Category Archives: Sanctification

On Belay

Leave a reply

You look at the yawning chasm, the thin rope bridge and think, “No way!” But, it turns out, there is a way. Rope courses are designed to show how much more you can do than you thought possible.  You can muster up the courage to try if you trust the safety harness.   They have you “on belay.” The instructor shouts, “Go ahead; I got you!  You can do it”  And if you trust him, you just might screw up your courage and give it a shot.  If you fall, the harness keeps you safe (hopefully…).

With that in mind, read this:

No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.  –  (1 Corinthians 10:13)

A big reason people fall from rope courses is their fear that they can’t make it.  When they trust the harness and step out in confidence, they discover they can make it. In a similar way, in our struggle against various temptations, frequently the belief that we will fail becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.  But when you trust Jesus, His Holy Spirit lives within you. I’m a very real sense you are “on belay. ”  In that condition, God may allow you to experience temptation, but only in a measure you can withstand.  The trick is to trust His “harness” will truly keep you safe.  Trust Him, and with each step across the temptation, focus on how God has provided a way of escape.

Notice, the “escape” is not from the temptation, but from failing.  The “escape” allows you to withstand the temptation.  To endure it.  To not fall.

Next time you face that familiar temptation – the one that has come to your mind right now, the one that has caused you to fall so many times in the past – picture God calling out to you, “Go ahead; I’ve got you on belay.  You can do it!  Trust Me!”  Then screw up your courage and give it a shot…

Bound Up and Freed

1 Reply

If the ability to fix broken hearts is an identifying mark of the Messiah (See the previous post: “What to Do with a Broken Heart”), what about James Taylor?  Remember his song,”Handyman?”

Hey girls, gather round, listen to what I’m putting down.
Hey babe, I’m your handy man.
I’m not the kind to use a pencil or rule, I’m handy with love and I’m no fool,
I fix broken hearts, I know that I truly can.

Nobody who starts out with “Hey girls, gather round…” knows how to truly fix a broken heart.  I think the same critique can be leveled against a newer song by the group, Indecent Obsession.  (“Fixing a Broken Heart”  –  Really?  With an indecent obsession?  Give me a break!)   When Jesus came to bind up the brokenhearted, it was by the power of the Holy Spirit, a genuine healing, not the temporary whitewash of a new infatuation.  It was that genuine healing or “binding up” that marked Him as the Messiah.

But it was not the only identifying role of the Messiah.  Here’s a bit of the rest of what Isaiah prophesied:

The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,
because the LORD has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor;
he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and the opening of the prison to those who are bound  –  (Isaiah 61:1)

There is more to it, but some of what the Messiah (Jesus) was sent to do was to bind up broken hearts and to set free those whose hearts were bound up as prisoners or slaves.  Most of us know what it is to be broken-hearted.  And most of us know what it is to be stuck or bound in our hearts with an unhealthy habit or addiction.  Jesus came to fix both circumstances, especially since the things that bind our hearts are frequently also what caused our hearts to be broken.  Much of the time, I suspect, this is the case.

Before you try to grapple with the deeper issues of sin and atonement, the cross and resurrection of Jesus, make sure you understand this part of what He came to do for you.  He came to repair what is broken in your heart and to set free what has been held captive there.

Why would He do that for you?  Because He made you and He loves you.

The New Way of Freedom

Leave a reply

I used to steer clear of Jesus because I didn’t want to be confined by all those uptight rules.  Ironic, when in truth, following Jesus allows one to cast off the rules (more fully explained in the previous post, “The New Way“).  It’s not that the rules were bad, but that you don’t need them if you are listening to the Spirit of Jesus, the Holy Spirit.  Moreover, rules don’t work because they arouse our human urge to break them. There is something about a sign that says, “Don’t Touch” that makes us want to do it. Rules try to stop us from heading in a negative direction, toward sin and death.  The Spirit leads us in a positive direction, into the joy of living gracefully.  The Spirit leads us toward rich, satisfying life.

 

So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.  And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit.

Tyndale House Publishers. (2013). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Ro 8:1–4). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.

The New Way

4 Replies

When Scottish aristocracy can no longer afford the expense of maintaining a castle and the palatial grounds, sometimes they donate the property to the State.  They continue to live in a portion of the castle while the rest of it is opened for public tours.  When you tour such a place, you are carefully watched by guards and restricted by theater style barricades as you file by rooms filled with suits of armor, swords and ornate furnishings.  It’s quite amazing, well worth the trip, but don’t step out of line.  They are ready for you…

Imagine, if you got to know the son of the Laird, the heir.  What if he invited you for a visit at the castle and said, “Come on, let me show you around.”  Now you wouldn’t need to stay in line, wouldn’t need to stay behind the barricades.  You could simply follow the son through the place, going where he went and doing what he did.  You could even go hang out with the family in their special quarters.  Doing so, you would break some of the rules established to keep the general public from trampling the place, but you would still be well within the confines of what the family desired.

A similar transformation occurs when one gets to know the Son of God and follows Him through His place.  Where once we were beholden to “the Law,” all the rules and regs in the Bible, now we have been released from that and simply follow the Son.  As Paul said,

“… 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.”  (Romans 7:6b)

Notice, in following Christ, it’s not “anything goes;” we still “serve.”  However our obedience is no longer accomplished by banging into barricades and watching out for the armed guards.  Instead, it is marked by the fluidity and gracefulness of paying attention to His Spirit and going where He leads.

1 Reply

Once upon a time there was a warehouse filled with cell phones that thought they were calculators.  Their manufacturer had designed them to be phones, but their SIM cards had been damaged.  They were dead but did not realize it.  They had battery power and several working apps so they thought they were “alive.”  One day the manufacturer sent someone to bring them to life.  He came with copies of his own perfect SIM card, offering to replace their damaged cards with his own. Most of the phones thought he was crazy and rejected the offer. But those who allowed him to make the exchange were astonished to discover all the new ways they could operate once they could receive a cell signal.  It was as though they came to life for the first time.

Once upon a time there was a planet filled with dead people who thought they were alive. Because their bodies worked and they could think, they assumed they were experiencing all that life had to offer.  One day, their Creator sent Someone to fix them and bring them to full and abundant life.  Here is what they wrote about Him:

In him was life, and the life was the light of men.  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.  (John 1:4-5)

Jesus offered to connect them for the first time with the “Life” and “Light” of God’s Holy Spirit, bringing them to full and abundant life in a whole new way.  He would exchange what was damaged in them with His perfection, personally accepting the cost of their damage and allowing them to operate as their Manufacturer intended.

The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.  (John 1:9–13)

 

No Vacancy

Leave a reply

Many New Year’s resolutions fail because it is not enough to simply stop harmful and habitual behavior.  The vacancy formed must be filled with something good.  Anyone who has gone on a crash diet and failed knows the truth of this.

The same principle is true in the spiritual realm, although the stakes are much higher.  Jesus illustrated the principle like this:

“When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and finding none it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds the house swept and put in order. Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there. And the last state of that person is worse than the first.”   (Luke 11:24-26)

Attempting to keep one’s soul “swept clean and put in order” may seem possible temporarily, but ultimately fails.  What we need is a new “resident” living in the house of our soul.  We need to hang a “No Vacancy” sign out for returning evil spirits.  Which makes this promise of Jesus exceedingly good news:

Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.  (John 14:23)

Hearing and Doing

Leave a reply

Look for repeated words as you read the Bible.  Sometimes you will be rewarded with new insight  I learned that again as I read Jesus’ parable that begins in Luke 8:4 about the farmer who sowed seed. 

As Jesus explains the meaning of the parable, He uses the word, hear, repeatedly.  Those alongside the road who hear the Word of God have it snatched away by the devil and fail to believe.  Those who hear the Word and receive it in a superficial, emotional way soon fall away. Those who hear but are then consumed by riches and worries do not produce any fruit from it.  But those who hear with a good heart and hold it fast keep on bearing good fruit.

But wait; there’s more!  In what seems like an abrupt change of subject, Jesus talks about the futility of covering a lamp so it cannot be seen.  And then he says this:

Take care then how you hear, for to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away.”   (Luke 8:18)

Hmmm….   And then Jesus’ mother and brothers show up but can’t get to Him.  When Jesus hears about it, He says this:

“My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.”  (Luke 8:21)

If you read through that whole section from verse 4 you will see several more times in which the word “hear” or “listen” (same original word) is used.  Apparently, it is all connected by what it means to truly “hear.” Hearing the Word of God makes no difference except for those who understand it, put it into practice, and spread it around.

Brand New

2 Replies

In the Lego Movie, there is a scene in which a silly, Lego ghost descends from above, hanging from a visible thread and slowly spins around like a spent yo-yo.

image

This character, whose name is Vitruvius, looks pretty stupid and weak except for one thing: Morgan Freeman provided the voice for this character.  And Morgan Freeman could bring gravitas to a dish mop.  Imagine how cool it would be if you could go into a business meeting with your boss and present your case with Morgan Freeman’s voice…

Consider this: 

2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

When someone surrenders to Jesus by faith, they receive something that makes them completely new.  It isn’t merely a voice-over from a distinguished actor.  It is the very life of the Creator of the universe. 

Brute Force Was Too Weak

4 Replies

Emily was dying of leukemia. Everything the doctors tried hadn’t stopped the disease.  Traditional treatments for cancer bombard the body with poison and radiation, but when those things didn’t work, a new, experimental treatment was tried on Emily.  Instead of trying to pound the disease into submission with brute force, they took tiny immune system cells from her body and modified their DNA.  When these tiny cells were put back into her body, they began to kill the cancerous cells.  Today, 3 years later, Emily is a normal, healthy fifth grader.  I’ve included a link to this really cool story below.

But it got me thinking: When God looked down and saw the Earth, overrun by the deadly cancer of sin, heading inevitably toward death and destruction, He did not bombard it with raw power.  He did not flood it with poison, radiation, or even flood waters, as He had unsuccessfully done in early days.  Instead, He sent a tiny, helpless baby, Who came with a new DNA: eternal life.  His therapy for the curse set loose on this planet seemed too small, too powerless to ever prevail over such a terrible disease.  And yet, His cure is spreading, one person at a time, as each one believes and is reborn.

Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.  (John 5:24)

No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found,
Far as the curse is found,
Far as, far as, the curse is found.  (Joy to the World)

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Here is the link:  http://www.nbcnews.com/health/cancer/gene-editing-huge-leap-forward-fight-against-cancer-n484716

The Flip Side

Leave a reply

Norman Rockwell never painted a Thanksgiving like the one I had this year.  I spent the day in bed with a bad case of bronchitis, missing my wife, who died six months ago.  I also mostly missed my shots to the wastebasket and scattered snotty tissues on the floor.  But, Ironically, during this less than perfect Thanksgiving day, I had a new insight about the importance of being thankful.

It was from the flip side of this familiar verse:

For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.  (Romans 1:21)

I have always read that verse as an explanation for how people become twisted and darkened in their thinking.  But if failing to honor and give thanks to God results in a darkened heart and mind, the converse, the flip side, must also be true.  In circumstances that seem crummy and depressing, there is a way to brighten our outlook, a way to wash the mud off our spiritual windshield.  Spend some time and mental energy in those circumstances reflecting on how amazing and holy God is, how perfect, loving, patient, gracious, all-knowing, all-powerful and eternal.  And then in those same circumstances, focus on what He has done and given for which you are thankful.

I will be honest: it took some effort to overcome feeling sorry for myself.  And when I began to get the hang of it, I was not magically transported into a Norman Rockwell version of Thanksgiving.  No satisfying blobs of turkey stuffing, drenched in gravy.  No candlelit, happy faces sharing a toast.  But something better, more long lasting happened.  My thinking became clear and my heart enlightened.  My spirits were lifted and filled with joy.  And I watched some guilt-free football.

When you are struggling, remember the flip side.  If failing to honor God and give Him thanks leads to a futile, darkened heart and mind, the reverse is also true.  It was good to discover and practice that lesson for. 

Now if I can work on my Kleenex bank shot…