Decisions

Our lives are full of decision-making. Anf those times require us to deal with certain questions. We need to decide what to do. And often we struggle with when to do something, how to do it ((How many people have been turned away from God's grace and love by a Christian doing the right thing the wrong way?), and, of course, why are we making that decision--what are our motivations? If only we could rely on the advice of Yogi Berra: "When you come to a fork in the road, take it."
We should first consider a couple of preliminaries. If we haven't developed good decision making skills in the "small" things, we'll struggle mightily with the "big" things. If I have not made a "habit" of applying God's wisdom to all my decisions, the crisis times are dreadful. In addition, I must always remember that I am making the decision that pleases Him--not anyone else. My decision may please others, but it may also anger and upset others. Faith requires that I do what is right in His eyes--so it's always done lovingly--and leave the consequences to His perfect wisdom. It also requires that I have a heart of gratitude in the midst of the consequences knowing that He works all things for the praise and glory of His name. And the good of His people--corporately and individually. I can always come up with a human reason for doing what I want to do. If they ever taught a course on rationalization, I'd ace it hands down. But I must rely on His wisdom and direction--not my own.

Thus, the first question must always be "is this decision right or wrong biblically?" I must always do the right thing--no exceptions. Yet, as long as I am not making a decision that the Bible declares to be sinful, I have the freedom to make that decision. What I must do is delight in Him and then, He promises to direct my path--to keep me off the path of thorns. Yes, He promises! I must acknowledge His hand in the decision, see Him at work in my circumstances, and follow. He desires to delight in my desires.

I've always been one of those folks who goes until He shuts the door. (And then pouts awhile.) And He has always led me to the open door of His choosing in His time. Such a ricocheting from closed door to closed door has led me to where I am today--teaching lovely young Christians a little bit of English, and I pray, the loveliness of a walk with Jesus on a daily basis. I do think we need to add a verse to that little chorus "God is so good." The new verse should say, "God is so patient."

And the motivation for the decision, not just the decision itself, must be tested against the teaching of God's Word. It is all too easy to build with hay and wood instead of gold and precious stones. We must make decisions based firmly on the prayer, "not my will, but Thine." And then not feel guilty when He gives us the desires of our heart, but enjoy them thankfully.

Finally, and I'm not saying this to encourage you to not seek God's will, but I rejoice in the fact that His love has taken my disobedience, my wrong motivations, my wrong methodology and used even those decisions to glorify His name and do good. He has always loved me enough to break my pride, wound my heart, and then send me to where He wants me wiser and gentler, and more loving and patient with others, than I was before in my selfishness.

Decisions to make? Pray for insight. Critique all decisions and the motivations for making those decisions, large or small, using God's Word as the only standard for evaluation. Knock on the doors. If they don't open, don't pout for too long, look for the door He's opening. Then, when you come to the fork in the road, take it. He will go down it with you whichever path you take. And He will bring His patient love and grace with Him. And if it's the wrong road, He'll use it to reaffirm the right road--and to get you back on it--broken but more useful. The one answer you can be sure of is, "I will never leave you nor forsake you. Even when you are faithless, I will be faithful. You cannot escape my love."

Choose wisely--it's so less painful. Rest in His love. Delight in Him. The path leads Home. Even the detours. Always.

God's Heart

One thing is undeniably true: God has a heart for the poor--both in terms of how we interact with them on a personal level and how we help them meet their needs. Solomon tells us that to not have God's heart for the poor is to taunt Him. Sound like a good idea to you: to taunt God? Other places in Scripture tell us that to not visibly demonstrate God's heart for the poor is to blaspheme His name--to put His testimony that He is love up to ridicule and shame before a watching world. Sound like being a good witness to you? Paul tells us that we are to use our excess resources to help the working poor meet their needs, that those who are financially blessed should be eager to use their blessing to be generous, to be on the alert for opportunities to share their earthly wealth because only by doing so will they be able to grasp fully the real richness and meaning of life. James, as I've mentioned before, tells us that we should be dedicated to helping the widows and orphans in their need. Paul also adds that if a church has widows that have unmet needs that that church is pagan not Christian. And, I believe the same holds true for single moms. Am I and the church I attend committed to the upholding of the name of Christ and the glory of His gracious, loving character? Only to the degree to which we have God's heart for the poor.

Jesus Loved Them

There are lots of instructive truths in Jesus' relationship with Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. Here are a few that always cause me to pause, reflect, and examine where I am in my walk with Him.

First, it says that Mary chose the one necessary thing--to spend time at Jesus' feet learning of Him. It was not that she chose "one of" the necessary things. She chose "THE" necessary thing. How necessary is time alone with Him to me? There is no doubt how much His heart desires such devotion.

John tells us, "Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus." The reason He allowed them to experience such heartache and confusion and disappointment was not because He was angry with them or disappointed in them but because He knew that this testing of their faith would lead them to a deeper, fuller understanding of His character and His power--a deeper understanding of "God is love." In times of testing and sorrow am I looking for the revelation of His love for me? What a tragedy if I miss it.

I also find it interesting that when Martha got up and left the house no one moved, but when Mary got up to leave the house, everybody got up and went with her. When I am struggling to deepen my relationships with others, could it be that the real problem is the shallowness of my relationship with Him? Is there an undeniable, direct correlation between the depth of my love for Him and my ability to love and relate to others?

After Lazarus is raised from the dead, the family has a dinner, no doubt to celebrate the miracle. Guess what? Martha is busy serving. Mary is at His feet performing an act of sacrificial love and worship--anointing Him for His death. (Wow! At least one person understood why He had come!) And at least Martha's not complaining this time. (Judas was doing that!) I guess the mindset that God wants our quiet adoration and a deepening relationship to Him more than He wants our service is a difficult lesson to digest and embrace. I am delighted that God is patient with slow learners! I know one of those. And not only is He patient with slow learners: "Now Jesus loved Martha."

And what is the greatest truth in this story that always causes my heart to sing and dance for joy? "I AM the Resurrection and the Life. He who believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?" I do--with all my heart.

The Problem

The problem is not immorality, social injustice and poverty, saltless salt, an abnegation of our responsibilities to the Creation, materialism, evil corporations, conviction-less power-hungry leadership, hatred and abuse, conscienceless violence or anything else you want to add to the list. They are all just symptoms of the real disease--the real problem: man has a wicked heart. And all the good intentions in the world cannot change one heart. Hearts must be changed by the power of God. Only faith in Christ can make a man a new creation--begin the transformation process in a human heart. And the foolishness God uses to bring a man to Christ is the teaching of His Word. Do you really care about those symptoms above? Then share the foolishness of the Gospel with those around you. And those whom the Spirit transforms will join you in treating the symptoms of man's wicked heart--beginning with their own. It is only to the degree that God's Word becomes active in His new creations--starting with me--that evil can be defeated in any culture in any tangible, lasting way.

Presumption

To immerse myself in God's peace, I must rely on His perfect will being worked out in the lives of those I treasure as I patiently wait for Him to reveal and to accomplish His purpose for those who have become an inseparable part of who I am in Christ. And I must rely on His Spirit to take the foolishness of my words to touch the hearts of those I love. I must also understand that to wait for His work in their lives without intercessory prayers on their behalf is presumptuous sin.

Abiding

If a believer is abiding in Christ, there are certain traits that will be evident in his or her life:

a resting in Him, a deep sense of trust in His goodness;
a total dependence on Him--an unpretentious humility that knows that the glory for all things accomplished is His and His alone;
an unflinching desire for His will;
an incomprehensible joy;
a sense of His presence--an unquenchable heart knowledge of His great love for His child; a love as strong and deep and inescapable as the Father's love for His Son;
answered prayer--to the Father, through the Son, "verbalized" in the inexpressible groanings for God's perfect will by the indwelling Holy Spirit;
the animosity of the world--a hatred that is neither asked for nor a source of pride but rather something that breaks the heart and brings tears, not of self-pity, but of evangelistic love;
a commitment to encouraging His other children--a deep desire to spend time with them in mutual edification;
a longing to see His face--the moment He is willing, an understanding that he is not of this world but an ambassador sent on a mission of love;

And what is the secret to abiding in Christ? Unwavering obedience.

Our Purpose

Our purpose in life--regardless of our calling--is quite simple. By His grace we have become His children, and we have been indwelt by Him in the person of the Holy Spirit. "He that has this hope in him purifies himself even as He is pure." Our purpose is to become more and more like Him on a daily basis--to "practice" righteousness, to submit to the life of the True Vine and thus, to daily produce more and more of the Spirit's fruit--love, joy, peace, gentleness, faithfulness . . . in our walk. These are the evidence, the outward manifestations of an intimate, abiding relationship with my Savior. His expectation is that we are being transformed into His likeness.
And that requires some taking away; there must be less of me evident to others if more of Him is going to be evident to others. That's why trials are so essential in my walk with Him. In my pride I am too often not willing to readily give up the "things" I like about me nor the attitudes and viewpoints that I cherish as essential to having the acceptance and approval of others. Thankfully, He is not in the least bit "squeamish" about removing those things from my life that are detrimental to my usefulness in His kingdom. After all, I do not "manufacture" Christ-likeness in my life. It only comes about by His Spirit's "cleaning" out of my life those negative traits and ideas that are designed for me to gain man's approval, including, if not especially, my own. As that cleaning out process matures me--as I allow the Spirit to let the new creation--the new life that's in me--resonate through me, Christ's presence in the world--His glory--amazingly and incomprehensibly becomes evident in my life. In my life! His glory! Astounding grace!
And He will never in this life divert His energies--His power--from effecting such transformation in my life--on a daily basis. The carrying of my cross is not a haphazard, when I feel like it, activity. It is a daily requirement for discipleship, for glorifying Him. Less of me. More of Him. That is His purpose for my life. Today! And it begins with a taking away--a cleansing accomplished through His Word actively exposing those things in my life that need rooting out no matter how much I cherish them. The Spirit takes the trials of my life, immerses them in the teaching of the Word, and daily strives to transform me. His message to my heart--to my loves and my will--is: "This is who you are; this is what I want and need you to be. You do not need the approval of men. If that's what you want, they are your masters and you are their slave. For a life that makes an eternal difference, you need My approval. You need to love Me by being obedient to the changes I desire for you to humbly embrace. Yes, as the infinite, wise, loving God, I know the transformation, the taking away, that is necessary. I know what needs to be put to death in your life today."

May the song of our heart be, "O to be like Thee, blessed Redeemer, pure as Thou art! Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness; stamp Thine own image deep in my heart."

"Come in Thy sweetness."