My Holiness

There is enough sin in the holiest act I have ever undertaken to damn me to hell for all eternity.

Naked and Unashamed

And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.
Genesis 2:25

And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account......
Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Hebrews 4:13,16

In the garden of Eden, before the fall of man, Adam and Eve were sinless and communed with God without shame despite their nakedness. They were unaware of their nakedness in that they did not see it as anything unusual. They had a closeness with God and confidence before God that could only be present in an innocent state. But with the fall of man things changed. Adam hid from God realizing his sin and experiencing shame for the first time. Shame can be defined as: having a painful feeling and emotional distress (sometimes to the point of despair), for having done something wrong, with an associative meaning of having the disapproval of those around them. 1 Since Adam, we all experience shame before God which comes from the realization of our sin and of God's holiness. God sees all, no matter how hard we try to hide (Heb 4:13). Yet there is good news! Through faith in Christ, we become righteous before God (2 Corinthians 5:21). My sin exchanged for his righteousness. So for the believer, we now can approach Almighty God with confidence (the KJV says "boldness") to receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Our relationship with God is reconciled (Romans 5:1), and we can be naked and unashamed before God as Adam and Eve were originally in the garden. Praise be to the Ancient of Days for providing us with the means for peace with Himself and peace within ourselves. Amen

1. Swanson, J. (1997). Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains : Hebrew (Old Testament) (electronic ed.) (DBLH 1017). Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

The Weight of Glory (C.S. Lewis)

Quotes and notes from C. S. Lewis's Weight of Glory

Now, if we are made for
heaven, the desire for our proper place will
be already in us, but not yet attached to
the true object, and will even appear as the
rival of that object.

Lewis notes a longing inside for something that we initially cannot place. This is present in all and drives a thirst for better things. Often misplaced before we know Jesus to earthly materials or endeavors...the feeling or idea that there is something better to be for us. When misplaced the soul despairs at the realization of the failure of the rival object to perform that which was expected. Always restless to find the true source of our inner longing -Jesus Christ.

If a transtemporal, transfinite good is our
real destiny, then any other good on which
our desire fixes must be in some degree
fallacious, must bear at best only a
symbolical relation to what will truly
satisfy.

Only God is good. Creation and the Spirit's work in christians demonstrate this in part. Desire for other is less. Yet we know not how much less as now we see him through a glass dimly.

If our religion is
something objective, then we must never
avert our eyes from those elements in it
which seem puzzling or repellent; for it
will be precisely the puzzling or the
repellent which conceals what we do not
yet know and need to know.

Joshua 1:8

In the end that Face which is the delight or
the terror of the universe must be turned
upon each of us either with one expression
or with the other, either conferring glory
inexpressible or inflicting shame that can
never be cured or disguised.

To please God...to be a real ingredient in the
divine happiness...to be loved by God, not
merely pitied, but delighted in as an artist
delights in his work or a father in a son—it
seems impossible, a weight or burden of
glory which our thoughts can hardly
sustain. But so it is.

For glory meant good
report with God, acceptance by God,
response, acknowledgment, and welcome
into the heart of things.

We can be left
utterly and absolutely outside—repelled,
exiled, estranged, finally and unspeakably
ignored. On the other hand, we can be
called in, welcomed, received,
acknowledged.

To be known by God affectionately and included in his family is the ultimate glory of the believer. To delight God?! It sounds incomprehensible. On the other hand, the idea of watching as the family of God gathers in worship and fellowship from the outside is unbearable to me. O to be a good and faithful servant to Him.

There are no ordinary people. You have
never talked to a mere mortal. Nations,
cultures, arts, civilization—these are
mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of
a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke
with, work with, marry, snub, and
exploit—immortal horrors or everlasting
splendours.

Quotes from The Weight of Glory by C. S. Lewis

The Word of God

Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.
Joshua 1:8

The word of God at the time of Joshua's life consisted of the first five books of the Bible. In Joshua chapter one, God sends Joshua off as the leader of the Israelites after Moses's death. God himself tells Joshua to speak the word, meditate on the word constantly and to be obedient to the word. Marinate in the word of God. How does this apply to us at this time? The only difference is that we have a larger book to consider. To be obedient to this verse requires a knowledge of all that is contained in the sixty-six books of the Bible. Therefore, it stands to reason that we should be reading the book in it's totality over and over. So, we must first read the word of God. But, the Lord calls us to more. To keep the word from departing from our mouths, we must incorporate it into our conversations and into that which we teach others. We must memorize the word to be able to speak it without reading it. God also calls us to think about his word constantly. We must apply his word to our every day lives and consider deeply the meaning of that which God has spoken. Finally, God calls us to obedience to his word. Read, speak, think, obey. This is God's call to the disciple of Christ. Is less acceptable in light of all Chris did for us?

Don't Waste Your Life

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBJzUnxiKwA&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fdontwasteyourlife%2Ecom%2F&feature=player_embedded

The Prayer of Nehemiah

My son is leading a devotion in his upcoming trip to Ecuador on the prayer of Nehemiah. He asked me to look at his notes for the devotion and they brought up some very good points on prayer. The text is Nehemiah chapter 1.

The words of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah:
In the month of Kislev in the twentieth year, while I was in the citadel of Susa, 2 Hanani, one of my brothers, came from Judah with some other men, and I questioned them about the Jewish remnant that survived the exile, and also about Jerusalem.
3 They said to me, “Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.”
4 When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.
5 Then I said:
“O Lord, God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and obey his commands, 6 let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer your servant is praying before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel. I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father’s house, have committed against you. 7 We have acted very wickedly toward you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees and laws you gave your servant Moses.
8 “Remember the instruction you gave your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations, 9 but if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name.’
10 “They are your servants and your people, whom you redeemed by your great strength and your mighty hand. 11 O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man.”
I was cupbearer to the king. Ne 1:1-11

Observations on Nehemiah's prayer:
1) Nehemiah mourns, fasts and prays for several days. His prayer is fervent and persistent (vs.4)
2) Nehemiah worships God (vs. 5) and asks God to hear his prayer.
3) Nehemiah confesses corporate and personal sin (vs. 6,7)
4) Nehemiah "reminds" God of His promise knowing God is faithful to his word (vs. 8,9)
5) Nehemiah states the peoples intention to honor God (vs. 11)
6) Nehemiah recognizes God as the source of his success (vs. 11) and asks God for favor.

Reputation

Jesus says if we wish to be his disciples we must be willing to forsake all (Luke 14:25-33). This most obviously includes material things but more subtly might include our health, our relationships, our position and our reputation. I think of this as meaning forsake all for the kingdom of God and consider it in the sense that an occurance may come into my life where I am called to give things up for the obvious benefit of the kingdom of God. But what if the benefit to the kingdom is not obvious? What if one's reputation is damaged through outside forces beyond one's control? Or what if an honest mistake leads to the damaging of a reputation? Our inner response to a loss such as this demonstrates whether we are willing to pick up our cross and follow Jesus. For God would say that everything good that we have is from him and not of ourselves (James 1:17). Our material things, jobs, money, health and reputations are given and protected by him. Everything we have is his to take away. This needs to be considered in light of other scriptures of course. God says he will work all things for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28). He says he loves us and has an inheritance in heaven for us as his adopted children (1 John 3:1; 1 Pe 1:4; Romans 8:15). He says we will have trouble in this world, but that he has overcome the world (John 16:33). The question is when the rubber hits the road and I suffer loss will I in bitterness and anger against God struggle with my faith? Or will I rest in his promises and allow myself to be humbled for his glory, even if I do not understand why circumstances have occurred? Certainly, the former is a manifestation of unbelief...unbelief in God's word and promises or his character or his existence. Paul had learned to be content in all circumstances recognizing these things and giving thanks to God (Phil 4:11). Thanksgiving and gratefulness is the heart of the believer sold out to God. Thanksgiving and gratefulness in spite of earthly circumstances (1 Thes 5:13). For we have the "pearl of greatest price" guaranteed in our future (Matt 13:46). Do I really believe it? Can I say with Job: "Naked I came into the world, and naked I shall depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord?"

Salt

“Salt is good, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is of no use either for the soil or for the manure pile. It is thrown away. He who has ears to hear, let him hear. "
--Lk 14:34-35--

A disciple of Jesus Christ is a student of him, seeking to learn his ways and to become like him. Obviously, the first steps of this process include hearing the gospel, accepting it and trusting in Christ as one's savior. Jesus then says to believers: go and make disciples of all people groups, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Spirit and teaching them to be obedient to His commands (Mt 28:19). A disciple is called to love God more than any person on earth (Lu 14:26), to sacrifice his will to the will of God (Lu 14:27) and to be willing to give up material and non material possessions for God (Lu 14:33). One question that has arisen in my mind is can one be a believer and not be a disciple? I don't know the answer to this, but I suspect that a believer does not have to be a disciple. The churches of our nation seem to be filled with such individuals; those who go to church on Sunday but are indistinguishable from unbelievers otherwise (myself included at times). A disciple becomes like his teacher, and as Jesus drew people to himself, so also the disciple of Christ should by his example draw people to God. The disciple of Jesus is salty to a watching world. He is seasoning, flavor and a preservative. Walt Henrichsen in Disciples Are Made And Not Born makes the point that Jesus is using seasonless salt as a metaphor for the believer that is not a disciple. One who believes in Christ and yet is not a disciple is useless to the master and worthy of being thrown away. Terrifying words. Yet the poor witness of a professing believer that is not a disciple to the world and the glory not given to God because of his example make Jesus' words ring true. The question I personally must ask myself is..... am I a disciple of Jesus Christ, and if so, what am I doing to make disciples for the King of kings?

Scripture Memory

"The practice of scripture memory is more important than a daily quiet time, for as we fill our minds with great passages of the Bible and have them available for our meditation, quiet time takes over the entirety of our lives." --Dallas Willard, The Great Omission.

Scripture memory seems to increase my ability to practice the presence of God. In the circumstances of life, the Word I have committed to memory bubbles up from inside at the calling of the Spirit of God (Jn 14:26) to remind me of who He is and of my position in Christ. God tells us to memorize scripture (Josh 1:8), and knowing scripture is mandatory if we are to be obedient to Gods commands (Jn 14:21). God gives understanding of his Word over time if we look to his Spirit as the teacher of the it's meaning (Jn 14:26, Ps 119:18). I sometimes find quiet times difficult, and to me, it is reassuring to note that working on scripture memory during dry times can be profitable.

The Preeminence of Christ

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. Colossians 1:15-20


Observations About Jesus From Above Text:

1) He is the image of God. (Hebrews 1:3, 2 Cor 4:4)
2) He is the firstborn of all creation. This refers to position not actual birth or creation (as Jesus was not created). He holds the position of firstborn over all things.
3) He is the creator of all things on earth or in heaven. (John 1:3, Hebrews 1:2)
4) He is eternal. (John 1:1-2, John 8:58)
5) He is the glue that holds all things together. He maintains and sustains the universe. He is the creator of the laws of nature. (Hebrews 1:3)
6) He is the head of the believing church and the first to rise in the body.
7) He is filled with the fullness of God. (Col 2:9, John 1:1, Rom 9:5, Jeremiah 23:5-6)
8) He is the reconciler of all creation to himself. (Rom 5:10-11, 2 Cor 5:18-19)

Summary:
Jesus is the image of God, God, creator, eternal, sustainer, reconciler and the head of the church.

Give God The Glory

Declare this in the house of Jacob; proclaim it in Judah: 21 “Hear this, O foolish and senseless people, who have eyes, but see not, who have ears, but hear not. 22 Do you not fear me? declares the Lord. Do you not tremble before me? I placed the sand as the boundary for the sea, a perpetual barrier that it cannot pass; though the waves toss, they cannot prevail; though they roar, they cannot pass over it. 23 But this people has a stubborn and rebellious heart; they have turned aside and gone away. 24 They do not say in their hearts, ‘Let us fear the Lord our God, who gives the rain in its season, the autumn rain and the spring rain, and keeps for us the weeks appointed for the harvest.’ 25 Your iniquities have turned these away, and your sins have kept good from you. 26 For wicked men are found among my people; they lurk like fowlers lying in wait. They set a trap; they catch men. 27 Like a cage full of birds, their houses are full of deceit; therefore they have become great and rich; 28 they have grown fat and sleek. They know no bounds in deeds of evil; they judge not with justice the cause of the fatherless, to make it prosper, and they do not defend the rights of the needy. 29 Shall I not punish them for these things? declares the Lord, and shall I not avenge myself on a nation such as this?” 30 An appalling and horrible thing has happened in the land: 31 the prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule at their direction; my people love to have it so, but what will you do when the end comes? Jeremiah 5:20-31

Observations from verses:
1. God is Almighty and to be feared, honored, and worshipped.
2. The people have a choice of whether to fear God. They have free will.
3. God gives good things to all. Some turn from away in prosperity b/c of pride.
3. There are wicked men among the people of God.
4. God punishes the unfaithful for their sins.

Forgiveness

We are commanded by our Lord Jesus Christ to forgive those who sin against us (Col 3:13; Mat 6:12, 14-15; Mat 18:35). In addition, Jesus says that we will be forgiven as we forgive (see preceding verses). This is a frightening fact. I have struggled with this because emotions seem to play such an important role in how well we forgive. Emotions are very difficult to control. In a book I am reading,* Ed Wheat gives some helpful thoughts on this issue. He says there are three steps in forgiving someone:

1) First, there must be an act of the will. A person must actively choose to forgive.
2) Second, behavior must conform to God's plan or will for us. We must love our neighbor as ourselves, pray for those who persecute us and keep no record of wrongs. (Eph 4:31-32)
3)Third, God transforms our feelings and thoughts toward forgiveness and love.

So, we have two responsibilities which are dependent on our wills and God transforms the emotions. Notice the offender has no role in our forgiveness of him or her.


*Love Life For Every Married Couple by Ed Wheat and Gloria Okes Perkins, Zondervan, 1980.

Preach The Gospel

The Gospel is really, really good news! This week I interacted with a teenager who is a believer in Jesus but who has struggled with anxieties and feelings of inadequacies that are perceived much more than real. This person has been raised in church and believes that Christ died and rose again for forgiveness of the sins of all who believe. But this person has struggled with sadness and anxiety. This week we were talking about God and these issues arose. I then went through the meat of the Gospel with this person as listed below:

1-When Christ died for believers the full cup of the wrath of God against the sin of all believers was poured out, emptied on him for all sins past, present and future. (Isa 52:13-chapter 53)
2-Christ lived a perfectly obedient sinless life and the righteousness of Christ is credited to the believer so that when God looks at us, he sees a perfectly righteous person. (2 Cor 5:21; Rom 1:17)
3-We are reconciled to God because of the above and are in right relationship. Therefore we can approach him with confidence. (Heb 4:16; Rom 5:1)
4-God is not angry with those who believe and are struggling with sin. He may discipline us in order to sanctify us, but he does not punish us. (This is not to say there are not consequences to sin which come about from the world, our culture etc).
5-God loves us and will never leave or forsake us (Heb 13:5) and promises us good (Rom 8:31,32).

I could see a visible peace develop as this teenager considered the above. This week I have I have been trying to preach the Gospel to myself daily. It is not just for those who do not believe. It truly is good news every day for all! (Rom 1:15)

Secular Humanism

Secular humanism is the world view of much of our society today. This belief system is based on the idea that man is basically good and that with education and advancement of knowledge society can be improved even to an utopian state. This is consistent with a belief that man is evolving to a better condition. Understandably, the secular humanist opposes religion as Christianity and the Bible say that man is basically evil and that rather than improvement over time, the world will become more permeated with sin, wars etc. So, the Bible is rejected as the basic goodness of man in and of himself and the potential for self improvement in the abscence of God's influence are not existent. The crux of the issue is whether man by nature is "good" or potentially "good" or sinful. The conclusion of the secular humanist would be that as we become more knowledgeable and more technologically advanced, society should improve. The Bible suggests differently.

2 Timothy 3:1-5
But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power.

Romans 3:10-12
“There is no one righteous, not even one;
there is no one who understands,
no one who seeks God.
All have turned away,
they have together become worthless;
there is no one who does good,
not even one."

Jeremiah 17:9
The heart is deceitful above all things
And beyond cure.
Who can understand it?

Ecclesiastes 7:20
There is not a righteous man on earth
Who does what is right and never sins.

Some of Man's Evil Manifested of Late
1930s- Stalin's Great Purge - political killings of 600,00 to 2 million Russians.
1940s-Holocaust - Genocide of 6 million Jews.
1970s-Pol Pot Leadership in Cambodia - 700,00-1.7 million Cambodian deaths.
1990s-Rwandan Genocide-Execution of 800,000 to 1 million Tutsis and moderate Hutus by Hutus
1990s-Srebrenica Genocide-Mass murder of 8000 Bosniak men and boys by Army of Republika Srpska in Bosnia and Herzegovina
2000s-Darfur-government backed military and militia contribute to the deaths of 400000 and displacement of millions with rape of girls and women widespread.

How is our moral improvement?

Peace

See in the meantime that your faith brings forth obedience, and God in due time will cause it to bring forth peace. John Owen

He Is Coming Soon!! Are You Ready??

The Rider on the White Horse

I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.” He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written:

KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. Re 19:11-16

Creation's Purpose?

“The material universe is but scaffolding for the Church of Christ. It is but the temporary structure upon which the amazing mystery of redeeming love is being carried on to perfection.”

C. H. Spurgeon

Fascinating comment by Spurgeon. Contemplate this fact....that all of creation is put forth by God for the body of Christ. I would add that the creation is also purposed to point to the amazing magnificence of God's glory. It is subject to futility for a time, because of sin, but not forever.

The Need For Meeting Together

The church is called "the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:27)" in the Bible with Christ being the head. The implication is that we as individuals, united with Christ and controlled and empowered by the "head," have different gifts and functions all connected to each other and ultimately to Jesus. So the finger has a different gifting and function than the eye for example. The best function of the finger is dependent not only on the power given by the "head" but also by the adjacent hand, skin, blood vessels etc. The point I am making is that we, as the body of Christ, need others for fellowship, communion, accountability and encouragement in our lives in order to function as we should in God's eyes. Cut the finger off from the head and it will blacken and harden in death. Remove the skin and nail from the finger and it will remain alive but be less than it was meant to be. Our culture glorifies the independent self reliant man or woman. So, many in the church are going it alone and suffering for it. Christian men and women need other men and women in their lives in order to live the fullest in Jesus Christ. Scriptures that support this are:

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. Hebrews 10:24,25 ESV

Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Romans 12:15 ESV

If anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness.....Bear one another's burdens.... Galatians 6:1 ESV

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom...Colossians 3:16 ESVBut exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. Heb 3:13 ESV

And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken. Ec 4:12 ESV

Applications/Observations:
1) We should be, as Christians, in regular fellowship with other Christians especially in close relationships with those of the same sex.
2) The function of this fellowship is for exhortation, encouragement, admonishment, teaching, restoration, comfort and strength.
3) This fellowship should be sought out by the individual.
4) The ultimate purpose of this fellowship is for God's glory.

Decisions

The fundamental guidance which God gives to shape our lives—the instilling, that is, of the basic convictions, attitudes, ideals and value judgments, in terms of which we are to live—is not a matter of inward promptings apart from the Word but of the pressure on our consciences of the portrayal of God’s character and will in the Word, which the Spirit enlightens us to understand and apply to ourselves. J.I. Packer, Knowing God.

This then makes the reading of the Word necessary for true divine guidance in the usual sense. Reading and studying the Word then is mandatory for the believer in Jesus Christ. To do less, affects are lives by influencing our decisions in a negative way, leading to sin and mistakes that otherwise would be avoided.

Sin

"Sin, is first and foremost, resistance to finding joy in God. " John Piper

....Because we find joy in a big screen t.v. or success in our jobs or exercise or our children or food or our relationships or money or ministry or alcohol or sex or anything else. Our hearts are given over to these things. But we are to love the Lord our God with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our might (Deut 6:5). All of our heart. To what have I given my heart? To what have you given your heart?