More...Forgiveness

Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate

hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one

another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each

other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above

all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.

And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were

called in one body. And be thankful. Colossians 3:12-14

I grew up in a home marked by grudges. My father was notorious for holding grudges. He refused to release those who offended him (and he seemed to be offended often). Even as a young child without much training in the wisdom and discernment that God teaches in His Word this didn’t seem to line up well with what I knew about God. But in the minds of my parents it was acceptable to hold grudges, perhaps because they wanted everyone to  consider them perfect. I don’t know exactly where this line of thinking materialized or why people who held so stiffly to God’s Word would ignore command after command to forgive. And forgive. And forgive again and again and again. (see Matthew 18:21-35) Perhaps they thought that “perfection” excused them? But that doesn’t make sense given that Jesus regularly forgave people and commanded it as well. (Matthew 6:12-15, Matthew 9:1-13, Mark 2:1-12, Mark 11:25, Luke 5:17-26, Luke 7:41-50, Luke 17:3-4, Luke 23:34, Luke 24:44-48, John 8:3-11) And He was certainly perfect!

I was not free from this scorn. Blame was frequently laid upon me even when I was not the offending party, along with any commensurate punishment that was deemed appropriate - usually a spanking with a three-inch, doubled-over, heavy leather strap used to hold milking machines. I don’t remember too many days I wasn’t the recipient of the strap! How does one respond to that, especially given that my emotional wound resurfaces over and over again? The answer in the Bible is clear. Forgive. I preach this to myself even as I write it and and do so after a particularly difficult emotional weekend with so much heartache resurfacing.

Forgiveness is not an easy mandate. I know this all too well. But it is life-giving. And here’s why.

Forgiveness acknowledges the sin. I’ve heard people say that if they forgive then it’s like saying they weren’t sinned against. Contrary to that line of thinking, if forgiveness is needed it is because a wrong has been done. Forgiveness is the act of relinquishing claim for an offense committed. You let go. Letting go is life-giving; holding a grudge lends to making you bitter, mean and cantankerous.

Forgiveness is based neither on the sin nor the sinner. It would take super-human effort to do so. Rather forgiveness is based on the One who forgave us. That is why Paul can so confidently exclaim, “if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.” (Colossians 3:13) Forgive as Jesus forgave. This leads to the next point.

Forgiveness is sacrificial. It costs us something. It cost Jesus His life to forgive us. It may cost us the right to revenge but it gives us the ability to enjoy peace and restoration, both in happiness and relationships . But not forgiving costs more! Holding grudges causes bitterness to be a constant companion and bitterness acts like poison to your soul. My father is a veritable Eeyore after so many years of holding onto unforgiveness, suffering losses in both happiness and relationships.

Forgiveness reflects God’s character of love. It is the loving thing to do. It is what God accomplished through Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. It is what God does for us every day of our lives as the imperfections of our heart, sometimes visible only to Him, offend Him again and again.

And finally, forgiveness leads to thankfulness. When we forgive, we are reminded that we have been forgiven! We are made aware that we can now live in freedom!!!! And doesn’t that just make you smile?!?!

Perhaps the offense against you is particularly egregious...forgive. Perhaps you just feel animosity toward someone and you don’t even know why...forgive, both yourself and the thing that stands between you. Perhaps...fill in the blank...forgive. Forgiveness isn’t a suggestion. It is an expected way of life for a believer of Jesus. If I want more God, I need to forgive more! And that’s all the reason we need to do it!

Today I leave you with the words from a Matthew West song called “Forgiveness.”

It’s the hardest thing to give away

And the last thing on your mind today

It always goes to those who don’t deserve

It’s the opposite of how you feel

When they pain they caused is just too real

Takes everything you have to say the word

Forgiveness, forgiveness

It flies in the face of all your pride

It moves away the mad inside

It’s always anger’s own worst enemy

Even when the jury and the judge

Say you’ve got a right to hold a grudge

It’s the whisper in your ear saying set it free

Forgiveness, forgiveness

Show me how to love the unlovable

Show me how to reach the unreachable

Help me now to do the impossible

Forgiveness, forgiveness

It’ll clear the bitterness away

It can even set a prisoner free

There is no end to what its power can do

So let it go and be amazed by what you see through eyes of grace

The prisoner that it really frees is you

Forgiveness

More...Enlightenment

I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my

prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of

glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in

the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened,

that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you,

what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,

and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward

us who believe, according to the working of his great might

that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead

and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places.   

Ephesians 1:16-20

If I rise in the night and look out my back window I can see the outline of trees and the fence at the back of my yard.  You see, over the hill beyond where I live is a burrough that gives off a faint light that gives a lightened glow to my back yard even after the sun has made its departure from the daytime sky.  But bring on the illumination the sun delivers! It’s a game changer! Suddenly I am able to see that there is goldenrod nodding at me behind my neighbor's yard and blackberries growing again over my fence and wily weeds that have grown in the abundance of rain we’ve had.  Light reveals everything!

Paul spent over two years in Ephesus, establishing the church there.  He ministered to these believers longer than he had anywhere else. He knew them well.  When he sits down to write a letter to them he starts with a reminder to them of all the blessings they had been given in Christ.  Undoubtedly they had already been taught about these blessings. (Ephesians 1:3-14) He then writes out a prayer he has been praying to God over them.  He starts his prayer asking that God would give his readers “the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him.”   He essentially asks God to awaken their spirits by the power of His Spirit in bringing them illumination concerning everything they had been taught.

It is Holy Spirit who shines His light into our lives.  Paul understands this. He’s experienced it and he wants his little flock to understand it too.  There are three specific areas Paul would like to see his readers to grow in understanding.

First, he wants them to “know what is the hope to which he has called you.” (Ephesians 1:18) I suspect for all of us this is an area that is constant need of growth.  As our eyes are enlightened we are able to gain more hope and see more clearly how God is blessing us with those spirituals blessings Paul has been talking about it. Paul uses is the Greek word oida when he asks that these believers “know.”  It conveys the idea of a cherished, skilled understanding, an experiential understanding of their calling.  This is enlightenment in action!

Second, Paul wants them to know “what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints.” (Ephesians 1:18) Again this is a cherished understanding he’s asking for.  He wants us to know that Christ’s death on the cross has given us the inheritance of God Himself, the greatest treasure we could possibly hope for!!

And last, Paul wants us to gain a cherished experience of Christ’s power poured out in us.  He asks that we know “what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe.” (Ephesians 1:19) We aren’t alone and we’ve got the immeasurable force of all of God’s resources with us!  When Holy Spirit shines light on all of these riches we can see the details of God’s power poured out on us.

Are you aware of all that God wants for you?  Do you understand the depth of the riches he has laid out for you?  The light that the Holy Spirit brings to the eyes of our hearts helps us gain more of God - because we’re able to perceive more of Him!  It’s the details of His heart, illumined by the Spirit that give us unspeakable joy in having Him as our treasure. If you’re not experiencing this type of spiritual vitality, I’d encourage you to pray this prayer over yourself.  Paul’s prayer is a good model for our own desire for more of God!

More...Longing and Satisfaction

O God of my life, I’m lovesick for you in this weary wilderness.

   I thirst with the deepest longings to love you more,

   with cravings in my heart that can’t be described.

   Such yearning grips my soul for you, my God!

I’m energized every time I enter

   your heavenly sanctuary to seek more of your power

   and drink in more of your glory.

For your tender mercies mean more to me than life itself.

   How I love and praise you, God!

Daily I will worship you passionately and with all my heart.

   My arms will wave to you like banners of praise.

I overflow with praise when I come before you,

   for the anointing of your presence satisfies me like nothing else.

   You are such a rich banquet of pleasure to my soul.

Psalm 63:1-5 TPT

Have you ever experienced bursting a balloon because you tried to blow too much air into it? Or tried to squeeze the last ounce of soup into an already overflowing container? Or tried to push one more toy or shirt or blanket into that already overly expanded bag? Here’s the point: most things in our lives have limits. Our containers have limits. Our abilities have limits. Our physical performance has limits. But there’s one thing in our lives that has no limits. Our spirits have unlimited capacity to know God and experience His love!

My husband likes to say that God gives us eternity because that’s how long it will take us to know God. The reality is that though we are finite, God is limitless. And equally as true is that though we are finite, God gives us the capacity to have an ever expanding experiential knowledge of Him and His love.

David paints a beautiful picture of what a deep desire to know God more looks like. This is not merely knowledge about God; this is overflowing, comprehensive and intimate experience of God Himself. David demonstrates the soul’s ability to constantly access and insatiably desire more of God. I like how The Passion Translation (TPT) helps us to visualize these longings.

O God of my life, I’m lovesick for you in this weary wilderness.

I thirst with the deepest longings to love you more,

with cravings in my heart that can’t be described.

Such yearning grips my soul for you, my God! Psalm 63:1

At the same time David later concludes: “I overflow with praise when I come before you,
for the anointing of your presence satisfies me like nothing else.  You are such a rich banquet of pleasure to my soul.” Psalm 63:5

Longing and satisfaction. Our souls need the longing for and satisfaction of God’s presence. These affections are typically placed at opposite ends of the emotional spectrum. Yet this psalm demonstrates that with God it is not only quite possible to experience both at the same time, it seems to indicate that experiencing both is quite necessary. Our spirits need a constant circle of longing and satisfaction to gain intimate knowledge of God and experience Him more fully. The more we experience God, the more satisfied we become with Him and the more desirable He becomes to us. The more desirable He becomes to us, the more we long for Him. The more we long for Him, the more we are able to experience Him. And so on.

David describes this phenomenon in verses 6-8:

I lie awake each night thinking of you

and reflecting on how you help me like a father.

I sing through the night under your splendor-shadow,

offering up to you my songs of delight and joy!

With passion I pursue and cling to you.

Because I feel your grip on my life,

I keep my soul close to your heart. Psalm 63:6-8

A constant circle of longing, connection and satisfaction should be the norm in our lives. What does this look like in your life? Do you experience these patterns of longing, connection and satisfaction? Have your sons observed this in your life - not as lessons given but as real life examples they feel welcome to participate in? Our experiential knowledge of God needs to be both intimately personal and expanding into our community spheres. Do you pray this for yourselves and your children? As we pray together this week let us be mindful of this expansive need in our own hearts and souls. Let us pray that our sons experience this passionately as individuals and as a community. May God enrich all our lives with more of Himself. 

More...Breakthrough

God, create a clean heart for me

and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Do not banish me from Your presence

or take Your Holy Spirit from me.

Restore the joy of Your salvation to me,

and give me a willing spirit.     Psalm 51:10-12

In churches across the United States (and indeed around the world!) pastors are preaching revival, believers are praying for breakthrough. I know this is true because I’ve either been privy to this phenomenon firsthand, heard it on various podcasts or spoken with those who have observed it. God’s Holy Spirit in the hearts of His own across the world are being called to Himelf - called for deeper intimacy with Him, called to pray for and evangelize the lost, called to reconciliation, both with God and with fellow mankind. However, I know from my own heart that I am a stubborn soul. I want God. I want what He wants, at least in theory. But I also want what I want. I suspect this is true for all of us to one degree or another. It is to this end we consider David’s prayer laid out in Psalm 51.

David was clearly a passionate man. He regularly cried for more of God. Scripture tells us he had a heart that beat after God’s heart. (1 Samuel 13:14; Acts 13:22) But like all of us he had a fatal flaw - he could also be found lost in his own passions from time to time. Sound familiar? David wrote Psalm 51 after he’d realized his sin in seeking a passion for himself that left God out of the picture - that of his selfish and ruthless rape of Bathsheba and subsequent murder of her husband Uriah. From the depths of his sin David asks God to create a heart and spirit that will mold itself to God, that will derive satisfaction from being with Him. David asks God to continue to be with him and to not count his guilt against him. (Psalm 51:10-11, 14) We know from Scripture that after David offers this prayer, God gives David what he asks for though the consequences of his sin still follow him on all sorts of levels. (Read 2 Samuel 12 and the following chapters for evidence of this.) While it doesn’t necessarily make David perfect for all time, we once again see a heart that seeks after God and one that is passionately driven to Him. Isn’t that what we desire for our own lives? Isn’t that what we desire for those whom we love?

May we remember that even as those who have been redeemed by the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ we still often carry a torch for passions that fly in the face of God. Like David we need to acknowledge to God “against You—You alone—I have sinned and done this evil in Your sight.” (Psalm 51:4a) David wasted no time admitting his guilt before Nathan the prophet and God. (2 Samuel 12:13) Let us likewise not waste time avoiding our sin. Rather confess it so that God can deal with it. Let us ask God to “create in [us] a clean heart, and renew a right spirit within [us].” (Psalm 51:10) Let us ask God to return to us the joy of our salvation and a willing spirit to be moved by the Holy Spirit. (Psalm 51:12) Furthermore, let us “take every thought captive to obey Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:5b) Let us pray for revival - in our own lives and the lives of those who reside in our sphere of influence - our families, friends, colleagues and churches.

May God receive the glory!!!

More...Blessing

Jabez called out to the God of Israel: “If only You would bless me,

extend my border, let Your hand be with me, and keep me from

harm, so that I will not cause any pain.” And God granted

his request.  1 Chronicles 4:10 HCSB

What is blessing? Many would say that blessing is something that's good. We associate words like advantage, benefit and favor with blessing. We think of the good life, of getting good things for ourselves. We imagine things like good grades, healthy and obedient children, a great job or a good friend. But what if there's more? What if there's a deeper, richer application to blessing than we've considered?

The book of 1 Chronicles opens with a genealogy, an extensive genealogy - one of the most extensive in all of Scripture. In fact the first eight chapters of 1 Chronicles are one long series of genealogies. In the midst of all these genealogies we find an aberration. In the genealogy for Judah (from whom David and Jesus both hail) we find a lone son whose father is not listed, only his mother. His mother has named him Jabez. Jabez means "sorrow" or "pain." It is quite likely he arrived in his mother's life at a very difficult time - perhaps even after the death of his father. We can assume if he had no living father that his life would have been characterized by sorrow and difficulty; a single mother in those days would usually have lived among the poorest of the poor. Yet despite the hardship we are told that Jabez was honorable, more honorable, in fact, than all of his brothers (i.e. relatives). It is in this setting that we see Jabez cry out to God, "If only You would bless me, extend my border, let Your hand be with me." He cries out from the axis of hardship and toil. He asks God to be with him.

The Hebrew word for blessing used here is barak. It literally means "to bend the knee." It is an expression of honor, of praise and magnification. We bless the Lord through our worship, everything that we do in submission to Christ and for His glory. "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." (1 Corinthians 10:31) In light of this verse it isn't necessarily very difficult for us to understand how we bless God. But how does God bless the human race? How does God “bend the knee?” How does He bless us?

In most instances where we see God blessing humankind in the Old Testament it is associated with fruitfulness and multiplication. (See Genesis 1:28, 17:20, 22:17-18, 26:4,12, 24, for example) The blessing to the patriarchs was always associated with the "seed" or "descendant," whom we now understand to be Jesus. In an excellent sermon on Jabez' prayer my pastor, Dan Nold says that God “bends the knee” and blessed us when He sent Jesus into the world. When God blesses His people it is always in association with Jesus. "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ." (Ephesians 1:3 - emphasis mine) Every true blessing we have comes through Jesus. Every. Single. One.

Jabez has figured out what the blessing is all about. He asks God, "Let your hand be with me." He wants more of God! I have so often heard emphasis placed on Jabez' request to extend his border - “Go ahead and ask God for more!” as if more stuff would bring greater satisfaction. But Jabez was more honorable in God's eyes. He's not asking for more stuff! We can only truly understand this prayer in light of the fact that his prayer was included in these long genealogies because Jabez didn’t make a selfish request. His desire was for more of God. More. God. And that is never selfish.

When the Gracious Character of God Intervenes...

Be gracious to me, God,

according to Your faithful love;

according to Your abundant compassion,

blot out my rebellion.  Psalm 51:1 HCSB

Today I received a call from my son's school (last day of school) through a phone call he made to me from his own phone.  The call was regarding a piece of equipment that I had dropped off the day before.  Only the school official on the other end of the phone conversation didn't have said equipment in her possession and proceeded to accuse me of lying only because she didn't have it right at that moment.  She proceeded to explain that it would cost me $30 if I didn't bring the equipment in today.  I hate to admit it, but my first response was anger  Tears sprung to my eyes and rolled down my cheeks as I frantically tried to explain my perspective on the situation.  The person to whom I spoke was unforgiving, insisting they had received nothing from me and there would be a monetary consequence.  This repeated a few times until I finally yelled into the phone that I would bring them their money because I didn't have the equipment either, I'd already dropped it off.  I didn't wait for a response and proceeded to rather dramatically hang up the phone (because I am, after all, a fairly dramatic person).  I say this to my shame.  Instead of looking for a solution I resorted to histrionics; instead of responding with grace I responded with vengeance.  

Once my husband intervened and got the issue resolved (he seems to always have the cooler head in these situations) I sat down to have my quiet time.  ( I also say this to my shame because it's when I'm hurt that I should run to God first!!!)  The first thing I read was Psalm 51:1 "Be gracious to me, God, according to Your faithful love; according to Your abundant compassion blot out my rebellion."  I thought about my own need to ask Papa God for forgiveness for what had just happened.  I may have had righteous cause for my anger at first but when I allowed that anger to consume me, it became sin.  As I experienced the words of King David wash over me I found myself grateful that His forgiveness for me wasn't predicated on my own ability to perform; I fail every time!!!!!  His forgiveness of my sin is based solely on who He is!!!!!! 

God knows our frame.  For some this is a scary notion.  It need not be.  Sin is common to us all:  "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."  (Romans 3:23)  But the good news of the gospel doesn't end there.  Scripture continues:  "and (all) are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus."  (Romans 3:24)  Because God knows our frame He knows that we all need redemption without exception.  And He provides it through faith in Jesus Christ.  He forgives me based on His character and His provision of a substitutionary sacrifice that makes my character "just as if I'd never sinned" (justified). 

As I sit taking in David's request  I revel in thankfulness for God's character that works in my life every day despite all of my flaws.  And I'm able to forgive the person who wronged me based on that character.  Today I leave you with part of David's prayer from Psalm 51, a prayer I know I need to pray every day of my life.

Create in me a clean heart, O God,
    and renew a right spirit within me.

Cast me not away from your presence,
    and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
 Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
    and uphold me with a willing spirit.

Psalm 51:10-12

The Worship of Grief

The thought of my suffering and homelessness
    is bitter beyond words.
 I will never forget this awful time,
    as I grieve over my loss.  Lamentations 3:19-20

Within the past two months three mothers whom are either directly or indirectly known to me have lost a twenty-something child.  I cannot imagine the depths of grief that accompanies such a profound loss.  Additionally, my husband's aunt is readying herself to send another husband to eternity and a good friend just bid a final farewell to a difficult marriage.  Incredible loss. 

Ten years ago this month Grammy award winning singer/songwriter Steven Curtis Chapman lost his five-year-old adopted daughter, Maria, in a tragic car accident.  I mourned the Chapman's loss.  We were in the process of adopting from China (where Maria was from) and had already gone through three long years of waiting.  I knew the blood, sweat and tears poured into such an adoption.  I did not yet understand the incredible bond of love an adoptive parent is given for such a child, though I had some idea.  Multiple layers of emotions roiled within me.  "I can't even imagine," was all I could verbalize.  My mother-in-law, Joan, gave me some of the wisest words I think I'd ever heard to that point.  "It's because God has not yet given you that grace," was her response to me.  She knew that grace.  Eight years earlier she had laid to rest the body of her youngest son Neal, my brother-in-law, who had died from injuries sustained in a car accident.  

I've learned through my own experiences over time and the testimony of others I know that while loss isn't really quantifiable, it is common to us all.  We find a clue in the Genesis narrative as to how all this loss, pain and misery started: 

...in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life;
 thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you;
    and you shall eat the plants of the field.

By the sweat of your face
    you shall eat bread,
till you return to the ground,
    for out of it you were taken;
for you are dust,
    and to dust you shall return.  Genesis 3:17b-19

You've heard it before.  It's old news right?  The bad news.  It started there in the garden when the curse upon creation was pronounced.  No longer would life be full, but rather, it would be filled with striving for what was unattainable.  The author of Ecclesiastes, most likely the venerable King Solomon, wrote:

 “Everything is meaningless,” says the Teacher, “completely meaningless!”  What do people get for all their hard work under the sun?  Generations come and generations go, but the earth never changes.  Ecclesiastes 1:2-4  

A few verses later Solomon quite accurately sums up the human condition:

Everything is wearisome beyond description. No matter how much we see, we are never satisfied. No matter how much we hear, we are not content.  Ecclesiastes 1:8

The curse initiated not only death but frustration, heartache and loss as well...to each and every inhabitant of planet Earth.  It has the potential to perch us on the precipice of depression.  This is the stuff of grief.  So how do we deal with that?  

But what if grief were a platform for worship?  What if our anger and sadness over the losses of life agreed with God that all is not as it should be?  What if we offered our sadness and grief to Him, acknowledging that the world is broken, that we are broken and in need of His intervention because we can't change those losses no matter how hard we try?  And isn't that worship?  

Jeremiah has often been called "the weeping prophet."  He is author of two books in the Old Testament, one of them the book of Lamentations.  In that book he shows us what lamenting worship looks like:

The thought of my suffering and homelessness

    is bitter beyond words.

 

I will never forget this awful time,

    as I grieve over my loss.  Lamentations 3:19-20

He is honest about his circumstances.  True worship must be rooted in truth or it cannot be the real deal.  He agrees with God that life in a world dominated with sin stinks sometimes.  We can be honest and truthful about the pain of death and loss; that's part of the worship experience.  We agree that the world as it currently exists doesn't line up with the original plan of creation.  This honors God.

But Jeremiah doesn't stop there.  If we stop at the grief and anger in our journey of suffering we wind up wallowing in bitterness and miss out on the best God has for us.  Fortunately for us death is not the end.  Though Jeremiah doesn't know the work of the cross as we do, he still relates:

Yet I still dare to hope
    when I remember this:

The faithful love of the Lord never ends!
    His mercies never cease. 

Great is his faithfulness;
    his mercies begin afresh each morning.
 I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance;
    therefore, I will hope in him!  Lamentations 3:21-24

Jeremiah recognizes that whatever he has lost in this life, he has still not lost what is most important  -  God is his inheritance and therefore he has hope.  Grief hasn't necessarily gone away, but it has made room for grace and hope. 

Don't ignore the pain in your life when you come to worship.  Bring it.  Let your worship be true.  Today I leave you with a link to the song Beauty from Pain released in 2005 from a band called Superchick.  I lived through some dark days listening to this song, worshiping with its raw, truthful emotion.  Worship the One who has overcome death and the grave; worship that He is still working through the pain. 

Beauty from Pain (Bridge and Chorus)

Here and I am at the end of me (at the end of me)

Trying to hold to what I can't see

I forgot how to hope

This night's been so long

I cling to your promise there will be a dawn

After all this has passed

I still will remain

After I've cried my last

There'll be beauty from pain

Though it won't be today

Someday I'll hope again

And there'll be beauty from pain

You will bring beauty from my pain