Rolling With The Punches

Life requires a person to be flexible. Even the best made plans can go awry and there is simply nothing we can do about it except roll with the punches. If we don’t we will just make ourselves crazy. Worrying and fretting about things that we have no control over can’t change things and it only makes us feel worse, so it doesn’t make sense to worry about those bumps in life.

I am sitting at a Subway near the airport in Omaha, NE waiting for my girlfriend to arrive from New Mexico. If things would have gone smoothly she would already be here by now, but her flight was delayed and she is still stuck in Dallas. The wait is frustrating and I wish time would go by faster, but the more I think about it the more frustrated I become. All my worrying hasn't changed reality one bit.

So if worrying doesn’t change things and it only makes us feel worse why do we do it? I think we do it because it makes us feel like we are doing something about the problem. Though it doesn’t change the problem we are able to keep the problem with us by thinking about it. This way we can still be connected with what is going on.

The problem is that worrying takes us away from God. Worrying means that we are looking to ourselves for comfort, for solutions, or for help rather than trusting God to bring us through the difficulty. Each situation that brings worry into our lives provides us with an opportunity to trust God for what we need.

Jesus said:

25 “That's why I'm telling you to stop worrying about your life—what you will eat or what you will drink—or about your body—what you will wear. Life is more than food, isn't it, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds in the sky. They don't plant or harvest or gather food into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. You are more valuable than they are, aren't you? 27 Can any of you add a single hour to your span of life by worrying? 28 And why do you worry about clothes? Consider the lilies in the field and how they grow. They don't work or spin yarn, 29 but I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was clothed like one of them. 30 Now if that is the way God clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today and thrown into an oven tomorrow, won't he clothe you much better—you who have little faith? 31 “So don't ever worry by saying, ‘What are we going to eat?’ or ‘What are we going to drink?’ or ‘What are we going to wear?’ 32 For it is the Gentiles who are eager for all those things. Surely your heavenly Father knows that you need all of them! 33 But first be concerned about God's kingdom and his righteousness, and all of these things will be provided for you as well. 34 So never worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matthew 6:25-34; ISV)

Jesus is very clear about the fact that we shouldn’t spend our time worrying. There are two reasons why we shouldn’t worry. The first reason is because worrying can’t change things. Worrying won’t add years to our lives or provide us with food to eat or clothes to wear. Sure worry might drive us to seek out God and to do what needs to be done so we can have what we need, but the act of worry itself will not change things.

The second reason we shouldn’t worry is because God is in control. Worry is really the result of realizing that we aren’t in control of our lives. If we were in control then there wouldn’t be anything for us to worry about (though there might be things other people would have to worry about because we wouldn’t bother to take into consideration all the effects of our actions on other people). As followers of Jesus Christ we should trust that God will bring us through no matter what happens because we know that He has our best interest at heart. God is able to use even the most negative circumstances to make us more like He son Jesus.

Part of being flexible in life then is the ability to trust God through the difficult circumstances of life. It is believing that God will do what is right no matter what might happen to us. When we trust God more than we trust ourselves we will not worry and we will be able to roll with all the punches the world has to throw at us.

Journey to Life

As we journey to know God we are also on a quest to discover life. True life and a relationship with God are eternally linked. Life only comes through a relationship with the Creator; the Life-Maker.

Why do I think the search for life is a common quest for humanity? I believe it is partly seen in the activities people do to add value to their lives: careers, hobbies, volunteer work, etc. Life, they hope, is found in doing things which they believe are significant.

Some look for life through relationships. They place a high value on quality relationships, and they are always around people. The idea of being alone is the worst idea in the world for them. Life, they hope, is found in the intimacy of relationships.

Other people are on the route of thrills. They are willing to do anything which will bring a thrill to their life: bungee jumping, sky diving, X-game type sports, and even racing. The rush and the adrenaline surge is what they are after. Life, they hope, is found by living life on the edge.

There are some people who seek life through artificial means. Drugs provide them with a high to mirror the joy they believe life is to have. They want life without all the pain and tragedy which comes with it. Life, they hope, is found in a place absent of pain and where happiness rules.

I know as I look at my life these are the parts which make up the life I so desperately want. I desire intimacy, to be fully known to others. I want excitement, to be in awe of what is happening around me. I desire joy, to be able to have hope no matter what is happening. And I want a purpose, to know I count for something.

I believe this journey has only one starting point: Jesus Christ. “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me” (John 14:6, NLT). Jesus promises that He is both the way and the life. Not only does Jesus take us to the life that we need, but He is also the life we desire. Life only comes through Jesus.

Since I am a Christian and claim to know Life (Jesus), why do I insist on saying I am on a journey or quest to find life? The reason is because we never arrive at life. The life which satisfies me today is not the life that will satisfy me tomorrow. Life is not found simply by coming to Jesus, but it is found in following Jesus. “

Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5; NLT).

Jesus is the source of life, and if we are to have life we must remain with Him.

A Life of Trouble

{6} In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you have to suffer various kinds of trials, {7} so that the genuineness of your faith, which is more valuable than gold that perishes when it is tested by fire, may result in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

{8} Though you have not seen him, you love him. And even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, {9} because you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

{10} Even the prophets, who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours, carefully researched and investigated this salvation. {11} They tried to find out what era or specific time the Spirit of Christ in them kept referring to when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. {12} It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you in regard to the things that have now been announced to you by those who brought you the good news through the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. These are things that even the angels desire to look into. ~ 1 Peter1:6-12; ISV

Life is difficult. We all have experienced pain and trouble in our lives. Not one of us has been able to avoid seeing dreams shatter and experiencing a crisis of belief. God has given no promises to Christians that our life experience will be any different. God has promised that our reward will be different if we persevere through the terrible times in our lives. That is part of the hope Peter wants to give to Christians in the first chapter of 1 Peter.

1. A Test of Faith: (verses 6 and 7)

Part of the reason we suffer in this world is to help our faith grow. Remember it is not the only reason we suffer, but suffering does show us the condition of our faith. Suffering also forces us to either trust God more fully or abandon Him completely. Many of the atheists I have come across can point to an event in their life, a time when it appeared God did not come through, and use that as the foundation for why they don't believe in a god, let alone have faith in Him.

God allows trials in our lives so that we will learn to trust Him. Being a disciple of Jesus means we are learning to trust Him more than we trust ourselves. That is a hard lesson to learn if our life is going well, because we tend to think it is about us and what we have done. These trials come into our live so that in the midst of our hardship we turn to God.

2. An Expression of Love: (verses 8 and 9)

As we learn to trust God in the midst of our hardships we show the world that we love God. Even though we have never seen Him or even can point to evidence that erases all doubt about His existence, we trust God with our lives. Faith and love are not two totally different things, but they are strategically linked.

If we do not trust God we will not love Him. If we do not have an affection for God we will not trust Him. It is through this relationship we have with God which provides us with the hope that we need to get through the trials of our lives. Hope is the result of the love and faith we have in God.

3. Salvation is Mysterious: (verses 10 and 11)

The salvation that we have, the victory Jesus achieved through His death and resurrection, are something that the prophets of old did not fully understand. The Holy Spirit gave them the words, but they longed to know more about what God was doing. To them it was a mystery that Jesus would die. It was something that they wanted to know more about.

Even today we discover people don' understand this salvation that Jesus offers. In 1 Corinthians Paul says that our salvation, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness (1 Cor. 1:23; NASB). Today we get that same reaction from people. Logically it does not make sense what Jesus did for us.

4. We have been Blessed: (verse 12)

We have the great privilege of being on this side of Jesus' life and sacrifice. Because of that we are able to see what God is doing through history, and here of His great love for us through the preaching of His Word. We also have the Holy Spirit which guides people into a deeper relationship with God. It is this wonderful time of mission that even the angels in heaven are eagerly watching. Even with all the bad things happening in the world, right now is a wonderful time to live.

It is all about Me

"In the midst of our growing fragmentation, we have never been more focused on the individual than we are today. This focus plays itself out in unbridled consumerism. While materialism is certainly an outgrowth of consumerism, it isn't its primary focus. Consumerism's primary product in our culture is narcissism. Remember, narcissism is a life in which everything is about us." ~ Erwin McManus; Uprising: A Revolution of the Soul

Have you ever stopped to consider what a contradicting culture we are a part of in the United States? We get all worked up over gas prices and then drive the most gas consuming vehicles we can buy, actually we about bankrupt ourselves trying to pay for our status symbol. We complain about the environment but we are willing to buy anything that is disposable as we produce tons of trash. People are quick to throw out last year's model for the small improvements found on this year's model and we tell ourselves that is just the price of technology.

I think all of this reveal that above all else ME comes first in our society. It might be politically correct to complain about gas prices and destroying the planet, but we are not willing to actually do anything about it. Why? To do something would require us to sacrifice what we like and we just can't bring ourselves to do that.

This "all about me" problem can be seen in the cheating spouse to the teenager looking to get high to the parents allowing a daycare raise their children. In this consumer driven society what we are ultimately after is what will make us feel good and will bring us a few moments of pleasure. The consequences of our actions are hardly ever considered because they are not part of the moment. As long as we can get what we want then ultimately that is all that matters. After all isn't the good life found in making ourselves happy?

The problem is that while we might find pleasure for the short term in pursuing a life that is all about ME, but sooner or later the consequences of that type of lifestyle will soon catch up to us. The pain and misery of these consequences will outweigh any of the pleasure we sought as we tried to arrange life to focus on us.

The amazing thing is that the solution we have constructed to get away from the bad consequences of pursuing a self-centered life is to pursue a life that is even more about ME. A person who has destroyed their life with sexual promiscuity will often become even more promiscuous. The person who has shipwrecked their lives on drugs will turn to harder or different drugs to take away the pain. A life lived for ME will always be trapped in this cycle of pleasure and consequences. The consequences will never be connected to their pleasure seeking ways, but will always be about the wrong the other people have caused them. In this Me-centered world we cannot own up to our responsibilities, so the bad things have to be the result of other people trying to ruin our fun. Until we wake up and realize that the best life we can have is a life the lived for others we will always be caught in this cycle never-ending cycle of pleasure seeking-negative consequences-blaming others.

One of the most common phrases in the New Testament is the phrase one another. We are called to love, serve, forgive, encourage, and help one another. Once we grab a hold of this concept and begin to live it out then we put ourselves in a position to live the life God created us to live.

All of us know that the best times in our lives have not happened while we were pursuing a life that was about us, but when we were with other people. Relationships are where we experience the best life. If relationships are the most important things to us, first our relationship to God and then our relationship to others, then we will be more aware of what the consequences of our actions will do to them and we will give our best effort to love them.

The Apostle Paul wrote in Philippians 2:3-4;

Don't be selfish, don't live to make a good impression on others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourself. Don't think only about your own affairs, but be interest in others, too, and what they are doing (NLT).

The life of a Follower of Jesus Christ is one where the focus is removed from ME and is put on God and other people. As hard as it might be to accept we are not the most important thing in the universe. To live our lives as if we were will lead us to live a very dissatisfying life. The joyful and satisfied life experienced through loving God and loving people. A life lived for me will not bring me the happiness that I desire. A life of love ushers joy into our lives.

Jesus, Temptation, and Sin

"A silly idea is current that good people do not know what temptation means. This is an obvious lie. Only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is. After all, you find out the strength of the German army by fighting against it, not by giving in. You find out the strength of a wind by trying to walk against it, not by lying down. A man who gives in to temptation after five minutes simply does not know what it would have been like an hour later. That is why bad people, in one sense, know very little about badness. They have lived a sheltered life by always giving in. We never find out the strength of the evil impulse inside us until we try to fight it; and Christ, because He was the only man who never yielded to temptation, is also the only man who knows to the full what temptation means‚ the only complete realist."~ C. S. Lewis; Mere Christianity

Jesus faced real temptations. They were not‚ make believe temptations Jesus was incapable of acting on, but they were temptations which Jesus desired and struggled with. Hebrews 4:15 reads: This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same temptations we do, yet he did not sin (NLT). The reason Jesus is the perfect sacrifice for our sins is because He faced His temptations and did not give into these temptations. So if Jesus was incapable of acting on these temptations then they wouldn't be real temptations, because by His nature He is incapable of sinning.

Let me throw this thought out to you. Jesus' sinless, His ability to resist temptation, is the result of His character rather than His nature. The fact that Jesus faced temptation and remained sinless speaks volumes about His character and relationship to His Heavenly Father. I find comfort in surrendering my life to God who has chosen not to sin. The reason God cannot sin is because sin violates the character of God.

Isn't Jesus' character is revealed by the fact He did not sin? Sin at its heart is selfish. That is why the entire Law of God hangs on love. We are to love the Lord our God with our entire being and to love each other as ourselves. The foundation of sin then is to ignore or use others while we seek to satisfy our desires.

By not sinning Jesus demonstrated His love for His Father. Jesus sought to do things according to His Father's will, not what was easiest or what would satisfy Jesus. Through His obedience to the greatest commandment Jesus overcame temptation and remained sinless.

By not sinning Jesus demonstrated His love for people. In the Gospels we constantly read how Jesus had compassion the crowds. He would take time to heal the sick and teach rather than seeking time for Himself. Jesus even died on a cross, crucified by sinful men, rather than calling 10,000 angels to come and rescue Him. Through His service to people, His obedience to the second great commandment, Jesus overcame temptation and remained sinless.

Jesus' relationship with God is revealed by the fact He did not sin. Philippians 2:6-8 reads:

Though he was God, he did not demand and cling to his rights as God. He mad himself nothing; he took the humble position of a slave and appeared in human form. And in human form he obediently humbled himself even further by dying a criminal's death on a cross (NLT).

Jesus gave up His rights and humbled Himself to carry out God's plan. Jesus was willing to glorify God through His obedience even though it would cost Him great pain. What mattered most to Jesus was that God would be glorified through Jesus' life and death and resurrection. By humbling Himself and choosing to obey the Father Jesus showed that His relationship with His Father was the most important thing to Jesus.

Jesus struggled with temptation. He alone knows the full power temptation has on a person's life, because He alone chose not to give into the temptations He experienced. It was a struggle Jesus would ultimately win on the cross:

We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from start to finish. He was willing to die a shameful death on the cross because of the joy he knew would be his afterward. Now he is seated in the place of highest honor beside God’s throne in heaven. Think about all he endured when sinful people did such terrible things to him, so that you don’t become weary and give up. After all, you have not yet given your lives in your struggle against sin (Hebrews 12:2-4; NLT).

Jesus gave up His life in His struggle against temptation and sin. What are you going to give up so you can have victory?

Sunday Quote: God is Enough

"Sometimes, when all the props and crutches in your life get stripped away and you find you have only God, you discover that God is enough. Sometimes, when your worst fears of inadequacy are confirmed and you discover that you really are out of your league, you experience the liberation of realizing that it is okay to be inadequate and that God wants his power to flow through your weakness." ~ John Ortberg, If You Want to Walk On Water You've Got to Get Out of the Boat, pg. 139

A Legacy

For many people the person they become is due to a large part to the family background they have. Our families shape so much of who we are, for good or bad. The following is something I wrote as my family, the Steeles, celebrated my Grandma and my late Grandpa Steele for the influence they have been in our lives in June of 2006.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily hinders our progress. And let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us. ~ Hebrews 12:1; NLT

Legacy -- Something handed down from an ancestor or a predecessor or from the past.

As I walk along my journey of faith I consider being born into the Steele family a great blessing. I often wonder what my life would have been like if I had been born into some other family who lived life differently because they held onto different foundational beliefs. Would I have come to know Jesus? Would I have given my life away to some lesser cause?

Thank God reality cannot be changed! I am who I am because Grandpa and Grandma Steele dedicated their lives to Jesus Christ. Their great legacy to us is faith in Jesus Christ. To them this was the most important factor of life.

I was fortunate and blessed (I think Tom and Rebecca would agree with me) to have lived in the same house with Grandpa and Grandma for a couple of years. We were able to witness firsthand on a daily basis the way faith in Jesus was a part of their lives. It was more than something they talked about, but it was something they lived. There was Grandpa’s Bible that was constantly open by his chair, putting aside other responsibilities so they could be at church whenever the doors were opened, their compassionate service to those in need, and Grandma’s letters to let us know she loved us.

To me this legacy has been one of the most important elements in my life. In The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers Samwise Gamgee said:

"I know. It's all wrong. By rights we shouldn't even be here. But we are. It's like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo, the ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger they were. 'Cause sometimes you didn't want to know the end because how could the end be happy? How can the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end it's only a passing thing. A shadow even darkness must pass. A new day will come and when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you, that meant something even if you were too small to understand why. But I think Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Folks in those stories had lots of chances in turning back only they didn't. They kept going because they were holding onto to something."

While walking the journey of faith there are points when we come to a crisis of belief. A crisis of belief is when we have to make the tough decision of whether or not we will move forward with Jesus or turn back and go our own way. Every time I have faced a crisis of belief and have considered doing my own thing I have thought about the people who have gone before me: my grandparents and parents. They had chances to turn back to, but they didn’t, and now their lives stand as a testimony of faith. It is this legacy that I hold onto when life becomes tough and the journey is uncertain.

This faith heritage handed down to us is a great gift. There have been times when I have taken it for granted, but it has always been there when I needed it. For that I say thank you to Grandpa and Grandma Steele. Your legacy of faith is the best gift you could have given to us and for that I am eternally grateful to you. I hope that I can carry on this legacy as well as you did.

The Response of Faith

“Faith, then, is a quality of response to God that is expressed in trust, reliance, commitment, and obedience. It is an unquestioned obedience, based on who He is and the person’s experience of God as He is!” ~ Henry Blackaby, Created To Be God’s Friend

For too long we have made faith an intellectual belief. There is no doubt that faith begins with truth and facts about God. That is what gives us the foundation to trust and obey God. I think we understand that part of faith.

What I am talking about is understanding that real Biblical faith deals more with how we live our lives then with what we believe. Faith is more than just believing certain facts about God, it is more than trying not to sin and obeying the commandments, and it is more than doing religious or spiritual activities. Biblical faith is all about how we respond to God when He comes to us. Will we follow or will we stay where we are? The faith God is looking for in you and in me is the trust and obedience that allows us to follow Him.

The example we are given in the Bible for this type of faith is a man named Abram, or as he was later renamed, Abraham. Abraham was called out of his homeland. “Follow Me to the land that I will show you,” God challenged Abraham. Abraham packed up his things and his family and followed after God. Abraham didn’t know where he was going, he didn’t know what the future held. All he knew was that God had called to him. Abraham trusted God enough, at that time in his life, to leave his home and journey into the unknown

In Romans 4 there are four facts about Abraham’s faith that we need to have in our lives. Take a moment and read through Romans 4.

1. People are declared righteous because of their faith. The Scriptures say, God accepted Abraham because Abraham had faith in him. (Romans 4:3; CEV)

God accepted Abraham based on Abraham’s faith. Abraham’s faith is first seen, not in his obedience to the Law, but in his response to God. Abraham’s faith was to respond and follow God when God called to him.

I believe that God calls to us. Not just once, but many times throughout our lives. Each time God calls He is looking for a response of faith. With each call the amount of faith needed will be more, but every time we take a step of faith our trust in God will grow. If we want stronger faith we have to respond to what we know about God right now.

2. Obedience is a sign of faith. The circumcision ceremony was a sign that Abraham already had faith and that God had already accepted him and declared him to be righteous. (Romans 4:11, NLT)

Circumcision symbolizes the entire Law of God. Abraham was declared righteous before the Law was given. Abraham’s faith was not based on ceremonies and laws, but what he knew about God. It was this faith that prompted Abraham to respond to God’s calling. When God gave Abraham the ceremony of circumcision, its purpose was not make Abraham righteous, but to show the world that God had already accepted him.

Our obedience is just like that. God has given us the commandments and the teachings of Jesus, not to make us righteous, but to show the world that He has accepted us. Obedience shows the world the faith that we have in Jesus.

3. A relationship with God is made possible through faith. It is clear, then, that God’s promise to give the whole earth to Abraham and his descendants was not based on obedience to God’s law, but on the new relationship with God that comes by faith. (Romans 4:13; NLT)

Abraham could not have a relationship with God based on obedience. The reason is because Abraham sinned. Even after God had chosen Abraham and called Abraham to follow Him, Abraham sinned. Obedience cannot make up for rebellion. There has to be something better than obedience to have a relationship with God. That something, which is missing, is called faith.

If faith was just about what we believed and trusted about God, then we would all be in trouble. Each and every one of us have misconceptions and wrong ideas about God. That is only logical since He divine and we are human. We can’t possibly know, accurately, everything about God. Therefore, faith is about our response to God, to what we know about Him and His call to us. Faith is a quality of relationship rather than an intellectual pursuit.

4. Faith, as it grows, brings glory to God. Abraham never wavered in believing God’s promise. In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this he brought glory to God. (Romans 4:20; NLT)

Abraham brought glory to God by following and trusting God. Abraham did what God asked of him, and not only did God bless Abraham, but the world was (and is) able to see God at work.

When we follow and trust God we will bring glory to God. Not because we are singing songs and dancing in the streets, but because our lives reflect His glory. A life of faith has an influence on the lives around it. Even if we don’t think so, when we live lives trusting and loving God, the people around us are impacted. When we are faithful God is glorified.

Faith is not just our beliefs about God. Faith is what makes it possible for us to have a relationship with God. Without faith: belief in, trust in, and love of God; there is no relationship with God. Our faith is not measured by what we know, but how we respond to God.

Leading Us Away From Sin

One of the sermon topics the elders at the Storm Lake Church of Christ have requested that I preach on is morality. Now I am a little hesitant to do this. Why? It is not because I think the issue of morality of little importance because I am very aware of the negative consequences of sin for both the Church family and the individual.

My reluctance has to do with a prevalent attitude in the Church that morality equals holiness. If we do the right things and avoid the wrong things then we will be the type of people Jesus desires that we be. This type of thinking has at least two problems with it. First when we fail to live up to the rules and regulations we are instructed to live by: read your Bible, go to "church", and the various "thou shall nots" we begin to second guess our salvation, or the very least that we have what it takes to do what God has called us to do. This has been a huge obstacle in my life as I have tried to follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ. I kept on blowing it because I couldn't live up to all the expectations that were placed on me. At one point it got so bad that I was ready to give up, not because I lost my faith, but because there was no way I could be the person the law told me I had to be.

The second problem we run into when we equate holiness with morality is that we become very judgmental during those brief moments when we have disciplined our lives to live out those expectations placed on us. We will judge our brothers and sisters in Christ because they are not as disciplined as we are. We will judge those living outside of God's will because of the sin that is so obvious in their lives. The sad result of being legalistic judges is that we don't take the time to help the people that are truly in need. All we offer them is a longer set of rules, regulations, and expectations that they cannot possibly live up to. I have been there too. There have been times in my life when I was quick to condemn people because they didn't believe what I believed and didn't live like I lived. They were sinners passing time before they got what they deserved: hell.

Thank God that He sees things differently! Holiness is not about morality, but about being different from the world around us. The reality is that there are moral people out there who have never surrendered their lives to Christ Jesus. They do just as much good as many Christian people, and yet they are not saved. Remember two realities: everyone has sinned and good works cannot overcome the sin in our lives. Christianity is not about making us moral, but it is about making us holy. We are to be set apart for God's purposes and to live differently from the world around us.

How is this possible? It isn't possible by following the Law! It is only possible by following Jesus. The apostle Paul wrote

{19}Why then was the law given? It was added because of transgressions, until the arrival of the descendant to whom the promise had been made. It was administered through angels by an intermediary. {20} Now an intermediary is not for one party alone, but God is one. {21} Is the law therefore opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that was able to give life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law. {22} But the scripture imprisoned everything and everyone under sin so that the promise could be given - because of the faithfulness of Jesus Christ - to those who believe. {23}Now before faith came we were held in custody under the law, being kept as prisoners until the coming faith would be revealed. {24} Thus the law had become our guardian until Christ, so that we could be declared righteous by faith. {25} But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian. {26} For in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God through faith. {27} For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. {28} There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female - for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. {29} And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's descendants, heirs according to the promise. (Galataians 3:19-29; NET)

The way God wants us to live is not found in obeying the law, because we are incapable of perfect obedience, but in trusting Jesus. The question we will always ask if our main concern is morality is: what can I do and still be considered good? The law draws a line and says that if we cross that line then we are bad. This is why the Jews added so much to the Law God had given them through Moses. They wanted to obey the Law as best they could and so they wanted to make the line as clear as possible.

When we follow Jesus our great concern isn't what we can get away with, but where Jesus is leading us. Our question is: Lord, where are you leading me today? This is what makes us different from the rest of the world. This mindset that our lives are not our own, for us to live how we choose, but they belong to Jesus and He will guide them. This is so much bigger than mere morality, it is a life change that affects every aspect of our lives. It is not just a change of behavior, but a change of heart and mind and attitude.

When we trust Jesus by following where He leads sin starts to have a less have a hold on us. Why? Well, when we are living by the Law and concerned with morality, our focus is always on what we shouldn't be doing. But when we are following Jesus He will lead us to places where we can live out the new nature the God is creating in us. Rather than worrying about what we can get away with we can instead through ourselves into the wonderful life God created us to live. Jesus will lead us away from sin and death to righteousness and life.

Sunday Quote: Illuminating Grace

"The most we could ever say about our good deeds is that they illuminate the beauty of God's grace. Conversely, an evil, rebellious lifestyle cheapens grace to the point that we throw it away and face an angry God in judgment with our sins counted against us, and without any hope of acquittal." ~ William Pile, What the Bible Says About Grace, pg. 175

Not A Sinner

“You are not your sin; sin is no longer the truest thing about the man (person) who has come into union with Jesus.” ~ John Eldredge, Wild At Heart

How do you view yourself? In our minds we all have an image of how other people view us. In reality this is how we view ourselves, because we have very little idea of what others truly think about us. The image I have of myself is short on courage and long on inadequacy. What I tend to remember are the failures, the times I didn’t measure up to what other people thought of me.

I sometimes get pretty discouraged. Yeah, I get discouraged after the Hawkeyes lose, but then I remember it is just a game. That is not what I am talking about. It is hard for me to watch the news, because it discourages me. Yet, I remember God is still in control, so that is not what I am talking about.

I get discouraged when I look at my life and realize how much sin I still have in my life. I have this image in my mind that God is up in heaven looking at me, with a frown on his face. It is at those times that I get that feeling in my stomach that I got just before I was punished by my parents. It bothers me so much that my life is not what it should be. I am not as disciplined as I should be, I do not show compassion like I should, and could go on and on. To be honest, I feel like I am a poser, a pretender, trying to be something that I am not.

It is times like this that I wonder what God thinks about me, what He thinks about my life. When I do this I realize something important. The way God looks at my life is not the way I look at my life. While I see my sin God sees something totally different. How does God see my life?

But you are God’s chosen and special people. You are a group of royal priests and a holy nation. God has brought you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Now you must tell all the wonderful things that he has done. 1 Peter 2:9 (CEV)

God sees me as special. I am part of a royal lineage and holy. He has given me an assignment, therefore I am a trusted servant. While we see sin God sees special.

And since we are his children, we shall share his treasures -- for everything God gives to his Son, Christ, is ours, too. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering. Romans 8:17 (NLT)

God looks at me and sees His child. I am a brother of Jesus, and his inheritance is also my inheritance. I belong to God’s family. Though I might see myself as the black sheep, God has accepted me with open arms.

We are God’s work of art, created in Christ Jesus for the good works which God has already designated to make up our way of life. Ephesians 2:10 (NJB)

God see me as His work of art. He has created me. That means God has taken time on me, and has planned out a life for me to have. I may see myself as trash, but God sees a masterpiece.
The way God sees us is so different than how we see ourselves. Satan lies to us, and he wants us to believe that we are weak, sinful, and good for nothing. Too often we buy into his lies, and we don’t listen to what God is saying about us. This is not about getting better self-esteem, this is about realizing the truth about our Christian life.

So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God -- all because of what our Lord Jesus Christ has done for us in making us friends of God. Romans 5:11 (NLT)

When we are united with Christ our relationship with God changes. No longer do our sins get in the way. Jesus clears the path, making it possible for us to get to God. When our trust and love are in Jesus, that is what God sees, not our sins. Thank God for grace!

True Disciples

21"Not all people who sound religious are really godly. They may refer to me as `Lord,' but they still won't enter the Kingdom of Heaven. The decisive issue is whether they obey my Father in heaven. 22On judgment day many will tell me, `Lord, Lord, we prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.' 23But I will reply, `I never knew you. Go away; the things you did were unauthorized'" (Matthew 7:21-23; NLT).

I find this teaching of Jesus quite interesting. The point Jesus is making here is that not everyone who refers to Him as “Lord,” is a Christian. This is pretty easy to understand because we are witness to numerous people who make a claim to be Christians, but their lives reflect a very different lifestyle.

Some people understand the Truth, it makes sense to them, but somewhere in their lives there is a disconnect. The truth which makes sense in the mind never makes it to their hearts. While they agree with what Jesus says their lives are never changed.

That is not what I find interesting about this teaching, because that is the obvious application to what Jesus is saying. To truly be a Christian requires more than verbal acknowledgement. It also requires obedience to God’s will.

What I find interesting are the activities these false disciples were doing. They were proclaiming a word from God (prophesying), casting out demons, and perform miracles. In my mind these would be signs that they had a close relationship with God—that they were the genuine article. Jesus wants us to understand that these things are not necessarily evidence for a true disciple.

I don’t know how it is possible to fake such things without having a relationship with God, but I do know that it is easy to fake the public side of ministry. It is easy for me to wow people with a great sermon, to write words that reflect Biblical teachings, and to have a “correct” theology to make the people at church believe that I know my Bible. It is possible to go through ministry without real faith in God.

Real faith makes us step out of our comfort zone to do the things that need to be done. Real faith seeks to make changes in our lives so sin is no longer our master. Real faith is seen in our behavior. What makes a person a Christian is not a flourishing public ministry or correct theology, but a Christ-like life of faith which is expressed by love.

How does this apply to you and me? It is to easy to use this passage of Scripture to judge people who are not living up to our standards of what a Christian to be. While we need to be vigilant concerning our leaders and teachers I think we need to approach this passage primarily as a warning for us.

Are we too wrapped up with what other people think about us? Do we put on a spiritual or religious mask in front of certain people so they will think we are great “Christians”? Is part of our identity derived from this “Christian” image we think other people have of us?

Being a follower of Jesus isn’t about doing “religious” activities and making other people believe that we are “spiritual” people. Being a follower of Jesus is about following Jesus where ever He leads, throwing off sinful habits, and living a life of faith. This is how we get to know Jesus, and how Jesus gets to know us.

“Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!” (Matthew 25:21; NLT).

Our Call and Our Love

"God loves affirming His purpose and, even more so, His people when they embrace His purpose." ~ Erwin McManus; Seizing Your Divine Moment

There are times in our lives when it is difficult to believe that we can do anything that will benefit God's kingdom. We may think past sin disqualifies us from taking a lead role in advancing the Kingdom of God or we may believe we do not have the ability it takes to make a difference in the community we live in.

I am often overwhelmed with such feelings of unworthiness or inadequateness. These feelings have a way of paralyzing us which results in our missing out on experiencing the life God wants us to have. The good news is that we are not the only ones that have struggled with these feelings of inadequacy, failure, and worthlessness. Consider Peter. While there may have been a time when we he thought he had it all together, there came a point when Jesus had to encourage him to return to his true calling

Peter, if you are familiar with the Bible, was one of the 12 disciples of Jesus. Not only was he one of the 12, but we was part of 3, along with James and John, who were Jesus' inner circle. Now there is a debate whether Peter or John was the man who was actually the closest to Jesus, but that really doesn't matter. What matter is on the night Jesus was betrayed and arrested Peter followed after Jesus. He stood out in the courtyard as a night session of the Sanhedrin went on to convict Jesus. When Peter was recognized as one of Jesus’ disciples Peter denied knowing Jesus, even cursing to try to convince the people around him that he didn't know Jesus. A few hours earlier Peter boasted that he would go with Jesus to the death, but when the time came Peter turned his back on Jesus.

After seeing and talking with the resurrected Jesus, Peter went back to fishing. There was a part of him which believed that he was no longer worthy of following Jesus. Then one day Jesus shows up on the shore and invites his former disciples to have breakfast with him. After eating Jesus looks at Peter, "Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?" I find it interesting that Jesus uses the name Simon rather than Peter. Jesus is the one who changed Simon's name to Peter. I think Jesus does that to show Peter that He understands what Peter is feeling. Peter isn't feeling like the rock, but instead he sees himself as Simon the fisherman.

"Yes, Lord," Peter replied, "you know I love you."
"Then feed my lambs," Jesus told him. (John 21:15; NLT).

Jesus asks this question three times of Peter, and when Peter answers that he does love Jesus, Jesus gives him the responsibility of taking care of Jesus' followers. Peter felt unworthy of any task Jesus had for him to do, after all he was the one who denied knowing Jesus. Yet, Jesus comes to Peter and gives Peter a task, and the only prerequisite for the task is Peter's love for Jesus.

Yes, we have sin in our lives which we are truly sorry about, and there are times in our lives when we feel inadequate for the task at hand, but that doesn't matter to Jesus. What matters to Jesus is our love for Him. Jesus is anxious about working through us to impact the world, but the only way He can work through us is if we love Him. If we don't love Jesus then He will not be able to use us to make a difference in the world.

We may not believe we have what it takes, but if we take time to listen to what Jesus is saying He is affirming that we have what it takes. It isn't about the perfect life or tons of talent, it is about our love for Jesus. It is our love for Jesus which makes us usable in His Kingdom.

A Shut Door

God is surrounded by mystery. Yes, God has revealed Himself to us, and as a result we can understand certain aspects of who He is. We cannot understand God in His entirety, there is no way our finite minds could understand it. God's ways are not our ways, so there will always be a mystery about God.

When we ignore this fact and put God in a box so we can understand Him we miss out on the opportunity to experience Him in our lives. One way this is seen is the common belief that God opens "doors" to reveal His will to us. By doing this we miss out on experiencing so much of what God wants to do through our lives.

Many times in the Bible God didn't open doors for people to go through. One might even concluded that God revealed His will and then locked the door. God told Moses to go to Pharaoh and demand that Israel be sent free. Moses went, but his task was not easy. Obstacle after obstacle were put in Moses' way. There was Pharaoh's hard heart and Israel's unbelief. Given our thinking Moses would have given up after the water into blood didn't convince Pharaoh. Moses could have very easily concluded that God had shut the door and that he had not interpreted the burning bush correctly. Instead it was Moses commitment to God's will that enabled him, along with all the Israelites and Egyptians, to experience God's power.

Here is another example. God crowns Saul as king, but the Philistines still control Israel. Saul's first duty is to gather an army to kick the Philistines out. An army of 3,000 is raised. 2,000 stay with Saul and 1,000 go with Jonathan. Jonathan takes his 1,000 men and begins to attack the Philistine outposts. They experience success. Jonathan's men had so much success that the Philistines send in 30,000 men along with horses and chariots. Israel had 3,000 men and two swords and no spears. Out manned and out gunned all but 600 men run into the hills slamming shut the door in the face of Saul and Jonathan. This is when we say, "I guess it is not God's will for me to fight the Philistines." That is what Saul did, but Jonathan took his sword and his armor bearer and went and picked a fight with the Philistines. No open door, just an understanding of God's will, and as a result the Israelites and the Philistines experienced God's power.

James 1:12 reads; God blesses the people who patiently endure testing. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him (NLT). An open door is no more an indication of God's will than a closed one. We experience God's blessing when we do what we know God's will to be, even though all the circumstances are against us. We have been taught to give up too soon, and the result has been that we have missed the blessings God has wanted to give us.

Stop waiting for God to open the door before you take a step of faith. Start moving toward the wall and trust God to get you to where you need to go. It is through this act of faith that we will be able to experience God's power in our lives.

Forgetting You

I lie here wishing for someone to hold
Someone to love
Forgetting You are here
Watching, protecting, saving me from sin

Father, I need Your grace
Jesus, I need Your love
Spirit, I need Your guidance
Oh, Lord, I need Your salvation in my life

I sit here remembering my mistakes
Wishing the past to be changed
Forgetting You are forgiving
Cleansing me from all my shame

Father, I need Your promise
Jesus, I need Your hope
Spirit, I need Your peace
Oh, Lord, I need Your salvation in my life

I stand here dreaming I was different
Able to do anything I want
Forgetting You are changing me
Recreating me from the inside out

Father, I need Your forgiveness
Jesus, I need Your acceptance
Spirit, I need Your strength
Oh, Lord, I need Your salvation in my life

Poems are always a little harder to share than other writings because they are so closely tied to our hearts. I wrote this poem several years ago after I had graduated from college and was in search of my first ministry. I woke up one night and jotted down the first section and added the next two over the course of a couple of days.