Saturday, March 29, 2014

Transcending the Wuld

March 29, 2014

"See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God;" 1 John 3:1


"For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
" Galatians 3:26

As my husband and I prayed with the kids last night our five year old began to cry. Our prayers were for friends of ours who are in the process of bringing home their daughter from another country. Once we said amen I asked our daughter, "Why the tears?" In her five year old voice she replied, "I think it is nice that [our friends] love [their daughter] so much they traveled half way around the wuld (world) to get hur (her)."

Did anyone else hear the door of opportunity fling open?

I took a step back and addressed all three of our children (the fourth had already fallen asleep) . . .

Yes! Our friends love their daughter so much they traveled half way around the wuld to bring her home. Home to a place where she will experience unconditional love from parents who desire the absolute best for her.

God loves US so much that Jesus left Heaven--a completely different wuld--to bring US home. Jesus didn't even pack a bag for His trip. He simply came to our wuld as a baby; a baby who grew into a Man; a Man who gave His sinless life as a sacrifice for our sin-full lives. Jesus loves us SO much He transcended the wuld to bring us--God's beloved sons and daughters--home. Home to a place where one day He will wipe every tear
from [our] eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or
pain. All these things [will be] gone forever.
Revelation 21:4



Thursday, March 27, 2014

On the Mountain with God

March 27, 2014

"Then the LORD said to Moses, 'Come up to Me on the mountain. Stay there,
and I will give you the tablets of stone on which I have inscribed the
instructions and commands so you can teach the people.'"
Exodus 24:12

I have a friend who is on the mountain with God. Actually, she's still cruising at 36,000 feet (or at whatever altitude planes fly) on her way to another country in effort to bring home her precious daughter. I imagine her heart feels full of anxious anticipation and joy beyond expression--feelings that come from following God into the unknown.

Journeying with God up the mountain proves anything but easy. The trek requires faith; a certainty that the One who called you up the mountain will neither fail you nor abandon you . . . nor the family and friends you leave behind (Deuteronomy 31:6). The course demands determination, endurance and sacrifice. But meeting God on the mountaintop produces in us an experience far greater than anything this world can offer.

Moses met with God on a mountaintop. The climb surely proved challenging for Moses. Twice, Moses had to scale the mountain carrying two stone tablets--gear that I assume most mountain-climbers would rather leave behind. But Moses did the work. And once Moses reached the mountaintop he experienced God like few people ever would. While on the mountain God equipped Moses with what he needed to teach and share with God's people. Moses' time with God proved so great that when he returned to the bottom of the mountain, his face shone brightly for all to see.

What mountain has God asked you to climb? I can affirm that the journey will prove well worth the effort, hours of training and sacrifice required. Your time on the mountain with God will equip you with an experience which you can use to teach and share with God's people. You will return home shining brightly for all to see (Matthew 5:16).

Friend . . . you know who you are. We are here at the bottom of the mountain waiting to welcome you home!



Saturday, March 22, 2014

Identify - The Words of Our Testimony

March 22, 2014

"How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of the messenger who brings
good news, the good news of peace and salvation, the news that the God
of Israel reigns!" Isaiah 52:7


Our church begins a 5 week evangelism study this coming Sunday. I always considered evangelism a gift--one which I failed to receive thereby excusing me from the practice of evangelism. While Ephesians 4:11 describes evangelism as a spiritual gift given to some (but not necessarily all) believers, Christ did exhort every one of His followers to discipleship. Jesus' parting words were, "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you" (Matthew 28:19-20).

John 4 tells the story of an unlikely woman who Jesus intentionally reached with the message of His saving love. I enjoy reading the story of the woman at the well because of how this woman responds following her encounter with Jesus. After the Son of God reveals Himself as the Messiah to this woman she runs with unrestrained passion to tell others about her experience with the Living God. The woman's story sparks interest throughout the town of Samaria. The people of Samaria come to listen to Jesus and many place their faith in Him. People came to listen because of her words but they believed because of His word (John 4:1-42).

Romans 3:11-12 tells us that, "No one seeks God, all have turned away." In his book, Follow Me (Tyndale, 2012), author David Platt emphatically reminds us that we do not invite Jesus into our hearts. The word invite implies that we initiated the relationship. Ephesians 1:4 tells me that, "Even before He made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in His eyes."

Long before I ever took my first breath, before my great-great-great-great-grandmother ever took her first breath, God loved me and chose to make a way for me--and for you--to enter into fellowship with Him. Sin keeps us from God (Isaiah 29:2). But through His death Jesus invites us into fellowship with God. We simply accept the invitation. Our purpose is not to invite others into fellowship with God. God sent His invitation to all people through the cross. We can, however--like the woman at the well--invite others to come to know more about God's invitation. We can vouch that God's invitation is worthy of an R.S.V.P.

The prophet Isaiah proclaimed, "How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of the messenger who brings
good news, the good news of peace and salvation, the news that the God
of Israel reigns!"
(Isaiah 52:7) But Romans 10:14 asks, "How can they call on Him to save them unless they believe in Him? And how
can they believe in Him if they have never heard about Him? And how can
they hear about Him unless someone tells them?"
We must tell others, those who God brings across our path, the news that our God saves!

Revelation 12:11 says, "They [those accused by the enemy] overcame him [the enemy] because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony." Testimony simply means giving your account of an event. As we share with others our personal experience with God many will want to know more about God.

Remember what happened with woman at the well. As she shared her testimony with the people in her town those people wanted to hear more about God from God. People came to listen to the very Word of God and many believed. Romans 10:17 tells us that faith comes by hearing the word of Christ.
God draws people nearer to Himself through our story, and then saves them through His story.

Consider where or with whom God wants you to take your feet--beautiful or not--to share your experience of Him.



Tuesday, March 11, 2014

What to Wear?

March 11, 2014

"And I want women to be modest in their appearance. They should wear decent and appropriate clothing and not draw attention
to themselves by the way they fix their hair or by wearing gold or
pearls or expensive clothes.
" 1 Timothy 2:9


I need a good pair of jeans. Wait--correct that--I want a good pair of jeans. Not an expensive pair of jeans. Just a pair of good ol' denim comfort. My nearly-one-year-post-baby body has yet to return to its previous size but my postpartum wardrobe fails to fit either. What's a mama to wear?

A fashionista I am not (as many of you nod your head in agreement). I want to look nice but I find it hard to loosen my purse strings enough to shell out money for anything other than basic wardrobe components. Two weeks ago I ventured into a popular store for the first time only to find myself blinded by the display lights and sparkleliness of the store's offerings. I believe makeup and jewelry and accessories and dressing nicely are fine things to do; American culture somewhat commands it. But Scripture tells me of another fashion trend to which I can chose to adhere.

Paul's instruction to Timothy in 1 Timothy 2:9 is not an exclusive command toward extreme propriety. Nor is Paul's instruction to the Corinthian church in 1 Corinthians 11:5-6 an exclusive command with regards to the length of women's hair. Paul's main concern in both instances in Scripture is the heart of God's people, specifically the women of God.

"The Lord doesn’t see things the way [we] see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart" (1 Samuel 16:7). Paul encouraged the women to refrain from rebelling against cultural norms, to resist the desire to draw attention to themselves but to instead focus on drawing attention to God.

One commentary notes, "It would be well if the professors of serious godliness were wholly free
from vanity in dress. They should spend more time and money in
relieving the sick and distressed, than in decorating themselves and
their children" (Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on 1 Timothy 2:9).

That stung a bit.

Please understand, I am not suggesting a return to long sleeves, floor length dresses, hair buns, bobby pins and make-up-free faces. However, reading the words of the elderly commentator caused me to reflect on the desires of my heart. Do I desire to maintain the latest fashion trends for myself and for my children more than I desire to help the needy and the poor?

Paul proceeds to explain to Timothy that godly women have another option when it comes to making themselves attractive. 1 Timothy 2:10 reads, "For women who claim to be devoted to God should make themselves attractive by the good things they do." Proverbs 31:25 says that the noble woman clothes herself with strength and dignity and can laugh at the days to come.

What a relief! Its okay that the latest fashion trends escape my closet. I desire to present my best self before the Lord, yes. But God cares more for how I serve others than He cares about what I wear.

As John describes the great marriage feast which awaits believers in Heaven he says of the bride (which is you and me), "it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints" (Revelation 19:8).

Good deeds do not grant us passage into Heaven. Only faith in the provisions of Christ Jesus guarantee us an invitation to the great wedding banquet. However, if we spend our time serving orphans and widows in their distress (James 1:27) and alleviating the needs of the poor and the afflicted (Isaiah 58:10), God will clothe us with the finest fashions for all of eternity.