Tag: reconciliation

Into the Light

Today’s Reading: 1 John 1

Today we begin our study of 1 John. As we fall in to the routines of fall, I find myself struggling a bit to find the rhythm of a new schedule. I’m teaching my children once again to be diligent with their school work, to do their best in after school activities and to go to bed on time. In a way, John is writing to the Christians in 70 A.D. about a similar season for recommitment. By the time John writes this letter, Christianity has been around for more than a generation. Despite surviving significant persecution, the primary challenge was declining commitment to the faith. The NIV study Bible commentary says this about 1 John: “Many believers were conforming to the worlds standards, failing to stand up for Christ, and compromising their faith. False teachers were plentiful, and were accelerating the church’s downward slide away from the Christian faith. John wrote this letter to put believers back on track, to show the difference between light and darkness.” This description of early Christians certainly echoes our modern lives. We are tested daily by societal values versus the values instilled in us by Jesus Christ. I like the idea of getting “back on track.” After all, isn’t that the miracle of God’s sacrifice of his only Son for us. We get to begin again, we get do overs, we are allowed to get it wrong as long as our heart is always working toward what is right. By confessing our sins to Him and coming in to the light increases our fellowship with Him. True confession also necessitates a commitment not to continue to sin. John says this about confession in verse 9:

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” 1 John 1: 9-10

So, if God has forgiven our sins through sacrificing his Son, why do we need to confess? Through the process of re-commitment and admitting our sins to our Heavenly Father we can grow closer to him in three ways:

  • Agreeing with God that our sin is truly a sin and that we are willing to turn away from it
  • Ensuring that we don’t conceal our sins form him and consequently from ourselves
  • Recognizing our tendency to sin and relying on His power to overcome it

(adapted from NIV study Bible-Zondervan)

Through my study of His word today, I’m able to see that I go a long way to conceal my sin from myself and therefore my God. I’m bolstered by the idea of stepping into the light and recommitting myself to a clean slate. Lord, help us as your faithful servants to recommit to you. Help us to use this season of change to strengthen our relationships within our families and most importantly with you. We love you Lord.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Contrast and Choice

Life leads to death, but from death comes life.

Contrast is how we evaluate things. Usually this is on a relative basis. We compare one thing to another and it is easy to tell the difference. If we try to compare too many things we are easily confused. The bigger the contrast between things the easier it is to choose one thing over another — but not always.

Everyday we make choices. By comparison deciding between one thing or another and by contrast we are able to make our clearest choices. Sometimes the contrast between two things is so stark that it seems impossible to miss the importance of the distinction.

Comparison and contrast is usually easier if we consider things in pairs. Sort of like having our eyes examined. Discerning something clearly from a large group can be very difficult, but when we can get two things side by side it is much easier to select our preferences, even between things with subtle variation. By comparison, starker contrast make our choices even more certain, harder to miss.

Having recently been away from home for a couple of weeks, living in a big city for most of that time, I was amazed at the sharp contrast as I drove back to Bloomington from O’Hare Airport. imageWe had been living in a rooftop apartment in Paris, undoubtably one of the most magnificent cities in the world. Still, it was good to be heading home. Past the Chicago Metro fringe, at that perfect time in the early evening when the stark contrast of the green fields under the big blue sky seemed unreal.image

We had been living in grey’s and brown’s of limestone and marble. Now I was bathed in the beams of new light that opened my tired eyes. As we drove southbound Interstate-55, I looked toward the expanse of the heavens, to clouds painted by the fluttering of the wings of angels. Majestic thunderheads building before patterns of scattered cirrus, shaded with the pastels of the setting sun and twilight shadows. I’m not sure I have ever seen more beauty in that prarie I’ve called home for the last twenty one years.    image

In today’s reading, what stood out for me was Sampson’s riddle.“Out of the eater, something to eat; out of the strong, something sweet.” Eating honey from a lion’s rotting carcass certainly represents an extreme contrast. It made me think of how Jesus was born from a rebellious nation, one that rejected God’s prophets and incredible blessings, often turning towards their own understanding. The savior of the world reflected the contrast of God among us, in the midst of people so confused and broken that they rejected and crucified the very source of love and creation. But this didn’t stop Jesus from transforming the lives of believers and He is still doing it today.

The contrast of a changed life is extraordinary. A life filled with love, patience and peace, once filled with strife, anxiety and self seeking is hard to ignore. The contrast of sin and its destructive emptiness when considered against the healing power of God’s grace shows us who we are, with and without God. It shows us who God is. It opens our hearts making us long for perfection.

For me it wasn’t until the latter stages of my life that the light of truth began to shine and despite my imperfection and brokenness it continues to get brighter.

I thank God for His truth everyday. In His grace I am bathed in forgiveness and the power to continue to change. Jesus I praise your holy name. You are the way, the truth and the life.

Judges 14; Acts 18; Jeremiah 27; Mark 13

Putting God First – My Testimony

Reading Link: Leviticus 6; Psalms 5–6; Proverbs 21; Colossians 4

One of the hardest things I have ever had to do is to make God first in every aspect of my life. This should be easy, right? Especially since God, the ultimate creative power, put everything into motion. Honoring God should be automatic, but it’s not. Because God is invisible, getting to know Him has been challenging. Because He is personal, He gets me, even better than I get myself. Remarkably, God desires fellowship with people, which becomes possible by faith through Jesus.

But I Through the abundance of your steadfast love, will enter your house. I will bow down toward your holy temple in the fear of you. -Psalm 5:7

As a child, I had a simple and easy faith which prevailed even through some early hardships. Then, when I was fourteen, my step father John died unexpectedly at thirty seven, I was devastated. He had been one of my closest freinds, my mentor and the present father I had lacked for the seven years since my parents had divorced. My faith was derailed. Instead of trusting God to help me work through my grief, I turned away dissapointed and angry even though God was there for me. I replaced my faith in God, with faith in me.  A big mistake!

In the next fourteen years, my rebellion was filled with the pursuit of what I thought was freedom in order to pursue my pleasures. Then, to prove my worth in the world, my efforts eventually led to self glorification. I was going to do everything on my own, and take all the credit. This was comical really, considering how proud I was of the many aspects of my life which I had no control over. Being born into a certain family in America, in my time, or benefiting from some ancestor ‘s success from the 1800’s, or the countless people who helped me out in so many ways that I never even asked for. These were all beyond my control. Looking back I see even my limited achievements often occurred in unexplainable ways, yet I still took the credit. Luck or destiny, either way these were blessings, not accomplishments. Truthfully, despite all the glory I tried to claim for my self, I was never consistently happy, and it was never enough. There were many great highs, but they were always followed by lows; and the saddest thing was this: my life was simply slipping away as I drifted further from discovering my true purpose.

Fortunately I rediscovered the God of my childhood who was still patiently waiting to restore the fullness of the fellowship I had once enjoyed. And still I hesitated.

In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps. -Proverbs 16:9

With open arms, like the father of the prodigal son, God has welcomed me back to His family. Making me whole in Jesus, forgiving all, and asking for the surrender of my will; not for Him, BUT FOR ME! And still, I’ve hedged my bets, tentatively investing in my relationship with God despite everything I have learned. It is only in my full subordination to God’s will that I receive the full measure of His blessing

God does not ask us to give Him everything, for everything is His. He simply asks us to recognize this fact, and live accordingly. We Are His creation, each splendidly unique. One of a kind as David LaFrance eloquently pointed out on Tuesday.

Once reconciled we begin to discover God’s plan for our lives. Each of us was created for a special reason; to uniquely point the way to God, to glorify Him like no other person could. Only in our genuine relationship with God do we find true freedom and purpose. This is the greatest life we will ever know!

The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but the victory belongs to the LORD. -Proverbs 21:31

So what am I waiting for?

He is Risen

Today’s Reading: Exodus 38; John 17; Proverbs 14; Philippians 1

In the midst of a world rife with dissatisfaction in prosperity, and frequent acts of terrorism and desperation, I wondered: “What does God see when he looks upon the world He created?” And: “What does he choose to do about it?” My answer was found was in the story of the first Easter. It is a story of unconditional love, personal sacrifice; and redemption for all who ask. A story of Hope for all.

God looks down from Heaven on the children of man to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. They have all fallen away; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one. -Psalm 53:2-3

This is also quoted in the middle of Romans 3:9-20, where the case is made that all mankind is guilty, and that our salvation comes not from works but through faith.

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not of your own doing it is a gift from God. -Ephesians 2:8-10

PRELUDE:

When Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead he demonstrates his power over death. And he explains who He REALLY is to Martha, the sister of His dear friend Lazarus.

Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this? -John 11:25-27

PASSOVER — 33 AD:

On the day of the preparation for the Feast of the Passover, the day which required the sacrifice of a spotless lamb, Jesus was crucified. On this day, Jesus, the innocent perfect person, God in the flesh, was subjected to a MOST AGONIZING DEATH.

He took the place of Barabbas, who was actually guilty of insurrection; Barabbas, a man who deserved to die for crimes that Jesus was wrongfully accused. The Aramaic name for Barabbas translates as “son of man,” or “Jesus Barabbas.” It is he who represents all of us who deserve condemnation and punishment which Jesus Christ bore in our place. Remarkably, this happens so that we might be reconciled with our Heavenly Father. In the moment of Jesus’s death, new life became possible for everyone who chooses. In this way God demonstrates perfect love for His creation, making a way back to Him for each of us. The death of Christ is our bridge over the chasm of sin that separates us from God. By faith in the knowledge of Jesus’s sacrifice we receive the power to restore our souls, becoming new creatures, the people we were meant to be in the beginning.

FINALE:

The death of Jesus finds its true meaning in His resurrection. And in this moment Jesus offers living proof of the words he shares with His disciples at the Last Supper: I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but through me. -John 14:6

The resurrected Jesus (the spotless lamb of God) demonstrates his power over everything. He is more than a man, he is God in the flesh, whose life and sacrifice points towards Himself, while creating the way back to Him.

For forty days, until he ascends into Heaven, the resurrected Jesus appears to many. This is the foundation of Christianity and proof for the salvation of the world. And just as one story is finished, another begins. It begins in the lives of those who first believed. In the transformation of the timid and confused disciples who become fearless apostles. Then one by one; in the many, God’s Holy Spirit was passed along.

Christianity grew because of a small, radical, splinter group of Jews followed Jesus, witnessed his ministry; his death and resurrection. They followed the God of the Old Testament who appeared as a man; believing he was the Christ. He was the anointed deliverer of God’s chosen people; then all people, as prophesied and recorded in the ancient Scriptures. This true story is documented in the New Testament as well.

…and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you — unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance that I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. -1 Corinthians 15:2-6

NEW LIFE:

Easter is both the end and the beginning of the story of God becoming man to save us from our sin. Wise men (like Phil Yancy) have said this happened so that we could see the face of God, to know how to respond to Him who has responded to us in perfect Love. Through Jesus, by the Holy Spirit, God demonstrated the perfect relationship, to and with Himself. The perfect person (something we will never achieve on our own), perfectly responding to God. Jesus, through his life, death, burial and resurrection, (and ascension), ensures that we have the opportunity to be made holy in God’s eyes. In His sacrifice the relationship we are all supposed to have with God and each other is possible. In His resurrection we find our faith and hope. This is the foundation of Christianity!

Jesus purchased a ticket for everyone to the best place in the universe, and to the most perfect life we could ever imagine. Then he offered it to us all freely. By his death and resurrection we have the privilege to dwell within the God of all creation, which is only possible through Jesus as His Holy Spirit dwells within us. This allows the most miraculous fellowship of a lifetime; then an eternity. This is true life as it was always meant to be! He is risen. He is risen indead!

God, please open my heart to your amazing grace. I pray to learn to live in the incredible power and blessing of redemption through the life, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. I seek the peace, joy and purpose that transcends all understanding. Grant me the faith to see truth, and the wisdom to find it. In the name of Jesus. Amen