Enlightenment

I’ve been doing a lot of reading in recent weeks about our identity in Christ and the lies we tend to believe instead. As I was thinking about it, I realized that subtle lies can slip into our thinking over time without being noticed right away. In my own case, I started learning about who I am in Christ when I was in college. It was a relief to know that I was loved and accepted by God and it didn’t depend on my performance or lack thereof. But I have to say that I’m not sure I ever really believed all that to be true. Yes, it sounds good, but surely God expects me to be working toward perfection anyway? I’ve always been a perfectionist, and even if God doesn’t expect that from me, I expect it from myself. So are my standards higher than God’s? There’s a scary thought.

I discovered that another lie had snuck in as well. My beliefs slowly migrated—I am complete in Christ, therefore my approval doesn’t come from other people, therefore I don’t need other people. It started out true but ended upside down. That shift wasn’t intentional by any means, though it was driven by a lot of other factors I can’t go into. It’s funny how pride can manifest both as self-promotion and self-protection depending on the circumstances.

One book that I should probably reread every few years is The Search for Significance, by Robert McGee. He begins by saying: “[If] we are honest with ourselves, from time to time, we find the light being turned on in our world, and we are amazed (and sometimes embarrassed) at what we see. It isn’t that we don’t know that certain things are not right. We just don’t realize how destructive these things are until the light comes on… It is difficult—if not impossible—to turn on the light of objectivity by ourselves. We need guidance from the Holy Spirit and usually the honesty, love, and encouragement of at least one other person who is willing to help us…” (2-3).

The past few months have turned on the light in my life, and I am convinced that God allows us to go through difficult seasons in order to help us realize we can’t keep walking in the dark. It’s been humbling to suddenly see the darkness for what it is, but even more humbling to look back over the past couple decades and see how quickly the light got turned out after prior “enlightenments.” It doesn’t take long to get distracted by sin, the world’s definition of life, and busyness (even ministry).
In thinking about the sermon on Hebrews 12:1-2, I’m thankful that our “cloud of witnesses” doesn’t just include those who have gone before us, but also those who are walking alongside us even now. It’s easier (at least for me) to overlook the lives of the men and women in the Bible than to try to ignore the people I see daily or weekly who want to know “How are you really doing?” It is encouraging to know that others have dealt with or are currently dealing with the same struggles and are finding victory in Christ. As McGee writes, “God’s love, expressed through His people and woven into our lives by His Spirit and His Word, can, over a period of time, bring healing even to our deepest wounds and instill within us an appropriate sense of self-worth” (7).

So when it comes to the question of what we need to lay aside in order to run the race, several things come to mind for me as well as for most of the people I know: pride (including self-sufficiency, self-preservation, self-promotion), control, perfectionism, seeking approval, apathy, avoidance, anger, blaming myself or others, false guilt… The list of destructive thoughts, emotions, and behaviors could go on and on. We’ve all got them, whether we’ve let the light shine on them or not.

Two books I’ve read recently (McGee and also Redemption by Mike Wilkerson) have made the point that sin is trying to fulfill real needs in wrong ways. These are things we need to lay aside, but part of that process will require figuring out what the real needs are (love, acceptance, forgiveness, etc.) and understanding how God meets those needs in legitimate ways. Without that, any effort to lay aside the sin is just going to leave us empty and searching for something to fill that spot. Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be any quick fix for our learned beliefs and behaviors. It took a long time to internalize the lies, and now may take just as long to internalize the truth. I’ll let you know when I’ve arrived, because the race is still in progress! As many have reminded us—if you’re running the race and you fall or get off course, you don’t go back to the starting line. You just get up, turn back toward the finish line, and keep running.

Christ Only

Since I’ve been busy this week and haven’t done much writing, I thought I’d share an extended quote that I read last night from The Christian’s Secret of a Happy Life by Hannah Whitall Smith (1875). This doesn’t need any explanation, and it's something I needed to be reminded of.

“You are a child of God, and long to please Him. You love your divine Master, and are sick and weary of the sin that grieves Him. You long to be delivered from its power. Everything you have hitherto tried has failed to deliver you: and now, in your despair, you are asking if it can indeed be, as these happy people say, that Jesus is able and willing to deliver you. Surely you must know in your very soul that He is—that to save you out of the hand of all your enemies is, in fact, just the very thing He came to do. Then trust Him. Commit your case to Him in an absolute unreserve, and believe that He undertakes it; and at once, knowing what He is and what He has said, claim that He does even now save you. Just as you believed at first that He delivered you from the guilt of sin because He said it, so now believe that He delivers you from the power of sin because He says it. Let your faith now lay hold of a new power in Christ. You have trusted Him as your dying Saviour; now trust Him as your living Saviour. Just as much as He came to deliver you from future punishment did He also come to deliver you from present bondage. Just as truly as He came to bear your stripes for you has He come to live your life for you. You are as utterly powerless in the one case as in the other. You could as easily have got yourself rid of your own sins, as you could now accomplish for yourself practical righteousness. Christ, and Christ only, must do both for you; and your part in both cases is simply to give the thing to Him to do, and then believe that He does it..." (54-55)

“Lord Jesus, I believe that thou art able and willing to deliver me from all the care and unrest and bondage of my Christian life. I believe thou didst die to set me free, not only in the future, but now and here. I believe thou art stronger than sin, and that thou canst keep me, even me, in my extreme of weakness, from falling into its snares or yielding obedience to its commands. And, Lord, I am going to trust thee to keep me. I have tried keeping myself, and have failed, and failed most grievously. I am absolutely helpless. So now I will trust thee. I give myself to thee. I keep back no reserves. Body, soul, and spirit, I present myself to thee as a piece of clay, to be fashioned into anything thy love and thy wisdom shall choose. And now I am thine. I believe thou dost accept that which I present to thee; I believe that this poor, weak, foolish heart has been taken possession of by thee, and that thou hast even at this very moment begun to work in me to will and to do of thy good pleasure. I trust thee utterly, and I trust thee now.” (55-56)

Amen!

People Who Need People

I’ve been realizing (again) the fact that God created us as social beings. We need people even when we think we don’t. We are made to live in fellowship with one another. The irony is that people are also our greatest source of pain and suffering. People sin against God; people sin against one another; people create cultures of sin. Our natural tendency is to avoid things that can cause us harm. So it’s not surprising that when we have been harmed by people we tend to avoid letting people get close to us. I know this is more common for some people and some circumstances than it is for others. Some of us are more prone to isolationism due to a host of factors.

Think of Hannah in 1 Samuel 1. She was despondent about her barrenness. Her husband basically told her to get over it. In the temple she poured out her heart to God. Then when Eli the priest found out her story, he blessed and encouraged her by joining in her petition to God. It apparently didn’t require a long counseling session, but a few words from someone who cared were enough to lift her spirits. In 1 Samuel 18 we find the story of David’s friendship with Jonathan. That relationship helped to sustain David through difficult times, including threats from Jonathan’s father. Centuries later in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus was comforted by the presence of Peter, James and John in the ultimate sorrow of His impending death.

There are a few things I think we can learn from these Scriptures and many others. First and foremost, as we were reminded this Sunday from Ephesians 1, we are the Body of Christ. We can be His hands to serve, His arms to hug, His ears to listen, and His eyes to see those around us who need His care. Even though we may not be serving in a formal capacity in the church, we each have other circles of friends, family, and coworkers who need the touch of Christ through us. Whether we’re bringing a meal to a shut-in, listening to a friend who’s going through a tough time, or praying for a coworker, our task is just as important as the Sunday school teacher or board chairman. We shouldn’t discount our service just because it happens out of the public eye.

Secondly, we need to remember that people don’t want to share their pain or difficulties in a way that makes them vulnerable to more pain. Different settings are required for different people. Some may be okay with sharing openly in a Sunday school class, some may prefer a small group, but most people need those one-on-one relationships where they can safely be open and honest. That’s where the Body of Christ comes into play, with each person reaching out to someone else and building caring relationships. The Kingdom of God isn’t just a bunch of churches, but many individuals.

The third lesson is for those of us who are prone to isolation, and that is to seek out someone we can trust and work to build one relationship at a time. It doesn’t happen overnight, and there is risk inherent in any relationship. But the benefits can far outweigh the risks if we keep at it. When you’re hurting, it’s easy to become myopic and not even see the people around us who are willing and able to listen. It isn’t even necessary that someone has all the answers so long as they hear us and want to keep walking the road with us, and that’s what sharing the burden is all about. Even professional counselors don’t have all the answers, though some of them think they do.

I don’t have all the answers either, but I hope that my perspective can encourage those who are like me, and perhaps edify those who are different. The bottom line is that God made us so that we need each other. We can help one another, encourage one another, serve one another, teach one another, exhort one another, and love one another as we continue this adventure called life.

Untruths Learned in the Dark

I started thinking last night about some of the things we learn while growing up that can lead us to believe wrong things about God. These ideas come from our families, friends, classmates, teachers, preachers, society, and numerous other sources. Even if we know they are not true according to Scripture it can be hard to live in light of the real truth. The following are just a few examples that came to mind.

Untruth: God loves and accepts me if I perform up to His expectations.
Sources: Earn good grades; obey without question; don’t get into fights; be nice to your siblings; do your chores; graduate from high school/college; get a good job…
Truth: “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Eph. 2:8-9). “I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you” (Jer. 31:3).

Untruth: Happiness and peace are found in success and possessions.
Sources: Climbing the corporate ladder; finding the “perfect” house; higher education is necessary to get a “decent” job; the next job will be better…
Truth: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places” (Eph. 1:3). “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thess. 5:16-18). “The joy of the Lord is your strength” (Neh. 8:10b).

Untruth: If I don’t fit in, there’s something wrong with me.
Sources: Girls must be “feminine” and boys must be “masculine”; you talk too much (or not enough); cliques; bullying; don’t make waves; follow the crowd…
Truth: “I praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made… Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in Your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them” (Ps. 139:14,16). “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Eph. 2:10).

A couple others related to my last blog--
Untruths: It’s not sin if you don’t get caught; it’s not sin if it doesn’t hurt anyone else; or conversely, I’ve sinned and therefore I am a failure and can’t do anything right.
Truth: “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). “Whatever does not proceed from faith is sin” (Rom. 14:23b). “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us” (1 Jn. 1:9-10).

My point in listing some of these untruths is to get us (myself included) to think more clearly about what we believe about God and why we believe it. A book I just started reading, which I won’t disclose by name, makes the comment that our purpose in thinking back over memories that can be painful or shameful is not for the memories themselves, but so that we can evaluate what they taught us about God and ourselves. Once we see the untruths for the lies they are, we can begin to focus on the truth and let it saturate our thoughts and actions. But a lifetime of wrong belief isn’t changed overnight. I’ve said it before—we need constant reminders of the truth through Scripture, godly preaching and counsel, brothers and sisters in Christ, etc.

I would suggest that we also need to consider how our words and actions may be influencing someone else’s beliefs. Parents, remind your kids that you love them even when they disobey. Friends, let your friends know you appreciate them for who they are, not just what they do for you. Youths, join the anti-bullying movement and be intentional about reaching out to the rejected.

“Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near” (Heb. 10:24-25).

Faith or Sin?

"For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin" (Romans 14:23b). I encountered this verse last week, not realizing at the time that it would fall within the text for the sermon I heard this week. What follows are some of my thoughts, which I believe parallel those we heard at church.

 

The book I was reading at the time was Complete in Christ by Bob George. He makes the statement, "Although the visible evidence of sin in a person's life is expressed in many different ways, the root of these sins is always the same--a heart of unbelief." Following that he quotes Romans 14:23 and Hebrews 11:6- "Without faith it is impossible to please God." He goes on to say, "Realizing that the root of all sin is unbelief leaves the Christian with only one option: to turn from his unbelief to Christ in faith. He cannot 'clean up' his unbelief; he can only begin believing."

 

In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul reiterates what he wrote in Romans and he says, "So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God" (12:31). Earlier in 1 Corinthians we read, "Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body" (1 Cor. 6:19-20). What I hear God saying through these verses is that if we do anything that is not clearly glorifying to God, it is sin.

 

As we've been hearing and talking about the grey areas of faith, and through other discussions related to sin, some things have come to my attention as things I need to change in my life. It's not that they are necessarily sinful in and of themselves, but I know that they are not bringing glory to God and so for me they are sin and they can also lead to other sins. One in particular is television. It has become increasingly clear to me that I've given cable too much control in my life. Even though I'm usually occupied with reading or playing computer games, the TV has always been on in the background. And at times I have sought out programs that I know I don't need to be watching and I would be embarrassed if others knew what they were. [A side note- even though I've called the cable company to downgrade my service, they have failed to physically change my connection and remove the unwanted channels. So now I have to make the decision to disconnect completely in order to do what I know is right.] Television isn't the only area I've needed to make changes, but it is high on the list. Whatever doesn't glorify God is sin. That can be a painful truth to accept.

 

Going back to Bob George's comments that the root of all sin is unbelief, that's something I've been wrestling with in recent weeks. I may have mentioned before that I'd been taught in certain circles that the Christian life is all about resting in who God says I am and "reckoning" it to be true (to use Paul's language in Romans 4). While that sounds good, my experience is that it doesn't lead to a changed life in the here and now. The implication is that if you just believe hard enough, all sin and temptation will gradually disappear and leave you holy and perfect in Christ. So if you are still struggling with sin, you must not have enough faith... And that makes it even harder to confess! If all it takes is belief, then why are there so many commands given in the New Testament to those who are supposedly believers such as:

• Romans 6:12- "Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions."
• Colossians 3:5- "Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry."
• Hebrews 12:1b- "Let us lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us."
• James 4:7- "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you."
• 2 Peter 3:14b- "Be diligent to be found by Him without spot or blemish and at peace."
• Romans 13:12-14- "...Let us cast of the works of darkness and put on the armor of light... put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires."
• Ephesians 6:11- "Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil."

Why would we need to be clothed in armor if our only role is to "rest and reckon"? Obedience is not passive, it is a battle! The flesh will not easily surrender control of its old territory. It's not that God requires our obedience in order to make us acceptable to Him, and we can't earn the salvation and love He has already given us. But we can certainly miss out on many blessings and joy if we are not seeking to be conformed to His perfect will. As in Romans 12:1-2, transformation is an ongoing process of presenting ourselves to God, seeking His will, and aligning ourselves to it. If we aren't actively engaged in the process, then we will become conformed to this world.

 

There appears to be a circle that repeats over and over in our lives-- abiding in Christ requires knowing His will and obeying it; obedience requires active participation in eliminating sin and replacing it with holiness; eliminating sin requires self-control; self-control is part of the Fruit of the Spirit; the Fruit of the Spirit requires abiding in Christ; and we're back where we started. Where faith comes in, and I think what Bob George was getting at, is that we need to believe: 1) God loves us, 2) God has set us free from the dominion of sin, and 3) He has given us the power to resist temptation and follow Him.

 

As Paul said in Colossians 2:20-23, just creating a set of laws to follow does not make us any better at obeying. The whole premise of Romans is that the law only served to show us what sin is. But in Christ, "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13); and "His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us to His own glory and excellence" (2 Peter 1:3). These are the things I have to cling to by faith when temptation assails me. "For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out" (Romans 7:18). I tried for years to get by on my own willpower, with very little success. And even now, it is easy to fall into the trap of relying first and foremost on my will.

 

What is required is a change of heart that only God can give. "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me... Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit" (Psalm 51:10,12). I want to obey God fully so that I may always know the joy that He gives. I take heart that even the disciples didn't have this down pat. "Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak" (Matthew 26:41). And though I try and fail, I trust that God still loves me and keeps forgiving me, and that He is at work in my life in ways that I can't always see or comprehend.

“Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you blameless before the presence of His glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.” -Jude 24-25

Restoration

I’ve been debating what to write this week, with a couple different ideas rolling around in my head. So I’ll start writing and see where this comes out…

Earlier this week, someone commented on the fact that Christians suffer from depression at the same rates that non-Christians do. Living in a fallen world, we’ve all been impacted by the sin of others, as well as our own sin. For some of us it can take months and even years to work through the consequences of that sin. At times it can feel like the past has been ravaged by destruction and all that is left is a barren field.

When Israel went through a literal destruction by locusts, God spoke through the prophet Joel to say, “I will restore to you the years that the locust has eaten… You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, who has dealt wondrously with you. And my people shall never again be put to shame” (Joel 2:25-26). Somehow God can restore that which the enemy has taken from us. He can free us from the shame and guilt of our own sin as well as what others have done to us. We all know from Romans 8:28 that God uses all things, both good and bad, to shape us into who He has called us to be.

In Psalm 103, David prays, “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s” (vv. 2-5). God redeems us from the pits we fall into either through our own sin or the sin of others.

As I thought about renewal, redemption and restoration, I realized that they can have at least a few related meanings. It could be the restoration of physical strength and vitality in the present time. It could mean that God restores or gives us a new perspective on the past, so that what has seemed so desolate now has new life. And there is also the sense of ransom from captivity and being freed from the sin and darkness that has bound us for so long. All of these are true, though it can take time for us to assimilate them into our daily walk and belief. We need constant reminders of these truths through the Word and fellowship with believers.

I am gaining a greater appreciation for the psalms of David. Here was a man who experienced great persecution due to the sins of others (from his brothers to Saul to his own son), and he also faced the consequences of his own sin with Bathsheba. He was in a variety of pits during his life and he wasn’t afraid to tell God what he was really thinking. He evidently wasn’t afraid of what others would think of him either, since we still have written record of his psalms today. We can all learn a lot from this “man after God’s own heart.”

Battlefield of the Mind

The title of this post is borrowed from a book by the same title written by Joyce Meyer several years ago. I read it at the time, but I don’t remember much now. Hopefully I can get around to rereading it in the near future.

I wanted to expand somewhat on an earlier post about how our thoughts lead our actions. As Meyer wrote, “Think about what you’re thinking about.” During the course of a normal day thousands of thoughts pass through our consciousness. Most thoughts are related to our work and routine—“I need to write checks today,” or “What should I make for dinner?”  Some thoughts are truly random and meaningless—“I wonder what color Dennis Rodman’s hair is now?” (A good percentage of these seem to end up on Facebook!) Then there are thoughts that influence our choices—“What is on TV that I want to watch? Is it worth watching or should I be doing something else?”

At this time in my life, the thoughts that preoccupy my mind are ones that are entangled with emotions. Our memories are peculiar things, and those memories that involve strong emotions come to the surface most easily. If I ask what you were doing on January 15, 2005 you probably couldn’t tell me. But you can easily remember where you were on September 11, 2001. Of course the same is true of our personal history—the events that were especially good or bad often come to mind even without intentional thought. For those who have experienced some traumatic events, the darkness of that time can tend to overshadow a lot of smaller good events, and it takes some work to cut the trauma down to size in order to focus on something more positive. I’m not trying to minimize anyone’s pain, but we can’t let it color every day of our past, present and future.

Besides trying to put our memories in perspective, sometimes we need to uncover the source of thoughts that may seem random and yet elicit confused emotions within us. For example, if you make a mistake do you say, “Oops, I need to fix that,” or do you say, “I’m an idiot!” If it’s the latter, why are you belittling yourself by labeling one mistake as if it were a terminal disease? We all make mistakes, but that doesn’t mean we are idiots, failures, or hopeless. Speak the truth to yourself.

More specifically, if a temptation to sin flits through your mind, do you tell yourself, “I can resist that temptation,” or do you think, “I’m such a sinner I can’t even stop the thoughts from coming”? I’m convinced that the enemy plants thoughts in our minds, and just the presence of the thought is no reflection on our faith or holiness. But how we respond to that thought is critical. If we are accustomed to giving in to the temptation, we need to learn to “resist the devil and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). It takes ongoing practice to “take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Cor. 10:5).

In The Pursuit of Holiness, Jerry Bridges gives perhaps the best explanation I’ve read of our responsibility in regard to holiness. Through Jesus Christ we have received salvation, justification and sanctification. We are no longer slaves of the old master. That means we have the option and ability to say no to sin and to obey God. Jesus made it possible, but we have the responsibility of putting it into practice. Sin is a choice.

The enemy is always going to try to make us sin, and he’s going to try to convince us that we are hopeless and helpless. As we were reminded during communion this Sunday, God convicts us of specific sins we need to repent of, but the enemy condemns us of being perpetual sinners, failures, and unworthy of God’s love. When those accusations come, we need to remind ourselves that “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). God never said, “I’ll forgive you when you’ve proven you’ve changed and stopped sinning.” I also find comfort in 1 Corinthians 6:11—after Paul has listed many categories of sinners he reminds us, “And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.”

When the anxiety about our salvation or our sinfulness comes to mind, we are reminded, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:6-7). I used to think these verses were just talking about the typical worries that fill our prayer lists like health, safety, and salvation of loved ones. But lately I find that I’m relying on God to guard my heart and mind in regard to my thoughts, and so I turn those anxieties over to Him and I give Him thanks for what He has already accomplished through Jesus Christ as well as for what He is doing in my life now and in the future. “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Phil. 1:6). What better assurance is there?