like us, Jacob continued to struggle with his "old" nature even after this experience.

God doesn't typically go around changing our names nowadays. However, God does indeed change who we are. He changes our character. Each of us is allowed to change from being a self-reliant creature to one who has "power with God." But an important aspect of this "power" is submission.

I spent so many years of my life giving lip-service to God. It was only after I fully submitted, gave up the wrestling match, and recognized God as the one with power and authority that I started to experience Christianity in a life changing way. Don't suppose for one moment that I think I have done anything special by "giving up." God was practicing condescension when He engaged Jacob in a wrestling match. God could have just reached down from His throne and struck Jacob dead. But in His infinite mercy, He allowed a struggle for dominion to take place. I don't think there was ever any doubt that God would prevail. But I suppose that Jacob's human nature needed to fight it out before he surrendered. I know that I needed to, and I think most of us are similar in that regard. But we can't ever forget that God is merciful in even allowing us the struggle.

Finally, there are two more details about this story that I love. After the wrestling, after the submission and the change in character, Jacob sets about to go on his way. In verse 31 we read, "Just as he crossed over Penuel, the sun rose on him, and he limped on his hip." Notice that the night is over, day, light, power, have broken forth over Jacob. There are so many references to God as light in the Bible that I think the symbolism in this verse screams out for recognition. Jacob has come to the light, he has submitted to God as Adonai, Lord and Master. But don't overlook the fact that Jacob is now limping.

Jacob, the formerly self-reliant one, has a critical injury that he will carry with him for the rest of his life. It brings to mind this verse from 2 Corinthians,

2 Corinthians 12:9

"And He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness."

Jacob's newfound weakness is exactly why God's strength will be made perfect. That is the way God wants it. When we are weak, His power is evident. When we are broken and humble, God's grace is fully sufficient for us. Some of us just have to wrestle it out with God before we get to the point of weakness and submission. But, in the end, that is where our power lies. It's one of the great mysteries of the Christian faith--strength in weakness.

It's Not About How Great We Are

Ezekiel 36:22-23

"Therefore say to the house of Israel, 'Thus says the Lord God: "I do not do this for your sake, O house of Israel, but for My holy name's sake, which you have profaned among the nations wherever you went. And I will sanctify My great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst; and the nations shall know that I am the LORD," says the Lord God."


Has anyone else noticed how self focused modern Christianity seems to be? I keep hearing about how wonderful I am and how God desires me so much. Certainly God does love me, just as He loves all of His children. But its not because I'm so great. If God's love depended on me being great and desirable, I think I'd be in pretty big trouble.

Because the truth is that apart from God's sanctifying work in my life, there's nothing all that desirable about me personally. Why does this matter? Well,I think we see ourselves as much too important in the grand scheme of things. Yes, I know, nobody likes to be told that they aren't important. But that's not what I am saying at all. What I'm saying is that we find ourselves too important.

The truth is that God is the one who is important, not us. He is the one who has glory, not us. He is the one that is worth pursuing,not me. He is all-knowing, perfect, righteous, beautiful, wise and holy. Me? nope, none of the above.


And it struck home to me last week as I read the verses from Ezekiel at the top of this post. In the first part of chapter 36, God has given Ezekiel a prophecy about how He is going to bless Israel once again. Remember that Ezekiel's contemporaries are living in Babylonian exile. They are experiencing firsthand the punishment brought about by their great sins.

And after God has told Ezekiel that He will restore Israel and bless them, He goes on to tell them that they have done nothing to deserve it. In fact, wherever they have gone, they have profaned the name of God. And because they have behaved so wretchedly, they need to understand that God is not about to extend His blessing to them because they have eared it. They have done the contrary. It is for God's own sake, and for His name's sake that He will bless Israel.

I think we can say the same is true in each of our individual lives. We haven't done anything to deserve God's grace and favor. We've all gone around profaning the name of God since we were born. But He is going to bless us anyway. Not because of us, but because of Him.

At first glance this might not seem like good news. Especially to a people like us, who believe that there is worth in earning things. But if you think about it a while, I hope you will agree with me, that this is the best news we could ever get. Its not about us at all. Its about God. We might fail, but God never will. We might be unworthy, but God is going to redeem us anyway. And even though we never have and never will deserve anything good from God, we're going to get things from God that are great. Why?

Because His name is at stake. That's why.

The Big Deal

I haven't been ignoring this blog all week. I've just been sick. Still am. It's terribly annoying. I've hardly been able to string two thoughts together, which makes articulating a meaningful post rather difficult. So this is going to be brief.

I've been reading through Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations and now I'm in Ezekiel. All four books deal primarily with Israel's great sin and coming destruction. But do you know what their big sin was? It is mentioned time and time again, so much so that you could easily start to skip over it when you read. You know, like you skip over the stuff you already know, in an effort to get to the interesting part of an article? Well, this great sin might not be what you think. There was plenty of sin being committed by Israel. The rich were oppressing the poor. Innocent people were being slain unjustly. Child sacrifice had become common. Foreign alliances were the norm. The Sabbath was being ignored. The list goes on and on. But the sin that God blames over and over for the judgment that He would no longer withhold was this: God's people were worshiping other gods.

And that was the greatest offense of all. More vile than sexual promiscuity, murder, child sacrifice or any kind of ritual impurity. God was getting cheated of His due. He deserved all of the glory and honor and worship from His chosen people. And they were throwing it away on images made of stone and wood. And that, dear reader, is why He brought down massive judgment on them.

I wanted to point it out because I think that we tend to focus too much on the things we "do" that are wrong: stealing, lying, cheating, gossiping, bad attitudes, sexual sins. But you can refrain from every single one of those and be committing sin every day of your life, simply by worshiping things other than God. Or to put it in common language, to place anything in your life above God.

I'm betting that you don't have a secret closet full of wooden idols that you bow down and pray to. But I'm also betting that you do have a life full of distractions and ambitions that don't involve giving God His due: all your heart, mind, soul and strength. This requirement, of utmost importance, is found in the Old Testament and the New.

Deuteronomy 6:4

"Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one! You shall love the LORD you God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength."

Matthew 22:37-38

"Jesus said to him, 'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the first and great commandment."

Israel was failing miserably. I know that I have as well.

Jeremiah 2:32

"Can a virgin forget her ornaments
Or a bride her attire?
Yet My people have forgotten Me days without number."

There is hope, though, there always is. God didn't make a total end of His people. He preserved a remnant to bring back and reestablish. He makes a very similar offer to us, even if we have been chasing after other gods.

Jeremiah 3:1

"They say, 'If a man divorces his wife,
And she goes from him
And becomes another man's,
May he return to her again?'
Would not the land be greatly polluted?
But you have played the harlot with many lovers;
Yet return to Me, says the LORD."

God says, "Yet return to Me" no matter how thin we have spread our charms, no matter how many lovers we have chased apart from Him. A man cannot return to a wife he has divorced, but God will allow us to return to Him. No matter what.

Unchangeable

There is a really big word that means God does not change. Immutable. That is the fancy word. But if you don't get into theology and its sometimes extremely complicated terminology, then you can just understand the definition of the word: God has never, and will never change. He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.

That means that the same God who walked with Adam in the Garden, told Noah to build the Ark, revealed Himself to Abraham and appeared to Moses in the burning bush is the exact same God that you and I pray to today. Talk about an incomprehensible idea. I have a hard enough time wrapping my mind around the fact that God was never created, He has always existed outside of of time and history (2 Pet 3:8.) Then, He never changes either?

I know that it is tempting to think that God somehow "changed" between the Old Testament and the New Testament, but He didn't.

Here are a few verses to consider.

Psalm 90:2

"Before the mountains were brought forth,
Or ever You had formed the earth and the world,
Even from everlasting to everlasting You are God."

From that we see that God existed apart from, and before, the earth was created. He has existed and will exist, from everlasting to everlasting.

In Hebrews 6:17, God's counsel is described as immutable. There is our big word again. The exact phrase is "the immutability of His counsel." All that means in easy language, is that God's purposes are unchangeable. The author of Hebrews is using the phrase to describe why God swore by Himself when He made His covenant with Abraham.

God wanted us to know that His covenant with Abraham was so infallible that He gave it a double security. Not only did God say it, and we know that God only speaks truth (John 17:17). But He also swore by Himself. Humans swear by a higher power when they make an oath. For God, there is no higher power, so instead He swore by His unchangeable and eternal nature.

So if God exists in eternity, and His purposes are never changed, then why would it follow that He or any part of Him would ever change? It just doesn't.

What did change was God's revelation to mankind. When Jesus came and sacrificed Himself on the cross for our sins, a new covenant was ushered in. Just as God divided the sacrificial animals and walked through their blood when He entered into covenant with Abraham (Gen 15:9-17), Jesus blood marked the onset of a new covenant for God's people.

Here is where it gets complicated, and way beyond the scope of this post to fully explore. The old covenant, the covenant of works, did not become void. What that means is that perfect righteousness, perfect adherence to the law, did not become unnecessary. All of those things are still required in order for us to receive the privilege of not only being reconciled to God, but being able to call on Him as our loving Abba Father.

Instead of becoming void, the old covenant of works became completed. Jesus fulfilled the old covenant by perfectly adhering to all of its (impossible for us) requirements. And then, oh! then! he credited His perfect work to us by covering us with His holy and righteous blood. It will never get better than that.

And so now, even though God has never changed, and He is the exact same God whose holiness demanded that he call up the Babylonian armies to utterly destroy His beloved Jerusalem, we are able to curl up on His lap as cherished children without any fear. We are able to take the most minute concern to Him in prayer, and He will hear us without fail. Because when He looks at us, we are perfect and holy. We are just as righteous in His sight as Jesus is.

No, God has never changed. And neither has His overwhelming love for us.

Jeremiah 31:3

"Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love;
Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you."

Planting and Watering

1 Corinthians 3:6-8

"I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor."


I have never considered myself a "planter," or an evangelist of any kind. I don't think that I'm relieved of an obligation to declare the gospel; it's just that it's not a natural gift of mine. Some people are incredibly gifted in evangelism, and we tend to think of the evangelist as the ones with the glamorous side of the equation. At least I tend to think so.

The image of a missionary in a foreign country proclaiming the Good News and winning dozens of souls is highly romantic indeed. And there are people who literally do that. I'm just not one of them. But note in the verses above, that watering is an important job, too. That's what my passion is--watering, as in nurturing, encouraging, learning and teaching with other Christians.

We see that God is the one who is responsible for the outcome-Paul is the one who planted, Apollos is the one who watered, but God was divinely in charge of any growth that occurred. What a privilege it is that God even uses us at all. He could just make it happen, but He has chosen us as His divine instruments to accomplish His plan. And above and beyond the privilege of just being of use to God, there is more in store at the end, but we will get to that in a minute.

As I read these verses, another scripture immediately sprung to mind.

Isaiah 55: 10-11

"For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven,
And do not return there,
But water the earth,
And make it bring forth and bud,
That it may give seed to the sower
And bread to the eater,
So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth;
It shall not return to Me void,
But is shall accomplish what I please,
And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it."

Notice that again we have the "watering" analogy, only this time God is the actual waterer. And the tool He uses to accomplish what He pleases is: His word. That is exactly what He still uses to accomplish what He pleases in the hearts of men. And sometimes, He uses one of His servants (that would be you and me) to proclaim His word and bring forth the increase/bud. (I say sometimes He uses us because, certainly, God could drive someone to pick up Scripture and read it without the influence of another person.)

But here is the amazing part for each of us, whether we are called to plant or to water.

Just to make the point fine, let me add here that God's word for us is the Bible, and the Bible alone. I don't want to cause any confusion on that score.

OK, did you notice the last part of the passage from 1 Corinthians? "And each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor" The part that I found so encouraging is that our reward is based on our labor, not on the outcome of our labor. See the difference?

One Christian may work diligently and be blessed to see massive fruit from the work he or she does. She may write books that get published, and receive dozens of letters thanking her for her godly influence every week. Or, he may see entire communities or families come to Christ and be thanked by them in this life.

On the other hand, another Christian may toil away without seeing much progress, without enjoying any outwardly apparent success.

But it doesn't matter what each of their outcomes are, because God takes responsibility for the outcomes. We are to do the work regardless of the outcomes. And in the end, it is not the results that get rewarded, it is the labor.

We can see this principle again in Matthew 25:23, when Jesus says during the telling of a parable, "well done, good and faithful servant." He doesn't say, well done good and successful servant. Nope, He says, well done good and faithful servant.

What a relief! And what an amazing twist. God is responsible for the outcome, and we get to receive a reward just for doing the labor.

The Children in the City

If you have been reading my most recent posts, you will know that I have found myself in a time of intense healing and freedom from past sins. And since I'm going to be talking about that same subject yet again, I thought I might need to clarify some things, particularly for those of you who know me personally.

You might be tempted to let you imagination run wild and begin speculating about all of the horrendous things that must be lurking in my past. Don't do that. You'd be terribly disappointed anyway. Not that my sins, and the specific sins I have been dealing with, aren't terrible enough. But, the average run of the mill sinner has enough darkness in their heart, and enough bondage and slavery to sin, to scandalize all of us.

The thing is, I spent many, many years quite aware of my sin, but unwilling to treat it as harshly as it deserved to be treated. I took it lightly. I saw it through the lenses of our culture, which is exceedingly tolerant and encouraging of sin. I made excuses. I rationalized. Most of the time, I just plain ol' didn't think about my sin very much.

But when I began to, I was broken hearted. I saw and felt my sinfulness so clearly, it mourned me. It caused me deep grief. In the sermon on the mount, Jesus says, "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted." What I experienced is exactly the kind of mourning that Jesus was referring to. Mourning over the wretchedness of personal sin. The comforting is what comes after you have mourned properly.

So this is what brought me to tears yesterday. The comforting that God gives to us is so abundant, so full and consumingly rich, that we don't really believe it can happen until we've experienced it. We sort of think that, yeah, God can take away our sins, and forgive us of our sins, and then we can look forward to Heaven where we won't suffer from our sins anymore. What I have personally discovered is that God can not only forgive, and take away, and heal, but He can also make us completely whole again in spite of our sin. Praise the LORD. He can literally change us and make us a new creation. It happened to me. It has happened to me. It has really happened to me.

So, in Isaiah 49, in verses 15-21, there is a long description of the way that God is going to restore Israel after she has been devastated because of her sins. You have to read the following verses with a few things in mind to even begin to get a sense of the joy I have experienced. Just so you know, I read every commentary I could find to see if my personal application was somehow universally recognized. It's not, and you should know that. I'm not trying to press any kind of theological point here. I am just trying to express to you the way that these verses spoke to my heart and overwhelmed me with joy.

What you will read is an account of a city that has been devastated by destroyers and "swallowers up." If those two words aren't poetic descriptions of sin, I don't know what are. The children in this devastated city have all been taken away. Think of that as the real, practical consequences of sin. The LORD is then going to reestablish this destroyed city (me!) and fill it with so many children (abundant blessings) that the city is confused and stunned by the amount of children found within its walls.

All of a sudden, the city is so full of children that there isn't even enough room for all of them. That is exactly how I feel. I look around sometimes and think, where did all of this come from LORD? I was such a sinner, I offended you in so many ways. I did every wrong thing in the book. How is it that You could ever bless me like this?

OK, are you ready to read it now? Are you ready to try and understand what got me all worked up (in a good way) yesterday? It's kind of long, but worth the attention.

Isaiah 49: 15-21

"'Can a woman forget her nursing child,
And not have compassion on the son of her womb?
Surely they may forget,
Yet I will not forget you.
See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands;
Your walls are continually before Me.
Your sons shall make haste;
Your destroyers and those who laid you waste
Shall go away from you.
Lift up your eyes, look around and see;
All these gather together and come to you.
As I live,' says the LORD,
'You shall surely clothe yourself with them all as an ornament,
And bind them on you as a bride does.

For your waste and desolate places,
And the land of your destruction,
Will even now be too small for the inhabitants;
And those who swallowed you up will be far away.
The children you will have,
After you have lost the others,
Will say again in your ears,
'The place is too small for me;
Give me a place where I may dwell.'
Then you will say in your heart,
'Who has begotten these for me,
Since I have lost my children and am desolate,
A captive, and wandering to and fro?
And who has brought these up?
There I was, left alone;
But these, where were they?'"

I suppose I always believed abstractly that God could rebuild people, other people. You know, the ones that needed rebuilding. Not me.

When I finally opened my eyes and did an honest survey of the walls around my city, I saw the devastation. It was there all along. But somehow, I had been skipping around and having picnics in a bomb crater without even realizing it. That honest appraisal was the beginning of the rebuilding process. And it took a while, several years I would say. But one day I looked around again. And there were children stumbling over each other in my streets. Children I didn't deserve, but had anyway. And that, is bringing me to tears all over again.

Captivity

Isaiah 5:13

"Therefore my people have gone into captivity,
Because they have no knowledge;
Their honorable men are famished,
And their multitude dried up with thirst."

I have really enjoyed writing this blog. It has affected me in many ways. One thing that I didn't expect was the way other people would open up to me as a result of reading about my experiences. You can't imagine how eye-opening that has been for me. Girls, we all have so many things that we struggle with in private. Not a single one of us is exempt. Just when I start to think that I am the only person in the world who needs so much help, along comes someone else who wants to open up. And I'll cry sometimes and pray. But more than anything, I'll be encouraged to keep plugging along. Because there is a solution, an answer to all of those struggles. The answer is truth, God's truth, exchanged for the lies that this world grinds into our heads.

It really does matter what you believe. I have heard lots of people say things along the lines of, "I don't think it matters what you believe about God (in other words-theology), just as long as you believe that Jesus died on the cross for our sins." OK, I get that. Yes, the most basic truth in the Christian faith is important, vitally important. You will never hear me say otherwise. But, listen, the rest matters too. What you believe has a direct impact on how you live your life, how deeply you enjoy God, and your ability to serve Him.

Let me give you an example. I spend some time reading blogs that are written by other women. One blog in particular always makes me cry, because the woman who writes it seems to have gotten more than her fair share of pain in this life. Recently she shared a story of a friend who did not believe that she was saved because she could not forgive someone who hurt her badly.

Would you be able to pinpoint the error in that train of thought? If a friend came crying on your shoulder with that dilemma, could you offer her real comfort? Comfort based on truth?

Yes, truth matters. Understanding the truth of God's written, revealed Word matters. The more I learn about God, through reading the Bible, the more deeply I am affected by Him. You can be a Christian and never bother with learning any more than the basics. But don't you want more than that? Don't you want to actually enjoy the power and promises of God? How would you like to live your life like this:

Isaiah 58:10-11

"Then your light shall dawn in the darkness,
And your darkness shall be as the noonday.
The LORD will guide you continually,
And satisfy your soul in drought,
And strengthen your bones;
You shall be like a watered garden,
And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail."

There is nothing I want more! And, there is nothing that I want more for other women. None of us gets to choose how we will serve God, or how He will use us for His glory. God is in complete control of that. But He has given me a passion for one specific thing--to show other Christian women the riches that are supposed to be their's in Christ. Some people have a passion for evangelism, others for hospitality or service. Me? I want to share the deep, abiding joy and passion that I have in Christ, specifically with women who are already Christians.


This statement is not meant to be applied to everyone I know. Forgive me for sounding arrogant if I do, but I see Christians all over the place who suffer from lack of knowledge about God. They are famished, and dried up with thirst just as described in Isaiah 5:13. They have no knowledge, or very little anyway. And do you know what you find every time there is lack of knowledge? Captivity. That is why truth matters. Truth is the only way out of captivity.

Isaiah 61:1

"...He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives,
And the opening of the prison to those who are bound..."

Did you know that reading this verse from Isaiah was Jesus first public declaration of who He was and why He came? You can find an account of it in Luke 4:18. Jesus proclaimed liberty. He opened the prison doors. Come on out.

The Kinsman-Redeemer

I've been itching to get a post about Psalm 103 up for what seems like forever. And I just kept finding other things to write about instead. So I finally decided to get it done, and as I started looking into the verses I wanted to expound on, I saw something even better than what I originally intended to write about.

But, I just can't leave these verses alone, so humor me and read through these few verses just to appreciate their beauty and richness. Then keep reading and I'll show you something that I thought was "cool" (as one of my children is fond of saying lately.)

Psalm 103:2-5

"Praise the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits--
who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
who redeems you life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's."

(Be sure to note the secret to eternal youth there in that last line. And here you were thinking it lay in Botox and plastic surgery!)

This is the part that knocked me over. I started looking at the original Hebrew language in these verses, and the word for redeems held a treasure trove of layered meaning. The word is gaal and here is the definition for it according to Strongs Hebrew and Greek Dictionary: A primitive root, to redeem (according to the Oriental law of kinship,) that is, to be the next of kin (and as such to buy back a relative's property...)

There are other Hebrew words throughout the Old Testament that are translated as redeems, redeemed, or redeemer, but this particular word gaal has a specific meaning that proves to be prophetic. How? Well, let me show you. To get a full sense of what I mean, we need to take a quick look back at some of the Levitical law that God handed down to the Jews through Moses. I know that the Levitical law makes many people hit the snooze button and roll over, but bear with me here, I think you will like this!

We see an example of this kinsman-redeemer principal in Leviticus 25:25,

"If one of your countrymen becomes poor and sells some of his property, his nearest relative is to come and redeem what his countryman has sold."

It is also one of the main plot points in the story of Ruth and Naomi. If you will remember, Boaz is the kinsman-redeemer who buys back a plot of land that Naomi has sold, and also acquires Ruth as his wife in the transaction. Part of the kinsmen-redeemer's responsibility was to marry the widow of a dead relative, and produce offspring through her, and those offspring would be considered the children of the dead relative. In that way, the dead relative's family line would still continue. That was extremely important to the Jews.

The basic idea of the kinsman-redeemer is that a brother, or the next closest male relative, would buy back, or pay the price required, for the relative to keep his inheritance. In that way, even if someone became poor or otherwise unable to keep his property, it would not be lost, because someone else would pay the required price. And not just any someone, but a close relative.

OK, got that? Now, check this out:

Romans 8: 16-17

"The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs--heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory."

So, applying the principal of the kinsman-redeemer, let's look at our own situation for a moment. Mankind was created without sin, we were meant to inherit a perfect, unblemished relationship to God. But through the sin of Adam, all of mankind lost this inheritance. We became in a sense, the poor relative who was unable to buy back what was lost-perfect fellowship with the Creator, God.

Now, if we believe what we are told there in Romans 8, we will see that Christians are called children of God, and joint heirs (siblings) of Christ. Do you see where I am going with this? Jesus is THE kinsman-redeemer who paid the price and bought back our inheritance! We couldn't provide a way for ourselves, so our brother paid the ultimate price-the sacrifice of himself on the cross-in order to give us back what was lost. Like I said earlier, now that is cool!

Looking back at Psalm 103 for a moment, David was prophesying when he said about God in verse 4, "who redeems (as the kinsman-redeemer) your life from the pit." The italics is mine. And David probably didn't even realize it! The Old Testament believers did not have a clear understanding of what exactly God's plan was to redeem their lives. We, who live after the events in the New Testament, can clearly see the foreshadowing of the kinsman-redeemer throughout the Old Testament.

But there is the hand of God, creating his living and active word, the Bible, down to the last minute detail in the specific word that David choose to call God the redeemer. Because, like I said, there are other Hebrew words that mean "redeem."

It's hard to imagine that I ever thought the Bible was boring. And you know, even that confusing and archaic seeming Levitical law has some foreshadowing of Christ in it. God is certainly a God of details.

Psalm 145:4

Talk about getting a full dose from one Psalm. Psalm 145 is packed so full of good stuff that my mind was jumping from one line to the next and just trying to keep up this morning! I want to unpack a single verse of the Psalm that really got my attention.

Psalm 145:4

"One generation shall praise Your works to another,
And shall declare Your mighty acts."

If you have kids, and you are a Christian, I'm willing to bet that you have read at least one Christian parenting book. There are lots of good ones out there. Some better than others. And maybe this idea that I'm about to explore has already been written about extensively and I have just managed to miss it somehow. I'll admit that my husband is the avid reader in this household. I'm an obsessive reader, which means that I am practically unable to put down a book once I have started it. This causes all sorts of problems, so I save my reading for blocks of time when I can really indulge. If you have preschoolers like I do, you know that those blocks of time are few and faaaaar between. Anyhoo...

I'll be blunt. One of God's mighty acts has been redeeming me from the pit of destruction. If you are a Christian, you should be able to say the same thing. Now, we've all been pulled out of slightly different looking pits, but the bottom line is that all of our pits involved the biggest sin of all--loving self more than loving God. (Matthew 22:37)

On top of that most egregious sin, we have each managed to heap up all sorts of muck, mire and slime that God had to pull us out of. (Psalm 40:2) For some of us, the muck is harder to see outwardly, but you can bet it has manifested itself in our hearts. For others, well, they may never get to the point where their public sins are completely forgotten by those around them.

But, whether our sins are in our heart or in our actions, we have this cultural pressure to hide them away and never speak of them again. Why is that? I know that there must be a healthy balance between declaring the mighty acts of God versus pulling out our filth for the whole world to gawk at. And specifically, I wonder if we should be more open and honest with our children.

Psalm 145:4 is specifically talking about generations. One generation praising God's work to the next generation. Naturally that includes all of the famous mighty works, the stories in the Bible. But there are mighty works that are personal to our families--the change that God has brought about in each of us because of His great power to change, restore, redeem and recreate. And that makes me wonder if our cultural tendency to present ourselves as untarnished pillars of righteousness (particularly to our children) is perhaps misplaced?

I'm not talking about glorifying our sin. And I certainly realize that every disclosure and interaction with our children MUST be age appropriate. But isn't there a way to declare the mighty acts of God in our lives to our children without stepping over that line?

I don't know the whole answer here. My kids are still little ones. Some of you have raised up children that have gone on to start their own family. What do you think?

**If you don't have kids, this concept can still apply to you in the way you interact with fellow believers and the world at large.