In Psalms 14:2, 3 David says, “The Lord looked down from Heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any who understood, dealt wisely and sought after God, inquiring for and of Him and requiring him of vital necessity. They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy; there is none that does good or right, no, not one.” (Amplified)
Wow, what an indictment. To think that from God’s perspective, there is no one who has hit the target. All have missed the mark. Every man, woman, boy and girl are on the same equal playing field of accountability before God in the sins and trespasses. We’re all guilty. This verse was later to be reiterated by Paul in his letter to the Romans 3:11, 12. No matter how good we’ve been, what admirable deeds we’ve done, or how esteemed we have become in the eyes of friends, family, Church or social circles; we are all guilty of transgressing God’s perfect law. It doesn’t matter what sin we’ve committed. To break one of God’s laws is to be guilty of having broken them all. That makes us worthy of His condemnation in judgment, which is hard for us to grasp.
I have heard people say, "I may not be perfect, but at least I haven't murdered anybody!" We want to be judged by our self-perceptions and intentions, not by our sins, and we like to define sin into categories of major and minor, acceptable and unacceptable. All the while seeing ourselves as acceptable. There are no such categories. Sin is sin, and the death that results has been the captor of us all. We must consider the greatness of the love of God in Christ who looked upon our miserable state and purposed to love us in spite of ourselves. His goodness reached into the darkness of our spiritual existence and claimed us for His own possession and prize. How great is His love. How high and how wide. How deep and how strong. For this reason alone, we should be a people who cannot wait to give great praise for His excellent greatness.
Still, we insist that God judge by our standards...
We continue to fight and insist that we be accepted on our merit and not by His good mercy.
We make this relationship so difficult while He made it all so easy.
Think about it.
Drink deeply.
JP
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Inhabit our praise.
Looking back through the scriptures we can see patterns of worship in the Tabernacle of David where worship was offered in the form of music and song as acceptable sacrifices. David’s heart of worship was that of a man before his time. King David utilized musicians and singers to worship 24/7 before the Lord although there was no mention of singing as a form of sacrifice or worship in the Tabernacle of Moses. Sacrifices of blood and incense were offered regularly, but neither singing nor playing of instruments was used as part of the ritual. The Tabernacle of Moses was still in operation in Shiloh during David’s reign as King, but God’s presence was no longer there. Psalm 78:60 reveals that God “forsook the tabernacle at Shiloh, the tent in which He had dwelt among men (and never returned to it again)” vs. 68 ” But He chose the tribe of Judah (Praise), Mt. Zion which He loves (to replace Shiloh as His capitol.)”
But he chose Mt. Zion… the place where David erected his tabernacle as a house of worship. It is no wonder that David was said to be a man after God’s heart. David knew that God was not interested in the sacrificed blood of bulls and goats, not really. Even though God instituted and mandated the required law of shed blood for sins. What God was after all along was a people who understood why a relationship with the King of the Universe should cause them to worship with singing and rejoicing.
God inhabited the praises of His people during the reign of David. And He still does today when we offer the sacrifices of praise, the fruit of our lips giving thanks unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.
Drink deeply
JP
But he chose Mt. Zion… the place where David erected his tabernacle as a house of worship. It is no wonder that David was said to be a man after God’s heart. David knew that God was not interested in the sacrificed blood of bulls and goats, not really. Even though God instituted and mandated the required law of shed blood for sins. What God was after all along was a people who understood why a relationship with the King of the Universe should cause them to worship with singing and rejoicing.
God inhabited the praises of His people during the reign of David. And He still does today when we offer the sacrifices of praise, the fruit of our lips giving thanks unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.
Drink deeply
JP
Friday, March 27, 2009
Expectancy!
The definition of the word “Expectancy” is as follows:
Excited anticipation: excited awareness that something is about to happen.
Excited anticipation: excited awareness that something is about to happen.
- an air of expectancy hung over the crowd.
If the dynamic power of the Holy Spirit is not being manifested in our services, there is no one to point a finger at but ourselves. Well-intending church goers have told me for years that if someone would change the style of music played in a worship service to more suit their liking or preferences, or if the pastor wouldn’t preach, etc. etc., then the Spirit of God would be free to do something powerful. Maybe there is some truth in their words. Still, I can't quite perceive that whether the music is traditional hymns, country/western, Hebraic, Contemporary, Rock n' Roll or Black Gospel, that God's potential to accomplish something hinges on our cultural preferences. We've replaced the necessity of FAITH with the desire for ENJOYMENT.
However, when believers assemble or attend church, without bringing a sense of expectancy, the emphasis is invariably placed on the service content and those who conduct it for its perceived success or failure. And the success or failure inevitably hinges on whether the service was "enjoyed." The ritual, tradition or service has no power in itself. To follow the rituals and traditions of a Church service requires nothing but being there. Faith is not a key ingredient to the participation of a worship service. It’s not necessarily the ritual or the tradition at fault, but the lack of EXPECTANCY in the hearts of those who are gathered for worship. That stands true for the leadership and the congregation alike.
Those who meet together with faith and expectancy will see great manifestations of God’s presence and power. God never promised that those who attend Church would find Him or see Him revealed on any level. I have seen some of the greatest demonstrations of the presence of God in services with the worst music conceivable. Musical quality or style is irrelevant to the Holy Spirit’s being present. But… FAITH is required. The Bible says, “...and you will seek Me and you shall find Me, when you search for Me with ALL YOUR HEART.” God’s Spirit operates in full potential of power and demonstration when and where PEOPLE decidedly bring a sense of EXPECTANCY to whatever ritual or tradition they practice. We should EXPECT God’s Spirit to be present. EXPECT miracles. EXPECT signs and wonders. EXPECT the gifts to operate. EXPECT power. Waiting on the ritual or tradition to change to suit your liking will only leave you waiting. EXPECTANCY is the key YOU possess that the Holy Sprit can USE every time believers assemble together. What shall it be?
Anytime you come before God... come EXPECTING
With all your heart, come EXPECTING.
Drink deeply,
JP
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
What is your praise worth?
King David knew the value of worship and had determined that he would never approach the Lord empty-handed. Worship has value. What we now understand about this covenant we have with God through the finished work of Christ is that Jesus, Himself, is the value in our praise. He is the cost. There is nothing for us to bring to the place of worship that is an acceptable offering or sacrifice unto the Lord other than our praise. To offer anything else is to be like Cain and bring a harvest of produce that he had worked so hard to raise, when the sacrifice that God required of him was not garden produce but blood. Although his offering was no doubt of great value, it was not a suitable substitute for what God required. We can offer no substitutes for what God requires. God does require the “sacrifice of praise” (Hebrews 13) from His people and will accept no replacement for it, regardless of what it may cost us.
Jesus gave His life on our behalf. He was the only sacrifice worthy to redeem sinful, broken, fallen, lost people to a right relationship with God. What gives our worship value in God’s presence is the knowledge that we could never have achieved reconciliation on our terms or merit. It was accomplished by God and God alone. Now that we have received the provision of salvation by grace through faith, let us boldly go into the presence of God and offer the required sacrifice of praise with great gratitude because we fully recognize that Jesus has done for us what we could never have done for ourselves. If you don’t know what Jesus has saved you from, your praise will have little value. If you are coming into the throne room of the Most High God under the impression that He needs to see you showcase the greatness of your own goodness and works, your praise will speak little of Him, and mostly of yourself, which is why the apostle Paul said, “We are saved by grace through faith, and not of works, lest we should boast.”
Salvation is of the Lord and not of us. Remember what Romans 3 says… “None is righteous… no one seeks God…” We contain no currency within ourselves to purchase any blessing or place of right standing with God. That is why it was done for us while we were still His enemies.
We have no standing in the presence of the Lord without the provision of Jesus’ sacrifice.
We brought nothing into relationship by our efforts. God did it for us, in spite of us. The sooner we recognize this, the sooner our praise of Him will become ignited with the fire of the Holy Spirit. I have nothing to sing about other than His great love. I have nothing to proclaim other than His mercy that is new every morning. I have no other name under heaven to exalt than Jesus. I cannot boast in God’s presence. As the prophet Isaiah said, when seeing a vision of the Lord and was immediately humbled, “Woe is me, for I am a man of unclean lips.”
An angel took a coal from the altar and seared Isaiah’s lips so that his praise could be purified. Like Isaiah, that which our lips offer is not clean. My praise is not pure. My best efforts to offer praise full of truth and zeal is and always will be tainted by my limitations and humanity. However, as the temple worship in Israel laid the pattern in type and shadow of how it is with us today, Jesus, our High Priest, gathers the offerings (sacrifices of praise – the fruit of our lips giving thanks) of the people and offers them to the Father on our behalf. I don’t even have to worry about my praise not being “good enough” or “pure enough” or “passionate enough” for God’s standard, because Jesus receives our offerings of worship as High Priest. Our praise is offered through Him purified, cleansed and perfected for God to receive, spotless and holy. That is part of His continuous ministry as High Priest of our confession. What we offer to God… Jesus is the spokesman.
How can we take anything of ourselves, our works, our rule-keeping, fragmented attempts at law abiding, and lay them at the Throne of God as though they are of value. Our works are as filthy rags. Nothing to brag about. No value. Paul said he considered his flawless practice of Judaism and law keeping as “dung.” Yet we so often insist upon doing it to try and get God’s attention or to feel good about ourselves when a good old-fashioned round of repentance would work much better.
No… we cannot substitute anything that we have done as an offering of praise unto the Lord. God doesn’t want it. He didn’t ask for it. To do so would be no different than Cain offering his hard work in the fields, when God asked for the slaying of an animal.
God lays the parameters and establishes the boundaries.
Give God what He asks for. Is it really that hard?
It can be… if we refuse to see ourselves in the same perspective that God does. But when we see that God has leveled the playing field and called us all sinners, so that He can show mercy upon us all alike… male, female, young, old, church-goers, pagans, gays, straights, blacks, whites, yellow and red, hardened sinners, not so hardened. We’re all the same in God’s eyes and we will all bow our knee to the altogether great love of God. Love that bore our guilt and punishment upon Himself, paid the debt and let us go free.
Now that kind of love is WORTH something. Recognizing that gives my praise value.
Making Him the object of my thanks is what gives my praise a richness without measure.
Priceless…
Drink deeply.
JP
Jesus gave His life on our behalf. He was the only sacrifice worthy to redeem sinful, broken, fallen, lost people to a right relationship with God. What gives our worship value in God’s presence is the knowledge that we could never have achieved reconciliation on our terms or merit. It was accomplished by God and God alone. Now that we have received the provision of salvation by grace through faith, let us boldly go into the presence of God and offer the required sacrifice of praise with great gratitude because we fully recognize that Jesus has done for us what we could never have done for ourselves. If you don’t know what Jesus has saved you from, your praise will have little value. If you are coming into the throne room of the Most High God under the impression that He needs to see you showcase the greatness of your own goodness and works, your praise will speak little of Him, and mostly of yourself, which is why the apostle Paul said, “We are saved by grace through faith, and not of works, lest we should boast.”
Salvation is of the Lord and not of us. Remember what Romans 3 says… “None is righteous… no one seeks God…” We contain no currency within ourselves to purchase any blessing or place of right standing with God. That is why it was done for us while we were still His enemies.
We have no standing in the presence of the Lord without the provision of Jesus’ sacrifice.
We brought nothing into relationship by our efforts. God did it for us, in spite of us. The sooner we recognize this, the sooner our praise of Him will become ignited with the fire of the Holy Spirit. I have nothing to sing about other than His great love. I have nothing to proclaim other than His mercy that is new every morning. I have no other name under heaven to exalt than Jesus. I cannot boast in God’s presence. As the prophet Isaiah said, when seeing a vision of the Lord and was immediately humbled, “Woe is me, for I am a man of unclean lips.”
An angel took a coal from the altar and seared Isaiah’s lips so that his praise could be purified. Like Isaiah, that which our lips offer is not clean. My praise is not pure. My best efforts to offer praise full of truth and zeal is and always will be tainted by my limitations and humanity. However, as the temple worship in Israel laid the pattern in type and shadow of how it is with us today, Jesus, our High Priest, gathers the offerings (sacrifices of praise – the fruit of our lips giving thanks) of the people and offers them to the Father on our behalf. I don’t even have to worry about my praise not being “good enough” or “pure enough” or “passionate enough” for God’s standard, because Jesus receives our offerings of worship as High Priest. Our praise is offered through Him purified, cleansed and perfected for God to receive, spotless and holy. That is part of His continuous ministry as High Priest of our confession. What we offer to God… Jesus is the spokesman.
How can we take anything of ourselves, our works, our rule-keeping, fragmented attempts at law abiding, and lay them at the Throne of God as though they are of value. Our works are as filthy rags. Nothing to brag about. No value. Paul said he considered his flawless practice of Judaism and law keeping as “dung.” Yet we so often insist upon doing it to try and get God’s attention or to feel good about ourselves when a good old-fashioned round of repentance would work much better.
No… we cannot substitute anything that we have done as an offering of praise unto the Lord. God doesn’t want it. He didn’t ask for it. To do so would be no different than Cain offering his hard work in the fields, when God asked for the slaying of an animal.
God lays the parameters and establishes the boundaries.
Give God what He asks for. Is it really that hard?
It can be… if we refuse to see ourselves in the same perspective that God does. But when we see that God has leveled the playing field and called us all sinners, so that He can show mercy upon us all alike… male, female, young, old, church-goers, pagans, gays, straights, blacks, whites, yellow and red, hardened sinners, not so hardened. We’re all the same in God’s eyes and we will all bow our knee to the altogether great love of God. Love that bore our guilt and punishment upon Himself, paid the debt and let us go free.
Now that kind of love is WORTH something. Recognizing that gives my praise value.
Making Him the object of my thanks is what gives my praise a richness without measure.
Priceless…
Drink deeply.
JP
Monday, March 23, 2009
Strength for today, bright hope for tomorrow.
Because we are confident that Jesus has been raised from the dead, there is now an abiding certainty that we can trust EVERYTHING God says. We MUST trust what God has revealed. Life demands it.
If we can know one other thing that is as sure as the promises of God, it is the fact that life will continually dispense chaos, strife, trials, uncertainty and sorrow. I am not a fatalist but I have lived long enough to fully realize that we cannot live outside what is common to all mankind. Just this afternoon a dear friend called and told me her husband lost his job unexpectedly. We're seeing more and more of this in our unstable economy. Jesus words in John 8:47 says, “Whoever is of God listens to God, - Those who belong to God hear the words of God.” Because of that fact, we need to make God’s Word a greater part of our daily thought process. There is only one place to turn when in need of comfort and peace. The Word of God. There we find His promises and His purposes for our lives. There is where we find assurance, steadfastness and peace when the world becomes chaotic. It gives peace to our hearts to know that in the midst of the worst situations there is a God who is for us and not against us. Isaiah 54:10 says, “For though the mountains should depart and the hills be shaken or removed, yet My love and kindness shall not depart from you, nor shall My covenant of peace and completeness be removed, says the Lord, Who has compassion on you.” As an old friend of mine penned in a popular Christian song, “Life is hard, but God is good.”
There is always hope. Regardless of the worlds' condition, there is a place of hope, refuge and quiet rest in the presence of the Lord. And in His presence, there is a word that gives peace, strength and hope.
Jesus’ resurrection has secured our place in God’s promise.
Drink deeply,
JP
If we can know one other thing that is as sure as the promises of God, it is the fact that life will continually dispense chaos, strife, trials, uncertainty and sorrow. I am not a fatalist but I have lived long enough to fully realize that we cannot live outside what is common to all mankind. Just this afternoon a dear friend called and told me her husband lost his job unexpectedly. We're seeing more and more of this in our unstable economy. Jesus words in John 8:47 says, “Whoever is of God listens to God, - Those who belong to God hear the words of God.” Because of that fact, we need to make God’s Word a greater part of our daily thought process. There is only one place to turn when in need of comfort and peace. The Word of God. There we find His promises and His purposes for our lives. There is where we find assurance, steadfastness and peace when the world becomes chaotic. It gives peace to our hearts to know that in the midst of the worst situations there is a God who is for us and not against us. Isaiah 54:10 says, “For though the mountains should depart and the hills be shaken or removed, yet My love and kindness shall not depart from you, nor shall My covenant of peace and completeness be removed, says the Lord, Who has compassion on you.” As an old friend of mine penned in a popular Christian song, “Life is hard, but God is good.”
There is always hope. Regardless of the worlds' condition, there is a place of hope, refuge and quiet rest in the presence of the Lord. And in His presence, there is a word that gives peace, strength and hope.
Jesus’ resurrection has secured our place in God’s promise.
Drink deeply,
JP
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Christ Is the End of the Law
In a perfect world all Christian converts would be taught the concepts of Romans 10 prior to being given a Bible. Also, those raised in churches would be established in the same theological principles from this text to help ensure the foundation on which their faith is based is in Christ ALONE.
Let's read Romans 10:4 from the Amplified Bible. "For Christ is the end of the Law - the limit at which it ceases to be, for the law leads up to Him Who is the fulfillment of its types, and in Him the purpose which it was designed to accomplish is fulfilled, - That is, the purpose of the Law is fulfilled in Him - as the means of righteousness (right relationship to God) for everyone who trusts in and adheres to and relies on Him."
Well, you'd think that would just about settle it. However it doesn't.
For thousands of years people have been wrangling and fighting, arguing and dividing themselves from one another over this matter.
Adhere to the Law, or trust in Jesus?
How about a little Law, a little Jesus? Better?
How about... follow the laws that matter to me and trust in Jesus to help me do it?
How about... follow and uphold the laws that I'm strong in... thing that I KNOW I won't break, like adultery and murder or homosexuality, and when I stumble and fail in less severe areas, I can remind myself and God that I'm not TOTALLY depraved. I AM A GOOD PERSON!
Unfortunately, this is exactly the means by which so many so-called "christians" have been taught to function in their relationship with God. Which is completely dysfunctional. Since I was raised in a church that openly taught this manner of relating to God, where even the non-verbal communication smacked with the same focus on our works and performance, I found that in my own walk with God, the most difficult thing for me was TRUSTING Christ. It wasn't sufficient.
I was from a church whose members didn't "rededicate" but would completely backslide and get "saved" all over again. It was a vicious cycle. And it didn't take long for me to grasp the fact that everyone was watching to see if I would live my life according to THEIR expectations and Biblical prescriptions. Soon enough I was fully aware that I couldn't pass inspection with my peers or with God. I was forever being reminded by those around me and therefore getting "saved" again at least once a year. Always at campmeeting... didn't everyone?
Still, I needed something greater than "be good and go to church" to anchor my soul and provide a means of daily assurance that God loves me. Every week in Sunday school as children we joyously sang, "Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so..." and yet was taught to live without the assurance of that very fact and to embrace the fear that comes with poor performance.
As a youngster and even a young adult who had been so steeped in this theological tradition, it all seemed to make sense. Verses from the Bible, "Be ye holy as I am holy." (Strong command.) To hear the requirements of the Law and commandments read from pulpits and Sunday school teachers followed by the fierce threat of retribution in passages like Deuteronomy 29:20 "The Lord will not pardon him... and all the curse that is written in this book shall settle on him; the Lord will blot out his very name from under the heavens... single him out for ruin and destruction... " was certainly what being in a relationship with God is all about. I mean, there it was in black and white.
When children hear "Jesus Loves Me" from an early age accompanied by the requirement to adhere to the Law with the punishments featured in Deut. 29 as the consequence for disobedience all in the same breath, the end result is often disasterous. It was for me.
This theological mentality followed me throughout childhood into my teen years and eventually into adulthood. I would try and do good and go to church. If I sinned, or even missed church for that matter, I was hanging from a cliff by a broken sapling with a short root system. Doomed. The cycle was endless, viscious and merciless.... it left me with no alternatives than to try and do BETTER and go to church more often! Pray harder, do more! I would pray and remind God of the good that I HAD done, believing that God was a rewarder of our works. I lived under the guilt of my sins and offenses continuously because I took the Law and commandments seriously. "Thou shalt not..." was often "Thou just did!"
After years of being as "good" a Christian as I could be, faultering all along the way, I had to face the fact that something wasn't working. I decided to step aside from my traditions and read the Bible for myself but differently this time. Asking the Holy Spirit to take off the denominational filters that kept my views locked tightly into these spiritual prescriptions of required obedience to the Law as my means of obtaining "heaven" as the reward, I picked up my Bible and started again. I searched the scriptures for something more than I had been taught. God, in His mercy, began opening my eyes to the truth about GRACE.
The book of Romans in the New Testament finally began to reveal the reality of "Jesus loves me this I know.... For the Bible tells me so" from the viewpoint of God Himself. Romans 3:20 "For NO PERSON will be justified - make righteous, acquitted and judged acceptable - in His sight by observing the works prescribed by the Law. For (the real function of ) the Law is to make men recognize and be be conscious of sin. v. 21 But NOW the righteousness of God has been revealed independently and altogether apart from law..." v. 22 " Namely, the righteousness of God which comes by believing with personal trust and confident reliance on Jesus Christ, the Messiah, for all who believe. For there is no distinction, v. 23 Since all have sinned and are falling short of the honor and glory which God bestows and receives. v. 24 All are justified and made upright and in right standing with God, freely and gratuitously by His grace (His unmerited favor and mercy), through the redemption which is provided in Christ Jesus."
Reading those words was both wonderful and tormenting at the same time when I began to face the fact that I had never allowed myself to "take the plunge" and place the whole of my faith in Christ alone without depending on myself to add anything additional to the equation for being saved. It was terrifying because my former traditions had me locked into the mentality of "I HAVE TO DO SOMETHING!" But reading the words of the Apostle Paul in Romans 3:28 "For we hold that a man is justified and made upright by FAITH independent of and distinctly apart from good deeds (works of law). - The observance of the Law hand nothing to do with justification." and further in Romans 4:5 "But to one who not working (by Law) trusts (believes fully) in Him Who JUSTIFIED THE UNGODLY, his faith is credited to him as rightouseness - the standing acceptable to God."
I could go on forever, but know I must stop somewhere and pick up on this again later...
Needless to say, in my story, I learned that it is vital to life itself to cease from trusting in my own useless and unfruitful efforts, works, deeds, rules, regulations, etc. and find the value and freedom in being acceptable with God on HIS terms through simple faith in Christ.
We will never be good enough to merit favor, blessings, gifts, or right standing with God. It's impossible. It's like a three year old climbing onto a ten inch step stool to try and reach the ceiling. But what is impossible with man is POSSIBLE with God through trusting Jesus.
The Law was simply meant to show us our inability to EVER be right with God. It showed us our failures and need for something that we could never provide for ourselves.
God knows this fully... we often act as though it somehow surprises Him that we miss the mark. It doesn't.
But He loves us anyway and sent Jesus to prove it and be the means to bridge the gap between the Laws requirements and our inability to meet them.
By placing the whole of our faith in Him... Christ is the end of the Law.
If you're caught in the same endless frustrating cycles like I was, give consideration to the
message in this blog.... the Law is not your master, and following it's endless demands and requirements is not your means to acceptance with God.
You're free from it.
Consider that your need to believe that personal goodness is necessary to go to heaven later is not as important as trusting Christ for a right relationship with God here and now. Heaven is the outcome of that simple faith.
Drink deeply.
JP
Let's read Romans 10:4 from the Amplified Bible. "For Christ is the end of the Law - the limit at which it ceases to be, for the law leads up to Him Who is the fulfillment of its types, and in Him the purpose which it was designed to accomplish is fulfilled, - That is, the purpose of the Law is fulfilled in Him - as the means of righteousness (right relationship to God) for everyone who trusts in and adheres to and relies on Him."
Well, you'd think that would just about settle it. However it doesn't.
For thousands of years people have been wrangling and fighting, arguing and dividing themselves from one another over this matter.
Adhere to the Law, or trust in Jesus?
How about a little Law, a little Jesus? Better?
How about... follow the laws that matter to me and trust in Jesus to help me do it?
How about... follow and uphold the laws that I'm strong in... thing that I KNOW I won't break, like adultery and murder or homosexuality, and when I stumble and fail in less severe areas, I can remind myself and God that I'm not TOTALLY depraved. I AM A GOOD PERSON!
Unfortunately, this is exactly the means by which so many so-called "christians" have been taught to function in their relationship with God. Which is completely dysfunctional. Since I was raised in a church that openly taught this manner of relating to God, where even the non-verbal communication smacked with the same focus on our works and performance, I found that in my own walk with God, the most difficult thing for me was TRUSTING Christ. It wasn't sufficient.
I was from a church whose members didn't "rededicate" but would completely backslide and get "saved" all over again. It was a vicious cycle. And it didn't take long for me to grasp the fact that everyone was watching to see if I would live my life according to THEIR expectations and Biblical prescriptions. Soon enough I was fully aware that I couldn't pass inspection with my peers or with God. I was forever being reminded by those around me and therefore getting "saved" again at least once a year. Always at campmeeting... didn't everyone?
Still, I needed something greater than "be good and go to church" to anchor my soul and provide a means of daily assurance that God loves me. Every week in Sunday school as children we joyously sang, "Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so..." and yet was taught to live without the assurance of that very fact and to embrace the fear that comes with poor performance.
As a youngster and even a young adult who had been so steeped in this theological tradition, it all seemed to make sense. Verses from the Bible, "Be ye holy as I am holy." (Strong command.) To hear the requirements of the Law and commandments read from pulpits and Sunday school teachers followed by the fierce threat of retribution in passages like Deuteronomy 29:20 "The Lord will not pardon him... and all the curse that is written in this book shall settle on him; the Lord will blot out his very name from under the heavens... single him out for ruin and destruction... " was certainly what being in a relationship with God is all about. I mean, there it was in black and white.
When children hear "Jesus Loves Me" from an early age accompanied by the requirement to adhere to the Law with the punishments featured in Deut. 29 as the consequence for disobedience all in the same breath, the end result is often disasterous. It was for me.
This theological mentality followed me throughout childhood into my teen years and eventually into adulthood. I would try and do good and go to church. If I sinned, or even missed church for that matter, I was hanging from a cliff by a broken sapling with a short root system. Doomed. The cycle was endless, viscious and merciless.... it left me with no alternatives than to try and do BETTER and go to church more often! Pray harder, do more! I would pray and remind God of the good that I HAD done, believing that God was a rewarder of our works. I lived under the guilt of my sins and offenses continuously because I took the Law and commandments seriously. "Thou shalt not..." was often "Thou just did!"
After years of being as "good" a Christian as I could be, faultering all along the way, I had to face the fact that something wasn't working. I decided to step aside from my traditions and read the Bible for myself but differently this time. Asking the Holy Spirit to take off the denominational filters that kept my views locked tightly into these spiritual prescriptions of required obedience to the Law as my means of obtaining "heaven" as the reward, I picked up my Bible and started again. I searched the scriptures for something more than I had been taught. God, in His mercy, began opening my eyes to the truth about GRACE.
The book of Romans in the New Testament finally began to reveal the reality of "Jesus loves me this I know.... For the Bible tells me so" from the viewpoint of God Himself. Romans 3:20 "For NO PERSON will be justified - make righteous, acquitted and judged acceptable - in His sight by observing the works prescribed by the Law. For (the real function of ) the Law is to make men recognize and be be conscious of sin. v. 21 But NOW the righteousness of God has been revealed independently and altogether apart from law..." v. 22 " Namely, the righteousness of God which comes by believing with personal trust and confident reliance on Jesus Christ, the Messiah, for all who believe. For there is no distinction, v. 23 Since all have sinned and are falling short of the honor and glory which God bestows and receives. v. 24 All are justified and made upright and in right standing with God, freely and gratuitously by His grace (His unmerited favor and mercy), through the redemption which is provided in Christ Jesus."
Reading those words was both wonderful and tormenting at the same time when I began to face the fact that I had never allowed myself to "take the plunge" and place the whole of my faith in Christ alone without depending on myself to add anything additional to the equation for being saved. It was terrifying because my former traditions had me locked into the mentality of "I HAVE TO DO SOMETHING!" But reading the words of the Apostle Paul in Romans 3:28 "For we hold that a man is justified and made upright by FAITH independent of and distinctly apart from good deeds (works of law). - The observance of the Law hand nothing to do with justification." and further in Romans 4:5 "But to one who not working (by Law) trusts (believes fully) in Him Who JUSTIFIED THE UNGODLY, his faith is credited to him as rightouseness - the standing acceptable to God."
I could go on forever, but know I must stop somewhere and pick up on this again later...
Needless to say, in my story, I learned that it is vital to life itself to cease from trusting in my own useless and unfruitful efforts, works, deeds, rules, regulations, etc. and find the value and freedom in being acceptable with God on HIS terms through simple faith in Christ.
We will never be good enough to merit favor, blessings, gifts, or right standing with God. It's impossible. It's like a three year old climbing onto a ten inch step stool to try and reach the ceiling. But what is impossible with man is POSSIBLE with God through trusting Jesus.
The Law was simply meant to show us our inability to EVER be right with God. It showed us our failures and need for something that we could never provide for ourselves.
God knows this fully... we often act as though it somehow surprises Him that we miss the mark. It doesn't.
But He loves us anyway and sent Jesus to prove it and be the means to bridge the gap between the Laws requirements and our inability to meet them.
By placing the whole of our faith in Him... Christ is the end of the Law.
If you're caught in the same endless frustrating cycles like I was, give consideration to the
message in this blog.... the Law is not your master, and following it's endless demands and requirements is not your means to acceptance with God.
You're free from it.
Consider that your need to believe that personal goodness is necessary to go to heaven later is not as important as trusting Christ for a right relationship with God here and now. Heaven is the outcome of that simple faith.
Drink deeply.
JP
Friday, March 20, 2009
Welcome to the New Wine Bar
Greetings... I've thought for the longest time that I should NOT join the millions of those who feel compelled to put their thoughts and ideas online. The idea that my contributions would be buried under vast mountains of cyber sand and gravel without ever being discovered and read by anyone was my essential cause for demotivation. But lately I've had a change of heart. Certainly the Apostle Paul (one of my great heros, along with Luther, Calvin and other great reformers and free-thinkers who impacted history) would have loved the possibilities available through the Internet. The people that could have been reached and touched at the click of a keyboard. Endless...
Not that I think my perspectives, ideas, viewpoints and insights are equal to those as Paul, Calvin, Luther, etc. but heck, you never know until you lay it out there who will be touched or provoked by my offerings until they're given.
With that in mind... I present the "New Wine Bar." I unapologetically use the term "bar" in my blogspot title and affiliate it with things "Christian, spiritual, religious, etc." with a purpose. It is meant to be what it is... a bar... a place where people gather to partake in something they enjoy... a place where conversation is optimum and ideas are welcomed, heard and laid out among friends. A place where people come to DRINK IN the New Wine of Jesus and be filled. Satisfied. Refreshed. If the concept offends you, there are certainly countless other blogs online that are more suitable to your taste. Find them.
The themes that will be reoccuring are LOVE, GRACE, MERCY, FAITH, RIGHTEOUSNESS, PEACE, JOY, ABUNDANT LIFE, FREEDOM, LIBERTY, SPIRITUAL GIFTS, PRAISE and WORSHIP.
There will be times when the ideas offered will be as simple as a children's Sunday school lesson, others will be as controversial as it can possibly get. Some will certainly find the entries more offensive than my blogspot title. But that's OK.
My grandfather used to love to look at me and quote the Bible saying, "The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the world and they that dwell therein..." The smile that remained on his face long after quoting that verse always left me knowing that his faith in the God who owns EVERYTHING meant him too... and also me. He never let me forget that. It established hope in my heart and joy in my soul. My future belongs to the Lord who owns everything and reigns over all his creation with great love.
Check back with me now and then... leave me your thoughts and reflections on postings whether you agree or not.
But always remember that Christ is our mediator and common denominator as well.
I will not judge you, who does or doesn't serve the same Lord.
But I will LISTEN to your views. I may respond by agreeing or disagreeing. That is my choice and priviledge.
Together we will drink deep at the New Wine Bar.
JP
Not that I think my perspectives, ideas, viewpoints and insights are equal to those as Paul, Calvin, Luther, etc. but heck, you never know until you lay it out there who will be touched or provoked by my offerings until they're given.
With that in mind... I present the "New Wine Bar." I unapologetically use the term "bar" in my blogspot title and affiliate it with things "Christian, spiritual, religious, etc." with a purpose. It is meant to be what it is... a bar... a place where people gather to partake in something they enjoy... a place where conversation is optimum and ideas are welcomed, heard and laid out among friends. A place where people come to DRINK IN the New Wine of Jesus and be filled. Satisfied. Refreshed. If the concept offends you, there are certainly countless other blogs online that are more suitable to your taste. Find them.
The themes that will be reoccuring are LOVE, GRACE, MERCY, FAITH, RIGHTEOUSNESS, PEACE, JOY, ABUNDANT LIFE, FREEDOM, LIBERTY, SPIRITUAL GIFTS, PRAISE and WORSHIP.
There will be times when the ideas offered will be as simple as a children's Sunday school lesson, others will be as controversial as it can possibly get. Some will certainly find the entries more offensive than my blogspot title. But that's OK.
My grandfather used to love to look at me and quote the Bible saying, "The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the world and they that dwell therein..." The smile that remained on his face long after quoting that verse always left me knowing that his faith in the God who owns EVERYTHING meant him too... and also me. He never let me forget that. It established hope in my heart and joy in my soul. My future belongs to the Lord who owns everything and reigns over all his creation with great love.
Check back with me now and then... leave me your thoughts and reflections on postings whether you agree or not.
But always remember that Christ is our mediator and common denominator as well.
I will not judge you, who does or doesn't serve the same Lord.
But I will LISTEN to your views. I may respond by agreeing or disagreeing. That is my choice and priviledge.
Together we will drink deep at the New Wine Bar.
JP
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