Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you are all planning a warm and wonderful day tomorrow.
You know, Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. It's got all of the
food, with none of the pressure of the gifts, the decorating, the
programs and parties. It's all about relaxing and enjoying time with
family and friends.
But I know for some of you, anticipating spending time with family is difficult. Time with family can mean anxiety, distress, even bitterness and anger.
So how can you enjoy this day without stress?
There's only one way: Jesus. By giving thanks, not in some random
way, but specifically to our God. Don't just talk about giving thanks.
Truly offer your gratitude to God. Focusing on Him and His perfect
presence and good gifts can make the mess just . . . go away.
Grandma might still be cranky. Uncle Bo might still be loud. Your
sister Jessie might still be judgmental. But that's ok. You don't
exist to please them. You exist to please an audience of One.
So today, as you prepare for tomorrow, may I encourage you just a little bit with this verse?
"With praise and thanksgiving they sang to the Lord:
'He is good;
his love toward Israel endures forever.'
And all the people gave a great shout of praise to the Lord..." Ezra 3:11.
The people were rejoicing because the foundation of the temple had been
built and laid. The temple wasn't completed, just the foundation. And
that is what the people rejoiced in.
You are the same. You
aren't finished yet! But if you have built your life on the foundation
of Jesus Christ, you already have everything you need.
Let the
slings and arrows that may come your way fall to the side. Let the
fighting roll off your back. Respond to insults with blessings. Be
careful to guard your heart with the love of Jesus Christ so that anger
and bitterness cannot find root within you.
We are loved and
cherished! Our Great God has given us so many gifts! So dare to truly
be grateful! And have a Happy, Happy Thanksgiving!
Wednesday, November 27, 2013
Sunday, November 24, 2013
Here Comes the Judge
Our misunderstood Bible verse today if from Matthew 7: "Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you (verses 1 - 2)."
This verse has been used over and over again to defiantly throw sin in the face of others. "Don't judge me" is really a heart's cry for "don't look at me". "Don't inspect me." And what that really means is, I'm afraid for you to look at me. I'm afraid of what you will see.
Jesus is not telling us to turn our eyes away from sin. He is not telling us to pretend that truth is not there. He is not telling us to act as though the ugliness doesn't exist. Nothing could be further from the truth! Actually, he is telling us just the opposite.
In fact, further down in the Sermon on the Mount recorded in Matthew 7, Jesus tells us to inspect the fruit of others so that we know what is good: "Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them."
You see, Jesus clearly defines the difference between judging and inspecting: judging is condemning. Inspecting is evaluating. For example, I can say the same thing in two different ways, and mean completely different things. I can say, "awww, you look tired" in a sympathetic voice, and this shows that I have inspected you and I have evaluated that you are tired. Or, I can say, "ewww, you look tired!" in a manner that shows you I think you look bad!
It is important as Christians that we judge as evaluation. That we inspect the works of others - not for the purpose of condemnation, but for the recognition of good or evil. Jesus didn't say that WE will be the ones who cut down the bad tree and throw it in the fire. He simply said that we will be able to recognize the heart and intentions of the tree by looking at its fruit.
So we do have to judge, if you define it as evaluating. However, judging for the purposes of choosing life or death for others is not our job. That is only God's job. Jesus could not have been clearer about the consequences of judging unwisely: we will be judged in that same way.
I can be tough and harsh on others sometimes. And I certainly don't want to be judged that way. I really want to learn to see others the way God does: through the lens of Jesus' redemptive blood. And that is the key, don't you think?
The key is your intent. Are you looking at someone in order to put them down, to consider yourself better than them, maybe even to make them feel bad? That's the problem. On the other hand, are you looking at someone to determine their influence on you? On your children? On the world? Are you looking at someone to see how you can walk beside them, how you can carry their burdens?
Why is the question: why are you judging? What are you trying to gain? Jesus said that we will not gain heaven by judging others. And that should be enough of a warning for us to stop dead in our tracks if we are struggling with judging!
To sum it all up: judgment is God's job. Inspection is ours. Know the difference.
This verse has been used over and over again to defiantly throw sin in the face of others. "Don't judge me" is really a heart's cry for "don't look at me". "Don't inspect me." And what that really means is, I'm afraid for you to look at me. I'm afraid of what you will see.
Jesus is not telling us to turn our eyes away from sin. He is not telling us to pretend that truth is not there. He is not telling us to act as though the ugliness doesn't exist. Nothing could be further from the truth! Actually, he is telling us just the opposite.
In fact, further down in the Sermon on the Mount recorded in Matthew 7, Jesus tells us to inspect the fruit of others so that we know what is good: "Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them."
You see, Jesus clearly defines the difference between judging and inspecting: judging is condemning. Inspecting is evaluating. For example, I can say the same thing in two different ways, and mean completely different things. I can say, "awww, you look tired" in a sympathetic voice, and this shows that I have inspected you and I have evaluated that you are tired. Or, I can say, "ewww, you look tired!" in a manner that shows you I think you look bad!
It is important as Christians that we judge as evaluation. That we inspect the works of others - not for the purpose of condemnation, but for the recognition of good or evil. Jesus didn't say that WE will be the ones who cut down the bad tree and throw it in the fire. He simply said that we will be able to recognize the heart and intentions of the tree by looking at its fruit.
So we do have to judge, if you define it as evaluating. However, judging for the purposes of choosing life or death for others is not our job. That is only God's job. Jesus could not have been clearer about the consequences of judging unwisely: we will be judged in that same way.
I can be tough and harsh on others sometimes. And I certainly don't want to be judged that way. I really want to learn to see others the way God does: through the lens of Jesus' redemptive blood. And that is the key, don't you think?
The key is your intent. Are you looking at someone in order to put them down, to consider yourself better than them, maybe even to make them feel bad? That's the problem. On the other hand, are you looking at someone to determine their influence on you? On your children? On the world? Are you looking at someone to see how you can walk beside them, how you can carry their burdens?
Why is the question: why are you judging? What are you trying to gain? Jesus said that we will not gain heaven by judging others. And that should be enough of a warning for us to stop dead in our tracks if we are struggling with judging!
To sum it all up: judgment is God's job. Inspection is ours. Know the difference.
Sunday, November 17, 2013
Where's the Good?
Continuing on with a look at the verses that are misused or misunderstood, here is our next one, and it's very popular and well known. Romans 8:28:
I want to make sure I continually emphasize the important of reading the Bible in context. To take a verse here or there and apply it as you want is to create a false religion that is based on selfish wants and desires. God does not exist to please you. You exist to please Him. Our theology is upside down when we search the Bible looking for verses that justify us or make us "feel better." That is not what the Bible is for.
So before I go back to Romans, what is the Bible for? What is your answer to that? I would say that the Bible exists to point us to God - through history, stories, songs, letters, poetry, visions. Every single word in the Bible is about God - not Moses, Abraham, John the Baptist or Paul. It's the story of God. It's truth. It's life.
So what is Romans 8:28 about, anyway? Let's look at the verse in the context of the passage. Romans 8 is one of my favorite chapters in the whole Bible. It's actually the first place I send someone new to the Word. I don't ask them to read an entire book, I just say to start with a chapter. Because this is an extraordinary one! It starts with "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" to "Our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us" to "If God is for us, who can be against us?" to nothing "will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
What hope!
But specifically, let's look at the ten verses that precede 28:
You see, the context of this passage isn't about us. It's about God. It means that though we are suffering - whether through our choices or others' - God will make that suffering good. Not because we deserve it. Not because we are worthy. Only because God himself is good.
Be careful in allowing yourself to define what good is. A child who is sick, the death of a loved one, the loss of a job - those things are not good on the surface. Only God - the source of good - can take the difficult, sometimes downright horrible circumstances of our lives and turn them into circumstances of holiness and redemption.
Remember the promise Isaiah shared with Israel:
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.This verse in no way says that God will only bring us good things. But that's how it is used and claimed today, and it's so wrong.
I want to make sure I continually emphasize the important of reading the Bible in context. To take a verse here or there and apply it as you want is to create a false religion that is based on selfish wants and desires. God does not exist to please you. You exist to please Him. Our theology is upside down when we search the Bible looking for verses that justify us or make us "feel better." That is not what the Bible is for.
So before I go back to Romans, what is the Bible for? What is your answer to that? I would say that the Bible exists to point us to God - through history, stories, songs, letters, poetry, visions. Every single word in the Bible is about God - not Moses, Abraham, John the Baptist or Paul. It's the story of God. It's truth. It's life.
So what is Romans 8:28 about, anyway? Let's look at the verse in the context of the passage. Romans 8 is one of my favorite chapters in the whole Bible. It's actually the first place I send someone new to the Word. I don't ask them to read an entire book, I just say to start with a chapter. Because this is an extraordinary one! It starts with "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" to "Our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us" to "If God is for us, who can be against us?" to nothing "will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
What hope!
But specifically, let's look at the ten verses that precede 28:
I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.
We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.
You see, the context of this passage isn't about us. It's about God. It means that though we are suffering - whether through our choices or others' - God will make that suffering good. Not because we deserve it. Not because we are worthy. Only because God himself is good.
Be careful in allowing yourself to define what good is. A child who is sick, the death of a loved one, the loss of a job - those things are not good on the surface. Only God - the source of good - can take the difficult, sometimes downright horrible circumstances of our lives and turn them into circumstances of holiness and redemption.
Remember the promise Isaiah shared with Israel:
To all who mourn in Israel he will give: beauty for ashes; joy instead of mourning; praise instead of heaviness. For God has planted them like strong and graceful oaks for his own glory.God doesn't necessarily give us good things. He makes our things good. And that's huge difference.
Saturday, November 9, 2013
I Can't Handle It!
So many times I have heard people say, God won't give me more than I can handle. And then I've also heard others be frustrated and angry with God, because they felt like they were at the end of their ropes and God wasn't following through on his promises.
The problem is, that's not what God promised.
1 Corinthians 10:13 says, "No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it."
I assume most people are referring to that verse when they think about not being given more than they can handle. But there are a few important details that you must notice:
We are never alone in our temptations.
God and God alone is the source of our strength. When we are tempted, we must turn to him. But notice the other thing about this verse - it doesn't leave open the possibility that we will NOT be tempted. We will be - that is fact. But Paul does say that it is NOT POSSIBLE that we will be over-tempted. Tempted beyond our ability. Tempted beyond our capacity. There is no such thing.
God will always be there, will always be our strength, will always provide the way. But that does not mean that he will not give us more than we can handle. Because he will! Only when we reach the end of ourselves do we reach for him. Jesus says to give him our burdens (Matthew 11). Paul says that when we are weak, he is strong (2 Corinthians 12).
When we are finished, he has just begun. That has nothing to do, in no way means that he will allow stuff in our lives. Because that's just when he is getting good!
The problem is, that's not what God promised.
1 Corinthians 10:13 says, "No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it."
I assume most people are referring to that verse when they think about not being given more than they can handle. But there are a few important details that you must notice:
- This verse is about temptation. Not about life circumstances.
- This verse doesn't say that we decide how much we can take.
- This verse is not about us. It's about him.
We are never alone in our temptations.
God and God alone is the source of our strength. When we are tempted, we must turn to him. But notice the other thing about this verse - it doesn't leave open the possibility that we will NOT be tempted. We will be - that is fact. But Paul does say that it is NOT POSSIBLE that we will be over-tempted. Tempted beyond our ability. Tempted beyond our capacity. There is no such thing.
God will always be there, will always be our strength, will always provide the way. But that does not mean that he will not give us more than we can handle. Because he will! Only when we reach the end of ourselves do we reach for him. Jesus says to give him our burdens (Matthew 11). Paul says that when we are weak, he is strong (2 Corinthians 12).
When we are finished, he has just begun. That has nothing to do, in no way means that he will allow stuff in our lives. Because that's just when he is getting good!
Sunday, November 3, 2013
What is a Promise?
I thought I'd spend some posts writing on promises of God that we misunderstand.
That's right.
You may think that I'm awfully uppity to say that. To think that we are handling God's promises wrongly. But I am saying that, and I do think that.
We choose to take God's promises at face value, and we don't really look at them. We don't read them in context. We take out of each promise what makes us feel good and then we disregard the rest
For example . . .
Jeremiah 29:11. Everyone knows this verse, and it's written on almost every graduation card and gift at the Christian bookstore! "For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
Most people assume that verse means God wants them to be happy. That he has a successful career planned for them. A career with money and power. A marriage. Children. A two-car garage in a newer model home.
Ummm, no. Not so. Read the verse in its context: This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.”
The Hebrews had been in exile. They had disobeyed God, and He punished them. The real promise of this passage is that God's great love for us never ends, but His discipline does. He may punish us for a season, but he will be there when it is completed.
Notice also that God's promises often come with an expectation of us: you will seek me and find me WHEN you seek me with all your heart. All we have to do is come to him with our everything. When we do, he does the rest of the work. Look at the words in his promise: Prosper. Hope. Listen. Gather. All the things that HE does for US.
Notice also that this verse does not say God will give us whatever we want. It does not say he will make us happy. He will give us hope, and that hope is in the knowledge that he has planned our future, he is in our future, he IS our future.
Please don't make the mistake of believing this promise at face value. Read it completely. Understand it in context. Remember that, as Nancy Leigh DeMoss says, it's not our happiness he's concerned with. It's our holiness.
Another verse later in the week!
That's right.
You may think that I'm awfully uppity to say that. To think that we are handling God's promises wrongly. But I am saying that, and I do think that.
We choose to take God's promises at face value, and we don't really look at them. We don't read them in context. We take out of each promise what makes us feel good and then we disregard the rest
For example . . .
Jeremiah 29:11. Everyone knows this verse, and it's written on almost every graduation card and gift at the Christian bookstore! "For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
Most people assume that verse means God wants them to be happy. That he has a successful career planned for them. A career with money and power. A marriage. Children. A two-car garage in a newer model home.
Ummm, no. Not so. Read the verse in its context: This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.”
The Hebrews had been in exile. They had disobeyed God, and He punished them. The real promise of this passage is that God's great love for us never ends, but His discipline does. He may punish us for a season, but he will be there when it is completed.
Notice also that God's promises often come with an expectation of us: you will seek me and find me WHEN you seek me with all your heart. All we have to do is come to him with our everything. When we do, he does the rest of the work. Look at the words in his promise: Prosper. Hope. Listen. Gather. All the things that HE does for US.
Notice also that this verse does not say God will give us whatever we want. It does not say he will make us happy. He will give us hope, and that hope is in the knowledge that he has planned our future, he is in our future, he IS our future.
Please don't make the mistake of believing this promise at face value. Read it completely. Understand it in context. Remember that, as Nancy Leigh DeMoss says, it's not our happiness he's concerned with. It's our holiness.
Another verse later in the week!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)