2/6/2012
Weather Report From Heaven: Sunny and bright, with an abundance of light and lots of singing and rejoicing.
Bible Verse of the Day: 1John 4:8 " Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love."
We live in a performance based culture where our acceptance and appreciation is often times directly tied to our performance. This is especially true in the marketplace, or the sports world, where today's hero can be quickly become tomorrow's goat based on our latest performance. If we win, whether in business, sports or even love for that matter, we find ourselves receiving accolades and our feeling of self worth can temporarily be lifted. On the other hand, when we make a mistake or lose a deal, we are under considerable pressure, both internally and externally, not to let it happen again. We are living in a time when people love to tear others down. It is almost like some people feel better about themselves when they are critical of others shortcomings or failures. We all seek love in our lives and want to be accepted and appreciated. We are all striving for validation in some form or another. I spent many years of my life waiting for my earthly father to validate me as a man and tell me that he loves me and is proud of me. That day has never yet come. But thankfully, God's love for us is not like that. God's love is in no way tied to, or dependent on, our performance. Likewise, it is not dependent on our character or our behavior. There is nothing we can ever do that is good enough to have God love us anymore and likewise there is nothing so bad that would cause Him to love us any less. Because God is Love, we don't have to live our lives on a spiritual roller coaster that resembles the rest of our life. Because as the verse above tells us God is Love, He is the very essence of what that means. It is essential to His being. In other words, the Lord does not ever cease to love us because in order to do so He would have to cease being Himself. The guilt that we put on ourselves over our sins and bad deeds which paralyze us and can cause us to miss out on the great things He has planned for us, never translate into the God of the universe loving us any less. Because no one can ever live up to the perfect standards of love and grace that come from the Lord, if God's love were dependent on on our performance or character, a sense of of uncertainty and unworthiness would also be prevalent deep in our souls. That's the game that the devil likes to play with us, to try and get us to feel unworthy or unlovable based on our performance. he tries to make us have a worldly perspective on love rather than a Godly perspective. When we try to live up to the world's ever changing performance standards, there is no grace in living that way. We are quickly overcome by legalism and bondage as we strive to live up to all of the false expectations. But God's love is perfect and has no attachment to worldly expectations. His affections are not based at all on our worthiness, but rather on His unchanging character. Because He never changes, we never have to worry about His love being conditional. The Bible tells us so. It shows us the characteristics of God's love throughout the stories and the way Christ interacted with various people while He lived on earth. A few of those characteristics of His perfect love would include: It is perfect. It is eternal. It is immeasurable. It is sacrificial. It is incomprehensible. It is unique. It is unconditional. It is unending. It is constant. It never changes. And most importantly, it is practical. He gave us a road map for applying His love in practical terms in our own lives with how he dealt with people like Peter and Zaccheus and the Adulteress in John 8. These are just a few of the examples found in the Bible that show how He is always willing to forgive, to teach, to inspire, to rebuke, to encourage, to humble and to melt our fears away in His love. His love is the tool Jesus used to change people's lives. He loved them when the world said they were unlovable like Bartimaeus. He loved them when the world wanted to stone them to death for their sins like the adulterous woman in John 8. He loved them when they had forsaken Him, like Peter to the little servant girl. He loved them all the way to the cross. God's perfect love lived out in the flesh through Jesus Christ should help us to deal more practically with our sins and flaws. If He forgives us, why can't we forgive ourselves. More importantly, why can't we forgive others more easily when they sin against us? When I learned to let go of the hurt and pain caused by the lack of validation from my earthly father, and learned to try and forgive him in a way that Jesus forgives me, from the deepest part of my soul, there was such freedom that overcame me. Freedom like I had never experienced before. True freedom lies in forgiveness. True freedom lies in the comprehension of how perfect God's love is towards us. I have found the greatest love of all in my life in God through Jesus Christ. I pray that I will continue to learn how to share that love with others. It is an ever changing process with me, dealing with all of my human, imperfect emotions. My love and ability to love is imperfect in every way. Thank God that His love is not like mine. Amen!
Monday, February 6, 2012
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Never Enough
2/1/2012
Weather Report From Heaven: Sunny and bright, with an abundance of light and lots of singing and rejoicing.
Bible Verse of the Day: Genesis 1:28-29 " God blessed them and said to them, be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it;Rule over the fish and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground. Then God said, I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food."
The book of Genesis is both a book of great joy and hope and also one of great sadness and brokenness. We see both the miraculous powers of the Creator of the universe at work in His splendor and the sinful nature of man to let his prideful condition lead to his own demise. The fall of mankind that took place in the Garden of Eden plays out in the lives of us as individuals on almost a daily basis. Our human nature is such that we are never really satisfied with what we have and always leads us to want more. God had given Adam and Eve everything they could hope for. There was beauty, security, freedom and abundance all around them in the Garden at all times and at first they were content. Genesis 2:25 illustrates this for us " the man and his wife were both naked and they felt no shame." But it takes only a brief time until the free will that God gives to each of us humans leads them to disobey the one command that God had given to them. Their pride was the tool that the devil used to weaken them to the point of disobeying their God who had provided everything they needed for comfort and fellowship with Him. After they sinned and ate of the forbidden fruit, they were instantly overwhelmed with guilt. Where just a few passages ago they were fine with their nakedness because they were walking with the Lord, now in Genesis 3:7 their sinful action has left them feeling vulnerable " Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves." The sinful episode of disobedience in the Garden has been a thorn in the side of man ever since and it clearly exposed our human nature to seek our own path, desiring more in our pleasures than in the comfort and security of God's promises. I have a very hard time realizing that true happiness only comes when I align myself with the will of God. I want to live as a person who pursues pleasure and puts no limits on my passions. That is the sinful nature of my flesh that is always in conflict with the Holy Spirit that lives within me and constantly reminds me that the path of fleshly pleasure will only lead to a road of destruction. Paul describes this on-going fierce battle that rages in all of mankind between our desire to gratify the flesh or live by the Spirit in Galatians 5:16-17," So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want." I believe this is the epicenter of our struggle as humans. We do what we do not want to do because although our minds are willing, our bodies are weak when it comes to gratifying our flesh. I have failed at this in many different ways throughout my life, but I have finally learned the most valuable lesson; I am too weak on my own to avoid temptation. As a matter of fact, as a mentor of mine likes to say, I can avoid anything other than temptation. It is only through the Power of Christ living in me that I have any chance to defeat my fleshly desires. I simply can't do it on my own. The most distressing part of this is that this holds true even when things are great in my life and I seem to have everything I need for happiness. It helps me to find comfort that the Bible is full of stories like the fall in the Garden that illustrates I am not alone in my weakness. Moses and David were both murderer's and David was also an adulterer. These great men of God had impactful lives serving the Lord, yet even they were vulnerable to the powerful nature of sin. Why can't we ever just be content where we are? Why are we always striving for more? Like more stuff, more sex. more power or more money is ever going to make us happy. When will we ever realize that our lives are just a vapor. I am still weak and vulnerable anytime I am away from the word of God or like a lost sheep, I stray from the Good Shepherd. But I have come to realize that true happiness can only be found in obeying God's word to the best of my abilities, flawed as they are. Even King Solomon, " The wisest man that ever lived," according to 1 Kings 3:12, came to the same conclusion. He was blessed with wealth beyond imagination and was given the privilege of building God's temple, yet he could find no lasting contentment apart from obeying God. He devoted himself to studying and exploring all kinds of things. He sought worldly pleasures and satisfaction in his fleshly pursuits, but he quickly realized they were folly and without value as the contentment he was seeking evaded him through these pursuits. He tried to find contentment through personal achievement. He undertook many great projects, including the building of an extensive irrigation system to bring water to his groves of flourishing trees. In the end, he decided according to Ecclesiastes 2:11 " that yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun." So if the richest man in the world, and the wisest man who ever lived found no real value in chasing after greater wealth, fleshly pleasure or personal achievement, why do we think it will ultimately be any different for us. All of these things can bring temporary satisfaction or prideful expression, be they don't lead to lasting contentment or eternal value. Jesus himself came to point this out for us, in that He came, not to be served, but rather as a servant of all. He could have amassed all power and wealth for His earthly consumption. But, He chose instead to focus on His eternal glory, the most humble man who ever lived. So what is the point of this life then? Where should we search for the place of contentment and of eternal value? What is our wisdom gained throughout our lifetime good for? The answer lies in the scriptures for as Paul says in Galatians 5:1 " It is for freedom that Christ has set us free." Freedom from ourselves and our sinful nature. Freedom from our desires for always wanting more and thinking that will leads us to contentment. Freedom from the longings of our flesh. And so, as Romans 5:2 states, " we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God." For He alone can fill our hearts with lasting joy and lead our souls to a place of everlasting contentment. He alone is worthy of all our praise. Amen!
Weather Report From Heaven: Sunny and bright, with an abundance of light and lots of singing and rejoicing.
Bible Verse of the Day: Genesis 1:28-29 " God blessed them and said to them, be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it;Rule over the fish and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground. Then God said, I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food."
The book of Genesis is both a book of great joy and hope and also one of great sadness and brokenness. We see both the miraculous powers of the Creator of the universe at work in His splendor and the sinful nature of man to let his prideful condition lead to his own demise. The fall of mankind that took place in the Garden of Eden plays out in the lives of us as individuals on almost a daily basis. Our human nature is such that we are never really satisfied with what we have and always leads us to want more. God had given Adam and Eve everything they could hope for. There was beauty, security, freedom and abundance all around them in the Garden at all times and at first they were content. Genesis 2:25 illustrates this for us " the man and his wife were both naked and they felt no shame." But it takes only a brief time until the free will that God gives to each of us humans leads them to disobey the one command that God had given to them. Their pride was the tool that the devil used to weaken them to the point of disobeying their God who had provided everything they needed for comfort and fellowship with Him. After they sinned and ate of the forbidden fruit, they were instantly overwhelmed with guilt. Where just a few passages ago they were fine with their nakedness because they were walking with the Lord, now in Genesis 3:7 their sinful action has left them feeling vulnerable " Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves." The sinful episode of disobedience in the Garden has been a thorn in the side of man ever since and it clearly exposed our human nature to seek our own path, desiring more in our pleasures than in the comfort and security of God's promises. I have a very hard time realizing that true happiness only comes when I align myself with the will of God. I want to live as a person who pursues pleasure and puts no limits on my passions. That is the sinful nature of my flesh that is always in conflict with the Holy Spirit that lives within me and constantly reminds me that the path of fleshly pleasure will only lead to a road of destruction. Paul describes this on-going fierce battle that rages in all of mankind between our desire to gratify the flesh or live by the Spirit in Galatians 5:16-17," So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want." I believe this is the epicenter of our struggle as humans. We do what we do not want to do because although our minds are willing, our bodies are weak when it comes to gratifying our flesh. I have failed at this in many different ways throughout my life, but I have finally learned the most valuable lesson; I am too weak on my own to avoid temptation. As a matter of fact, as a mentor of mine likes to say, I can avoid anything other than temptation. It is only through the Power of Christ living in me that I have any chance to defeat my fleshly desires. I simply can't do it on my own. The most distressing part of this is that this holds true even when things are great in my life and I seem to have everything I need for happiness. It helps me to find comfort that the Bible is full of stories like the fall in the Garden that illustrates I am not alone in my weakness. Moses and David were both murderer's and David was also an adulterer. These great men of God had impactful lives serving the Lord, yet even they were vulnerable to the powerful nature of sin. Why can't we ever just be content where we are? Why are we always striving for more? Like more stuff, more sex. more power or more money is ever going to make us happy. When will we ever realize that our lives are just a vapor. I am still weak and vulnerable anytime I am away from the word of God or like a lost sheep, I stray from the Good Shepherd. But I have come to realize that true happiness can only be found in obeying God's word to the best of my abilities, flawed as they are. Even King Solomon, " The wisest man that ever lived," according to 1 Kings 3:12, came to the same conclusion. He was blessed with wealth beyond imagination and was given the privilege of building God's temple, yet he could find no lasting contentment apart from obeying God. He devoted himself to studying and exploring all kinds of things. He sought worldly pleasures and satisfaction in his fleshly pursuits, but he quickly realized they were folly and without value as the contentment he was seeking evaded him through these pursuits. He tried to find contentment through personal achievement. He undertook many great projects, including the building of an extensive irrigation system to bring water to his groves of flourishing trees. In the end, he decided according to Ecclesiastes 2:11 " that yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun." So if the richest man in the world, and the wisest man who ever lived found no real value in chasing after greater wealth, fleshly pleasure or personal achievement, why do we think it will ultimately be any different for us. All of these things can bring temporary satisfaction or prideful expression, be they don't lead to lasting contentment or eternal value. Jesus himself came to point this out for us, in that He came, not to be served, but rather as a servant of all. He could have amassed all power and wealth for His earthly consumption. But, He chose instead to focus on His eternal glory, the most humble man who ever lived. So what is the point of this life then? Where should we search for the place of contentment and of eternal value? What is our wisdom gained throughout our lifetime good for? The answer lies in the scriptures for as Paul says in Galatians 5:1 " It is for freedom that Christ has set us free." Freedom from ourselves and our sinful nature. Freedom from our desires for always wanting more and thinking that will leads us to contentment. Freedom from the longings of our flesh. And so, as Romans 5:2 states, " we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God." For He alone can fill our hearts with lasting joy and lead our souls to a place of everlasting contentment. He alone is worthy of all our praise. Amen!
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