Breaking The Rules

Leviticus 14; Psalm 17; Proverbs 28; 2 Thessalonians 2

Don’t tell me what to think or do!

Blessed is the one who fears the Lord always, but whoever hardens his heart will fall into calamity.-Proverbs 28:14

I was never one that could follow instructions very well. If I had to read them, forget it, I never did. From my earliest memories the way I went through life was to do as I pleased. If I had to figure something out, I just jumped in usually failing. One thing I was really good at was taking things apart. The putting back together part, not so much.

“How did that all work out?” You might ask. Honestly, in some ways very well. I learned self reliance, how to adapt and innovate. I was a creative type and received some attention for that too. But that’s where the story turns. You see for me, and perhaps all of us, despite my independent spirit, I needed something more. I was searching for truth. Within my heart was the need to worship God, but even in the absence of God I was still made to worship something.

Without God, my purposes were self directed. Born to be a rule breaker, the idea of law to me was more like a game or a puzzle than something to take seriously. Discipline was a disruption to the freedom of my rebellious spirit.

Since I didn’t really know God, I was missing the point of it all. Surprisingly life really wasn’t about me, it was about God and other people. When I came to this understanding I wanted to know who God really was, and in that exploration, I came to know that God was Holy. Everything about God was above us. He was set apart and pure — flawless in goodness and righteousness.

To have fellowship with a holy God I needed purification because of my unholiness. For the Israelites this sanctification came from ritual sacrifice. And all the ritual sacrifice prescribed in the law of the Old Testament demonstrated how far from God even His chosen people were. There was intentional and unintentional sin. Even the the need for purification from contact with anything or anyone that was “unclean.” God’s ways were above ours and it was impossible to earn the right to have fellowship with God. Stay with me now.

When I was introduced to the idea of grace through faith, things started to change. I came to see God’s law as a representation of who He was compared to who I was. It wasn’t possible to earn my way back to God. If I was to be restored to fellowship with God that existed before sin came into the world, I needed grace — the grace that God poured out on the world through the blood of Jesus. Reconciliation with God was offered to everyone by grace, through faith. The righteousness through faith that Abraham received (Romans 4:13) was the same thing offered to me and all creation through Jesus. This was the freedom I was looking for and it came from love, not from following rules.

Eventually I understood the law for what it was which wasn’t just following a bunch of rules (important as they are). We are called to pursue holiness in the power of God’s Holy Spirit. We are called to follow the righteous path which turned out to be the path back to the God who had already restored me in fellowship. It was the path of love. As God loved me I was supposed to love others as I loved myself. I was supposed to seek God first in all things. This was the actual path to God that I could walk in freedom and in truth.

The Bible is the story of how God in the flesh reconciled the judgement of the law with the power of grace. It was in His sacrifice that God demonstrated His love of the world and by which he perfected His creation. In this transaction, God for man, he allowed us to be united with God, by Jesus, through the Holy Spirit.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life. -John 3:16

God please make me whole. Restore me to your perfect will in the knowledge of your love and grace, by faith and through the power of your Holy Spirit. Amen.

Carpe Diem

time concept passing , hourglass on wood

Leviticus 13; Psalms 15–16; Proverbs 27; 2 Thessalonians 1

Psalm 16:5-8

⁵Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure. ⁶The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance. ⁷I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. ⁸I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

This past Thursday, I read B.J.’s post and reflected on last year’s tragic plane crash and the impact it had on families, friends and our community as a whole. It is really hard to believe a whole year has passed. After our morning routine, my children and I got in the car and drove to school, just like we do every Monday – Friday. But on this day, I was reminded the ordinary, mundane routine of everyday life was a blessing I got to enjoy. Not everyone did. I thought about seven families for whom the last year was anything but ordinary as they figured out new routines and a new cadence to life without their loved ones. We paused to talk to God on our drive Thursday morning, and asked for his continued care and healing for these families. This day was going to be an extra hard one for them.

As I dropped my kids off and pulled away from the school, Chris Tomlin’s Amazing Grace (My Chains are Gone) came on the radio. I cried the rest of the way to work as I listened to and sang the words of verse 3 over and over again:

The Lord has promised good to me,

His Word my hope secures.

He will my shield and portion be,

As long as life endures.

http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/christomlin/amazinggracemychainsaregone.html

My small group has been studying Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God, by Francis Chan, over the past few weeks. The book, which challenges readers to engage in a passionate love relationship with God, includes a discussion about Judgment Day in Chapter 10.

Romans 14: 10, 12 – For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God…each of us will give an account of himself to God.

After citing this passage, Chan challenges his readers to reflect on the following question: “How will you answer the King when He says, “What did you do with the Life I gave you?”” Ouch, that stings. How would you answer? Are you confident about your response? I’m not sure I am. Don’t get me wrong, my life isn’t void of God-honoring activities, but am I comfortable admitting I shopped on the internet for 3 hours, read a brainless spy novel, and watched more than 40 hours of basketball over the last 3 weeks? After our group studied Chapter 10 on Wednesday night, it stands to reason why I couldn’t get the lyrics, “as long as life endures” out of my head on Thursday. Jesus came so that we could have life and could have it abundantly (John 10:10). But he does not promise us how long we get to stay here. We are not guaranteed another single moment, hour or day. As such, we should be compelled to challenge ourselves with a sense of urgency – what are we doing, today, with the life God gave us?

Tomlin’s version of Amazing Grace closes with this final verse:

The earth shall soon dissolve like snow,

The sun forbear to shine.

But God, Who called me here below,

Will be forever mine.

We may or may not live until the end of time when Jesus’ returns. We may or may not have our lives cut short by tragedy. What I do know for sure – we will all die at some point. What we do between now and then is our choice. Choose wisely.

Contradiction?

The word detest (or detestable) is used eleven times in Leviticus 11. This word was used in describing the animals and insects that the Jewish people were to abstain from touching or eating.

Leviticus 11–12; Psalms 13–14; Proverbs 26; 1 Thessalonians 5

God was conveying that these detestable things would make them unclean, defiled, and the people would become detestable themselves should they break God’s commands within this realm. I see this as another example of what I like to refer to as “binary”; it is one thing or the other, and nothing in between. God is holy (set apart) and therefore he expects us to be holy because he is holy. We can be either holy or unholy, clean or unclean.

For I am the Lord your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. You shall not defile yourselves with any swarming thing that crawls on the ground. For I am the Lord who brought you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.” (Leviticus 11:44-45)

One of the unclean animals was the pig and reading this reminded me of a verse from the Sermon on the Mount that had previously been confusing to me:

Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you. (Matthew 7:6)

Dogs and Pigs

In the east, dogs are much more viscous; they are considered dirty and detestable, similar to how the pig was detestable. Picture yourself passing by a fence, and a big nasty looking dog comes running, snarling, growling, barking, and jumping at the fence with the intent to attack you. This actually happened to me just the other day and it scared the heck out of me!

Holy and Pearls

Things that are holy to us, or our “pearls” are God’s word and his precious truth. We need to treat God’s word as sacred and use it with the special intent that it was given. Tying this all together, the verse is saying that we should not be attempting to give God’s precious truth to those who have the intent to twist or abuse the truth or to use it to attack us. It might seem odd to suggest not sharing Biblical truth with those who may need it most, but I believe there is a time and situation for everything. For example…

A Biblical contradiction?

⁴Answer not a fool according to his folly,
lest you be like him yourself.
⁵Answer a fool according to his folly,
lest he be wise in his own eyes. (Proverbs 26:4-5)

First it says not to answer a fool, then it says to answer a fool. What are we supposed to do about that?

Verse 4 is talking about arguing with a fool; it becomes pointless when someone clearly doesn’t want to listen to you, or if they are twisting your words and trying to use them against you. Verse 5 is saying that if someone says something unwise, hurtful, or perhaps the opposite of sound spiritual doctrine, we need to respond at some point. We shouldn’t for example, argue with someone who is a drunken rage. They won’t listen, they would be much like the pig or dog who turns to attack us. We should however, wait for an appropriate time, when the person has sobered up or calmed down.

As I consider today’s readings there were a lot of negative, depressing words like detest, fool, sluggard, wicked, and hatred; the list goes on and on. These words remind me of the light overcoming the darkness that Mike Somers and BJ Armstrong have recently posted on. Alas, let us be reminded that we need not live in the darkness, and God has destined us for salvation through Jesus.

⁵For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness.

For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, ¹⁰who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. ¹¹Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing. (1 Thessalonians 5:5, 9-11)

I want to close today with saying thank you to our readers and to my Bible Journal team, to build you up as you have built me up. Thank you for all of the encouragement and feedback, and for some of the stories people have shared personally regarding the impact that Bible Journal has made on their spiritual journey already. These posts are extremely challenging to write, from a mental, spiritual, and time perspective but I cannot imagine my life had I declined to be part of this. The overall experience is so far beyond rewarding, words cannot explain, so all I can say is thank you all, and give God all the glory for He has great things in mind for ALL of us!

7 Living and Spirited Lives

Leviticus 10; Psalms 11–12; Proverbs 25; 1 Thessalonians 4

As we remember the one year anniversary of the tragic plane crash that took seven good men from their families, loved ones and communities, I am humbled to read 1 Thessalonians 4:1 today. Eugene Peterson’s, The Message, translation reads,

“One final word, friends. We ask you––urge is more like it––that you keep on doing what we told you to do to please God, not in a dogged religious plod, but in a living, spirited dance”

Each of these men reflected this “living, spirited dance.” It was exemplified in their compassion, humility, playfulness and, of course, their kindness. What a fabulous opportunity to honor them today by each of us carrying out or own 7 acts of kindness. May their living and spirited dance continue in our hearts. I pray that we would all live lives that are a living, spirited dance, pleasing to God.

Wisdom, Understanding, and Knowledge

Today’s reading: Leviticus 9; Psalm 10; Proverbs 24; 1 Thessalonians 3

April 6th, 2016

Through wisdom is an house builded;
And by understanding it is established:
And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled
With all precious and pleasant riches.
– Proverbs 24:3–4

Are wisdom, understanding and knowledge the same thing or are they different? I have come to believe the answer: yes. They all come from the same source: God. They all point to the same thing: truth. However, three distinctions are made and I am inclined to believe so with reason. In seeking answers in the scriptures and by older wiser Christians, I have come to adopt what I call a working definition of each. I’ll share these definitions with you that you can work them out for yourself. Weather these or others, I encourage you to find a working definition of these words that go past the worldly and draw from God’s word. As we read through God’s word seeking out these definitions, God will show us the truth.

Wisdom, is seeing things as God sees things.
Understanding, is knowing how a thing will end.
Knowledge, is discerning the truth.

An important distinction, there are two types of each of these: worldly and heavenly. Here we wrestle with the heavenly.

Wisdom

Seeing things as God sees them is, to me, a tall order. My question when hearing this was, “is that possible?”. Searching the scripture leads me to believe that it is. Wisdom, as understanding and knowledge, are given by the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 12:18, Isaiah 11:2), and so my estimation is that we can rely on the Holy Spirit for wisdom. Scripture tells us that the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 9:10), and so I surmise that to the degree we are inclined to seek out how God views something, through a right fear of His perspective (the truth), is the degree to which God will aid us in our quest. Wisdom is seeing things as God sees things. Those with wisdom have a right fear of the LORD which leads them to seek His way in all things. God is sovereign in all things. Wisdom is the principal thing (Proverbs 4:7). It is foundational. This longing to search for the truth is the source of achieving understanding and knowledge.

Understanding

Understanding how something will come out and acting in our best interest is something we all do to a certain degree. From not touching the hot stove to saving for retirement, we all consider the future and move to avoid pain and get what we desire. Heavenly understanding depends on applying God’s law being the source of this principle. If we miss the source we end up in a perverted place and are deceived. Understanding with this world as its source would have us plan and toil for our temporal future. Brothers and Sisters, I am here to tell you this world is a lie. It will not deliver on what your soul was designed for and pines for. Sunny sandy beaches without bosses will not give you freedom from tears and pain and sorrow. This destination lies in eternity (Rev 21:4) and we as followers of Christ are called to have eternal understanding. Consider the truth of the future and plan according. Use what you have been given to store up treasure in heaven. Have eternal understanding. Those with eternal understanding seek out and obey God’s law because they have seen the future and know how things will end. Ecclesiastes, the book where Solomon, the wisest to ever live, seeks out all things with the wisdom God gave him, concludes this way:

Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil. – Ecclesiastes 12:13–14

Knowledge

The deceiver is the prince of this world and so the world is full of lies. God shows those who fear Him the truth. Consider the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Once the ability to discern is had, the receiver is responsible for their choices. Bad move in my book (and God’s). I would rather depend on God for all things. Adam and Eve were deceived and thought, “If we eat this we will be like God and not need to depend on him, wouldn’t that be great?” All we like sheep have gone astray (Isaiah 53:6). Think about what a sheep does. They are constantly unaware of reality and paying the price. They see green grass in the distance so they think, “that looks great to me, I’m going to go get some.” Not realizing all the danger that lies where their desires leading them (Proverbs 18:1, James 1:14-15). The Good Shepherd all the while is leading the sheep to green pastures, unbeknownst to them. Those with knowledge are able to discern the truth from lies. May we all depend on God to show us all things in truth, turning away from the lies of the deceiver that we can make our own way. May we depend on the LORD in all things. May we trust in the LORD with all our hearts and lean not on our own understanding. May we acknowledge him in all our ways and He always direct our paths. Amen.

Extra Credit

Consider why Proverbs 24:3-4 echoes Proverbs 3:19-20.
Hold a working definition for wisdom, understanding and knowledge as you read through Proverbs 2:1-11 to wrestle with defining these terms for yourself.

Grateful to be Thankful

Today’s Reading: Leviticus 8; Psalm 9; Proverbs 23; 1 Thessalonians 2

I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart; I will recount all your wonderful deeds. Psalm 9:1

How many times do we say thank you throughout your day? Some of our thank you’s can just role right of the tongue possibly without eye contact with the person you are talking with. Other times saying thank you can bring you to your knees with tears of joy. Whether your thank you’s are out-loud or part of a prayer how often are they said with your whole heart?

Psalm 9:1 is a convicting and inspiring verse for me. I know, personally I have been at both ends of the spectrum with my use of saying “thank you“. Examples can include; the everyday exchanges of small talk thank you ( E.g. How are you today? Good, thank you!). A joyful, open arms, heartfelt, eye watering, thank you that you have with God for your significant other when you find out they are alright after a scare, for your child and wife while in labor, (and every instance that comes after that where your child or spouse requires serious medical attention) a family member uniting with their another family after time away of not seeing each other, a mother who loses one of her twins during pregnancy and thankfully prays for the health of the other. The thank you share when hearing or seeing testimonies of a people who’s lives have been changed through God. We have so much to be thankful for, we just need to stop and recognize and recount these blessings.

God has provided a life for us that deserves a whole hearted “thank you”. Everyday is different and whatever way you spend your hours, minutes, and seconds in a day, everything deserves praise and thanksgiving. It’s so easy just gloss over the amazing deeds He provides like we deserve them? God wants us to be thankful, He has provided and will provide all our trials and joyful moments. Our challenge is one of being whole hearted in being thankful during these times. I often take what we have for granite without taking more time to recount His wonderful deeds. In our prayer life you may have been taught the acronym A.C.T.S or P.R.A.I.S.E pattern for praying. This was recently discussed in our small group and reminded me about giving thanks during each of our prayers. ACTS stands for Adoration, Confirmation, Thanksgiving, and Supplementation. PRAISE stands for Praise, Repentance, Ask, Intercede, Speak, Enjoy. Both patterns require us to thank God for who He is and all He has done. Whether you use either one or neither format for praying God has purposely put people and events that deserve whole heart thank you’s in our journey towards an eternal destination with Him. He has a reason for everything.

Here are a few verses to highlight verses that refer to giving thanks or being thankful.

Numbers 11:4-6 ⁴Now the rabble that was among them had a strong craving. And the people of Israel also wept again and said, “Oh that we had meat to eat!⁵We remember the fish we ate in Egypt that cost nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. ⁶But now our strength is dried up, and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at.” (just like the Israelites are we grateful for what God has given us or are we always thinking about what we would like to have? Some situations God puts us in helps develop an attitude of being grateful)

1 Chronicles 16:8-34 David’s Song of Thanks – (a continuous part of life)

Psalm 86:12 I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever.

Psalm 92:1-2 It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to your name, O Most High;²to declare your steadfast love in the morning, and your faithfulness by night, (all day long!)

Psalm 138: 1-3 I give you thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart; before the gods I sing your praise;²I bow down toward your holy temple and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word. ³On the day I called, you answered me; my strength of soul you increased. (in all areas of life)

Luke 17:16 and he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. (demonstrated by the Leper)

Ephesians 5:20 giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, (for God’s strength)

Colossians 3:16 And be thankful. ¹⁶Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. (increasing your thankfulness)

1 Thessalonians 5:18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (how to give thanks in everything)

Hebrews 12:28 Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, (we receive a kingdom that cannot be shaken)

Dear God,

We lovingly thank you for all you do. You love us and have given a grace we don’t deserve. Lord I pray you will lead us along the path you want us to take giving us the recognition to pause and recount your amazing blessings you fill our day with. Help me to live in balance and not chase after things that are not of your will. Help us to think of you every time we say Thank You and lift up your name knowing its all in your hands. God thank you for your Son Jesus and providing us with the Word to guide us along this journey to an eternal destiny that is with you.

Amen

Reward

Today’s Readings: Leviticus 7, Psalms 7-8, Proverbs 22, 1 Thessalonians 1

Once again, as I prepared for today’s bible reflection I was determined to write something about Leviticus. Just as when we were reading Exodus, I’m sort of yearning to connect those ancient stories with my everyday life. So, as I slogged through Leviticus 7 and read some commentary from my study bible I was pretty sure that I could apply that lesson of discipline, sacrifice and commitment to the Lord. Then on my way to 1 Thessalonians, I was literally taken down by Proverbs 22. I’ve had a “flat tire” outside 22 Proverbs Street all week! When you look at today’s scriptures collectively, they intersect in one important place; they tell us how we ought to live. Leviticus 7 teaches us about obedience and sacrifice, Psalms 7 and 8 engage us in taking refuge in the Lord and praising Him for his faithfulness, but then we arrive at Proverbs 22. Proverbs 22 give us as Christians direct instructions for how to live.

Proverbs was written by Solomon, David’s son. The original audience is the Israelites but today it’s you and me. Proverbs covers a wide range of topics including: youth and discipline, family life, self control and resisting temptation, knowing God, how to run your business, wealth and poverty, immorality and wisdom. I got that short list from the NIV study bible, I didn’t make it up! When you read through that list are you as excited as I am about reading Proverbs? One of the many gifts of writing for Bible Journal is discovering the absolute power and (forgive my dramatics) majesty of this book. How often have I sat alone wondering what to do in a certain situation when the answers are right here for us in Proverbs.

Yesterday I was driving my 5-year-old son Oliver to a birthday party. Good old Siri took Ollie and I to his friend Eli’s house in a way we hadn’t been before. She told us to take a left onto Country Club Drive. The speed limit dropped to 15 miles per hour as I inched our small car over big speed humps. Despite living here for years, this was a road we’d never been down before. We stared in wonder at enormous mansions. Both of us were awe struck with this very physical manifestation of wealth and power. I must admit I took an immediate mental detour to a review of our personal finances. I compared our worth to the size and shape of our meager rental home, and then I heard from the back seat, “Mommy, let’s buy one of these houses.”

HELLO…it’s me…Proverbs 22.

“Rich and poor have this in common: The Lord is the Maker of them all” Proverbs 22:2.

There I was caught up in lust and greed and a big dose of false idols. I took a breath and said a quick prayer. Lord, help me…help me to raise this child in a world that values plastic toys and screens and the money that buys them. Lord, help me to see the security we have in you and show that to my 5 year old son.

“Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.” Proverbs 22:6

And so I said to him, “Wouldn’t it be fun to live in one of those houses? If we did we would have so much space, we’d have to invite our friends to live there with us! Having a big house isn’t the happy part, it’s sharing it with the people you love.” It was quiet in the backseat for a long minute and then,

“Mommy, maybe someday when we buy our own house and we paint the rooms the colors we want and we get a dog, maybe then we can get a balcony.”

“A balcony buddy, why, what would you do on a balcony?”

“You know, a balcony in our back yard with a grill for hot dogs so you can see us on the playground.”

My son wants a deck. A deck so that he can invite other children to his house for hot dogs and play on a swing set. You see, when we moved to Normal we were only planning to stay for 2 years. We weren’t planning for 3 kids with medical issues. We rented a house much bigger than we thought we needed in 2010 so that we could invite people over, so that people could stay and be here with us. We’re familial people. The front door might as well be one of those circular revolving doors they have at the mall. Our meager and very beige rental home is often messy, cluttered and definitely far from the beautifully appointed crown moulding I had planned for us. Instead, we are blessed beyond measure. We have enough to share. We have received a level of generosity we never could have imagined. We have been blessed by checks from friends and strangers when the medical bills have been too much to bear. We have literally received meals at our door when there wasn’t much money left for groceries. All provided by Him.

At the end of our readings today, Paul and Timothy (and a guy named Silvanus that I don’t quite know) write to the Thessalonians:

“We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Thessalonians 2-3

When you get up today to go to work or labor in love raising your precious children, hold steadfast to that hope. That hope is very real, it’s as tangible as a country club house. When you look out your car window, remind yourself that it is not the thing you long for but the person within. Whether rich or poor, we were all made by Him. “The generous themselves be blessed, for they share their food with the poor.” (Proverbs 22:9). Share your gifts, they come from God and he wants us to be in fellowship with one another. As I sit in my beige office, the sun is rising, my children are awake and calling for morning hugs diaper changes. I am rich in His love in my own little country house.

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?

New Creation

Mother's hands holding a newborn baby.

Leviticus 5; Psalms 3–4; Proverbs 20; Colossians 3

Jon’s post from yesterday was a refreshing reminder of the gospel message – “when Jesus offered his body and blood as a sacrifice, he paid off all of our sinful debt, past, present, and future.” This is the Good News, it is the source of the hope we have as followers of Jesus Christ! Today I want to go back to Leviticus and ground us on why we need Jesus, remind us how we got from the Law in Leviticus to Paul’s message of grace through faith in Romans, then look at today’s passage in Colossians to see what a “new creation” looks like.

2 Corinthians 5:17, Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

In each of the first five chapters of Leviticus, we have read about different types of offerings – burnt offerings versus grain offerings, and different situations in which a sacrifice is required: peace offerings, sin offerings and guilt offerings. These are extremely detailed instructions to God’s people for exactly how sacrifices were to be performed in order to achieve the expected outcome – payment for sin. I’ll be honest, I’m not completely straight on the difference between some of the offerings, and in what situation each was needed. I also find it really easy to get distracted by all the details of how to arrange the body parts and what to do with the blood when the sacrifices involved animals. Even so, the main points are crystal clear:

God is serious about sin. He hates it. It separates us from Him.
Because of his love for mankind, however, God made a way for us to atone for our sins and be reconciled to him.
In the Old Testament, atonement was achieved through the sacrifices we read about in Leviticus.

After Jesus’ death/burial/resurrection, we are no longer bound by Old Testament law. We no longer have to atone for our sin through the sacrifices described in Leviticus. We no longer need a priest to be the intermediary between us and God. Again, “[Jesus] paid off all of our sinful debt, past, present, and future”. The Holy Spirit lives inside us.

John 14:6, “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Ephesians 2:8, For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.

1 Corinthians 3:16, “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?”

While this is the Good News, we must not forget the nature of God – he is unchanging. The God we serve today is the same God the children of Israel served in the Old Testament. He is Holy. He required the children of Israel to be Holy and requires us to be holy. Yes, we are still sinful. Yes, Jesus paid the price for these sins. But salvation does not absolve us of the responsibility to take up our cross every day, to faithfully follow after Jesus, and continue the process changing our hearts to look like his. Today’s passage in Colossians 3 shows us what taking up our cross and faithfully following Jesus looks like in our lives:

Focusing on the eternal versus the temporal:

¹Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. ²Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.

Turning away from sinful practices:

⁵Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. ⁶Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. ⁷You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. ⁸But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. ⁹Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices ¹⁰and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.

Choosing actions that reflect a Godly character/the Fruit of the Spirit:

¹²Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. ¹³Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. ¹⁴And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

¹⁵Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. ¹⁶Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. ¹⁷ And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Reflect on verse 15 for a minute, “Let the peace of Christ RULE in your heart”. Insert the definition of the word rule, as a verb, in this sentence. “Let the peace of Christ [exercise ultimate power or authority over] your heart.” Letting go and giving control over to Jesus is the only path to accomplish the command in verse 17, “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him”.

God, today would you please show me places in my life where I am still in control? Please soften my heart. Help me surrender all to you.

World’s Greatest Bank

Leviticus 4; Psalms 1–2; Proverbs 19; Colossians 2

Owing money to any entity is really no fun. I doubt anyone in their right frame of mind has said that they truly enjoy owing money. I’m not talking about the act of borrowing and receiving because that portion of the transaction doesn’t feel too bad at all. We borrow each time our credit cards are charged and we borrow larger sums for longer periods of time so that we can work toward home ownership. I’m talking about the burden of being beholden to someone or something.

The other day I paid for lunch for a co-worker using my credit card with the agreement that he’d pay me back. I didn’t have change when he was paying me back in cash, but he insisted on paying me immediately. This transaction then resulted in me owing him two dollars. As I thought about this for a while I realized that he didn’t want to owe me, and I didn’t want to owe him. Have you felt like this before? Why is it that neither one of us wanted to owe the other?

How about when the postal carrier delivers a bundle of mail? When I see a pile of mail, I feel weighted down due to the high probability that there is at least one bill in there, regardless of my ability to pay it. Medical, taxes, insurance, phones, vehicles, home, credit card, organizations, utilities, etc.

Owing something gives me the feeling of an imbalance, a weight, a negativity, as though that person or entity has a piece of me; and I’ll go so far as to say that it almost feels as though I’m enslaved, or owned by something else because what I have is not my own.

What about a debt we cannot pay back? Financial debt can bring depression, strain relationships, and increase stress which can lead to health problems. Having great debt may even lead us to further debt because we feel crippled and hopeless, we cannot focus on the things that can get us out of debt, like our job or finding a job. Depressed yet?

Now please think about how it feels to pay the money back. While it might not be fun to consider parting with money, it does feel good to eliminate a debt. It is a release of a burden, it is restoration of ownership, it is a balancing of the scale. It brings back the equality in the relationship.

As we continue to read in the Bible we learn about the debt that is encountered through sin, thus God requiring payment. Today’s reading of Leviticus 4 had multiple examples where God required payment (animal sacrifices) even for unintentional sin.

Going back to the financial debt. Imagine if that were to be paid off by someone else. How good would that feel to have just one mortgage payment returned by the bank with a message stating “this one is on us”? What if this happened month after month? Or what if the bank sent the following letter:

Dear Customer,

With regard to the massive amount of money you owe us, we are pleased to inform you that your debt has been paid in full by someone else; a great benefactor, so please stop sending us payments. Further, if you have any further debt, or friends or family with debt, kindly let them know that they may transfer that debt to our bank and our benefactor will pay off their debt as well. This offer is valid in all fifty states, all countries, for any and all past, present, and future debt you may incur.

We do ask that you seek to refrain from further borrowing. However, if you feel you have a borrowing problem, we have a personal guide who can be with you at all times, free of charge to help you out.

Please remember that we have been in existence forever, and unlike any other bank, regardless of anyone’s perception of our business model, we will exist forever. We are open 24 x 7 x 365 and there is never a wait to speak with us.

We delight in you. Please come to us with any need, no matter how great or small.

Very truly yours,

I AM Bank

I’m certain that if this actually happened, news of this bank would spread like crazy. Everyone would bank there. In reality, no bank would do this, but God does this through Jesus on the cross. When Jesus offered his body and blood as a sacrifice, he paid off all of our sinful debt, past, present, and future – and it is impossible to pay him back. Instead, our response can and should be pure, humble gratitude, repentance, praise, and falling to his feet as Lord.

And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. (Colossians 2:13-14)

Would you consider sharing the Good News of our great banker and benefactor with a friend today?