Holy Love

You cannot love unconditionally without being hurt. But what makes love and the grace it fosters holy is that the response of those loved doesn't matter. In fact, such hurt deepens one's love; it does not undermine it. Jesus standing on the hill looking down into Jerusalem wept because no matter how often He had loved them, no matter how deeply He had loved them, no matter how consistently He had loved them, they had rejected His love. They had refused to be wooed by the love of God. Refused to be wooed by the love of God! So what did He do? In the greatest act of love toward them went to the cross for them, loved them with His holiness, with His forgiveness, and with His broken heart. Genuine love is intentional, purposeful--the good of the other, and spontaneous. But that spontaneity is only possible because I have purposed in my heart to love as He loves, humbled my heart so that the Spirit can love through me, and submitted my heart, my will, to Him so that He might deepen my love even for--especially for?--those who reject my love; or even, worse, those who are indifferent to my love, even antagonistic toward my love. It is His love they are rejecting. But He, still, will love them until the end. He cannot deny Himself--God is love. May I know the breadth, the heighth, the width, the depth of His holy love. And by the miracle of His grace growing in my heart, may my love for others be as intentional, spontaneous, immeasurable, and unquenchable as His great love. "Little children, let us love one another for love is of God."

God's Memo to the Nations

God's Memo to the Nations

"Why are the nations in an uproar,
And the peoples devising a vain thing?
The kings of the earth take their stand,
And the rulers take counsel together
Against the Lord and against His Anointed;
'Let us tear their fetters apart,
And cast away their cords from us!'

He who sits in the heavens laughs,
The Lord scoffs at them.
Then He will speak to them in His anger
And terrify them in His fury:
'But as for Me, I have installed My King
Upon Zion, My holy mountain.'

I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord:
He said to Me, 'Thou are My Son,
Today have I begotten Thee.
Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Thine inheritance,
And the very ends of the earth as Thy possession.
Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron,
Thou shalt shatter them like earthenware.'

Now therefore, O kings, show discernment;
Take warning, O judges of the earth.
Worship the Lord with reverence,
And rejoice with trembling.
Do homage to the Son. lest He become angry, and you perish in the way,
For His wrath may soon be kindled.
How blessed are all those who take refuge in Him"

Key words:
Why?
Laughs and scoffs
Then
My Son
Show discernment; take warning, rejoice, do homage
How blessed

The Grace of God

The grace of God:

I was dead in my trespasses and sins; He has made me alive--born again--in Christ. "He who believes in me will never die."
I was clothed in the filthy rags of human righteousness; He has clothed me in His own perfect righteousness "faultless to stand before the throne."
I was hostile toward the things of God, an enemy of the cross: He has transferred me out of the kingdom of darkness and into His kingdom--now a soldier of the cross.
I was chained to sin thinking I was free; He has broken those chains and freed me to live for Him, to follow the illuminating lamp of the truth of His Word.
I was, deservedly, a target of His wrath; He has made me a "target" of His inescapable love, condemnation free.
I was a bearer of the image of God marred by sin; He has filled me with His Spirit that I might be restored to His likeness--when I see Him, I will be like Him--glorified.
I was a slave to Satan, powerless to escape his will to destroy me eternally; He has redeemed me with His own blood, purchased me to be His own, adopted me into His family, a child of God forever more.

"Amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me."

Musings on the Church

The more the church pursues political power the more its spiritual power erodes.
The strongest, purest church is a persecuted church.
Be careful not to worship the act of worship. Worship is from the heart in the Spirit. Method doesn't matter much--if at all.
The Word is the authority--not an authority. God says that the Word are His thoughts communicated to us through the Spirit and explained to us by the Spirit. The church that doesn't teach it--the whole counsel of God--isn't worth your time.
The church is diverse--but still one body.
The most necessary people in your church are the ones you rarely if ever see serving. Praying for them?

Gifts

The gifts God gave me today:

A new day and the strength to enjoy it
Psalms 140-150
A sun-filled morning and a rainy afternoon--with a little thunder thrown in
A cat in the lap--contented even
A slow walk (I know--redundant)
Quiet
Music
Pizza and Pepsi
Memories
Pen and paper
A book to finish
The beautiful flowers outside my doorwindow dancing in the wind and rain--eliciting praise for their Maker and mine.

And the day is far from over--but not too soon for a "thank You

Faith means . . .

"Now faith means putting our full confidence in the things we hope for; it means being certain of things we cannot see."

"And without faith it is impossible to please God. For he that comes to Him must believe that He exists, and that it is worth one's while to find God."

The life of faith--the only life that pleases God--sees the circumstances of life through the lens of His person and the certainty of His promises:
"I will never leave you or forsake you."
"All things will work together for your good--you cannot escape my love."
"I will give you the strength to face the evil of each day--strength rooted in My joy placed in your heart."
"In the midst of the warfare, I will build a fortress of My peace around you to guard your heart and mind."
"I will supply all you need through my riches in glory."
"I will give you rest and comfort because I will share your heavy burdens and I Am the God of All-Comfort."
"I have made you more than conquerors through Me. My grace is sufficient. Victory is promised through grace."
"I will make all things beautiful in My time."
"I will rejoice over you with singing."

When the Israelites, standing on the shores of the Red Sea, saw Pharaoh and his armies racing toward them over the desert sands, they trembled in fear, maligned God's wisdom, doubted His love. Except for Moses. His faith didn't see an invincible army capable of negating the promises of God. No, his faith saw the Egyptian army lying on the bottom of the sea. He didn't wring his hands in fear. He didn't cry out, "Don't worry, I'll think of something to do." No, he cried out in faith, "Be still. Be silent. Watch! The Lord will fight for you." And then his faith saw the Lord mighty in battle keep His promise. And so he could sing and dance on the other side of the sea while the "problem" lay at the bottom of that sea. "Who is like Thee, majestic in holiness, awesome in praise, working wonders? . . . In Thy lovingkindness Thou hast led the people whom You redeemed. . . The Lord shall reign forever and ever." Moses, man of faith saw his circumstances through the lens of God's person and His promises.

Today, I took a journey down one of those country roads that I have traveled dozens of times before. Dozens. But always I had traveled it in the same direction--from school toward home. Today, I traveled it in the opposite direction. It was amazing. It was as if I was on a totally different road in a new world. I saw so many beautiful things I had never seen before--homes, fields, old barns, serene ponds . . . it was mind-boggling, spirit rousing to see my journey from another perspective. I don't think I'll ever forget the feelings I experienced as I traveled that "familiar" road. And the Spirit reminded me--one day when I get Home, He will greet me and show me my journey from His perspective--how His loving heart and wisdom saw my road Home. And I will be amazed at the beauty I had failed to see from my limited perspective. And He will take me in His embrace and say, "See, didn't I tell you I would make all things beautiful in My time." Then, He will wipe the tears from my eyes and whisper, "Enter into My presence with a heart of joy and thanksgiving."

And I will--forever.

Faith sees the problems of life through the lens of His person and His promises. And so even if there is no music, His child can dance and sing, "Victory is promised through grace." "The Lord will reign forever and ever."

Faith is silent before Him. Is still--resting in His promises by loving Him with all one's heart through obedience and by loving his neighbors as he is loved by God so that they too can see that He exists--He is real--and it is eternally worthwhile to seek and to find Him.

"Faith is the victory that overcomes the world."

Favorites

Favorite Bible people:

Enoch--just walked with God every day--"spectacular"
Joseph--faithful son, faithful slave, faithful prisoner, faithful prime minister--always had a sense of God's presence
David--unafraid of giants, waited for God's timing, brokenheartedly confessed his sin
Caleb--spent 40 years in the wilderness even though he had been faithful--first chance he got, went after those giants
Micah--searched but couldn't find one faithful person--response: "I'll be the one."
Habakkuk--great testimony in song--if all is lost, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation
Titus--when Paul needed encouragement--God sent him Titus; says something about the man don't you think?
Ruth--what an example of loyal love!
Rahab--believed and feared God; saved her family; raised a righteous son
Sarah--named her son Laughter--a prayer, a testimony, a praise

Real people. Real faith. Real examples.

Truth and Consequences

Jesus said, "I AM the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but by Me." No one.

Jesus prayed to the Father for His disciples, "Sanctify them through your truth, Thy Word is the truth." Sanctification occurs only through one's relationship with the truth of God's Word. And He promised that when the Spirit of truth has come, "He will teach you all things."

Jesus said, "you will know the truth and the truth will set you free." Men who reject God's truth often boasts of their "freedom," but they are instead slaves to the master whose mission is to deceive, kill eternally, and destroy. True freedom--found in Christ alone and nurtured by His Word--empowers a man or woman to follow Christ and live the abundant life that only obedience to Him can provide. "I have come that you might have life and have it more abundantly."

Paul tells us that a culture begins its moral decline by suppressing the truth that God is the Creator and that the creation declares His glory. Suppression, of course, implies that they know it's true--that He is the Creator--but they have no intention of living in light of that truth--of admitting that they are responsible to Him and His righteous commands. They become then a people who live in darkness but call it light--a people who claim to be wise when they are fools. They are "ever learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth." When you deny and suppress the truth and then try to find "truth," you are on an impossible journey.

A man or woman's attitude toward the truth that Jesus in the Truth and that access to eternal joy is found in Him alone determines their eternal destiny.

A man or woman's attitude toward the written Word--the truth that sanctifies and transforms--determines the degree to which they enjoy the abundant life right now--and eternally.

A culture's attitude--and the individuals within it--toward the truth that God is the Creator of all things and that a man then is responsible to Him and to His commands reveals how futile--empty--is their thinking, how foolish--illusionary--is their wisdom, and how impossible is their attempt to suppress the truth and escape the consequences.

We live in a world of Pilates. "What is truth?" they ask--and then turn away before they hear the answer that they do not want to hear. But they cannot hide from the consequences.

Hostility

Jesus was not using hyperbole when He warned us of the world's hostility. They love their darkness and hate the light. But that just means that it is even "more important" that we be the lights of the world that He has called us to be. Why? So that men--even hostile men--will see our good works and have to glorify our Father who is in Heaven. As I often say, we make the invisible God visible. What the world believes about Jesus, they believe because of the lives we live. What did Jesus do in response to the hostility of the world? Lovingly died for them. Lovingly prayed for them. "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do."

Saints

When God redeems us through Christ, the Spirit sets us apart--we become His saints--His holy ones. We don't need to perform miracles to be a saint--the miracle is the regenerating power of the Spirit to take a man or woman dead in trespasses and sins and make them spiritually alive forever. He does expect us to be holy as He is holy through the Spirit's power within us. The angels today are proclaiming Him holy at this moment before His throne: "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come." May our lives proclaim the same to those around us. Saints. Holy ones. That's you and me. So live.

The Wall

When I choose to sin deliberately, to make choices that I know are wrong--a betrayal of His dying love for me, Satan begins to build a wall around me--to try to enclose me in an "inescapable prison." He can do that because he knows that my heart is already cold toward my Savior and His love. My wants have become more important to me than His call to faithful, courageous discipleship. And, of course, as I choose the path of deliberate disobedience, I will be given the applause and acceptance of the world around me--encouragement, even participation in my choice.
The wall, the "prison," is built of many things. One is the lie that there will be no consequences. And since the consequences are rarely immediate, I embrace the lie wholeheartedly. But it is a lie. The consequences are coming; they may even be--though unseen--at work right now in my life. Another "stone" is a deepening insensitivity to sin. I slide further and further away from Him--the Spirit is grieved and then quenched. His power in my life is silenced. But what a deadly silence. A third "stone" is often the choice of unbelief. Which after all is easier--to continue in my sin, bask in my acceptance by the world, or humble myself and repent of my willful life of sin? And what will my new "friends" think of me if I do that? But my disbelief does not make God disappear--or my responsibility for my choices. Often, the final "stone" is the lie that I have gone so far away from Him that repentance and His forgiveness are no longer accessible. There is no way out of "the prison," He lies to me.
If you know and love such a one, intercessory prayer is vital. Patient, loving, non-judgmental, humble prayers are essential. Love never fails. Love never quits. Love is patient. Love is gentle. And I must ask for the strength to allow God's love to do whatever it takes through whomever He chooses to bring the rebel back into His embrace--back to the foot of the cross. The work is the Spirit's work--not yours. Prayer is your work--your labor of love.
And if I know and love someone behind the wall, imprisoned by Satan's lies, I must live a life of faithful obedience. I must ask God by His grace to keep me faithful, keep me loving Him through daily discipleship--through obedience in the calling He has given me. My life must testify that it is worth it to follow Him--to lovingly obey Him.
And if I find myself in the "prison," there is only one "cure"--a humble confession of my sin, repentance for my sin, and a return to His love. Don't believe the lie that you are "too far away"--that the prison wall is unbreakable. You are one courageous step way--the step of humble repentance. He will obliterate the wall with the loving power of His complete forgiveness. There will be great joy on earth--and an even greater celebration in the throne room of the God of love.