From Scattered to United in Christ

I heard an interesting concept recently that has been forming around my heart and mind as I have prayerfully reviewed the power of its message.  So today, I share it with you to consider for yourself.

As we’ve shared before on Midst of Grace, its important to disclaim that many of the historical accounts in the Bible take on a new luster or dimension when viewed through the saving Grace of Jesus Christ.  This has been true in regards to this post, and we rejoice that the unending and finished work of Christ is in our lives!

To begin with, we will start with a story I am sure you have heard many times before – the Tower of Babel as recorded in Genesis 11:1-9 NIV:

“Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. As people moved eastward,they found a plain in Shinar and settled there.

They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”

But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. The Lord said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.”

So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. That is why it was called Babel —because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world. From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth.”

Now, before I continue, I admit there are plenty of historical and contemporary commentaries on why this was done.  Per Theodore Hiebert in ‘The Tower of Babel and the Origin of the World’s Cultures’, Journal of Biblical Literature 126 (2007), pp.29-58, “The first century Jewish interpretation found in Flavius Josephus explains the construction of the tower as a hubristic act of defiance against God ordered by the arrogant tyrant Nimrod. There have, however, been some contemporary challenges to this classical interpretation, with emphasis placed on the explicit motive of cultural and linguistic homogeneity mentioned in the narrative (v. 1, 4, 6).  This reading of the text sees God’s actions as not a punishment for pride but as an etiology of cultural differences, presenting Babel as the cradle of civilization (in contrast to the alternative Priestly traditions in Genesis 10).”  However, for the purposes of this post, we are focusing on a phrase found in Verse 4: “so that we may make a name for ourselves“.

I don’t know about you, but when I do something to make a name for myself, I am pretty darn sure Jesus (or for the Old Testament people, God) is not the focus.  When I want the attention or acclaim, my focus is all about me, my accomplishments, my knowledge, my whatever.  And too often that leads me to places I really don’t want to go.  It appears that may be the case of the people involved with building the tower – and we still do that in smaller forms today!  Check out all the places where leaders of the time make statues or plaques commemorating their work, etc.  And the tower was not just a “hey, look what we’ve done” structure, it had religious tones as well.  Ray C. Stedman writes, “The fact that this was a religious tower-and yet built to make a name for man-reveals the master motive behind religion. It is a means by which man attempts to share the glory of God. We must understand this, otherwise we will never understand the power of religion as it has pervaded the earth and permeated our culture ever since. It is a way by which man seeks to share what is rightfully God’s alone. This tower was a grandiose structure, and undoubtedly it was intended to be a means by which man would glorify God. Unquestionably there was a plaque somewhere attached to it that carried the pious words, “Erected in the year ___, to the greater glory of God.” But it was not really for the glory of God; it was a way of controlling God, a way of channeling God by using him for man’s glory. That is what man’s religion has always sought to do. It is a way of making God available to us.”

So here we and they are, trying to make a names for themselves, trying to share the glory with God, and therefore built this amazing tower.  And God – who really is never surprised is He? – takes matters into His own hands and scatters them throughout the earth, changes up their languages so they can no longer communicate effectively, and this effort is ended.

So, with this emphasis on “look what we can do” or “look what we have done”, we get scattered.  We lose focus on our God. We actually become less effective with those around us.  We seem to repeat that in many of our lives today as well…..

And yet, realizing this is not necessarily true, now is it?  But having just celebrated Pentecost, for perhaps the first time I see how important this day was in relation to my life in Christ.  For as recorded in Acts 2:1-11, the day of Pentecost brought amazing miracles:

“When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!”

So, as the Holy Spirit came upon those gathered together, they began to speak in languages that everyone around them could understand despite their different countries of origin.  They were given “tongues” that brought everyone miraculously together, effectively communicating the miracle of what had just happened.  And this miracle had nothing to do with those it touched, but everything to do with the finished work of Christ, who had risen from the dead, conquered death and sin, and had now released the Holy Spirit onto His people.  There was NO focus on the efforts of the people, proclaiming what they had done or seeking to make a name for themselves – instead, the power of Christ through the Holy Spirit was proclaimed to all around and was the birth of the Christian church.  And the emphasis of this miracle through Christ was the unity manifested in the miracle of communication through one language, understood by many.

I have never seen this comparison before – how when we focus on our own efforts via the law or other means, we perhaps unconsciously are adding a layer of “look what I have done” (or even, “look where I have failed”).  But when I release all efforts to that of my relationship with Christ and the wonder He is doing in my life, I am free to work and love and be around those that God has placed near me!  I am no longer being scattered away, apart.  I am no longer focusing on our differences, but emphasizing the uniting power of Christ Jesus.  When the focus moves from me (or my religious traditions) to that of Jesus Christ, miracles happen.  When my efforts in life are based on the miracle sacrifice that Jesus did to save me (eternally, and even for today) instead of trying to feel or act as if I am “good enough”, lives change.  When I show love to those around me even if they don’t deserve it, unity blooms.

We encourage you today, look to Jesus and all He has done, and accept the freedom He has provided.  Focus on His finished work and allow the “tongues of fire” to grow in you a united place in Christ!

Grace – The Filter for All the Bible

Blessings to you in the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ!

Deana and I have been “researching” if you will the platforms of many belief systems which of course use Biblical verses to justify the foundation of their positions.  And believe me, I agree that this is the place to base beliefs!  The Bible is the lifeline to our understanding of the truths there is.

But Deana and I have been on this path of New Covenant freedom and the power that Grace has in really, truly changing us into followers of Christ.  For it is HIS love, blood, and power that has ultimately changed us.  This change is apart from the law that was handed out to the Israelites through Moses, and is exclusively related to the relationship we have in Christ.

Before I go on, let me throw out some clear parameters as I know when we start talking about Grace some reactions kind of take center stage.  I am taking the following summation from Dr. Andrew Farley:

TWO VERY DIFFERENT DECEPTIONS:

A. legalism:
1. forgiven, but not really forgiven- still need to ask.
2. free, but not really free- still need the Law for morality.
3. new, but not really new- still need to try to die to self.
4. Christ in us, but not really- out of fellowship half the time.

B. licentiousness:
1. totally forgiven so behavior doesn’t matter.
2. totally accepted so behavior doesn’t matter.
3. totally new so I never struggle, nor does it matter.
4. Christ is in me, so it’s all Him, none of me. I go passive.

TRUE GRACE:

1. we are forgiven of all our sins, once for all
2. we are dead to the law; Christ is the end of the law for us
3. our old self died; the battle is between the Spirit and flesh
4. Christ is in me, 24-7, without interruption
5. behavior matters; it can be an expression of Christ and saves a whole lot of earthly consequences.

 

So please know I am NOT suggesting that when we embrace our position under the Grace of Christ, that means we have the freedom to run amuck and do whatever.  But I AM suggesting that now that I have complete freedom to have a full and uninterrupted RELATIONSHIP with Christ, I can begin to learn and grow and BE like Him.  I admit that I have 100% of what I need to walk in His spirit, in His life.  He provides all.

 

So, you may be wondering, what does the Bible have to do with all of this?  Well, it seems that there are plenty of examples where the Bible has been used to justify denominational beliefs (Ex: speaking in tongues vs NOT speaking in tongues or baptism of infants vs dedication, Predestination, etc.), that God doesn’t love everyone but rather he has lots of hate (Ex: Westboro Baptist Church, ‘nut said – okay, obviously extreme), and the list goes on.  In every case, myriad Biblical references can be shown to support the views and beliefs held, even if said views have Biblically “proven” stances that are the complete opposite.

 

Am I saying the Bible contradicts itself?  NO!  I am saying we can build our arguments with the Bible, and that has been proven for centuries……and I offer this:

You also must realize the Bible you read is going to be directly affected by the translator and his own beliefs about the church. If a translator is a Calvinist, he will translate words and order words in a way to reflect his own views.

For example, the translation of the word “adelphos” is the cause of a lot of debate between Christian denominations. Adelphos can either be brothers or a close relative, namely cousins. The word is translated by Protestants to mean “brothers,” though since Mary is believed by Catholics and Orthodox to be an ever Virgin they believe that adelphos is to be translated to mean cousins. Protestants will argue that there are better words that can be used to mean relatives and that - since delphos means womb, it should be translated to mean blood brothers. Catholics counter that it is sometimes used to mean cousins, so it can be interchanged to mean brothers or cousins. Thus in a Catholic translation you will find the verses to say cousins instead of brothers, and in a Protestant translation you will find the word brothers.

So, the crux of my point is that there is room for ideas that can be tainted in your translation.  But more importantly, OUR view of God can and does effect the reading as well!  For example, if I believe God truly hates first – that He can’t get past the sin in my life and really has that hammer drawn just waiting for me to screw up – every scripture I read will point back to that hate.

Example:  Psalm 11:4-6,

“The Lord is in his holy temple; 
    the Lord is on his heavenly throne. 
He observes everyone on earth; 
    his eyes examine them.
The Lord examines the righteous, 
    but the wicked, those who love violence,
    he hates with a passion. 
On the wicked he will rain
    fiery coals and burning sulfur; 
    a scorching wind will be their lot.

If I truly believe God mostly hates, I read this and am discouraged because I KNOW I have been “wicked” or at least angry enough to “love violence” even if I never raised a hand.  I am DOOMED!  And the Bible has shown me again how much God really hates me and is disappointed with me!

But, this is what I propose.  If you accepted Christ as your Lord and savior, the truth is that Jesus died for ALL your sins.  He covered your with HIS righteousness, just like the father of the prodigal son covered him with a beautiful robe when he returned home.  Jesus put HIS righteousness over you.  He did that because he LOVES you and DOES NOT CONDEMN you.  (Romans 8:1-2).  So, with THAT view in mind, read Psalm 11:4-6 again and realize, because you are the righteousness of God because of Jesus, we are not wicked and the wrath of God no longer exists for us PERIOD.

Consider your place within the Grace of Jesus when you read the Bible today!

Reminders: We Are Free in Christ

Too often we as Christians cling to the law to guide us and assist us in our spiritual growth.  And the law is NOT bad, but what part does it (or should it) play in our lives.  In fact, research by Barna Group has shown that 81% of self-identified Christians think that spiritual health is “trying hard to follow the rules described in the Bible.”

But what does the BIBLE tell us about this?

Paul called the Galatians “foolish” for using the law for daily living after salvation:

Galatians 3:1-14 says:

You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort? Have you suffered so much for nothing—if it really was for nothing? Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard?  Consider Abraham: “He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” Understand, then, that those who believe are children of Abraham. The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.”  So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

 All who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.”  Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because, “The righteous will live by faith.”   The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, “The man who does these things will live by them.”  Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”  He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.

 Paul thought having a relationship with the law after salvation was like spiritual adultery after being married to Jesus:

Romans 7:1-6 says (emphasis mine):

Do you not know, brothers—for I am speaking to men who know the law—that the law has authority over a man only as long as he lives? For example, by law a married woman is bound to her husband as long as he is alive, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law of marriage. So then, if she marries another man while her husband is still alive, she is called an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is released from that law and is not an adulteress, even though she marries another man.

So, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God. For when we were controlled by the sinful nature, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies, so that we bore fruit for death. But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.

Galatians 5:4 follows – notice that “fallen from grace” has always been portrayed to me as I have sinned, but in the below context it is very different!:

You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.

Paul even confronted the Colossians about their reliance on “Do Not” rules instead of depending on Jesus alone for daily living:

Colossian 2:20-23 says:

Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules: “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”?  These are all destined to perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings.  Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.

Laws and rules actually CAUSE sin to increase, not decrease:

Romans 5:20-22 says (emphasis mine):

The law was added so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more,  so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Romans 7:4-6 says (emphasis mine):

So, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God.  For when we were controlled by the sinful nature, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies, so that we bore fruit for death.  But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.

The truth is, the Bible says:

Per Romans 6:12-14 (emphasis mine):

Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires.  Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness.  For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace. 

So please, as a believer, think on these things and pray about them and start believing who you already are in Christ.  Let go of those chains of bondage and celebrate the gift Jesus has given you!

Stop Living Under Condemnation

Too often I claim to live under the Grace of Jesus Christ, only to realize that I have taken on the yoke of the law.  “Ah,” I think, “that’s not all bad, is it?”

After all, the law is very important for bringing us to the place of realizing we need Christ:

Galatians 3:21-26 KJV, emphasis mine, “Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law.   But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.   But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.   Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.   But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.   For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.”

Yet, now that we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, the above scripture says “we are no longer under a schoolmaster”, or under the law.

In fact, the law really doesn’t govern us, but condemns us!

2 Cor 3:7-11 NIV, “Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, transitory though it was, will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? If the ministry that brought condemnation was glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness! For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory. And if what was transitory came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts!”

So, if I keep trying to meet the requirements of the law, I will eventually (probably quickly) fail, and I will meet only condemnation.  The Bible has told me that.  But remember, if I realize and accept that the ROLE of the law was to bring me to Christ, and if I remember I have ACCEPTED HIM, the law did its job and I can move on.  Yes?

Because, really, once I am under GRACE, I am no longer condemned!

Romans 8:1-4 KJV, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.   For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.   For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:  That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”

As I remind myself, I remind you – walk in the Grace of Jesus and let HIM work on us to make us more like HIM!!!  Do not rely on our own efforts, but for the Spirit who is in us.

Bible Study: Cheating on Jesus

Last installment we learned about how we, as Christians, need to stop living under the law or even under a hybrid religion that combines the law with grace.  Instead, we should live 100% under GRACE, but even knowing that I think it’s still hard to walk in that.  So today, we are going to discuss this topic a bit more.

The law is so ingrained in us, I will be the first to admit it may take time to even realize how it rules us.  But God, in His wisdom and power, is doing that in my life!

First, picture me I standing at church wearing flip flops.  In the 80’s I called them thongs, but my kids tell me that is inappropriate nowadays.  I stand there teaching Bible Study wearing flip flops and THAT IS JUST WRONG!  I was raised that you should NOT wear these to church and certainly not be on the PLATFORM is such sinful attire!

Oh, clothing certainly is an area that is STRONGLY ruled by the law.  Years ago, when I first became a Christian in a Foursquare church, I was encouraged to wear long dresses and very modest clothing.  Now I am not saying to dress immodestly, but it really felt like the girls in our church were encouraged to dress much more modestly than the boys.  I followed the rules because I wanted to be a good Christian girl, as many of you did as well.  At least we could wear pants and shorts, unlike Deana’s upbringing, but at CHURCH we were told dresses were the best approach.  That even existed when I began to play the drums at church!  I mean, hello – drummers have to sit with the snare between the legs, and I had to wear a DRESS?????  Never mind that, I was told it was more important that “ladies on the platform wear dresses than if they had to sit in a unfeminine manner while there”.  The law for law’s sake is silly sometimes!

And so, to break that, I asked “will it be a sin to wear flip flops today?  Will I feel more holy if I wore closed toe shoes today?”  Now, remember the whole “all things are permissible, but not all things are beneficial” study last week?  I will say it would be VERY inappropriate for me to stand here in a bikini – and I won’t even explain to you how traumatized you would be – but there ARE some reasonable do’s and don’t about these things.  But the LAW that flip flops are “signs of sin” is just hokey.  And what kind of burden do we put in these sort of areas to people we are trying to bring to church so they have FREEDOM IN CHRIST?

“Ah come on, come to church!  We want to love on you!  But make sure you don’t wear flip flops!  God FORBID you come as you are!  Clean yourself up before you come to OUR church.”

Now, this is not a big deal at CCC, where this stereotypical church rule is not as prevalent, but you get my drift?  What is something that YOU feel is required to do before you come to church?  Is it a man made law or requirement?

That can also be true for those who judge people who dress nicely for church – imagine thinking someone needs “more grace” because they came to church in a suit! – it goes both ways!

I am reminded how the Jews who received the grace of Christ struggled with this sort of thing, too.  In fact, even APOSTLES OF CHRIST got into drag out fights over this issue!

Galatians 2:11-21 (Paul is sharing this story)

When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong. Before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray.

When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter in front of them all, “You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?

“We who are Jews by birth and not ‘Gentile sinners’ know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.

“If, while we seek to be justified in Christ, it becomes evident that we ourselves are sinners, does that mean that Christ promotes sin? Absolutely not! If I rebuild what I destroyed, I prove that I am a lawbreaker. For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”

Thousands of years later, are we STILL claiming that righteousness can be gained through our actions and/or the law?

But the law is not as obvious as this in many of our day to day activities.  It often permeates the way we think!  For example, I started my new job this past week and was able to go out to lunch with some of my co-workers.  That was really great, to connect with them outside of the office.  So here we were at In-N-Out Burger and somehow the topic of “being unclean” came up.  One of my co-workers began to explain to us that to Jewish people in Biblical times, if they touched a dead body they could not stay within the city or attend temple activities for about 6 weeks.  And then he went on to share the story of the Good Samaritan.

His version went something like this:

One day a man who was seriously injured laid on the side of the road.  At the same time, a priest who was heading to his duties in the temple was walking down the street.  The priest, wanting to avoid the man, went to the other side of the street and passed him.  In the mean time, the Samaritan – who was the dirtiest of the dirty by the virtue of being a Samaritan – helped the man immediately.  He even paid the inn keeper to care for him and promised to come back and pay any amount due, as long as the man was cared for.

And the moral of the story?  The priest cared so much for God, that he knew he could not touch the man because he would be unclean and then he would not be able to serve God and God’s children for several weeks.  And we, as Christians, could be more concerned about serving God like the Priests of the Bible and yearn to remain clean for God.

Seriously.  No joke.  True story.

But how does it read in the Bible?

Luke 10:25-37, as told by our Lord Jesus (emphasis mine)

On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

“What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”

He answered: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

“You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”

But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’

“Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”

The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”

Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

Our Lord did not say that the priest or the Levite acted as neighbors to the injured man.  Instead, it was the Samaritan, the most unclean in their society!  It is clear that the LAW was not lifted up in this parable (aka, do not become unclean) but rather the compassion of LOVE.  And how important it is that we take the time to find out where are “law blinders” are touching on stories where it totally changes the true message!

That leads me to share with you a friend of mine – a former co-worker of mine is an Orthodox Jew.  Now, it may seem that I am picking on her or her beliefs, but that is not what I mean to do.  She is just a great example of what we ALL do in some areas of our lives.

My friend – I’ll call her Laura – was born in Israel although her parents were from Europe.  She has always lived an Orthodox Jewish life.  She observes the Sabbath by observing Shabbat beginning each sundown on Friday to sundown on Saturday.  She observes all the religious holidays, studies the Tanakh which is an acronym formed from the initial Hebrew letters of the Masoretic Text’s three traditional subdivisions: The Torah (“Teaching”, also known as the Five Books of Moses), Nevi’im (“Prophets”) and Ketuvim (“Writings”)—hence TaNaKh.  She only eats kosher food (which was fun when we’d go to client sites that made things like sausages!), and follows the law in every way that she could.

And you know, it was great fun to ask her about her beliefs, to compare our views of Bible stories, and ask about certain things.  Like, did you know there is such thing as kosher wine?  When I asked her what made wine kosher, she said basically that is was produced by Orthodox Jews, and the process itself was not special.  But going through these “kosher lessons”, some things were revealed to me.

For example, there were several rules that Laura shared with me related to the Sabbath:

•    You could not cook, so all food was prepared before sunset
•    You could not carry items in or out of your home
•    You could not work (or even have non-Jews serve you!)
•    You could not “light a fire”

But then, when I asked more questions, things got a bit more complex

•    You “could” cook, as long as it didn’t get the food too hot
•    You could probably carry small things outside of the house (such as your Torah)
•    She would NOT work, so that was not an issue.  But some would tell her reading her kindle was sort of like work since she was a computer programmer and the kindle was like a computer.  She didn’t agree with that.
•    “Lighting a fire” was subjective, as many Orthodox Jews believed that also meant you could not turn on electricity during the Sabbath.  Laura didn’t take it that far, but she said sometimes if others were in her house she would at least turn the lights on BEFORE Sabbath and leave them on so that she wasn’t LIGHTING anything……..it was already on.  In contrast, some of her friends went so far as to unplug their refrigerators.

Where is became even more complicated was in the day to day activities at work with Laura.  For example, at our work we had to account for 100% of our time even though we were salaried employees, due to how we billed our clients.  Laura would often say she would enter times very late at night or even early the next morning on days where she knew she needed to leave early, even though she actually worked at different times or even days.

This speaks to a recent Harvard Business Review article that I read that shared many “high moral standard” employees often break the most rules because they feel they stay on the “straight and narrow” so often that a little turn here or there is permissible.

And really, what I am trying to point out that basically, the more rules you create to make you FEEL righteous, the more parameters you will create to circumvent those rules!  And yet, these rules make us feel holy, special, set aside, and so many other things.

And then there are those of us who do all we can to be acknowledged as “good people”.  It reminds me of a church I visited once, where it was preached from the pulpit why members of that congregation were better than everyone else.  Some things the Pastor shared:

•    The men wore suits
•    The woman wore dresses
•    The children went to the church’s Christian school
•    The members NEVER went to movies, few watched TV, and NO ONE listened to worldly music
•    They followed the Bible to a “T”, and sin did not live in their house
•    They only sang songs from hymnals, just as God intended
•    Because of these actions, God listened to these members more than any other souls on the earth.

You get the gist of it.

I am NOT saying any of those activities are wrong or right, just sharing their view of themselves.  In fact, I have to say that I was indirectly called out because it was said that “no woman” in that church would EVER sin by wearing pants, though I was there in such horrible garb!  So, I walked out understanding this – they had arrived and were righteous, at least in their own minds!

And yet, when I went out to my car in the parking lot – the church’s LOCKED parking lot and where they made sure only church members parked – there was a huge dent in my car.  A dent that was not there before I parked my car that morning.  And there was no note saying, “Hey, call me and we can work this out.”

All the things that they were “doing right” did not make them righteous.  And yet, whoever dented my car, if they had Jesus in their heart, was already righteous even though they hit my car and took off!  They were righteous because of CHRIST, not because of anything that Pastor shared…….and their righteousness was not negated by their actions with my car.  At least, if you want to measure it by GRACE!  If you measure by even THEIR law, they blew it big time.  And I must share, I had a hard time swallowing what I had listened to for over an hour and comparing it to my car!

Here is what Paul says about these examples.

Romans 2:17-29 (The Message) – picture yourself and your rules as the Jews Paul is talking to.  Whatever it is that makes you feel holy or the actions you do that makes you feel like you deserve God’s grace:

If you’re brought up Jewish, don’t assume that you can lean back in the arms of your religion and take it easy, feeling smug because you’re an insider to God’s revelation, a connoisseur of the best things of God, informed on the latest doctrines! I have a special word of caution for you who are sure that you have it all together yourselves and, because you know God’s revealed Word inside and out, feel qualified to guide others through their blind alleys and dark nights and confused emotions to God. While you are guiding others, who is going to guide you? I’m quite serious. While preaching “Don’t steal!” are you going to rob people blind? Who would suspect you? The same with adultery. The same with idolatry. You can get by with almost anything if you front it with eloquent talk about God and his law. The line from Scripture, “It’s because of you Jews that the outsiders are down on God,” shows it’s an old problem that isn’t going to go away.

Circumcision, the surgical ritual that marks you as a Jew, is great if you live in accord with God’s law. But if you don’t, it’s worse than not being circumcised. The reverse is also true: The uncircumcised who keep God’s ways are as good as the circumcised—in fact, better. Better to keep God’s law uncircumcised than break it circumcised. Don’t you see: It’s not the cut of a knife that makes a Jew. You become a Jew by who you are. It’s the mark of God on your heart, not of a knife on your skin, that makes a Jew. And recognition comes from God, not legalistic critics.

Stop cheating on Jesus with your own theatrics at righteousness.

Here are some more examples, which I have pulled from Andrew Farley’s book THE NAKED GOSPEL.

First, let’s go back to the times of the Israelites.  Back then they were in the middle of the desert and had their Tabernacle, where sacrifices were made to God.  Imagine one day a priest found a PERFECT lamb, with not one blemish.  The priest rushes to the Israelites and said, “WOW!  I found THE perfect lamb, and after I sacrifice it to the Lord, we will NEVER have to perform any other sacrifices!  ALL of our sins – FOREVER – will be covered!”

The Israelites, in their excitement, accept the sacrifice and then dismantle the Tabernacle and begin to live a guilt-free live “under the blood”, knowing that the perfect lamb has done away with sins once and for all.

Of course, you and I both know this never happened like it is described here.  Instead, the Israelites continued to give animal sacrifices over and over as no single sacrifice was enough to perfectly cleanse them.  Hebrew helps to explain this:

Heb 10:1-2  NIV

The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. If it could, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins.

Now, WE know as Christians there WAS such a lamb in Jesus Christ, and it is confirmed in the Bible as well:

John 1:29

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

Because of Jesus, there is no longer a need for the tabernacle, the temple, or the daily sacrifices.  We have been cleansed ONCE AND FOR ALL.  There is NO method or procedure required for us to remain forgiven.  Instead, we are invited to depend on the onetime sacrifice as the means to lifelong forgiveness, without any strings attached.

1 Peter 3:18 (first portion)

For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.

But maybe you’re like me – heck, like so many of us humans – who thinks, “Yeah, that’s great!  But I need to ASK for forgiveness.  I need to repent.” OR “I need to act this way or that way to prove I am holy” or so many other things.

I may even quote 1 John 1:9 which says

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

I am not a theologian, and this verse is complex when taken out of context.  But let me clarify something very quickly as this is really a different lesson altogether:

•    This is the ONLY verse in the entire NT that says there is a method for maintaining daily cleansing.
•    It is not in Romans, Galatians, Ephesians, Corinthians, Philippians, Colossians, or Thessalonians.
•    When 1 John was written, Gnostics has infiltrated the church and popularized the idea that Jesus was only spirit as God would never stoop to the level of being human.
•    Further, Gnostics also did not believe sin existed
•    John was trying to show the Gnostics both views were incorrect.  Because of that, John purposely uses physical words in his opening statement to challenge this Gnostic heresy.  Later, he says that anyone who doesn’t believe that Jesus came in human flesh is NOT FROM GOD (1 John 4:3)
•    As such, John was not talking to true believers, because we know Jesus walked on the earth.  Instead, it was addressed to non-believers, including Gnostics who had entered the church.  In fact he says in 1 John 1:8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us – A direct comment to the Gnostics.
•    True believers in Christ KNOW they have sins that need to be addressed, because to become a Christian you have to admit you’re a sinner!
•    As such, John here is concerned with Unbelievers, encouraging to confess their sins, so that they can accept Christ and be saved.  Or, in other words, the verse is an invitation to become a Christian.  Once you’re a Christian, the confessing is done.
•    Notice verse says, “from ALL unrighteousness”?  There is no one-by-one concept here!

So, let’s break that down and think about this.  I asked myself, “do I REALLY believe that I have the power to control the power of Jesus’ blood to forgive?”

“Do I REALLY believe if I talk to God more and more, he will pour out more of His blood, because He’s holding some back from me now?”

And then I asked myself this: Do I REALLY believe the blood of Jesus was sufficient to bring me a lifetime of forgiveness and cleansing, or do I actually believe it was lacking, and therefore I need to fill in the gap with my own efforts?

Crazy questions, yes?

So let’s talk about and try to understand God’s economy – from the beginning of time, cleansing included BLOOD which covered sin.  The animal’s blood is what covered the Jews, and the blood of Jesus is what covers us today.

Hebrews 9:22 says it this way

In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

But even with knowledge, we push the truth away, saying that this forgiveness is for heaven, but POSITIONALLY on the earth “once and for all” does not work.  Maybe it’s because it feels way too easy!

“You mean I don’t have to do ANYTHING to be forgiven?  That doesn’t sound right.”  My human pride doesn’t want to admit that it really IS a free gift, and that I am not powerful enough to extract my own salvation.  And, truthfully, what would I do if I didn’t have my daily list of sins to feel guilty about anyway?  I mean, I was taught all these years that I need to confess my sins, to ask forgiveness, and take a truthful tally of my sins.

But there’s no blood in those actions, is there?

Do I REALLY believe the blood is only effective in HEAVEN?  That it lacks power here on earth so I need to do my piece?  Aren’t remembering, confessing, asking, and claiming MY powers?

Ultimately, it becomes OUR responsibility to make the cross carry real benefits in the present when we do this……

And that’s just plain cheating on Jesus!  At it’s plain insulting to His sacrifice, don’t you think?

In adopting this fine-sounding belief system, we fail to recognize that the cross is a historical event.  Its effects are already accomplished, no matter what we believe or claim.  Our actions do not cause more blood to be shed.

So I encourage you – start accepting the fact that, as a Christian, you are saved by grace!  Today, tomorrow, it’s done.  Repeat the following truths as much as needed:

•    Only blood brings forgiveness
•    Jesus’ blood will never be shed again
•    Therefore God is SATISFIED
•    And I enjoy lifelong and eternal cleansing
•    Jesus plus nothing!

Bible Study: Jesus Plus Nothing

Today I’d like to share with you a concept that, at times, has apparently caused great controversy and debate.  Even in the bible study, when this topic was touched on we all struggled in some way or another.  And yet, even with this struggle, I wonder, “Why should this be so HARD?”  I can’t answer that, but wanted to say straight out that you may hear some things that initially at least will cause you to say, “NO WAY!” and that I understand that reaction.

So without further adieu, everyone who calls him or herself a Christian, in theory, can attest that they’ve been saved by Christ.  That they have been covered by the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ, who died on the cross for each one of us.  His death, and more importantly resurrection, broke the chains of bondage to sin and has allowed us eternal life as well as provides HIS righteousness for us TODAY.   This miracle is described in our Gospel, as recorded in the New Testament.

Everyone agree?

Yet, many of us do NOT live under grace, or the “Jesus plus nothing” umbrella, but instead have created a hybrid religion.  That is not healthy for us as Christians, nor to the world as we try to proclaim His Truth.  As described in Andrew Farley’s book THE NAKED GOSPEL (quoting Adrew Murray):

“Many Christians still walk in Old Covenant bondage.  Regarding the law as a Divine ordinance for our direction, they consider themselves prepared and fitted by conversion to take up the fulfillment of the law as a natural duty.”

Hannah Whithall Smith, in her book “The God of All Comfort”, put it this way:

“If you Christians want to make us agnostics inclined to look into your religion, you must try to be more comfortable in the possession of it yourselves.  The Christians I meet seem to me to be the very most uncomfortable people anywhere around.  They seem to carry their religion as a man carries a headache.  He does not want to get rid of his head, but at the same time it is very uncomfortable to have it.  And I for one do not care to have that sort of religion.”

Why do we as Christians insist on viewing ourselves as not good enough, or define ourselves by our sins?  How about us Christians who “do and do” and don’t even really have time to interact with our Lord?  Or even feel Him?  Or we are so busy condemning others to even THINK about loving them.  Why are we compelled to do this?  This is not a present day problem, even Martin Luther struggled with this.

Martin Luther, who many would say was a very faithful man and has done so much for Christians for centuries, struggled with guilt.  Yet a large portion of his life was ruled by self-flagellation and other physical abuse in attempt to atone for his long list of sins.

Mother Teresa is another great example, and many of you can say you know she worked endlessly and unselfishly for so many in need.  Yet, in a personal diary entry penned to Jesus, she wrote the following:

I am told God loves me – and yet the reality of darkness and coldness and emptiness is so great that nothing touches my soul.  Before the work started, there was so much union, love, faith, trust, prayer, and sacrifice.  Did I make a mistake in surrendering blindly to the Call of the Sacred Heart?

Even after working for over 40 years exclusively for Christ, Mother Teresa struggled for meaning, purpose, and a stable relationship with God!

Can you related to these two amazing Christians, at least partially?

How did this happen to these two, maybe even to us?  Let’s go back in time and do a little research.

In Exodus 24:3,4 and 7, it reads:

When Moses went and told the people all the LORD’s words and laws, they responded with one voice, “Everything the LORD has said we will do.”  Moses then wrote down everything the LORD had said.  Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people. They responded, “We will do everything the LORD has said; we will obey.”

This amounted to 600 commandments in all – more than 350 items and actions to abstain from and nearly 250 actions on the Jewish to do list.  Some actions were even punishable by death!

And how did the Israelite’s fair with these laws?  I think they reaction is best described as a rollercoaster ride!

Psalm 78:56-59 says:
But they put God to the test and rebelled against the Most High; they did not keep his statutes.  Like their fathers they were disloyal and faithless, as unreliable as a faulty bow.  They angered him with their high places; they aroused his jealousy with their idols.  When God heard them, he was very angry; he rejected Israel completely.

But you may say, “he give them a break, they may have not known better!  Maybe if they were knowledgeable on the Lord, they’d fair better!”  So let’s see how the Priests handled God’s commandments:

Malachi 2:1-2

“And now this admonition is for you, O priests. If you do not listen, and if you do not set your heart to honor my name,” says the LORD Almighty, “I will send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings. Yes, I have already cursed them, because you have not set your heart to honor me.”

Time didn’t seem to help the Israelite’s get their act together, either, for centuries later Saul or Tarsus – maybe the most committed of all – wrote the following:

Romans 7:15

I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.

So, struggling to do the right thing to feel the presence of God is not a new thing at all.  But maybe Martin Luther, Mother Teresa, even the Israelites had it wrong!

But certainly, you can say, there were many Old Testament Heroes who were SUPER close to God and received great blessings from Him.  Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, even David!  Yet they lacked SO MUCH compared to us if we are to believe the Bible.

Hebrews 11 speaks of the faith so many of these heroes manifested, which saved them or caused great miracles to occur.

11:33-34

And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies.

11:39

These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.

So what was this that God had planned, this “something better” than what amazing people received?

The Old Testament defined who could approach God, and how.  So it’s with amazement that I realized though this study that our High Priest, when viewed through the Old Testament , does not meet the requirements to hold this office!  The law requires that a person be from the tribe of Levi to qualify as high priest, yet Jesus was from the tribe of Judah!  This has been confirmed in Hebrews 7:13-14.  Do you agree that no one from the line of Judah has EVER served as priest?  The law forbade it.  That’s because the law and Jesus just don’t mix.

That’s why it’s amazing to read and receive what Hebrews 7:12 says:

For when there is a change of the priesthood, there must also be a change of the law.

So, with this change of the law, should we live exclusively under Christ’s grace, should we follow the law, or should we combine the two?

My struggle IMMEDIATELY escalates at this point!  I mean, we are ambassadors for Christ and our walk is important when we represent Him, right?  It’s important to live righteously, to be holy, to honor our Lord!  So how can you even PRETEND to ignore the law?

Do you feel me?

But grace is still a contract, with Jesus Christ directly.  In contrast to the old contract that God wrote through Moses, GRACE will never be replaced!  IT IS THE FINAL WORD CONCERNING A HUMAN’S RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD!

Hebrews 8:8-9

But God found fault with the people and said:

   “The time is coming, declares the Lord,
   when I will make a new covenant
with the house of Israel
   and with the house of Judah.
 It will not be like the covenant
   I made with their forefathers
when I took them by the hand
   to lead them out of Egypt,
because they did not remain faithful to my covenant,
   and I turned away from them,
            declares the Lord.

God always intended to usher in something RADICALLY DIFFERENT, and that passage clearly states something totally new was coming.  And this new way was going to solve a huge problem – our failure to remain faithful.  Whatever this NEW is, it somehow CAUSES people to remain faithful, even when their own strength fails them!

THERE IS REALLY NOTHING WRONG WITH THE OLD IN ITSELF.  IT SHOULD STILL BE ESTEEMED AS HOLY AND GOOD.  THE ISSUE WITH THE OLD WAS THAT NO ONE COULD OPERATE SUCCESSFULLY UNDER IT.  FOR THAT REASON, GOD ORCHESTRATED A DIFFERENT WAY.

In the new, we have a personal connect with God, as explained in Hebrews 8:10:

This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time, declares the Lord.  I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts.  I will be their God, and they will be my people.

I want to share a very subtle change in this verse, one that I overlooked for years.  For the writer of Hebrews purposely MISQUOTED the Old Testament; he changed the old testament “my law” to “my laws”.

Contrary to popular teaching, it’s not the law of Moses that is written on our hearts, It’s GOD’S LAWS!  The New Testament speaks to this and Jesus also helps us with this.:

•    The Royal Law –
o    James 2:8 – If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right.
•    The Law that Gives Freedom –
o    James 1:25 – But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.
•    Jesus’ Commands –
o    Mark 12:30-31 – Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’There is no commandment greater than these.”
o    John 13:34-35- “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
o    John 14:15 – If you love me, you will obey what I command.
o    “Jesus plus nothing”

Okay, if you’re anything like me, your mind might be filled with “but what about this?” and “what about that?”

So what IS the law for????  The law is there to point unbelievers to Jesus, not to lead believers.

But how can I know I am on the right path if I don’t have a road?  Jesus is the lamp that lights our paths.

1 Cor 10 talks about “all things are permissible, but not all things beneficial”
•    In context of eating meat used for sacrifices to idols
•    Today, it could be drinking around an alcoholic
•    Today it could be having tattoos
•    Neither action is wrong to Christians, but it may cause problems for others OR create a habit that is not beneficial for the believer.  Neither has anything to do with our righteousness in Christ.

So let’s talk a little more about specifics.  Are you hearing me say we should be lawless?

NO.

Am I saying standards like “thou shall not kill” or “there shall be no other gods” no longer matter?

NO.

But let’s put this in context –

•    do rules and regulations make us RIGHTEOUS?
•    If we DO those things, are we focused on our Lord?
•    If we fail on one of those things, do we really believe Jesus has saved us from it already?

The biggest struggle I have with the concept of GRACE over the LAW is the dichotomy they represent.  Yes, I am 100% forgiven, but I need to represent my Lord, and it’s easier for me to do that if I have a list of standards to follow.

But I am telling you, the whole FOCUS changes when you accept that you only need to LIVE under GRACE!

For example, you hear Pastor Bob talk about tithing often.  He tells us this is the only place in the Bible where we are told to test God, to see what He will do.  That is the truth, I believe it.

But when I thought about tithing in the context of the LAW, I saw it very differently.  You see, it was something I had to do to prove I was a faithful Christian.  It was a requirement of mine, established by the Bible.  And in THAT context – I call “the law context” – I approached it one of these ways:

•    With fear – I better tithe or I will be in trouble with God (the church, my Pastor)
•    With rebellion – Why is it a rule anyway?  My church has plenty of money and God can do all things, anyway.
•    With Guilt – after all Jesus did for me, how can I say I love him when I can’t even give 10% of what He gave me?
•    With Appearance – I don’t want others to think I am less of a Christian
•    With Defiance – I’m just not gonna do it.  I will handle my money the way I want to, period.

All of the above have something in common – they are all 100% focused on ME and MONEY!  NOWHERE is my focus on my Lord.

However, when I began to view tithing in the context of GRACE (as I believe Pastor teaches is), it took on a whole new set of clothes:

•    With Truth – Jesus loves me so much, that He died for me so that I don’t have to fulfill ANY requirement
•    With Appreciation – Jesus provides for me so much, thank you Jesus!  Thank you for blessing me with this income.
•    With Freedom – I know I will have a home/food/clothing/etc. no matter what, so I want to give a small portion so others can know this truth too.
•    With Abundance – Lord, you HAVE truly proven Yourself!  The more I give, the more I have – both monetarily and spiritually!

Notice the above, which truly happened to me.  Do you see much talk about money?  ME?  JESUS was the focus!  The law points to US, Grace points to JESUS, even in things such as the standard of tithing!  And the truth is, because Jesus is IN each of us, the closer we draw to our established relationship with Him, the more clearly He will guide us with His Holy Spirit!

Another way I reconciled the dichotomy of Grace and Law was an analogy I heard from my dear friend, George.  And let me tell you, George gets fired up about the Grace we already have in Jesus!  He does NOT want us to be tied down by the Law!

“Breakfast in Bed”

Everyone likes breakfast in bed!  I know I love it!  But breakfast is bed is very different when viewed under the Law!

Let’s say you’re married to the Law.  The Law demands YOU prepare breakfast everyday, right at 7:30am.  That breakfast needs to be exactly on time, perfectly prepared (not too hot, not too cold, eggs over easy, pinch of salt) everyday or else your marriage may be in jeopardy.  Can you imagine the pressure you’d be under each day?  There is no room for mistakes, no room for empathy if you’re feeling unwell, didn’t sleep through the night, etc.  There may even be days when you RESENT the law, and grumble about having to serve breakfast in the first place.  Or, if the eggs are cold (as they are sure to be) you have no recourse to fixing it and the guilt may overwhelm you.

To further complicate matters, this marriage TO the law cannot be ended UNDER the law, because the law says you can only remarry if you are a widow, or your spouse dies.  But you know what?  Here comes Jesus!  HE died, and the Bible tells us that we are crucified with Christ, even though we live!  So, WE died with Christ, breaking that marriage to the Law, and now we are free to remarry Grace.

Romans 7:1-4 says:

Do you not know, brothers—for I am speaking to men who know the law—that the law has authority over a man only as long as he lives? For example, by law a married woman is bound to her husband as long as he is alive, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law of marriage. So then, if she marries another man while her husband is still alive, she is called an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is released from that law and is not an adulteress, even though she marries another man.  So, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God.

Having read that, how do you think Jesus feels if we say we are married to Him and His Grace, but keep going back to visit our old spouse, the Law?  ………..But let’s get back to our breakfast, with our new marriage to Christ:

Now breakfast in bed under Grace is very different.  IN THIS arrangement, JESUS prepared the breakfast each day just the way you like it.  As it turns out, it’s exactly perfect each day – over easy, not too hot, perfect seasoning – everyday, without fail.  And, service is provided with the most amazing love and care!  Day in and day out!  He NEVER fails!

And then suddenly, something amazing happens to you after each breakfast is served!  Suddenly, YOU begin to want to serve JESUS breakfast, and HE says, “oh, that’s okay, I can do it, it’s already prepared!” but you say, “Oh Jesus, I love you so much and appreciate you so much!  I don’t care if I am required to make breakfast or not, I WANT to because I love you!”

Grace CAUSES us to do right, to take on the actions of Jesus.  The Law does not!

Now, maybe you have in your head another situation.  What about those who claim to be Christians, yet they are hypocrites!  Maybe their walk shows no signs of Jesus, maybe they even ridicule the things of the Lord, even as they claim to follow Him!

Well hey, what do Jesus’ commandments say to do?  Love them.

Further, it is usually not OUR job to measure the worth of a man, or to decide his heart.  Now, there are parameters where leaders such as Pastors of this church can address actions or behaviors, but overall Jesus really says to us, “what is it to you?”

Like how Jesus dealt with Peter and John in 21:15-23.  Keep in mind this is after Jesus’ death and resurrection, after Peter denied Christ 3 times.  The disciples were fishing when John see’s a man and says, “It’s Jesus!”  Before you know it Peter jumps out of the boat, swims to Jesus, and soon Jesus and Peter are going over the “Peter, do you love me?  Feed my sheep” conversation.  Jesus goes on to tell Peter he faces a tough death, and ends with FOLLOW ME.

About this time, here comes John, who had NOT swam to shore is a flurry to see Christ.  I can see, even with Peter’s failures in the past, he felt pretty good about himself right now in relation to Christ.  He may have even felt a little competitive with John.  So he looks at mister “mosey on in” and says, “Hey Lord, what about HIM!”  And Jesus’ reply?  You don’t need to worry about him, you need to just worry about following ME!”

So, I encourage you, don’t go back to your first spouse, the Law.  Stop living under that life.  Let Jesus’ grace, which exists inside of you, allow you to grow in Him.  Focus on JESUS, and if others bug you, let Jesus handle it.  Don’t try to read a list to be righteous, walk under grace which has already made you righteous in Christ.  You can succeed by living under this truth – Jesus plus nothing.

Bible Study: Knowing vs Doing

You know, there’s a difference when you KNOW something and when you ACT ON something.  Some are basic truths, like I know for a fact that if I exercised more I would lose weight and would feel healthier overall.  However, I hardly ever exercise and have a great many justifications as to why.  More complex is that I can be given some pretty strongs facts that bungie jumping with a licensed firm is very safe, but you will NOT catch me jumping off ANYTHING with a rubber band tied to my ankles.  This is very similar to me spiritually, because we’ve talked before that as a believer, I am a Child of God.  However, I don’t often walk in that truth in my day-to-day life.  My salvation?  No worries.  Today’s problem?  Ah…….

Let me step back and share some background with you – and maybe you can relate to this.  A little over a year and a half ago Deana and I were in dire straits.  My job at the time was bouncing payroll checks, was being investigated for IRS fraud, Deana was unemployed, and we were living in Southern California.  Fear often gripped me, not knowing if we would get through the next two weeks if my check bounced, let alone deal with all the stress that was consuming our lives.   During this time I was slowing thawing to the idea of going back to “organized church”, the establishment that I had ran from since coming out and being viciously treated.  Our family slowly began attending Glory Tabernacle and, in the midst of what I felt was the darkest point in our lives since coming out, we began to stop focusing on the horrible situation we found ourselves in and started welcoming back the Lord into our lives.

Long story short, through what has to be nothing but a miracle, I received a job offer in Dallas.  It included perfect timing, the pay I requested, the type of job I wanted – you name it, I WAS AMAZED and rejoiced at what the Lord had done.  And He also brought Deana, me, and the kids to Crossroads Community Church, where we have found forever spiritual family members and have grown so much in the Lord!  It was wonderful!

So, this is where I tell you that I learned to not stress, to live in the fact that I am  King’s Kid, and trust in the Lord.  But I can’t…….

You see, the honeymoon period of my new job wore off within 6 months, and before I could say “can I have a raise”, I was writing my practice resignation letter – full of vinegar, I might add – and sending out resumes.  It’s not really important WHY I was feeling that way, more that how I reacted to my situation.  I asked for prayers, I prayed, and everyday the anger inside of me grew, the fear in me grew, the feeling of dissatisfaction almost consumed me at times.

Oh, my faith was strong at this point – I KNEW I could pray to God and He would help.  I mean, he helped me find THIS job in the prefect timing, right?  And the Bible assures me of this as well, too.

1 John 5:14-15 NIV

This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.

So I would take this Truth – you all agree the Word is living and true, right? – and I prayed like this:

“Lord Jesus, I know You hear me!  If it is your will that I find a new job, then make it happen!”

And then the cycle would continue!  No new job, not even a NIBBLE on my resumes!  And the things that bothered me the most at work were growing – more people bothered me.  More issues that I felt were wrong appeared.  I would try harder to shine the light of Christ throughout my day, but inside bitterness was taking hold of me.

Now, I think it would have been good for me to remember at this point the following verse – turn to Proverbs 20:22 NIV

Do not say, “I’ll pay you back for this wrong!”  Wait for the LORD, and he will deliver you.

Some days I was interested in deliverance, I wanted revenge.  I wanted to file claims against my firm, contact the media, you name it – I WAS JUSTIFIED!  And I don’t know about you, but I was not walking in the Truth that I was a Child of God.  I was letting my frustration, my anger, and my impatience rule me.  Further, I don’t think I was even thinking about MOVING in the truth that I could truly expect Jesus to ANSWER my prayers.

Let’s check out Romans 5:1-5 NIV

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.  Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

You see, I was out of whack.  I was not feeling the follow:

•    Peace
•    Faithful
•    Appreciation (or rejoicing)
•    Hope
•    I was NOT persevering
•    My character was NOT being improved!

Instead of was feeling:

•    Anger
•    Fear
•    Worry
•    Bitterness
•    Impatience
•    Apprehension
•    Vindication
•    The list goes on…..

I think you get the drift!

So let’s recap:

•    Gina and family in bad situation
•    God saves Gina and family miraculously
•    Gina and Family start walking in the Truth of who they are in Christ?  NO!
•    Gina and Family find themselves in the same mess, different city

While all this was going on, miracles were still happening in our lives by no power of our efforts;

•    Deana found an amazing job with the City of Dallas
•    We have learned to walk in faith in other areas of our lives, such as tithing
•    We built and moved into a brand new house, which is a story in itself!
•    We have watched our children grow in their own faith
•    I was continually receiving God’s favor at work, winning prizes, iPad, money, getting bigger and more important accounts…..

And yet this issue with my work remained for over a year!  I sincerely prayed, put my petitions in the prayer box, and TRIED with my own efforts to make this thing happen.  It now went like this:

“Lord, I know I have inherited everything you have as my own, I know I am your child with Your full authority on earth.  If your will says there is a new job for me out there, I believe it and received.  Please make it so.”

And then Pastor started a series and once again started proclaiming the truth as derived from 1 John Chapter 5 –

•    We KNOW we have salvation in Christ
•    We can trust Jesus to not fail us
•    We should be like Jesus and not worry about the details
•    If you have Jesus, you have HIS life and He will not flake on you!

And then Pastor challenged us –

•    BELIEVE IT
•    Live like it’s TRUE
•    Not as proof that we are Christians, but because it strengthens our relationship with Jesus.

Now, let me tell you, half of me is Type A – I like control.  Relying on Christ is not fleshly easy for me.  And I am not going to stand here and tell you I walked out of church and everything fell into place.  But I started “doing” what Pastor encouraged us with instead of just “ACCEPTING” or “KNOWING”.

•    I acknowledged that I still needed to learn something from the Lord – Hosea 4:6a – my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge.
•    I knew I needed to rely on my faith in Christ.  Romans 10:17 – Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.
•    I told myself, even when it was just words, that Jesus has got this

Jesus knew the desires of my heart, yet all along I never really believed that He would answer MY prayers.  Somehow, despite all that He had done for me and my family, I didn’t walk in the knowledge that He’d really provide me a new job.

Then, as I was preparing our home Bible Study, the following truths were revealed to us:

Romans 8:32 – He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?

Hebrews 6:18 – God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged.

“Jesus has got this, and I can trust Him”  God cannot lie.  It’s not that He won’t lie – He is not able to lie.  If He could, He would lose His identity as The God of Truth.  SATAN is a liar!  He wants us to believe we are powerless.  In Christ, we have the keys to walk in victory.  God has given us power through His Son, and Jesus’ death and resurrection has already defeated Satan.  This truth means that God has removed every hindrance.

Colossians 2:15 – And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.

“Why was I focused on getting revenge, when it has already been dealt with?”

2 Peter 1:3 – His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.

“There is nothing else I need to MOVE IN THE TRUTH that I will have that new job I wanted”

Hebrews 12:1 – Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

“It’s not too late for me to learn this lesson.”

I was determined that my attitude would change, but here’s another truth – often, the more you walk in the Truth, the more Satan stirs up trouble.  I left for Alice TX, a small town near Corpus Christie, for a client engagement that Monday.  While I was on site Tuesday and Wednesday, all of a sudden several co-workers became very belligerent with me, and in ways that had never happened before.  Some were outright lying, and others became so enraged that they were very hurtful.  I was out in the middle of nowhere, at first wondering what the heck was going on!

I ain’t gonna lie, there were moments when this was happening when I easily fell into my old habits, but the Holy Spirit in His loving-kindness reminded me to walk in His Glory, not the circumstances that surrounded me.  On Thursday, as things were building and it felt for the first time that my job might even be in jeopardy, I prayed then went to Monster.com because of my whole “you need to act in the truth” thing, which is a little different than “I’ll show you”.  I applied for the first two jobs in the list – one for an Accountant Position, the other a mix of accounting and software support similar to what I am doing now.  I could NOT tell you anything about either job as I just felt I needed to act and stop wallowing in my fear at that time.

So Thursday continued and Satan certainly was not letting up, but through the Power of Jesus I just kept saying to myself, “I will not be robbed of God’s Glory.  You have no power over me.”  And this is what happened next:

•    I got an email saying from a person named Melanie, “Gina, we received your resume and would really like to talk to you!”  I was at the client site, so couldn’t even check what job this was for, but still ……
•    I replied to the email and a 3pm phone interview was scheduled during my trip back to the airport.  At this time I found out it was the software position and I was able to research them a bit.  The call went VERY well, but was told the hiring manager would be going on vacation, so I might not hear more until after 8/8.
•    By the time my plane landed at 7pm that night, I had a new email saying the hiring manager wanted to talk to me the next day.  Now, Satan was in full force, because one of the owners of my current job had blown up right before my flight.  But as I replied to that email, I said “Jesus, you provided me a new job and I will NOT let Satan turn my face from you.  He can go to hell!”
•    The Friday call went VERY well and the hiring manager Johnny said he’d like to meet with me the day he returns from vacation on 8/8.  However, shortly afterward Melanie called and said the company didn’t want to wait that long, so one of the owners was flying out the following Wednesday to meet with me.  I was amazed!!!!!

Then low and behold, here come Shaw teaching on Sunday – last week -  and sharing her story about praying for her foot to be healed.  If you were here, I am sure you remember it.  But if you were NOT here, here is the gist of it:

•    At first she’d pray something like this: “Lord, if it’s in your will to heal my foot, I receive it” and then would later ask her foot, “How you feeling?”  Does that sound familiar?
•    But after realizing the TRUTH that we are ALREADY healed, she changed her stance to something more like this, “Jesus, I receive the healing you’ve already provided and thank you for healing my foot.”  Then, if her foot started giving her hints of trouble, she’d say “Foot, you need to align yourself with the Word!”  She went from a life-long foot problem to being HEALED.

So I began last week with a new attitude, and was often gently reminded by Deana, that I can and should LIVE IN the Truth and ACT ON the Truth of my position in Christ.  So I changed up my prayer:

“Lord, I no longer want to focus on my problems at work, but instead focus on You.  I will no longer fight my way through each day with myself and other people.  I will let You reign over every situation and not worry about getting revenge.  Most importantly, WHEN I receive the new job that you’ve already provided for me, I will share the miracle of who You are and all you’ve done.”

I walked into work Monday and, through the power of the Holy Spirit, there WAS a change!  Now, don’t forget the previous week had several issues that should have put me in a state of fear or at least encouraged me to come in fighting.  However, in areas where I disagreed with approaches or issue, I voiced my concern very diplomatically, but didn’t escalate to the previous arguments that were my norm.  This type of thing happened all day, to the point where several different co-workers asked me, “are you okay?”.  My reply was “Well, yes I am!”  And that reminded me of Pastor’s sermon last week from Mark where the people were afraid when the crazy person was no longer crazy.  ☺

Wednesday came and I met with Chuck, one of the owners, and I walked into that interview with several praying for me and with my cloak of the Truth surrounding me – THIS WAS A DIVINE APPOINTMENT AND JESUS HAS GOT THIS.  I was NOT nervous, I was NOT anxious.  Everything went well.  And, bottom line, I was offered the position the next morning at 8:05am – one week to the day I applied!

This job was 100% provided by my Lord, through no real effort on my part, and I truly believe all I really needed to do on my side is walk in the Truth of who I am in Christ.

I don’t know what you’re in the middle of, but I leave you these two verses:

Psalm 27:1 NIV

The LORD is my light and my salvation—
   whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life—
   of whom shall I be afraid?

Phil 3:12-16 (The Message)

I’m not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don’t get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I’ve got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I’m off and running, and I’m not turning back.

So let’s keep focused on that goal, those of us who want everything God has for us. If any of you have something else in mind, something less than total commitment, God will clear your blurred vision—you’ll see it yet! Now that we’re on the right track, let’s stay on it.

Bible Study – Reframing Our View of Ourselves, Part 2

Another repost.

For those of you who did read part 1, we talked about how our views of ourselves can skew the reality of who we are in Christ and how God views us as well.  We talked about how we often need to redefine, reframe, and rebrand these views to align with God’s truth.  Too often we go through life believing we are a certain personality or define ourselves a certain way.  Some of these views can be healthy, such as thinking you are a quick learner.  Others can become an albatross around your neck, like believing you will always struggle financially.  This process of thinking, or viewing ourselves, also manhandles our spiritual lives, and like other areas of our existence, we get set in our ways, and these views control us in ways that God never intended them to.

We began the process of reviewing these views by using my years of coaching basketball for girls 12-15 years old and how their view of themselves mirror many of the struggles we face in our own lives.  The first life I shared was that of Carol, who truly believed she was worthless and she brought nothing to the table, and like myself in view of who I am in Christ, we covered how she grew to the point of knowing she had talents – just as we learned we are the righteousness of God and instead of “sinners saved by grace”, we are “the King’s kids saved by grace”.  I have learned that making adjustments on the definition of who I am has huge impact on how I see God, how I see myself as His Ambassador, and how I can allow myself to be used by Him as He sees fit.

Today, I am going to continue the theme of reviewing my basketball coaching days and focus on another team member – Stephanie.  To share with some of you who may not have read part 1 – I was somewhat at a disadvantage, as the male coaches didn’t feel I would offer them much competition as a female coach.  Further, I had been given a motley crew as a team, pretty much the Bad News Bears of basketball teams.  However, knowing that God promised that I could do ALL things through Christ, I knew SOMETHING good was going to happen with this team, regardless of how we appeared on the scoreboard.  I began to get to know the girls on a personal level and connect with them emotionally as well as on the court.

Last week we talked about Carol, who came to my team with not much talent.  Today we are going to talk about Stephanie, who sat on the other side of the spectrum.  She brought A LOT of talent to the table; she could dribble very well with both hands, was quick on the court, had a very good shot, and seemed to sense what needed to be done during plays without a ton of direction.  On the surface, she was the best player I had on my team, hands down.  To be completely candid with you, I felt a real sense of relief when I first saw that she was on my team!  I said to myself, “well, at least we’ll score SOME points with Stephanie on the team!”.  And, well – she fed very nicely into my overall plan of showing the male coaches what I was made of – you know, the whole “booya” thing…….

But what was less evident, at least initially, was that Stephanie had her own hang ups.  She was not a team player at all; in fact, if she had it her way, she’d score all the points, make all the plays, and be THE team if she could.  But if you’ve ever played basketball – or any team sport – you know that this is not very reasonable OR effective.  Further, there were things Stephanie could learn and I was more than willing and able to teach her, but she would not have anything to do with it.  She told me straight out she knew everything her 14-year-old basketball-playing body needed to know!  “Listen Coach,” she’s say as she rolled her eyes, “go show the other girls what you have to show them.  They need you’re your attention, but I have got this down.”  Added to the mix was a very harsh and arrogant attitude towards life in general.  She had, as I liked to call it, “major attitude”, and the other girls on the team were not too fond of Stephanie either, especially the ones that didn’t have natural basketball skills.  Stephanie didn’t foster a teaching spirit with them, but actually alienated most of them.

As I was reviewing my memory of Carol and how her life reflected pieces of my own spiritual walk, I realized there are aspects of Stephanie’s life that exist in my spiritual life as well, or at least remind me of others I’ve encountered in my life.  Let’s break down these types of characters:

The “I have learned all I need to learn” type of people.  You know the kind – the ones who sit in the Bible Studies or the sermons and write down the noted scriptures, mumbling to themselves, “Oh my word!  Brother Smith really needs to hear this message!  He is so weak in the area of tithing.”  Or, “my sister is a big sinner in this area – I am going to buy a CD of today’s sermon so she can learn how to change.”  Never mind if the sermon or scriptures could help ME……naw, I don’t really need what is being shared, because after all, I GOT THIS!  I know I’ve done that before – focused on OTHER people’s lack of growth in a certain area instead of noting it for myself.  Doesn’t this have huge implications or implies a bit of superiority?  Even if it is true, this can become a problem if you’re not careful.

The “I am a mature Christian, and need to help others to mature.”  Now hear me – mature Christians are very important in the body of Christ, and we should respect them and listen to them as they offer wisdom and strength to us.  But sometimes that wisdom turns a corner and becomes, well, a bit arrogant.  I know I’ve been there a time or two.  And sometimes that wisdom or knowledge or – I don’t know, fill in the blank – gets us a little puffed up.  WE KNOW that we are mature and have been blessed by so much, but sometimes that knowledge becomes weakness, even arrogance.

Sometimes this area can be very subtle.  It was easier for me to peg this in my own life when it was focused on the outside – if someone came to church in jeans it was easy for me back in the day to sniff a bit and suggest they needed to be schooled in proper church attire.  But it gets more dangerous, in my opinion, when the sniffing is based on things that are harder to define, like a person’s personal relationship with the Lord or their motivations or heart.  Yet I have been known to spend a good amount of time internally measuring these very things!

Let me be real, while I’ve seen other people act as these two types of people, I am guilty as well.  I have felt pretty secure in my own efforts and knowledge – even have gone so far as to think I have been better than others I’ve encountered.  But what does God say about these sorts of attitudes?

Turn with me to Luke 18:9-14 NIV, which says:

To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable:  “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’

“But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’

“I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

Does this mean we are NOT the righteousness of God, as I was reminded last week when considering Carol’s life?  NO!  Should we stop living in the truth of our place as adopted children of Christ?  NO!  But did we do anything to BE the righteousness of God?  NO!

Let me read a few scriptures that make this concept more clear:

1 Cor 4:7 says, “For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?”

Gal 6:3-5 says, “If anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves.  Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else, for each one should carry their own load.”

Eph 2:4-9 says, “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.  And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.  For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.”

So, we need to be careful not to put too much emphasis on the talents or maturity God has bestowed on us.  We are where we are today because of God’s great love for us, for He has adopted us and given us His inheritance – NOT because of how great we are.  We can walk assuredly in the righteousness of God, but be careful to not think too highly of ourselves because the glory is His.

How about the “Hey, I am a faithful worker, and a hard worker at that!” kind of person?  You know, it’s tough sometimes – ESPECIALLY when you work hard at being good at something.  Stephanie worked HARD at basketball – she was faithful at practicing her shooting, running to maintain her stamina, reading about techniques and plays.  When you invest so much into something, sometimes you want to be acknowledged for your efforts – and even receive some of the acclaim, the prestige for those labors.  I get that, and so does God.  But there are times when we need to realize and accept that we need others in this life – that we can’t just do everything on our own and maybe we DIDN’T do everything ourselves.  And really, as Christians, we need to remember how weak we would be without Jesus. This leads us to depend on the Lord to meet our needs. In turn, we then appreciate and exalt Him for what He has done and continues to do for us.

Stephanie and I had a love-hate relationship.  She was very strong across the board and didn’t want to have a “girly” relationship with me.  I had to be tough to connect with her.  Telling her some “touchy-feely” things like the other girls looked up to her and she could add so much to their lives did not work with her.  She wanted to win and viewed our team as a hindrance to that.  And she had a very elevated view of her own abilities, as I’ve already shared.  So the first thing I needed to do is show her – as painful as it might be – that she wasn’t “all that”.  I let a few games go with her plan to be all things and not use the other members of her team, and we were sorely beaten.  If you know anything about basketball, you know that if there is only one player making things happen, it’s easy to shut that player down – and the other teams did.  And when that happened, I asked Stephanie how she could lose the game, because after all, she said she could do it on her own, so she got the blame on her own too!  And she kept on trying – I have to give her that – she truly believed she was all the team needed.

But then I took Stephanie completely out, and relied on my motley crew, who over the weeks had begun to trust each other and rely on each other no matter if they made mistakes during plays or not.  Stephanie voiced great disdain for this choice, as she shared with great confidence that they could never succeed without her – that she was far better than any of the other team members.  Yet they started to win without the help of Stephanie, and no words I could say would have expressed this truth better than the facts she was seeing with her own eyes.  It was at THIS point that I reminded Stephanie how good we’d be if she could be on this team as well…….

This brings up the “Hey, you can’t make it without me” type of person.

How true is this in the body of Christ as well?  You may have tons of talents or gifts – wisdom or knowledge – and you may start feeling you are the reason things are happening around you.  Yet the work of the Lord is made complete with the ENTIRE body!  Your position may be more visible or prestigious, but it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s BETTER.

Rom 12:3-5, 16 says, “For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. ”…..”Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.”

1 Cor 12:21-26 says, “The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.”

So, how can we as Children of the King act to utilize our wisdom, knowledge, and talents in such as way that we don’t become conceited, arrogant, judgmental, or focused on ourselves instead of God?  A great example is Jesus himself!

Phil 2:3-11

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.  In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.”

And with humility and love we can make things happen:

Col 3:12-17:

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

And this leads to my next struggle with Stephanie.  She began learning that the to succeed, she needed her teammates.  She began to understand that she couldn’t do it on her own.  But it was altogether a different situation to suggest or accept that she should HELP her teammates become better players.  She still felt there was this veil of separation between her and the others, and that somehow she would be tainted if she lowered herself to their level and shared some of her basketball secrets or talents.  And truly, she would rather hold onto the idea that she was the “star” of the team rather than lose a bit of the limelight, yet win more games.

Has that happened to you before?  Have you hesitated to encourage amazing growth in other Christians around you because you’re afraid that they might surpass you in the things of the Lord, or at least in the areas that might receive more attention?

That brings to mind the “I gotta hold onto my testimony – and look at all that I can do” type of person.

I will share that when I was younger in age and in Christ, I got a lot of attention for playing the drums in my church.  I liked that attention very much, it did great things for me in many ways – and I used it often to share how God blessed the desire of my heart by allowing me to learn to play the drums – something I had always wanted to do.  But soon I loved the attention more than the blessing and boy, when others began to play the drums as well as me, I was NOT pleased.  I was very upset in fact, because this was supposed to be MY thing!  THIS was what made ME special!  This was MY testimony, not theirs!  So, I understood in part what Stephanie was going through – the emotions she faced.  And – thanks be to God – I was prepared to show her the errors of her ways.

I love when Jesus takes life situations – ones that we have all experienced in some way – and explains how they really should go down.  One parable that often keeps me grounded is found in Luke.

Luke 14:7-11 says, “ When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, he told them this parable: “When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give this person your seat.’ Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all the other guests. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

We need to accept the blessings of God – period.  We need to give Him the glory, no matter WHO is being raised up for His purposes.  We need to view ourselves with humility, and others with honor, and BAM – in doing so God will give us more honor then we deserve!  But if we insist on exalting ourselves (even as we view ourselves or our talents), we won’t get very far.  And in this way I shared with Stephanie that she could do great things WITH HER TEAM and receive more glory in that way then any glory she thinks she could obtain by herself.

Stephanie DID finally see the light, and became a true team player.  She started accepting the plays that I would arrange, and even created some of her own – taking the time to teach the other girls the movements and how to make the plays a success.  Many of the things I had previously viewed as weaknesses in Stephanie began to morph into great leadership skills as she began to act out in humility towards those around her, shedding the arrogance that was so prevalent in her life.  I heard her say phrases more often such as, “I can work on that” instead of “I know what I’m doing”.  And in doing so, the other girls on the team began to feel safe with her, they weren’t afraid that they would wilt in her shadow as much.  And I was amazed and learned so much in the process.

I pray that, as Christians, we are often reminded that we are who we are because of Christ.  That we have each been given unique and important talents for His purposes, and that each of us are important in His sight.  But that we need to be mindful of how we view these talents and each other, and always yearn to remain humble and loving.

Redefine – I am clothed in Christ’s righteousness, not my own

Reframe – viewing the interests of others makes me great in the Lord’s eyes

Rebrand – I am a team player!

Bible Study – Reframing Our Views of Ourselves, Part 1

Another repost from my other blog!

For several weeks God has been placing on my heart that I often do not see myself as He wants me to.  He has shown me aspects of myself, and others I’ve been blessed to know, and how we need to align our views with how He sees us.  Todd has shared with us three concepts that can help to work with this – re-define, re-frame, and re-brand.  Kidder taught us how we are already in the heavenly realm and have full authority through Jesus Christ, here on earth.  So I am convinced that the Lord has brought this topic up for a reason.  So I am sharing Part 1 in a series on Reframing Our Views of Ourselves.

Too often we go through life believing we are a certain personality or define ourselves a certain way.  Some of these views can be healthy, such as thinking you are a quick learner.  Others can become an albatross around your neck, like believing you will always struggle financially.  This process of thinking, or viewing ourselves, also manhandles our spiritual lives, and like other areas of our existance, we get set in our ways, and these views control us in ways that God never intended them to.

For years I was blessed to be a basketball coach, mostly girls 12-15, is various leagues.  Well – let’s be real here – if you’ve ever been around 12-15 year old girls, some days are more traumatic than others!  There is more drama is five minutes than most face in a year!  But nonetheless, coaching these girls taught me so much.  My favorite league was through the YMCA because there was a huge spectrum of players from various social backgrounds, different income levels, lots of different races – it was amazing!  I kind of fell into coaching; my daughter wanted to play and the Y was a coach short.  Since I had played for years, I figured I could jump in, and that’s when the fun first began.  No offense to anyone here, but all the other coaches were men, and immediately it was made clear that I was to submit to their superior knowledge and abilities.  I was told straight out that I would have fun, but that the other coaches didn’t believe my girls would provide any sort of competition with me as their coach – being a woman and all.  This was further emphasized as I received all the “rejects” girls on my team;

•    The really good player, that had a horrible attitude, was rebellious, and was not teachable
•    The first time player
•    The really short player

You get the idea – I was given The Bad News Bears of basketball teams!  Let me tell you, I was pretty irritated by it all, but if you’ve known me very long I was quick to roll up my sleeves and say “bring it!” I quickly took inventory of the situation – I knew basketball, I knew I could relate to this odd group of girls some suggested were humans, and I could do anything I needed for this team to succeed!  And for some strange reason, I knew I was meant to be there.   Was I being cocky to think I could pull this off, even when everyone else was saying I couldn’t?  Maybe.  But for some strange reason, I was reminded at the time of the following verse – Phil 4:13

NKJV – I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

I love the Amplified version of this verse:

I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me [I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who [a] infuses inner strength into me; I am [b]self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency].

So, I walked in the truth that, no matter what, I could DO this because God’s Word told me I could!  Because this verse DOESN’T say “you can do all church related things”, or “you can do important things that are deemed holy”.  No, it says “ALL THINGS”, even coach a basketball team.  Call it cocky, but I call it God’s view of me and the situation!

My first plan was to look at each girl not just as a basketball player, but as a person.  Sure, I needed to measure their basketball skills and how they could be used for the team, but I wanted to connect at a deeper level.  I wanted to reach out to them and show each love, acceptance, and try to be an ambassador for Christ.  I vowed to teach the girls to care about each other, and in doing so they could really become a team – and that the scores of the games had nothing to do with it really.  But in that process, I ran up against the GIRL’S view of themselves!  So, the Lord has been reminding me that, like my own life and maybe yours, we need to break the chains of our view of ourselves.  We need to re-define, re-frame, and re-brand!

Through this Bible Study series, I am going to share with you the story of several girls I had on my team, and how I believe the Lord has revealed that their struggles effect some of us – or maybe even pieces of us.  The first player I am going to share with you was Carol.

In looking at Carol, you immediately saw that she had a hard life; her clothes were warn and couldn’t be classified as “cool”, she was often not very clean, and her mother was often distracted by life trials that pulled her away from watching her daughter’s games or practice.  Carol struggled in school, often got in trouble for not doing her homework, and never really seemed to succeed at the things she was supposed to.  These characteristics carried over onto the court; she wasn’t a great dribbler, she didn’t run very fast, she had difficulty following directions.  It wasn’t that she was TRYING to misbehave – in fact, she seemed to WANT to listen and succeed.  I wouldn’t define her as rebellious.   I also noticed she never wanted to touch the ball – she didn’t want to engage in the game of with the other girls, but she really preferred to just sit on the sidelines at all times.

In getting to know Carol, a few things became evident – she truly believed she was worthless.  She didn’t think she was very smart.  She also blamed herself for her father leaving her and her mother.  She felt that her mother didn’t really take care of her, but left Carol to care for herself, which solidified this belief in her mind regarding her father leaving.  She didn’t think she brought anything to the table; in life, at school, or for her basketball team.

We know some people who are like that when dealing with God.  “I can’t go to church because, well, I sin too much.  Once I get my life in order, THEN I will see what God is about.”

But what about us Christians?  Some of us think like that, even partially.  How many of you have heard, or even said, “I am a sinner, saved by grace.”  Ah, you may say – as I did for many years – “but that is a humble view and we have been saved from such a horrible life”.  This is completely true.  But let me tell you, there have been way too many years of my Christian walk where I was like Carol – sludging along, shoulders hunched over, afraid to be used by God because, as the horrible sinner that I am, I didn’t want to blow it!  “Don’t pass the ball to me!  I will just screw everything us because, well, I am a worthless sinner.”

I was a slave to this view for too many years, but what does GOD say?

John 1:12-13 NIV says, “Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.“

Well, I say to myself, that says I am a child of God, that I have been born of God.  I stand a little taller, but I am not convinced yet that this is not some parable that really means something else.  Yet, turn with me to:

Ephesians 1:3-6 NIV, which says, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.”

Now wait a minute – I am adopted by God and He did it because He loves me?  He loves YOU!  So tell me how I can walk around, shoulders slumped over, feeling the weight of the sin that I keep holding onto, keep defining myself by it, instead of acting like the King’s Kid!  And maybe it doesn’t happen overnight, but if you BELIEVE THE WORD, and start thinking “Hey, I am a King’s Kid” instead of “I’m a sinner, saved by grace”, just think what might happen!

When we are born again – we become sons and daughters of God and heirs to His Kingdom. It’s not just a metaphor – it is a physical, spiritual, and mental reality. We are a New Creation. And not only is it the reality for every Christian, it is here and now – not reserved for eternity.  The issue then lies in our ability to understand and live as New Creations.  Re-define, re-frame, re-brand!

And not only that, but through our adoption by God, He has given us our full inheritance – we are not sitting at the table because God is “doing the right thing” or “wants to be nice”.  He is not saying that we are second-class family members because we were adopted, and really we’re there but really aren’t “blood family”.  His Word says that we are His sons and daughters, that we are fully grafted into His family and receive all that He has to give – we are BORN OF HIM when we accept Him!

You know, as time went on Carol’s story became very interesting.  She was a tough nut to crack, but she was worth every moment of effort!  I first forced her to try little things, like standing in one place and receiving a pass.  Then I made her my “main defender” and told her she was the best on the whole team.  She really turned out to be actually, but at first it was the job that took the least amount of coordination.  I also asked about school, her life, and shared encouraging words with her in several areas other than basketball – trying to communicate she was worthy of my love, her mother’s love, and that of our Lord.

Thinking of Carol, the thing that touched her the most when we talked was this premise, based on Jeremiah 29:11 NIV (For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.) – I would often say to Carol, “God wants the best for you, in fact He has amazing plans for you!  He is going to raise you up, He doesn’t spend all day thinking of ways to hurt you.  He wants you to FEEL excited about today – and tomorrow – because He holds your future in His hands.  And girl, you’re going to make things happen!”

And God says more!

Turn to 2 Cor 5:16-21 NIV and consider this verse with a clear image of who we all are in Christ – notice the describing words that are used for US:

“So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:  The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

The first thing that jumped out at me was the reference to AMBASSADOR.  Merriam-Webster defines ambassador as “an official envoy; especially : a diplomatic agent of the highest rank accredited to a foreign government or sovereign as the resident representative of his or her own government or sovereign or appointed for a special diplomatic assignment”

That sounds pretty prestigious, doesn’t it?  There have been some very important ambassadors historically – Benjamin Franklin to France,  George HW Bush to NATO….they are big league people and I would be impressed to meet them (well, especially Ben, but you get my drift).  But what is more important for you to understand is that GOD SAYS WE ARE IMPORTANT TOO, AND WE ARE “AGENTS OF HIGH RANK” for Him TODAY, and we have His authority and righteousness to carry out the work NOW!

But too often we’re like Carol, focusing on our failures, or maybe on our own efforts to become righteous, like the Jews did for so many years.

In the Old Covenant, righteousness had to be attained through keeping the law perfectly (Deut 6:25). It is the righteousness of man because it was to be attained through man’s effort – it was the blood of animals that covered their sins until the Messiah came, and it wasn’t very effective.

In the New Covenant, righteousness is a gift (Rom 5:17, Eph 2:8). It is not something that we can earn. It is called the righteousness of God because Jesus kept the law and gave us His righteousness (Rom 10:3, Phil 3:9). It is given by grace and received by faith.  AKA no efforts on our parts are involved.

Rom 3:21-22 Amplified says, “But now the righteousness of God has been revealed independently and altogether apart from the Law, although actually it is attested by the Law and the Prophets, Namely, the righteousness of God which comes by believing with personal trust and confident reliance on Jesus Christ (the Messiah). [And it is meant] for all who believe. For there is no distinction,”

So, we need to accept with confidence that, when we receive Christ into our hearts, we are a New Creation and the Righteousness of God!  We can STAND TALL in that knowledge, MOVE in that knowledge, and WORK in Christ’s AUTHORITY as Christ’s ambassadors.

Remember when I said I put Carol as “the best defender” because it was the “safest” position for her?  You know what, it turns out she really rocked the defense, and before our very eyes she began blocking shots, stealing balls, and turning games around for our team!  And something miraculous began to happen – she started talking to the other girls, she started smiling, she even started practicing shooting at home because she knew she needed extra time to catch up with the other girls.  Her mother came to me with tears in her eyes and said, “I don’t know what’s come over my daughter!  She is so different, she isn’t depressed and withdrawn anymore.”  They even got to talk about some of Carol’s feelings about her father and how she felt her mother didn’t care about her.  I believe these changes, by the grace of God, began when Carol began to view herself in new ways.

So I learned many things from Carol – I should no longer walk in shame, but instead walk in the Truth that I am a King’s Kid, saved by grace.  Even more than that, we are EMPOWERED and HAVE AUTHORITY to walk in righteousness – so live in that instead of the skewed view many of us hold onto!