Mercy Triumphs over Judgment...

Dear Suzanne, Rebecca, Anna, and Mikayla,

James 2:1-13 is meant to be read and studied together.  It is a very rich section of Scripture and I have taken it a few verses at a time.  To get the full import of meaning read the verses that come before as well as look at the studies done on James 2:1-4, James 2:5-7 and  James 2:8-11.


With that said let's look at the last two verses of this section of Scripture.  "So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty. For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment."

 This entire section (2:1-13) is asking us to look at the attitudes we have towards others.  Do they reflect Christ's grace or our own partiality? Are we showing mercy to others?  Do we obey His word or our own deceitful heart.  Do our word and deed match?  Do we do as we say?  Is our yes, yes and our no, no? What does the general pattern of our behavior toward others tell us when we examine it.   Judgment is coming.  Believers are not judged for their sins...but they are judged for their works and are rewarded accordingly.  Our salvation is assured...we will however be rewarded or suffer loss based on our works.

"Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life."--John 5:24

"each one's work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one's work, of what sort it is. If anyone's work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad".--1 Corinthians 3:12-15



How are we judged?  Believers are judged by the perfect law of liberty.  What is the perfect law of liberty you ask?  We, as believers, are set free from the law of Moses by our faith in Christ Jesus.  Jesus is the end of the law of works to all who believe.  Believers are under grace...the law of liberty...we now are at liberty to do what is right..to be all we can be in Christ Jesus.   An unbeliever is judged by the law.  The law tells us how we are suppose to behave, but it does not give us the power to do it and condemns us when we fail.  Here is the beautiful thing about grace and the law of liberty.  Grace gives us the power to obey the law and then rewards us when we do! We do not obey God out of fear or because we have to, we  obey God because we want to. We obey Him out of love and gratitude for what He has done for us and not in our own strength but in His.

Look at the first part of verse 12...so speak.  Our words will be judged.  Every one of them.  Proverbs says in the multitude of words sins is not absent.  Uh oh.  Our lips will reveal our hearts. Here is what  Jesus tells us in Matthew.

Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned." --Matthew 12:34-37

When God judges our words then, He is really examining our hearts. Listen to what is coming out of your mouth and what it says about the state of your heart and your attitude. Discern your motivations for speaking the words that you speak. You will learn much about yourself in this process.  What are the general direction and pattern of your words?  If you are unsure of what to say and what not to say, I find this acronym very helpful---NEGG.  Is it Needful or Necessary?  Is it Edifying?  Is it Good?  Does it give Grace?  If you can answer yes to each one of those than it is probably a good thing to say.  If you can't, keep your mouth closed.  In fact, make it a practice to say less and what you will find is that much of what you say is not necessary, needful, edifying, good or gives grace. 

The next part of verse 12 says "so do"...we will be judged by our deeds.  We are not saved by good works...we are saved for good works. (see Ephesians 2) God forgives our sins when we confess them to Him BUT our sins have consequences. The decisions we make moment by moment, day in and day out affect who we are and who we will become. The consequences of our decisions not only have temporal effects but also eternal ones. 


Verse 12 says, "for judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment."  Not showing mercy or compassions for those in need is evidence of an unsaved life...of a life that has not responded to the God who is rich in mercy.  This person will be judged by the law and condemned to eternal life in hell.

Mercy triumphs over judgment...Jesus triumphed over sin and death by His grace and mercy toward us in going to the cross and dying in our place. Mercy triumphed at the cross.  If we believe, we receive mercy for our sins instead of judgment and will show mercy to others having received the mercy of God.  Judgment can be a thing of the past.  Instead of being under the law, you can be under grace. All that is required is a sincere acceptance of Jesus as your Savior and Lord.  If you have not done this, you are under condemnation.  By accepting Jesus you move from condemnation to salvation and are conveyed into His Kingdom of Light.  Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your heart...today is the day of salvation.  Accept Him now.

Love
Mom

Choices...

Dear Suzanne, Rebecca, Anna and Mikayla, 

I am back in Genesis once again and have reached the very beginning of Chapter 3 and am thinking on choices and how God placed a test in the garden of Eden giving the residents an opportunity to exercise God's  gift of free will.  Would not it have been better not to have been given the opportunity?  Think on that for a bit. How would you know that you truly loved Him unless you had a choice? Without free will...without a choice...love and devotion have no meaning.

God knows all things and in His foreknowledge He knew that man, when He created him, would fail and make the wrong choices. He knew that the price of our redemption would be the shed blood of His Son on a cross.  And yet, God created us...you and me...to have a meaningful, intimate relationship with Him anyway. God  gave man the capacity to choose because without choice man becomes a robot.  How much fun is it to have a relationship with a robot.  It will obey you...but..you know...it has to.   Think on the meaningful relationships in your lives.  How much depth is there because you know they want to be with you...it is their desire to know you and spend time with you.

But here is the thing with choices...when we make them, we show our hearts to all.  Our actions will indicate to all what our heart believes. The choices that I make show me where my heart is and what it is set on.....especially those I make in regard to God and the people God has placed in my life.  In much the same way I can see by the choices the people I love make in their own lives, where their heart is focused and for better or for worse, where I stand with them.  Our choices reveal much.

Take a moment and do an inventory of where your time and energy is focused and what it says to those you love about where they stand...more important...take a moment and look at your relationship with the Lord.  How much time do you spend with Him and His word.  It has been said that couples who have spent years in each others company begin to resemble one another.  Are you looking more and more like Jesus because of the time you are spending with Him or more and more like the world as a result of the daily choices you are making? 

Love
Mom

Mikayla's Bible Blog

Love vs. Anger

Jesus was rejected in His own home town.  Imagine how that must have felt.  People He knew and loved tried to murder Him just for speaking the truth.  If I were God, I would have gotten angry and murdered them all.  But God is a loving God.  Do not think your sins are unforgiveable. God has already died for them.  If you believe in Him, they are forgiven!!!!!!

Trust vs. Doubt

Simon trusted God and let his net down again.  The leper showed trust when he cried out, Lord! If you are willing, you can heal me.  Matthew the tax collector trusted and followed Him.  All these things were rewarded.  Simon with the fish, the leper with being cleansed and Matthew with eternal life. Not that we show trust in God just for the rewards or else we really aren't trusting in God...well at least not in the right way.

Speck vs. Plank

All of us have our own number of bad thoughts.  If you had a brother and you noticed that your brother's shoelace was untied and you said to him:  "Bro, let me kneel down and tie your shoe for you.  But your brother says, Stupid...your whole shoe is off!  First get your shoe back on and then you will be able to tie my shoe.  You see the brother saw that his brother has a sin but he did not consider that his whole shoe was off! 

Or if you and your sister were riding bikes and you said to your sister.  Sis, your tire is a bit squishy. let's stop and I will pump it.  But she says you sorry human.  Do you not notice that your tire is flat?  First pump your own tire before you do mine. 

Both of these pictures showed that both of them having a sin.  The brother and sister  acted like their brother or sister couldn't do it themselves...which you know....they couldn't.  But they were too puffed up and feeling they were perfect that they didn't notice that they had bigger sins on their hands!  Only God can heal us of our sins and only God can say He is better than us because He is God. 

The Royal Law...

If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, "YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF," you do well; but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors.  For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.  For He who said, "DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY," also said, "DO NOT MURDER." Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.--James 2:8-11

Dear Girls,

The royal law...the law of love...is the fulfillment of all of God's laws.  As we walk in beautiful surrender to the Spirit of God, His love shed abroad in our hearts sets us free from sin and selfishness and enables us to obey His word and treat people as He treats them...love them as He loves them.   Hatred enslaves us.  Partiality is not consistent with belief in God's Son because God by nature is impartial.  James tells us quite simply that if we show partiality we commit sin and are convicted by the law as a transgressor.  If we are fulfilling the royal law of love, however, we will not be committing partiality.  Selfless, agape love is an attribute of our Father in Heaven.  His nature loves.  When we believe, He sheds His love abroad in our hearts and in surrendering to His Spirit living inside us, we can share His love with those around us. Loving others with His love frees us from the offenses that inevitably come and weigh us down and distract us from our true mission as an ambassador of Christ....glorifying in Him in our word and deed and being the very fragrance of Christ to those around us.

Look at verses 10 and 11..For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.  For He who said, "DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY," also said, "DO NOT MURDER." Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law."  There is no grace in the law.  If we break one of the laws we break them all and are guilty of all. The bible tells us that we all sin and fall short of the glory of God.  It also says that the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life in God's Son, Christ Jesus our Lord. The law was a tutor to bring us to Christ.  The law is good in that it shows us our inability not to sin and our desperate need for a Savior, but there is no grace in the law. Grace can only be obtained by belief in God's Son.  Grace involves God's sovereign choice of those who cannot earn and do not deserve salvation. "for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast." Girls, we are saved by God's grace alone. To treat those around us based on anything else is utterly and totally inconsistent with the doctrine of grace and with the Lord of glory.



Let's look at the royal law.  The royal law is the law of love. It is loving the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and your neighbor as yourself.

"The first of all the commandments is: 'HEAR, O ISRAEL, THE LORD OUR GOD, THE LORD IS ONE. 
 AND YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, WITH ALL YOUR MIND, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH.' This is the first commandment.
 And the second, like it, is this: 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.' There is no other commandment greater than these." --Mark 12:29-31

 Jesus told us in the story of "The Good Samaritan"  that our neighbor is anyone who needs our help. Love is the law that rules all other laws.  If you are loving God supremely and  loving the people around you with His love...treating them as you yourself want to be treated...then you have fulfilled the whole law.  Read this passage from Romans 13.


Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law.  For the commandments, "YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY," "YOU SHALL NOT MURDER," "YOU SHALL NOT STEAL," "YOU SHALL NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS," "YOU SHALL NOT COVET," and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, "YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF."  Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. --Romans 13:8-10

When we practice love, there is no need for any other laws, because love covers it all! On it hang the law and the prophets!  If we love others, we will not sin against them...love does no harm to a neighbor.  It is as simple as that and as impossible as that.  

Think about how you treat yourself...how concerned you are about yourself...about your appearance...about your financial status.... about your health....about your social status.  Whose body do you care for...whose hair do you comb...whose bills do you pay?  Are you getting the picture?  We are to show the same kind of loving concern we show ourselves to others.  When they hurt, we are to feel their hurt as if it were our own.  Uh oh...Do you see how impossible this is to do in our own strength?  Do you see how far we all fall short?  This kind of love is not possible outside of the Spirit of God dwelling in our hearts. Laws cannot change our hearts but the Spirit of God does...and as we surrender and obey, we are taught by Him to love one another. 

Biblical love is a command.  We are to love others whether we feel like it or not.  Love in the Bible is not based on emotion...it is based on action.  We are to meet another in love at the point of their need.  Again, and this is worth repeating...if we are loving God supremely and loving others as we love ourselves, we will be automatically obeying all the other commandments.  Purpose in your heart to put on love ahead of time for those God has placed in your lives. Obey His command to love.   As you do this you will find yourself beginning to see the people (and some might be enemies) with His eyes and even begin to "feel"  the love that He has for them because His Spirit is performing a miracle in your heart...transforming your thinking and conforming you into His image, as you surrender and obey.

This is how you reflect your God to others...by loving them with the love that He has placed in your heart.  Jesus said this in John 13:35. If you do this, James says you do well.

"By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." 


Love
Mom

Testimony of Abortion Survivor...Gianna Jessen

Testimony of abortion survivor Gianna Jessen before the Constitution Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee on April 22, 1996.

My name is Gianna Jessen. I am 19 years of age. I am originally from California, but now reside in Franklin, Tennessee. I am adopted. I have cerebral palsy. My biological mother was 17 years old and seven and one-half months pregnant when she made the decision to have a saline abortion. I am the person she aborted. I lived instead of died.

Fortunately for me the abortionist was not in the clinic when I arrived alive, instead of dead, at 6:00 a.m. on the morning of April 6, 1977. I was early, my death was not expected to be seen until about 9 a.m., when he would probably be arriving for his office hours. I am sure I would not be here today if the abortionist would have been in the clinic as his job is to take life, not sustain it. Some have said I am a "botched abortion", a result of a job not well done.

There were many witnesses to my entry into this world. My biological mother and other young girls in the clinic, who also awaited the death of their babies, were the first to greet me. I am told this was a hysterical moment. Next was a staff nurse who apparently called emergency medical services and had me transferred to a hospital.

I remained in the hospital for almost three months. There was not much hope for me in the beginning. I weighed only two pounds. Today, babies smaller than I was have survived.
A doctor once said I had a great will to live and that I fought for my life. I eventually was able to leave the hospital and be placed in foster care. I was diagnosed with cerebral palsy as a result of the abortion.

My foster mother was told that it was doubtful that I would ever crawl or walk. I could not sit up independently. Through the prayers and dedication of my foster mother, and later many other people, I eventually learned to sit up, crawl, then stand. I walked with leg braces and a walker shortly before I turned age four. I was legally adopted by my foster mother's daughter, Diana De Paul, a few months after I began to walk. The Department of Social Services would not release me any earlier for adoption.

I have continued in physical therapy for my disability, and after a total of four surgeries, I can now walk without assistance. It is not always easy. Sometimes I fall, but I have learned how to fall gracefully after falling 19 years.

I am happy to be alive. I almost died. Every day I thank God for life. I do not consider myself a by-product of conception, a clump of tissue, or any other of the titles given to a child in the womb. I do not consider any person conceived to be any of those things.

I have met other survivors of abortion. They are all thankful for life. Only a few months ago I met another saline abortion survivor. Her name is Sarah. She is two years old. Sarah also has cerebral palsy, but her diagnosis is not good. She is blind and has severe seizures. The abortionist, besides injecting the mother with saline, also injects the baby victims. Sarah was injected in the head. I saw the place on her head where this was done. When I speak, I speak not only for myself, but for the other survivors, like Sarah, and also for those who cannot yet speak ...
Today, a baby is a baby when convenient. It is tissue or otherwise when the time is not right. A baby is a baby when miscarriage takes place at two, three, four months. A baby is called a tissue or clumps of cells when an abortion takes place at two, three, four months. Why is that? I see no difference. What are you seeing? Many close there eyes...

The best thing I can show you to defend life is my life. It has been a great gift. Killing is not the answer to any question or situation. Show me how it is the answer.

There is a quote which is etched into the high ceilings of one of our state's capitol buildings. The quote says, "Whatever is morally wrong, is not politically correct." Abortion is morally wrong. Our country is shedding the blood of the innocent. America is killing its future.

All life is valuable. All life is a gift from our Creator. We must receive and cherish the gifts we are given. We must honor the right to life.

http://www.therightscoop.com/must-watch-gianna-jessen-gives-amazing-speech-in-australia/

Christophobia: He is Not Going Away

Christophobia: He is Not Going Away: "And: “You, LORD, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, And the heavens are the work of Your hands. They will perish, but You re..."

On Forgiveness...Corrie Ten Boom

This remarkable woman spent the first 50 years of her life living peacefully with her father and sister above their watch shop in Haarlem, Holland. When World War II broke out, this devoutly Christ-like family began providing "hiding places" for persecuted Jews. Her great faith sustained her, then, through the several months in Nazi concentration camps, and the death of her father and sister. After her release, she spent the rest of her life traveling all over the world, captivating audiences with her inspiring story. 

 On Forgiveness...

It was at a church service in Munich that I saw him, a former S.S. man who had stood guard at the shower room door in the processing center at Ravensbruck. He was the first of our actual jailers that I had seen since that time. And suddenly it was all there – the roomful of mocking men, the heaps of clothing, Betsie's pain-blanched face. 

He came up to me as the church was emptying, beaming and bowing. “How grateful I am for your message, Fraulein.” He said. “To think that, as you say, He has washed my sins away!” His hand was thrust out to shake mine. And I, who had preached so often to the people in Bloemendaal the need to forgive, kept my hand at my side.

Even as the angry, vengeful thoughts boiled through me, I saw the sin of them. Jesus Christ had died for this man; was I going to ask for more? Lord Jesus, I prayed, forgive me and help me to forgive him. I tried to smile, I struggles to raise my hand. I could not. I felt nothing, not the slightest spark of warmth or charity. And so again I breathed a silent prayer. Jesus, I prayed, I cannot forgive him. Give me Your forgiveness. 

As I took his hand the most incredible thing happened. From my shoulder along my arm and through my hand a current seemed to pass from me to him, while into my heart sprang a love for this stranger that almost overwhelmed me. And so I discovered that it is not on our forgiveness any more than on our goodness that the world's healing hinges, but on His. When He tells us to love our enemies, He gives, along with the command, the love itself.

It's All Grace! James 2:5-7

 Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? But you have dishonored the poor man. Do not the rich oppress you and drag you into the courts?  Do they not blaspheme that noble name by which you are called?  --James 2:5-7

Dear Suzanne, Rebecca, Anna and Mikayla,

You cannot practice partiality and be consistent with calling yourself a Christian. You cannot hold the Christian faith which is centered with the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality. God shows no partiality. (See Romans 2:6-16; Romans 10:1-13) See previous study on James. Go James 2:1-4

James asks in verse 5: "Has God not chose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which he promised to those who love Him?" He is pointing out their inconsistency. Generally speaking, God has chosen the poor of the world. The have nots. That is not to say that there are not rich people saved but the preponderance of those who come to faith are not rich. When Jesus walked on earth, it was the common people who heard Him. When you look at the ministry of Jesus Christ, without question the great bulk of it was to poor people, people who had little or no resources, humanly speaking.  Our God has a special affection and love for the poor.  James is saying that they are despising the very people God has chosen.  How in the world can you look down on the poor, James says, when God has chosen the poor to be the eternally rich? Not only are they looking down on them...they are despising them! He is telling them that their behavior is very much unlike their Father in Heaven. Uh oh.  There are so many verses in the bible that speak to God's love for the poor as well as His plea for them. (see verses at the end of study)



Salvation is not based on merit but grace.  Ephesians says "for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.  Grace involves God's sovereign choice of those who cannot earn and do not deserve salvation.  (that would be us)   Read what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 1.


 For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty;  and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence. But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption— that, as it is written, "HE WHO GLORIES, LET HIM GLORY IN THE LORD." 1 Corinthians 1:26-31


 Christ does not choose us because we are wise or rich or for any other quality.  Our God is sovereign.  First Samuel Chapter 2 tells us  He kills and He makes alive.  He brings down to the grave and He brings up. He makes poor and He makes rich.  He brings low and lifts up.  Our God, girls, chooses us based on the decision we make for His Son. He saves those who come to Him, confess their sin and need of a Savior and believe.  He looks upon a broken and a contrite heart— these, the bible says, He will not despise.  The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit.  God promises the kingdom to those who love Him!!!  (See verse 5.) There is the criteria.  Do you love Him?  If you love Him, you will obey Him.  Your actions will follow what your heart believes. 



James points out in verse 6 that their behavior toward the rich was not even appropriate to the reality that they were facing daily.  The people we try to impress, usually are the ones that care the least about us.  The wealthy were, in fact, the very people who the rulers of the Jews used to oppress the Christians and persecute them for their faith. 

And the word of the Lord was being spread throughout all the region. But the Jews stirred up the devout and prominent women and the chief men of the city, raised up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region.--Acts 13:49-50

Jesus, Himself was poor and a victim of injustice and oppression by the rich religious leaders and rulers of His day. They treated the very ones who slandered and helped crucify Jesus with deference and ignored the poor...the chosen of God.

Girls, we are saved by God's grace alone. To treat those around us based on anything else is utterly and totally inconsistent with the doctrine of grace and with the Lord of glory.  If we really believe that we are saved by grace and it is nothing of ourselves, than that is the basis we will relate to others.  We will be good stewards of the manifold grace He has given us and show His grace to others.  Jesus broke down the wall of separation between the Jew and the Gentile and brought peace. Grace keeps the wall of separation down and provides the opportunity for the Spirit of God to work.  Read the following passage in Ephesians 2 and remember that it is by grace that you yourselves have been saved. 



"Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh—who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands—that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.  But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation,  having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father. Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord,  in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. --Ephesians 2:11-22

Love
Mom



When we love the poor, the weak, the helpless and the unloved around us we reflect the very heart of our God.  Read the verses below.


"Blessed is he that considers the poor, the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble and the Lord will preserve him and the Lord will keep him alive and he shall be blessed upon the earth and thou will not deliver him unto the will of his enemies, the Lord will strengthen him on the bed of languishing, thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness." --Psalm 41
 
"O God, thou hast prepared of Thy goodness for the poor." --Psalm 68:10

"He shall judge the poor of the people. He shall save the children of the needy and break in pieces the oppressor." --Psalm 72:4  I love that...God is the defender of the poor. He meets their need and He goes after their enemies. 

"He shall deliver the needy when he cries, the poor also and him that has no helper. He shall spare the poor and needy and save the souls of the needy."--Psalm 72:12
 
"Whoever mocks the poor reproaches his maker."--Proverbs 17:5

"Whoever stops his ears at the cry of the poor, he shall also cry himself but shall not be heard."--Proverbs 21:13

"He that gives to the poor shall not lack but he that hides his eyes and says, I didn't see that, I don't want to get involved, shall have many a curse. But if you give to the poor you won't lack anything."--Proverbs 28:27 

  "The righteous considers the cause of the poor but the wicked doesn't regard it." He doesn't want to know about it. --Proverbs 29:7
 
"Plead the cause of the poor and needy, plead the cause of the poor and needy."--Proverbs 31:9 

"She stretches out her hands to the poor, she reaches forth her hands to the needy." --Proverbs 31:20
    

The Great Sin by C. S. Lewis

The Great Sin

From Mere Christianity by C S Lewis

I now come to that part of Christian morals where they differ most sharply from all other morals. There is one vice of which no man in the world is free; which every one in the world loathes when he sees it in someone else; and of which hardly any people, except Christians, ever imagine that they are guilty themselves. I have heard people admit that they are bad-tempered, or that they cannot keep their heads about girls or drink, or even that they are cowards. I do not think I have ever heard anyone who was not a Christian accuse himself of this vice. And at the same time I have very seldom met anyone, who was not a Christian, who showed the slightest mercy to it in others. There is no fault which makes a man more unpopular, and no fault which we are more unconscious of in ourselves. And the more we have it ourselves, the more we dislike it in others.

The vice I am talking of is Pride or Self-Conceit: and the virtue opposite to it, in Christian morals, is called Humility. You may remember, when I was talking about sexual morality, I warned you that the centre of Christian morals did not lie there. Well, now, we have come to the centre. According to Christian teachers, the essential vice, the utmost evil, is Pride. Unchastity, anger, greed, drunkenness, and all that, are mere fleabites in comparison: it was through Pride that the devil became the devil: Pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind.

Does this seem to you exaggerated? If so, think it over. I pointed out a moment ago that the more pride one had, the more one disliked pride in others. In fact, if you want to find out how proud you are the easiest way is to ask yourself, 'How much do I dislike it when other people snub me, or refuse to take any notice of me, or shove their oar in, or patronise me, or show off?' The point is that each person's pride is in competition with every one else's pride. It is because I wanted to be the big noise at the party that I am so annoyed at someone else being the big noise. Two of a trade never agree. Now what you want to get clear is that Pride is essentially competitive - is competitive by its very nature - while the other vices are competitive only, so to speak, by accident. Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next man. We say that people are proud of being rich, or clever, or good-looking, but they are not. They are proud of being richer, or cleverer, or better-looking than others. If everyone else became equally rich, or clever, or good-looking there would be nothing to be proud about. It is the comparison that makes you proud: the pleasure of being above the rest. Once the element of competition has gone, pride has gone. That is why I say that Pride is essentially competitive in a way the other vices are not. The sexual impulse may drive two men into competition if they both want the same girl. But that is only by accident; they might just as likely have wanted two different girls. But a proud man will take your girl from you, not because he wants her, but just to prove to himself that he is a better man than you. Greed may drive men into competition if there is not enough to go round; but the proud man, even when he has got more than he can possibly want, will try to get still more just to assert his power. Nearly all those evils in the world which people put down to greed or selfishness are really far more the result of Pride.

Take it with money. Greed will certainly make a man want money, for the sake of a better house, better holidays, better things to eat and drink. But only up to a point. What is it that makes a man with œ10,000 a year anxious to get œ20,000 a year? It is not the greed for more pleasure. œ10,000 will give all the luxuries that any man can really enjoy. It is Pride - the wish to be richer than some other rich man, and (still more) the wish for power. For, of course, power is what Pride really enjoys: there is nothing makes a man feel so superior to others as being able to move them about like toy soldiers. What makes a pretty girl spread misery wherever she goes by collecting admirers? Certainly not her sexual instinct: that kind of girl is quite often sexually frigid. It is Pride. What is it that makes a political leader or a whole nation go on and on, demanding more and more? Pride again. Pride is competitive by its very nature: that is why it goes on and on. If I am a proud man, then, as long as there is one man in the whole world more powerful, or richer, or cleverer than I, he is my rival and my enemy.

The Christians are right: it is Pride which has been the chief cause of misery in every nation and every family since the world began. Other vices may sometimes bring people together: you may find good fellowship and jokes and friendliness among drunken people or unchaste people. But pride always means enmity - it is enmity. And not only enmity between man and man, but enmity to God.

In God you come up against something which is in every respect immeasurably superior to yourself. Unless you know God as that - and, therefore, know yourself as nothing in comparison - you do not know God at all. As long as you are proud you cannot know God. A proud man is always looking down on things and people: and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you.

That raises a terrible question. How is it that people who are quite obviously eaten up with Pride can say they believe in God and appear to themselves very religious? I am afraid it means they are worshipping an imaginary God. They theoretically admit themselves to be nothing in the presence of this phantom God, but are really all the time imagining how He approves of them and thinks them far better than ordinary people: that is, they pay a pennyworth of imaginary humility to Him and get out of it a pound's worth of Pride towards their fellow-men. I suppose it was of those people Christ was thinking when He said that some would preach about Him and cast out devils in His name, only to be told at the end of the world that He had never known them. And any of us may at any moment be in this death-trap. Luckily, we have a test. Whenever we find that our religious life is making us feel that we are good - above all, that we are better than someone else - I think we may be sure that we are being acted on, not by God, but by the devil. The real test of being in the presence of God is, that you either forget about yourself altogether or see yourself as a small, dirty object. It is better to forget about yourself altogether.

It is a terrible thing that the worst of all the vices can smuggle itself into the very centre of our religious life. But you can see why. The other, and less bad, vices come from the devil working on us through our animal nature. But this does not come through our animal nature at all. It comes direct from Hell. It is purely spiritual: consequently it is far more subtle and deadly. For the same reason, Pride can often be used to beat down the simpler vices. Teachers, in fact, often appeal to a boy's Pride, or, as they call it, his self-respect, to make him behave decently: many a man has overcome cowardice, or lust, or ill-temper, by learning to think that they are beneath his dignity - that is, by Pride. The devil laughs. He is perfectly content to see you becoming chaste and brave and self-controlled provided, all the time, he is setting up in you the Dictatorship of Pride - just as he would be quite content to see your chilblains cured if he was allowed, in return, to give you cancer. For Pride is spiritual cancer: it eats up the very possibility of love, or contentment, or even common sense.

Before leaving this subject I must guard against some possible misunderstandings:

(1) Pleasure in being praised is not Pride. The child who is patted on the back for doing a lesson well, the woman whose beauty is praised by her lover, the saved soul to whom Christ says 'Well done,' are pleased and ought to be. For here the pleasure lies not in what you are but in the fact that you have pleased someone you wanted (and rightly wanted) to please. The trouble begins when you pass from thinking, 'I have pleased him; all is well,' to thinking, 'What a fine person I must be to have done it.' The more you delight in yourself and the less you delight in the praise, the worse you are becoming. When you delight wholly in yourself and do not care about the praise at all, you have reached the bottom. That is why vanity, though it is the sort of Pride which shows most on the surface, is really the least bad and most pardonable sort. The vain person wants praise, applause, admiration, too much and is always angling for it. It is a fault, but a child-like and even (in an odd way) a humble fault. It shows that you are not yet completely contented with your own admiration. You value other people enough to want them to look at you. You are, in fact, still human. The real black, diabolical Pride, comes when you look down on others so much that you do not care what they think of you. Of course, it is very right, and often our duty, not to care what people think of us, if we do so for the right reason; namely, because we care so incomparably more what God thinks. But the Proud man has a different reason for not caring. He says 'Why should I care for the applause of that rabble as if their opinion were worth anything? And even if their opinions were of value, am I the sort of man to blush with pleasure at a compliment like some chit of a girl at her first dance? No, I am an integrated, adult personality. All I have done has been done to satisfy my own ideals - or my artistic conscience - or the traditions of my family - or, in a word, because I'm That Kind of Chap. If the mob like it, let them. They're nothing to me.' In this way real thorough-going pride may act as a check on vanity; for, as I said a moment ago, the devil loves 'curing' a small fault by giving you a great one. We must try not to be vain, but we must never call in our Pride to cure our vanity.

(2) We say in English that a man is 'proud' of his son, or his father, or his school, or regiment, and it may be asked whether 'pride' in this sense is a sin. I think it depends on what, exactly, we mean by 'proud of'. Very often, in such sentences, the phrase 'is proud of' means 'has a warm-hearted admiration for'. Such an admiration is, of course, very far from being a sin. But it might, perhaps, mean that the person in question gives himself airs on the ground of his distinguished father, or because he belongs to a famous regiment. This would, clearly, be a fault; but even then, it would be better than being proud simply of himself. To love and admire anything outside yourself is to take one step away from utter spiritual ruin; though we shall not be well so long as we love and admire anything more than we love and admire God.

(3) We must not think Pride is something God forbids because He is offended at it, or that Humility is something He demands as due to His own dignity - as if God Himself was proud. He is not in the least worried about His dignity. The point is, He wants you to know Him: wants to give you Himself. And He and you are two things of such a kind that if you really get into any kind of touch with Him you will, in fact, be humble - delightedly humble, feeling the infinite relief of having for once got rid of all the silly nonsense about your own dignity which has made you restless and unhappy all your life. He is trying to make you humble in order to make this moment possible: trying to take off a lot of silly, ugly, fancy-dress in which we have all got ourselves up and are strutting about like the little idiots we are. I wish I had got a bit further with humility myself: if I had, I could probably tell you more about the relief, the comfort, of taking the fancy-dress off - getting rid of the false self, with all its 'Look at me' and 'Aren't I a good boy?' and all its posing and posturing. To get even near it, even for a moment, is like a drink of cold water to a man in a desert.

(4) Do not imagine that if you meet a really humble man he will be what most people call 'humble' nowadays: he will not be a sort of greasy, smarmy person, who is always telling you that, of course, he is nobody. Probably all you will think about him is that he seemed a cheerful, intelligent chap who took a real interest in what you said to him. If you do dislike him it will be because you feel a little envious of anyone who seems to enjoy life so easily. He will not be thinking about humility: he will not be thinking about himself at all.

If anyone would like to acquire humility, I can, I think, tell him the first step. The first step is to realise that one is proud. And a biggish step, too. At least, nothing whatever can be done before it. If you think you are not conceited, it means you are very conceited indeed.

Seeing with the Eyes of Christ

"My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality. For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in filthy clothes,  and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, "You sit here in a good place," and say to the poor man, "You stand there," or, "Sit here at my footstool," have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? --James 2:1-4

Dear Suzanne, Rebecca, Anna, and Mikayla,

 Girls, the way we behave in our relationships with others says much about what we believe about God.  Our words and actions will follow what our hearts believe.  This is another one of James' tests.  Are we doing what the Word of God says or is it evident by our actions that we are hearers only?  Do our actions indicate that we want to be identified with the rich, the smart and the well dressed of the world...not the losers?  The irony here is that the people who we try to impress usually care about us the least.   Jesus came as a humble servant born in a feed trough.  He was a Friend of sinners.  He did not condone their sin but had compassion on them. The New Testament tells us that He was not swayed by men because He knew what was in man.  He saw people as sinners in need of a Savior or sheep in need of a Shepherd.   Do our actions reveal to others the mind and heart of our God or do they reveal the evil tendencies of our own heart?

God is impartial and commands us to be, also.

 "For there is no partiality with God."--Romans 2:11


And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one's work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear;--1 Peter 1:17


 You shall do no injustice in judgment. You shall not be partial to the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty. In righteousness you shall judge your neighbor.--Leviticus 19:15


You shall not show partiality in judgment; you shall hear the small as well as the great; you shall not be afraid in any man's presence, for the judgment is God's. The case that is too hard for you, bring to me, and I will hear it.' --Deuteronomy 1:17


Our God does not show favoritism and is not a respecter of persons.  He does not judge us on appearances, social status, abilities, race or any other criteria you can think of.  He judges us according to our works without partiality.  Our God looks at our hearts.  He sees our potential.  God saw a king in a shepherd boy.  He saw a gospel writer in a tax collector.  Jesus, Himself, was despised and rejected and yet He was the very glory of God!  Religious experts of the day rejected Him as God and crucified Him. 


We are all guilty of being judges with evil thoughts...looking at the outward...on the appearance of a man and making assumptions and judgments based on what we see.  We are more likely to help and be kind to someone who is well dressed and smells nice rather than someone who is poor and not so well attired.  We cater to the rich hoping it may profit us.  Jesus did not do this and does not approve of those who do. 


The basis of our relationship with anyone should be the person and work of Jesus Christ.  We need to look at everyone with the eyes of Christ.  What we see will guide our thoughts, words and our actions in His love.  Warren Wiersbe puts it into such practical terms.  If the person is a Christian, we can accept him because Christ lives in him.  If the person is an unbeliever, we can receive him because Christ died for him."  Christ is the link between us and others.  Any other basis is not going to work.


Love,
Mom

My Keeper and My Shade...Psalm 121

I will lift up my eyes to the hills— From whence comes my help?  My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel Shall neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD is your keeper; The LORD is your shade at your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, Nor the moon by night. The LORD shall preserve you from all evil; He shall preserve your soul. The LORD shall preserve your going out and your coming in From this time forth, and even forevermore. --Psalm 121

What would I do and how would I cope if the Lord was not my help?  Where would I look? Those thoughts really make me remember what depending on me and the help of the world was like. The thought makes me shudder. Whatever I went through, I went through without Him...lost and alone. The Lord God, my Creator and the Creator of the Universe is my Keeper now.  His protection and care is over me as I journey through this world. I am never alone and nothing can separate me from His love.  Looking at my journey through the eyes of faith, I am already at the finish line.  I am a conqueror through Him who loves me.  My destination is assured.  The trials of this world may hurt but they cannot harm me.  I am His and He preserves me!

His eyes are on me... He watches the path in which I walk and keeps me from stumbling.  He guards and protects me....even while I slumber.   I love that!

My God walks beside me!  He is my shade. He shields me from harm.  Whatever we go through here as we walk in obedience to Him, our God will use for our good and His glory.  He turns the things we think evil into good.  He brings beauty from ashes and transforms our suffering and our trials into joy.  No matter what we go through our God's presence and covering goes with us!  His care surrounds and encompasses us.

My God is concerned with my comings and goings.  He is a God of the details of my life.  I can cast all my daily cares upon Him because He cares for me.  He guides me all day with His counsel and after all my days are complete, He will receive me in glory.  My flesh and my heart fail but God is my strength and my portion forever!  I love what Warren Wiersbe says..."Who can mind the journey when the road leads Home?"

Love
Mom

Sharing in the Fellowship of Christ's Suffering and Jumping for Joy!

Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy. If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people's matters. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter. For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God? Now "IF THE RIGHTEOUS ONE IS SCARCELY SAVED, WHERE WILL THE UNGODLY AND THE SINNER APPEAR?" Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator.--1Peter 4:12-19

Dear Suzanne, Rebecca, Anna and Mikayla,

Peter begins in verse 12 and 13 by telling us not to think it strange that we are facing a trial "as if some strange thing had happened to us", but instead to expect them and to the extent that we partake of Christ's sufferings...rejoice in them. 

I confess I do not like the thought of expecting trials, but it is a very good admonition.  Trials come...when they catch you off guard they have a tendency to really knock you off your feet.  Expect them and be ready for them.  The best way to do this is to stay close to Jesus and immerse yourself in His word.  Doing this will enable you to be prepared and stand when they do come.

We also need to remember that trials do not just "happen" which means to fall by chance.  ("As though some strange thing had happened to you.")   There is nothing accidental about a trial.  A trial is something that God designs and allows for a believer's testing, purging and cleansing.  If we stay in the moment in trials, we just see the pain and sorrow they bring.  We need to look ahead to what God is going to do in our hearts.  God wants to produce righteousness.  I love what John MacArthur says about righteousness:

"Righteousness is the most glorious thing that you can ever possess and it is the highest and most wondrous thing to enjoy."

Look forward in the trial and see righteousness. God's  desire is for us to be conformed into His image..and in order for this to happen we need to look to Him...to depend on Him...to see our own weakness.  Trials accomplish this. Expect trials and know that they are from Him and will fulfill His purpose in our lives.

Peter goes on and tells us to rejoice in our trials to the extent that we partake of Christ's sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, we may also be glad with exceeding joy.  When we suffer for righteousness, we share in the fellowship of Christ's sufferings.  Christ's enemies are still out there and the cross is still an offense. Their hatred is turned on those who preach the gospel...those who have a testimony of His love in their lives.  What a privilege to suffer this way.

Act 5:41  So they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name.

If you are losing friends, mocked or persecuted for your faith...REJOICE.  You have been counted worthy to suffer for His name.  The bible says that great will be your reward.

 Blessed are you when men hate you, And when they exclude you, And revile you, and cast out your name as evil, For the Son of Man's sake. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy! For indeed your reward is great in heaven, For in like manner their fathers did to the prophets. --Luke 6:22-23


Truly this is also how we get to know our Lord...by walking in the same path that He walked.  The despised and rejected path.  This is when we have the opportunity to follow Christ's example "WHO COMMITTED NO SIN, NOR WAS DECEIT FOUND IN HIS MOUTH"; who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously;

 If I suffer for doing what is good and right then I am to rejoice and be glad with exceeding joy!  Remember the cross...the darkest hour of human history became the brightest beacon of hope.  Christ's suffering and death brought about victory and swallowed up death forever.  It bought for those of us who would believe eternal life in Heaven with Him.  Jesus lived glorifying His Father in heaven despising the shame and was given the name above all names and has been exalted above all by His Father. Look ahead in the persecution and suffering to the divine blessings and glory that will be revealed!  Being glad with exceeding joy...means this:  EXULT AND REJOICE...JUMP FOR JOY....WITH A RAPTUROUS JOY. 

Next, Peter says that if we are reproached for the name of Christ, we are blessed! This is not just a "happy" feeling, but a benefit.  Suffering victoriously for Him shows that we have God's approval!  Wow...God's approval. That is WHAT I want! He goes on to say that the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon us and on their part He is blasphemed but on our part He is glorified.  When a believer suffers for righteousness sake, the Spirit of God rests upon Him and strengthens Him to endurance.  I like to think of that approval and strengthening together in this way...I have the light of my God's countenance resting on me and radiating through me....strengthening me for the journey. Read the story of Stephen in the book of Acts...(6:8-7:60)
His life reflects this strengthening beautifully.  Stephen looked to the Lord and was radiant and His face was not ashamed.  Need more...think of Paul.

"And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong." --2 Corinthians 12:7-10

Peter goes on to tell us to evaluate our suffering to make sure we ARE suffering for his sake and not for our own wrongdoings   Do not suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people's matters.

The next two verses say this: "For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God? Now "IF THE RIGHTEOUS ONE IS SCARCELY SAVED, WHERE WILL THE UNGODLY AND THE SINNER APPEAR?"

 Peter is not talking about condemnation here...he is talking about the purifying of the church.  A believer's trials are ultimately for the purpose of  furthering God's kingdom. How much better to suffer here on earth to grow God's kingdom than to suffer as an unbeliever does....purposelessly here and eternally in hell.  When a Christian experiences a trial, he goes through it with his God's hand of comfort and guidance and even  experiences tastes of glory here on earth.  Eternal rewards and an eternity with Christ await him at the end of his journey.  An unbeliever goes through trials alone here on earth and  faces an eternity of suffering when this life is done.  Whatever they experience here on earth will be the best it gets for them.   If the righteous receive their due here on earth for their sins, and also suffer for righteousness sake, how much more the ungodly and the sinner in eternity.  (See 2nd Thessalonians 1:4-10)


Verse 19 says, "Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator."  Commit your soul to Him in doing good...He is your faithful Creator.  He has your blue prints and knows exactly what you need and can keep you safe.  Nothing happens outside of His awareness and control.   Expect trials, rejoice in them, make sure you are suffering for the right things and finally, put your trust in Him.  Place yourself in the hands of Him who not only made you but the world around you.

Love
Mom







 

Strength in Weakness by Rebecca

“For though He was crucified in weakness, yet He lives by the power of God. For we also are weak in Him, but we shall live with Him by the power of God toward you.” – 2 Corinthians 13:4

 

Paul had much to say to the Corinthian church. These believers he wrote to were beloved and precious, but they had so many problems. They were proud. They were contentious. They were immature. They were sinning to the extent that Paul ...challenges them in verse 5, saying, “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified.”

Saved is saved. Redeemed is redeemed. Reborn is reborn. Once you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, not even you can take yourself out of His hand. However, because salvation is also a transformation, if the evidences of transformation are not there, it is time to examine whether or not you were ever saved at all. The Corinthians’ behavior was so incongruous to that of a true believer’s that Paul felt it necessary to “stir them up” with this disturbing warning.

Oh, the trouble in the Corinthians’ fellowship. It compelled Paul to write in verses 1-4, “This will be the third time I am coming to you. ‘By the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall be established.’ I have told you before, and foretell as if I were present the second time, and now being absent I write to those who have sinned before, and to all the rest, that if I come again I will not spare—since you seek a proof of Christ speaking in me, who is not weak toward you, but mighty in you.”

The more Paul loved the Corinthians, the less he was loved by them. As they allowed themselves to drift away from the truth, they also drifted away from Paul. They questioned his authority. They questioned his love. They questioned his ministry. They deceived their own hearts and allowed false, abusive teachers into their midst. Paul, because of his love for the Corinthians and because of the calling God had placed on his life, could not pretend the problems did not exist. He wasn’t going to take the easy way out. The Corinthians wanted proof of his apostleship? Of his qualification? They were going to get it. Paul did not desire to use such sharpness, but as a loving parent, he would do what was necessary for their edification and not their destruction.

Ultimately, the Corinthians’ problem was simple. Their sin, their pride, their contention, their rebellion, their immaturity, their foolishness – it all stemmed from a common source: un-surrendered wills. Philippians 2:5-8, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.”

The mind of Christ was exactly what most of the Corinthians clearly did not exhibit. Jesus emptied Himself, became a man, and surrendered Himself wholly to His Father’s will. He says in John 6:38, “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.”

Human beings hate surrendering their wills. We hate to consider that we are weak or insufficient. We hate the fact that we have nothing we have not been given. We hate to admit or even realize that we have absolutely no control over the world around us. Instead of willing, joyful surrender to the loving, Creator God whose will is only good, human beings naturally fight him from the moment of conception to the moment of their last breath.

And we crush God’s heart in the process.

The Living God, the Creator God, the one and only God – whose name is Jehovah, the I AM WHO I AM – is the only one who is sufficient of Himself. Nothing fazes Him, nothing is beyond Him, and nothing is greater than Him. He alone is sovereign and in control. But us? Human beings? Any “control” we believe we possess is purely phantasmal and a self-delusion. God gave you the ability to pick up that pencil and apply it to a piece of paper; God can take that ability away. God’s grace permits you to take your next breath; He can withdraw that grace at any given second. I might imagine myself capable of getting up in the morning, beginning the day, and accomplishing this or that, but in reality, there is all but infinity of factors to unbalance that equation: earthquake, injury, illness, weather, another person, etc., etc. Trials are multipurpose, but one major objective is to yank the rug out from under our feet and remove the harmful delusion of sufficiency or control. Such a fantasy is an immense roadblock to eternal salvation, and it is a millstone that drags so many souls down to the depths of damnation.

“But Jesus answered again and said to them, ‘Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.’” (Mark 10:24-25)

If you are rich in yourself, you will not seek the true riches of God. You will deceive yourself into trusting in your own ability, strength, and sufficiency. It was this willful blindness that condemned the self-righteous Pharisees. No one is sufficient of themselves. We are all weak, needy, and powerless. If you do not surrender to the Lord who gave His life for you, then by default, your soul is enslaved to the prince of the power of the air, and you will share his eternal judgment.

Which will it be?

Christ was crucified in weakness, yet He lives by the power of God – His own power. Christ laid everything down, even His very life, for us. He surrendered to His Father and in so doing purchased our eternal redemption. All it takes for us to share Christ’s life and inheritance is simply to surrender, as He did. Give your life to Him, and He will do the rest.

Luke 9:23-24, “Then He said to them all, ‘If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.’”

Romans 12:1-2, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

Isaiah 40:28-31, “Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, but those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.”

THE MAGNIFICENCE OF BEING IN CHRIST!

 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.--2nd Corinthians 5:17


Dear Suzanne, Rebecca, Anna and Mikayla,
 
There is just no way I can possibly do this verse justice or even begin to speak to its magnificence.  (But of course...you know...I will try).

The key to the verse is "in Christ."  I AM IN CHRIST!  I am a new creation...the Holy Spirit has given me new life.  It is not a new leaf so to speak...it is a new life I walk in.  My master is no longer the God of this world but is the Lord Himself!   He is my strong tower.  He is my shelter. He is my refuge.  He is my security...He is my forgiveness...He is my acceptance...He is my hope....He is my future assurance and my inheritance. He is my Ark of Safety when I pass through the waters. In Him, the bible tells me, I live and move and have my being. He is my covering...He is the Becoming One...He becomes whatever I need!  I (ME!) have Him  living inside..I participate in the divine nature of Christ. This treasure lives in my earthen vessel.  I am now set free and am no longer a slave to my past or to sin.  In fact, because I believe, my past and everything else in my life now works together for good.  Goodness and mercy follow me and whether I live or die, I am with Him.  I am always with Him. 

 My old values, beliefs, loves and plans are gone.  My old man can still put up a fight and will to the day I die, but I am no longer enslaved to him.  He no longer has control over me. I am set free from the bondage of the past.  I can walk in holiness and newness of life.

This newness of life did not go away a few days after I was saved...this newness of life continued and was and is a constant reality for me.  Why because my position in Christ is secure. There is nothing that can separate me from Him. When I forget or allow something from my past to take hold  and gain a foothold in my life, my Lord is so gracious to show me that it no longer has the power to hold me and keep me from walking with Him by His Spirit. He graciously reminds me of my position in Him and all that that means. I have His power living inside me and as I surrender to it, I can do all things through my God who gives me strength.  I face nothing...nothing without Him.  He is always there...nothing can separate me from Him. I no longer live for the temporal.  I can live for the eternal.  I can walk in those works He has prepared for me.  I can walk according to His plan. I can face life with no condemnation and look forward to living with Him in glory  because I am in Him!

There is a notation in my bible next to the following verses...it was and is my prayer for myself and each one of you...my daughters.

"For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;  that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,"--Colossians 1:9-13


Love
Mom

Christophobia: Dead Man No More

Christophobia: Dead Man No More: "Before I knew it, my entire household was around me. News travels fast over some kind of metaphysical network in a loving nuclear family. '..."

Swallowing Your Pride

Dear Suzanne, Rebecca, Anna, and Mikayla,

Chapters 4 and 5 were action sermons...chapters 6 and 7 are real sermons. You know...like the kind you get in church.   Ezekiel tells the people that it was the end.  Jerusalem would be destroyed and the people with it.  Warren Wiersbe speaks of these chapters in terms of "R's" ....ruin, repentance, and repayment.

Ruin...it was the end.  Destruction was coming.

Repentance...There would be a remnant spared that would remember Him and repent of their sins.  God's mercy is always displayed in the believing remnant.

Repayment...God says I will repay four times.  None of the things that the people trusted in would not help them.  The end had come.

The words that spoke to my heart are in Chapter 6 because they depict God's mercy in judgment and reveal to us His Father's heart which is broken when we walk away from Him and go our own way. 

"Yet I will leave a remnant, so that you may have some who escape the sword among the nations, when you are scattered through the countries. Then those of you who escape will remember Me among the nations where they are carried captive, because I was crushed by their adulterous heart which has departed from Me, and by their eyes which play the harlot after their idols; they will loathe themselves for the evils which they committed in all their abominations.  And they shall know that I am the LORD; I have not said in vain that I would bring this calamity upon them." --Ezekiel 6:8-10


God was crushed by His children's disloyal hearts which had departed from Him. An alternate meaning for the word crushed is broken.  Girls, God is our Father.  He loves us and His heart is crushed when we depart from the good and right path that He has mapped out for us.  Our God who always remembers mercy, says they would remember Him among the nations where they would be carried captive and then they would loathe themselves for the abominations and the evils which they had committed.  They would turn to Him broken and grieved for their sin and would bring God glory in their turning.  This would only occur, sadly, after some very difficult pain filled lessons and even among the remnant few would be saved.

Sometimes God has to break us and bring us to the end of ourselves in order to bring about true repentance. How much easier would it be for us if when we were in sin and had walked away from our Father, if we would just come back.  Put aside our pride and turn.  Take ourselves off the throne and put God back in His rightful place.  How much easier for us...how much easier for God...how much better for those around us.

Swallowing your pride gets easier and easier the more you do it.  It gets harder and harder the more you put off doing it.   When you put it off the lump you need to swallow gets larger and larger and looms hugely in front of you gathering ammunition whenever and wherever it can to fortify its own position.  Don't be its victim.  The answer is simple...just go back...face your own sin...God's love and forgiveness will be there and make the crooked places straight again.  Cut your losses and put aside your pride.  As you move and do this by faith, God's grace will be there...the balloon of self will burst and you will see the Father's love for you with eyes no longer obstructed by your pride...turning will bring the peaceable fruit of righteousness. If you have never done this...do this today.  Our pride is the biggest obstacle between us and God...it is the difference between an eternity spent in hell and an eternity spent in heaven with Jesus. Acknowledge your sin...acknowledge your need for Him and come to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that you can ask or think.

Read Chapter 7...see the judgment God brought upon them for their sin and remember how different things could have been had they just remembered Him...remembered that He was the Lord and they were not... on their own earlier when He drew them with His gentle cords of love. 

Love
Mom


Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying,  "And you, son of man, thus says the Lord GOD to the land of Israel: 'An end! The end has come upon the four corners of the land. Now the end has come upon you, And I will send My anger against you; I will judge you according to your ways, And I will repay you for all your abominations.  My eye will not spare you, Nor will I have pity; But I will repay your ways, And your abominations will be in your midst; Then you shall know that I am the LORD!' "Thus says the Lord GOD: 'A disaster, a singular disaster; Behold, it has come! An end has come, The end has come; It has dawned for you; Behold, it has come! Doom has come to you, you who dwell in the land; The time has come, A day of trouble is near, And not of rejoicing in the mountains. Now upon you I will soon pour out My fury, And spend My anger upon you; I will judge you according to your ways, And I will repay you for all your abominations.  'My eye will not spare, Nor will I have pity; I will repay you according to your ways, And your abominations will be in your midst. Then you shall know that I am the LORD who strikes.  'Behold, the day! Behold, it has come! Doom has gone out; The rod has blossomed, Pride has budded.  Violence has risen up into a rod of wickedness; None of them shall remain, None of their multitude, None of them; Nor shall there be wailing for them. The time has come, The day draws near. 'Let not the buyer rejoice, Nor the seller mourn, For wrath is on their whole multitude.  For the seller shall not return to what has been sold, Though he may still be alive; For the vision concerns the whole multitude, And it shall not turn back; No one will strengthen himself Who lives in iniquity. 'They have blown the trumpet and made everyone ready, But no one goes to battle; For My wrath is on all their multitude. The sword is outside, And the pestilence and famine within. Whoever is in the field Will die by the sword; And whoever is in the city, Famine and pestilence will devour him. 'Those who survive will escape and be on the mountains Like doves of the valleys, All of them mourning, Each for his iniquity. Every hand will be feeble, And every knee will be as weak as water. They will also be girded with sackcloth; Horror will cover them; Shame will be on every face, Baldness on all their heads.  'They will throw their silver into the streets, And their gold will be like refuse; Their silver and their gold will not be able to deliver them In the day of the wrath of the LORD; They will not satisfy their souls, Nor fill their stomachs, Because it became their stumbling block of iniquity.  'As for the beauty of his ornaments, He set it in majesty; But they made from it The images of their abominations— Their detestable things; Therefore I have made it Like refuse to them. I will give it as plunder Into the hands of strangers, And to the wicked of the earth as spoil; And they shall defile it.  I will turn My face from them, And they will defile My secret place; For robbers shall enter it and defile it.  'Make a chain, For the land is filled with crimes of blood, And the city is full of violence. Therefore I will bring the worst of the Gentiles, And they will possess their houses; I will cause the pomp of the strong to cease, And their holy places shall be defiled. Destruction comes; They will seek peace, but there shall be none.  Disaster will come upon disaster, And rumor will be upon rumor. Then they will seek a vision from a prophet; But the law will perish from the priest, And counsel from the elders.  'The king will mourn, The prince will be clothed with desolation, And the hands of the common people will tremble. I will do to them according to their way, And according to what they deserve I will judge them; Then they shall know that I am the LORD!' " --Ezekiel 7

Consider...

 As you read Isaiah 52:13 through Isaiah 53, please consider Jesus...God's perfect sacrifice for the sins of the world. Jesus, the Servant of God, suffered for doing the will of His Father in Heaven...and yet was highly exalted by the Lord. 


Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God,  but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.  And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.  Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name,  that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth,  and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.--Philippians 2:5-11

Think on the humiliation of His birth and life...as well as His trial and His suffering and death.  Most importantly think on the glory of what He purchased for you and me.  The Father was pleased with His sacrifice...this does not mean that He was glad that His Son suffered, but that the work of God had been accomplished through Him...Eternal salvation.  Divine justice was satisfied...we who believe could now be justified and clothed in Christ's righteousness.

Go through these verses and see the many faces of our Savior.  He is a tender plant, a root out of dry ground, He is despised and rejected by men,  and a Man of sorrows.  He is the One who bore our griefs and carried our sorrows....He is the beaten Servant, the Lamb led to the slaughter, He is the Offering for sin...our sin.   He is the one who poured out His soul unto death and intercedes for us before the throne of God.  He is the one who died for us when we were His enemy. 

People still reject Him today and willfully refuse to believe despite all the evidence.  They despise and reject Him.  They ridicule the simple, beautiful message of the Cross of Christ.  But it really doesn't matter what "people" might do or what they might think.  God is God and all will bow the knee one day.  "that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth,  and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." 

His people on earth remember today that the innocent Son of God died in the place of guilty sinners and paid the price for our sins and accomplished salvation for a dying and lost world.  My favorite part of Isaiah 53 to consider is verses 10 and 11...Isaiah wrote that He would "see His seed."  Who are His seed...we are...if we believe.  He would see US...those who would come to Him and be saved through His selfless act on the cross.  He was thinking of you and me...knowing our salvation would be the result of His suffering and death and that we could now spend eternity with Him...Isaiah says this in verse 11: "He shall "see" the labor of His soul and be satisfied.  AMAZING LOVE!


 ¹³ Behold, My Servant shall deal prudently;
      He shall be exalted and extolled and be very high.
       ¹⁴ Just as many were astonished at you,
      So His visage was marred more than any man,
      And His form more than the sons of men;
       ¹⁵ So shall He sprinkle^[b] many nations.
      Kings shall shut their mouths at Him;
      For what had not been told them they shall see,
      And what they had not heard they shall consider.

¹ Who has believed our report?
      And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
       ² For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant,
      And as a root out of dry ground.
      He has no form or comeliness;
      And when we see Him,
      There is no beauty that we should desire Him.
       ³ He is despised and rejected by men,
      A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
      And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him;
      He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
       ⁴ Surely He has borne our griefs
      And carried our sorrows;
      Yet we esteemed Him stricken,
      Smitten by God, and afflicted.
       ⁵ But He was wounded for our transgressions,
      He was bruised for our iniquities;
      The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
      And by His stripes we are healed.
       ⁶ All we like sheep have gone astray;
      We have turned, every one, to his own way;
      And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
       ⁷ He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
      Yet He opened not His mouth;
      He was led as a lamb to the slaughter,
      And as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
      So He opened not His mouth.
       ⁸ He was taken from prison and from judgment,
      And who will declare His generation?
      For He was cut off from the land of the living;
      For the transgressions of My people He was stricken.
       ⁹ And they^[a] made His grave with the wicked—
      But with the rich at His death,
      Because He had done no violence,
      Nor was any deceit in His mouth.
       ¹⁰ Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him;
      He has put Him to grief.
      When You make His soul an offering for sin,
      He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days,
      And the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand.
       ¹¹ He shall see the labor of His soul,^[b]and be satisfied.
      By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many,
      For He shall bear their iniquities.
       ¹² Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great,
      And He shall divide the spoil with the strong,
      Because He poured out His soul unto death,
      And He was numbered with the transgressors,
      And He bore the sin of many,
      And made intercession for the transgressors.