Tag: forgiveness

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Point Nemo

Point Nemo is one of the most remote locations on Earth, officially known as the oceanic pole of inaccessibility. It is the point in the ocean that is farthest from any land. Specifically, it lies in the South Pacific Ocean, about 2,688 kilometers (1,450 nautical miles) from the nearest landmasses. The International Space Station is closer than any landmass.

There are times when I believe I am at the pole of inaccessibility. I’m disconnected from what is going on around me. The world is whirling around me; activity is everywhere, and I don’t care. I’m in my little world that seems frozen in time. My prayer life slows to a standstill. I pray, but not with conviction. I’m walking knee-deep in mud.

Psalm 32:1-2 – “Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord does not count against them and in whose spirit is no deceit.”

The lies are impeccably factual. They contain no errors. There are no distortions or falsified data. But they’re lies all the same because they claim to tell us who we are and omit everything about our origin in God and our destiny in God. – Eugene Peterson, A Long Obedience in the Same Direction

Point Nemo

We all experience times when we seem to have been left behind by the world around us. We have concerns and issues that don’t matter to anyone but us. Someone has hurt us unintentionally; we know there is no real cause, but we feel it. When we feel disconnected from the world, even amid a crowd, it’s like a glass wall surrounds us—able to see and hear everything but not truly part of it.

Untreated, this feeling can mushroom into full-blown depression. For most of us, it is a fleeting melancholy. Generally, we are left feeling like we don’t matter; our goals and dreams are too far away. Our past controls our future. We don’t measure up to the people around us. Maybe because we can’t catch a break, everything is too hard. Money, work, family, friends, and society are flashpoints.

Psalm 32:1-2 – Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord does not count against them and in whose spirit is no deceit.

Traversing this storm in life feels like being caught in a cyclone where the winds of uncertainty howl and the rain of challenges pours relentlessly. Each step forward is met with resistance as if the very ground beneath is shifting, threatening to swallow us up. Amidst the chaos, there are moments of exhaustion, where the weight of the storm bears down, making every breath a battle. How do we escape the pole of inaccessibility?

Tranquil Journey

The raging storm is a mirage; it doesn’t actually exist. It is a construct of our mind. That is hard to believe. Isn’t it? Most visits to Point Nemo are self-inflicted wounds. Point Nemo is real, but the journey away from Point Nemo doesn’t require you to overcome a storm. You feel what you feel (Point Nemo), but the path to serenity doesn’t require a great physical effort. More importantly, you do not have to accomplish it alone. The more time you spend at Point Nemo, the harder it is to believe you can leave.

Isaiah 1:18 – “Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the Lord. Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.

Seeking refuge in Christ is our only hope, whether we feel condemned by our actions or by the actions of others. Christ is our true identity, and our past does not bind us. Instead, we are defined by Him. Scripture continually guides us forward, reminding us that our identity rests in Him alone.

Remember that solutions take as much time to create as problems, and problems are not as spontaneous as you think. You will not change your thinking quickly when you have taken a lifetime to create it. The journey starts with prayer and proceeds through a path of willing friends and loving family.

2 Corinthians 5:21, “For our sake he made him be sin who knew no sin so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

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Contentment, Happiness, and Joy

Joy and HappinessContentment, Happiness, and Joy: I discussed these three issues with a good friend. It is easy to get confused. Which one is the most important?

Contentment

I have held many things in my hands and have lost them all, but whatever I have placed in God’s hands, I still possess. – Martin Luther

1 Timothy 6:6-7, “But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.”

Contentment is a state of being satisfied with what one has. It’s a feeling of peace and acceptance regarding one’s situation. It comes from a place of acceptance and is often associated with having a sense of sufficiency and being at ease with one’s life.

Contentment offers a steady and enduring sense of satisfaction and peace. It’s less dependent on external circumstances, which means it can provide a reliable foundation for well-being. Contentment makes you more likely to navigate life’s ups and downs with a balanced perspective. Contentment is about accepting and finding peace with what you have.

Hebrews 13:5, “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.'”

Happiness

Do not let your happiness depend on something you may lose… only (upon) the Beloved who will never pass away. – C.S. Lewis

Luke 12:15, “Then he said to them, ‘Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.'”

Happiness is a broad term that generally refers to well-being and euphoria. It encompasses various emotions and experiences that make one feel good. It comes from external factors like achievements, relationships, or material possessions, as well as internal factors like personal attitudes and outlook on life.

External factors heavily influence happiness and might fluctuate based on circumstances, achievements, or experiences. While happiness can be exhilarating, it often relies on positive external factors or events that are not always within our control.

Joy

Joy is not necessarily the absence of suffering; it is the presence of God. – Sam Storms

Ecclesiastes 3:12, “I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live.”

Joy is a deep-rooted, inspired happiness that transcends circumstances. Unlike fleeting emotions tied to external events, biblical joy is a state of contentment, confidence, and hope rooted in a relationship with God. It is often associated with spiritual well-being and the presence of the Holy Spirit. Biblical joy is a profound and enduring state of happiness rooted in a relationship with God, characterized by trust, hope, and the assurance of His presence and promises.

Galatians 5:22, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness.”

What is your Priority?

After a long debate and much consternation, I walked away thinking this: Joy is the essence of my existence, Contentment is a goal I have control over, and Happiness, well, I hope it visits me often. I can be joyful in any situation, even when I am discontent. The strength of that choice is God’s promise for my life. Contentment can be challenging because it typically requires physical, emotional, worldly, and spiritual living within my means. Sometimes, in a broken world, being content is problematic; it takes tenacity.

Happiness is a bluebird; in sales, we used to refer to a bluebird as a sale that dropped into your lap. That is a good metaphor. Happiness happens; it is spontaneous and serendipitous. We can build an environment that improves the likelihood of it visiting, but it takes external conditions for it to appear. Just as quickly as it comes, an event can chase it away.

Hebrews 11:6, “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.”

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Cascading Decisions

Helping othersCascading decisions rule our lives. Millions of people make millions of everyday decisions in millions of places, causing a cascade that eventually affects us. The overseas workers can make the products we bring into our homes. Their decision every morning to work hard or blow it off can eventually affect us. People’s interactions with significant others, friends, family, or co-workers affect how they go about their lives and may encroach on our lives. Product developers in companies worldwide make decisions every day that eventually seep into our existence. People we never see, talk with, or know, make decisions that eventually cause difficulties.

Why is it important to understand this human dynamic? Every day, we face challenges created outside our sphere of influence. These challenges are ours; we own them. We are the ones that react in the wake of their existence. How we react is part of the millions making decisions that affect others. We see the immediate impact on those close to us, but we may not see the ripple effect across time.

The person we cut in front of in line at the grocery store who then speaks harshly to their mate, who then takes that out on an employee. The cycle goes on. A viral tsunami of vitriol emotions that spawns outward. Just as we are the recipients of cascading decisions made by others, so are others the recipients of ours.

Prayer

“True prayer is neither a mere mental exercise nor a vocal performance. It is far deeper than that – it is spiritual transaction with the Creator of Heaven and Earth.” – Charles Spurgeon

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

Why did this come to mind? It came to mind because of its impact on answered prayer. Yes, God can and does create miracles. But I don’t think He is in the miracle business. Throughout the New Testament, Jesus constantly comments on an unbelieving world that requires signs and miracles to believe. He does not want us to rely on miracles as evidence of our faith. He wants our faith to reveal the evidence of His miracles.

1 John 5:15, “And if we know that He hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of Him.”

The example that comes to mind is the fig tree Jesus cursed as He arrived in Jerusalem. It did not wither and die immediately. The fig tree revealed the evidence of the curse the next day. Prayer works that way many times. Yes, I have had the experience of prayer being answered almost immediately, which is what I would describe as a miracle. But often, my prayers are answered in a very subtle way over time. Sometimes, if I am not looking, I miss them all together. It is later that I realize the impact of that single prayer.

1 John 5:14, “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.”

Cascading Decisions

Keep this in mind as you pray. We are not an island but part of an eight-billion-person ecosystem. Most problems we face are not simple transactions between two people but the cascading culmination of many decisions. The way God answers our prayers may affect more people than ourselves. This cascade of actions starts the moment we pray. We may not see the results of these actions for some time. It does not mean God does not go to work the moment you pray, but, like the fig tree, the results take time.

Psalm 145:18, “The Lord is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth.”

Do not get discouraged when you feel that God did not hear you. Do not feel your faith is weak because the answer was not immediate. Be patient; let God work in the lives of all the people affected by His response. Many times, I miscalculated the complexity of my prayer only to see the impact on myself and maybe a few others. I don’t see the pattern of ripples as this one decision goes across time.

God Loves You

1 John 4:19, “We love because He first loved us.”

God loves you unconditionally, even when we do not reciprocate that love. God never changes. He is not affected by mere human frailties; He knows us better than we know ourselves. God knows what you are going through. What He wants from you is for you to glorify Him by coming to Him with whatever is on your mind. He wants you to invite Him into your world.

Hebrews 4:16, “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

The world is not too complex for Him. He created it along with the universe. God looks over every person, animal, plant, insect, molecule, and quark He created. To us, it is a giant and hostile planet constantly buffeted by the afterglow of Adam’s betrayal. To God, it is His loving creation that He carefully cares for even when we do not see it.

Romans 1:20, “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.”

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The Dopamine Experience

The dopamine experience, the runner’s high; gambling, extreme sports, or even drugs like cocaine and methamphetamines provide an emotional thrill. They all give us a sense of being bulletproof and invisible. It is like learning to fly without learning to land. The takeoff is exhilarating, but the ground is somewhat unforgiving, as are the consequences of unbridled emotions.

Ethereal Experience

The easiest approach to life is to let go, abandon all pretense, and allow your emotions to take over. There is something ethereal about not overanalyzing the moment. It can be momentarily euphoric to stop fighting the urge. It is a thrill-seeking behavior where anger triggers dopamine reward receptors in the brain. One of our great struggles is to build a wall between the person we are and the person God made us to be. At the moment, the person we are seems much more attractive than the person God wants.

James 1:20, "for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God."

Early in my adolescence, I didn’t understand the addictive nature of anger. I was a dopamine addict. Anger became its reward; the final consequences were always destructive, yet I followed the impulses in the moment without regard for them. Weirdly, I perceived the consequences as a result of the other person’s reaction, not my action. I was the victim.

The best revenge is to be unlike the one who performed the injustice. –  Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

We understand the implications of rage, but I think we underestimate its destructive characteristics. Anger is more subtle and less evil. It ebbs and flows with the circumstances of the day. Saint Augustine stated, “Resentment is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die.” Anger is a slow-acting poison; the changes are driven from within, and it is hard for the angry person to notice.

Ephesians 4:26, "Be angry, and yet do not sin."

We all get angry; it is a visceral reaction to what we perceive as injustice. It is that instantaneous impulse to react, to do something. In that dopamine rush, the question is, what? It is tough to overcome our instincts. We are not rational; we are emotional. How do we change that momentum into positive change? It does not happen by resisting the urge but by redirecting it.

Proverbs 19:11, "A man's discretion makes him slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook a transgression."

Redirecting

We are become a more unforgiving society. We have our truth, and you have yours, but yours is wrong. I am less and less amazed by people who will stand their ground in light of the onslaught of facts to the contrary. We become so emotionally invested in a position we can not fathom an opposing view. Any fact that disagrees with my position is a lie, a fabrication, and fake news. There is only one truth.

Psalm 8:6, "You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet."

Redirecting our emotions is about reevaluating our perception of that truth. God oversees all things. That truth has the power to overcome any obstacle. I do not have to defend my position or even be right concerning my opinion. God has the final decision. If my position contradicts God, it will fail, even if I prevail in my argument. If my position is consistent with God’s will, it will happen whether others agree.

Read Acts 5:34-39, where Gamaliel says, “For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.”


The way to redirect anger is to believe that God is behind everything that happens. You do not have to protect yourself from injustice; God will in his time. The timing may not be to our wants, but we don’t have control over it. The underlying feelings of weakness, insecurity, and lack of control are our perceptions, not reality. We can walk away knowing that the God we worship has this. It is not about being right or wrong but about accepting God’s dominion.

Final Decision

That is not to say that we shouldn’t speak to injustice; it is to say that it is not ours to achieve. God’s plan for us may intersect with a particular injustice, but the timing and outcome are still His. Your part is to mirror Christ; His part is to bring about changed hearts and souls.

Ephesians 4:31-32, "Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you."
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He died of a Broken Heart.

1 John 4:10, “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”

My dad passed away a year ago at the age of 92. My mother proceeded him by just a few months. Dad and Mom had been married 72 years. My father didn’t die of illness or accident; he just stopped eating. Without my mom at his side, there was no reason to go on.

This isn’t a new story. We hear it quite often. Love is such a powerful force that it can cause one to die from a broken heart. By the will of God that, I should go the same way.

Dane Ortlund, in his book Gentle and Lowly, describes the death of Christ on the cross as not physical death but one of a broken heart. He talks about Christ taking on the sum-total penalty for every lustful thought and deed coming from the heart of God’s people over eternity. He asks what physical torture is compared to the total weight of centuries of cumulative wrath absorbed? He goes on to talk about how it was the withdrawal of God’s love from His heart, not the withdrawal of oxygen from His lungs, that killed Him.

1 John 4:16, “We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.”

This is a thought that is hard for me to comprehend. I know the anxiety and fear that follows every sin. It is either the remorse of my doing or fear of being found out. No sin goes unpunished or unnoticed. Every sin carries its price. We, as mere humans, begin to rationalize that it is the cost of being alive. No person is without sin or escapes their sin’s consequences.

 “No man knows how bad he is till he has tried very hard to be good.” – C.S. Lewis

What if I had to carry the weight and consequences of not only my sin but the sin of my family; or my town. What if it was only my country? If I lose sleep over my actions, how much more sleep do I lose if I know and accept the burden of the sins of others.

I have often thought of Christ’s death for me as a transaction. My sin sat upon a table; God, through Christ, dished out currency and took my sin away. The currency was Christ’s death on the cross. When I read about the horrors of Christ’s suffering before the crucifixion, I thought it described how high that price was. My focus was on physical death. That was an enormous price for someone to pay for an undeserving soul like me.

John 15:13, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. “

Dane Ortlund painted a different picture. It was a picture not of physical pain but emotional pain. When I think of losing someone dear to me, it is a deep throbbing pain that no prescription will erase. People turn to medication, drugs, and alcohol to deaden it. Like my dad, we can lose our desire to live.

Christ did that not just for you but for all of His people for all time.

John 13:1, “Having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.”

Doing it for just one person takes more emotional strength than I can imagine. What was it like to feel all the fear and anxiety for everyone who lived? To do this freely because of His enormous love for those people. Every anguished cry across the millennia was being recapitulated and fulfilled through Christ. The voices in His head, the cries, the wailing, and their remorse all descending on Him to snuff out His light.

Christ did this without wavering. He looked directly into the very depths of Hell and did not wince. He saw the horde of evil descending on Him, and He marched on. My heart cries out for that level of love.

Today, we look within ourselves to see if Christ’s sacrifice was in vain. He died of a broken heart because of us. Can we say that the lives we are living are worth it?

1 John 4:11, “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another?”

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Loving Ourselves

Our close friends are our close friends because we see their strengths. We know they have weaknesses, but they are overshadowed by what we see as gifts and skills that we admire. When asked, we help them build up their faults, but mostly we overlook them for the sake of our friendship. They bring light and joy to our lives despite minor flaws.

We are far more critical of ourselves. We rationalize that our strengths are common and our weaknesses are glaring; to doubt yourself is to be human.

It is easy for us to struggle with our weaknesses, our frustration with our sin, and our lack of focus on Christ. We become our own worst critics. We need to remember that God created us and understands our weaknesses. He understands that we will falter.

Psalm 103: 13-14, “The Lord is like a father to his children, tender and compassionate to those who fear him. For he knows how weak we are”

Life is full of pressure to excel. We have conflicting roles as parent, child, sibling, provider, mentor, and friend. Many of us are someone’s child, someone’s sibling, and someone’s parent at the same time. We are a provider at work and home. We play roles as the mentor and friend and sometimes the disciplinarian to the same people. In all of these things, we want to do our best. But we are mere mortals with limited capacity.

Ecclesiastes 3:20, “Both go to the same place—they came from dust, and they return to dust.”

We need to rise above self-condemnation. We need to find a way to replay the tapes of our victories over the sound of our defeats. God does that; God rejoices when we obey. God delights when we overcome. God wants us to live a life worth living, not a life filled with regret and remorse. When we turn from God, God does not turn from us.

Romans 3:3, “What then? If some did not believe, their unbelief would not nullify the faithfulness of God, will it?”

SATAN LOVES DOUBT

One of Satan’s most effective tools to keep us distant from Christ is self-doubt. Satan knows we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. He uses that knowledge to his advantage. He knows many of us will see through this attempt to vilify our existence, so he takes a more circuitous route; he magnifies our flaws until they overshadow our strengths. The Grand Canyon was created through millions of years of erosion, don’t let slight imperfections create vast chasms in your faith.

Corinthians 11:14, “ And no wonder! For Satan, himself transforms himself into an angel of light.”

He does not lead us to outright self-condemnation, just self-incrimination. He tells us God forgives sin if we truly repent and turn from our ways, but we aren’t doing that, are we? Are we turning from our sinful ways? If we are truly repentant, why do we still sin? Other people are doing a better job of it than we are. Other people have their act together. God is not happy with our effort. We create separation from God.

1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

Stop letting this broken world get inside your head and dictate your existence. Stop comparing yourself to others around you. Instead, compare yourself to the person Christ has always wanted you to be. He created you to be that person. You have everything you need to achieve it. It won’t be the same as anyone around you. You are unique in this world; embrace that uniqueness. Although time and again, you will fall short or fail, that is the by-product of living in a broken world. It does not define the person God made you.

What will distance you from Christ is not your sin; it is the thought that your sin will separate you from Christ. Your decision to dwell on your shortcomings is the differentiator, not the shortcomings. Everyone is created uniquely for a specific purpose. Comparing your purpose with someone else’s purpose is meaningless. Embrace your moment, rest in the assurance that you and you alone were created for it; no one can be a better you.

Esther 4:14, “Perhaps this is the moment for which you have been created.”

TURN THE TIDE

Philippians 4:8, “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things.”

Whenever negative thoughts creep into your head, change directions. We all have a laundry list of good qualities, many we take for granted. If a list of good qualities is hard to remember, write them down. Keep adding to the list as new things come to mind. Soon you will start to see you as God sees you, beautifully and wonderfully made.

Psalms 139:14, “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”

C.S Lewis says in Mere Christianity: “Aim at Heaven, and you will get the earth thrown in: aim at earth, and you will get neither.” Focus on the great attributes given to you by God, and joy, peace, and contentment will be yours. Focus on being what the world defines, and you will lose your salvation along with joy, peace, and contentment.

1 Samuel 16:7, “… The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

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The Way of Love

1 John 4:8, “Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.”

SCOUNDREL

I’m a scoundrel, a dirty rotten scoundrel. I came to Christianity later in life; I lived a bohemian lifestyle. I was a Hedonist, not that I thought I was at the time. I was just a guy trying to make a living and enjoying the fruits of my labor. The problem was, despite my success, I didn’t feel successful. To achieve worldly success, I had to endure conflict, not raging open battle with those around me, but the subtle nuances of worry, anxiety, and competition.

Isaiah 32:7, “And a scoundrel, his weapons are evil; he plans evil devices to ruin the poor with words of deception even when the speech of the needy is right.”

I stretched the truth; I molded the facts; I used it to my advantage. I didn’t break the law; I used it. I did what I had a right to do, not what was right. I prospered in a competitive world; I was a winner. I was a scoundrel of the first order.

This lifestyle is the conundrum I face. I know who I was, and I know who I am, and yet God loves me so much He sent His Son to save me. He did not choose me because of some sterling attribute that He admired in me. God did not save me because I was special or different. He certainly didn’t save me because He needed me. He saved me despite who I was.

Ephesians 2:8-9, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast”

NEW PERSON

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

I read this and know that it is true. I know that through the scripture, I have awakened to how my life should play out. God washed my sins away, and I have a second chance. God, through His grace, has reached down into the mire of my life and pulled me up.  Why would He do that?

Colossians 3:10, “and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him.”

God is love. His love is perfected in us; his very nature would not allow for us to remain as we were. So, God hit the reset button; He renewed us. He gave us an out, a way to become more like Him. But it was a choice, not a command.

1 John 4:7-12, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.”

Making the correct choice does not guarantee success or fulfillment. We do not have the material within ourselves to survive. We are not strong enough, smart enough, gifted enough to withstand the onslaught of life. But we have been made in the image of God; just as He is love, so are we.

YET STILL A SCOUNDREL

Romans 7:15-20, “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it?”

No man had more passion for Christ; no man was willing to endure as much for Christ as Paul. Paul was a true Christian warrior ready to die for his King. And yet, he, too, fought the scoundrel in himself. I find this passage amazing. I think of Paul when I get down on myself, which is easier than I would like to admit. We are all scoundrels who have been saved by love.

In a performance-based world, it is hard to reconcile my performance against God’s reward. It seems out of balance. I constantly believe I am not worthy because I have not performed according to His standard. To think that I am not worthy is to diminish the person God made me. I am not defined by worldly standards but by the One who loves me unconditionally.

THE WAY OF LOVE

Tattoo this on your heart. Make it the most precious words you will ever hear or utter to another. Understand the true power of love to overcome all things, even the scoundrel in all of us.

1 Corinthians 13:1-10, “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.  And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.”

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When Humbleness Turns to Insecurity

The title should have been “How to Lift Yourself up Out of the Mud to Stand on Dry Ground,” but it was too long.

We all go through times when life sucks. For some of us, it means complete alienations; for others, it is loneliness, a hollow feeling that hangs over us.  There are times when insecurity engulfs us like a dense cold fog rolling in from the ocean on a moonless night. We all struggle with this at times. For me, it is not a perpetual state of being but a season of unworthiness.

I think of John 11 when Lazarus has died, and Jesus comes several days later. Martha meets Him and asks why He didn’t come earlier when He could have healed Him. Martha knows Lazarus will be raised in the last days but thinks it is too late to save him now. There are times when we should know salvation is ours, but question what about today? There will eventually be joy in Heaven, but what do we do until we get there? Will there be relief this side of Heaven?

WHEN HUMBLENESS TURNS TO INSECURITY

What happens when our humbleness turns to insecurity? How do we cope when we pass over that tipping point and start to believe our trash talk when we start buying into the sin-is-greater-than-love scenario. As humans, we all do this at times. We let our regret and guilt override our knowledge of who we are in Christ.

1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

God forgives, but do we? I know that I am saved by grace and not by works so that no man may boast. But is that enough for me today? Do I find peace in the fact that I have grieved God and others and been forgiven? I don’t know about you, but some days it is not enough to be forgiven; I need repatriation. I need an act of restoration. I need to somehow show my worthiness for forgiveness.

Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace you were saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is a gift of God, not a results of works, so that no man may boast.”

I can’t change the past, but I do manage to relive it. I mull it over and over in my mind wishing it had never happened. I punish myself even when God has forgiven me. Why? Because I separate the eternal from the worldly. I accept that I have been given eternal life through Christ’s death on the cross, but I still want earthly peace through some final act of attrition. There are days when I am Martha. God, I get that you love me unconditionally; I get that through your sacrifice on the cross, I will live with you forever in Heaven, but what about the guilt I feel today? Have you arrived in my life too late to heal me of my past?

WHEN DO WE GET TO THE FEEL-GOOD PART?

First of all, try to keep things in perspective. This feeling is an in-the-moment issue; it is not an eternal issue. For Christians, this is not a desperate need for salvation that is already assured. It can seem like a desperate need for acceptance. I made a horrible decision over 40 years ago that was a correction decision to a previous atrocious decision. Unfortunately, that is what happens with sin; sin begets further sin. I have lived with the guilt of these decisions. I see the parties involved from time to time. Each time I see them, it reminds me of my weakness. Had I made the first decision correctly, I would not have hurt so many people afterward.

It has all been forgiven, both by God and the offended parties, but not by me. I know that there was a domino effect from my decisions that eventually made other people better off. I would never want to reverse their future happiness by erasing my wrong decision. This story is part of the “God works in strange ways “discussion, but my guilt remains. It is one of the echoes of the past that makes me question my worthiness. If we are honest with ourselves, we recognize that we have them. They are barriers to living a life worth living.

THE GOOD PART

Spoiler alert: Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead. He was not too late.

Most self-doubt is created by a historical focus overriding our eternal focus. We forget that God put us here for good works prepared for us in advance. (Get the first part in the verse below; We are God’s handiwork.) There is no need to continue to dredge up the past, we will, but it is a waste of time.

Ephesians 2:10, “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

Here is what is essential for those who believe in Christ

2 Corinthians 5:10, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.”

For Christians, it is not The Great White Throne Judgment, described in Revelation 20. God will not judge us for our past sins; they are already forgiven. God will hold us accountable for what we have done for Christ since we knew Him. This judgment is not to determine our worthiness to spend eternity with Christ; we have already been accepted to Heaven; it is a review of our fruit derived from that relationship. 

Romans 14:12, “So then everyone of us shall give account of himself to God.”

Back many years ago, I was given a cassette tape, you read that right, of a one-person play performed by  Pete Briscoe, “The Judgement Seat of Christ.” This is a link to the video for those of you that no longer have a cassette player. The original book was written by Tim Stevenson, with no relationship. It talks about The BEMA, the judgment seat of Christ that we must all stand before. It changed my view of Christianity. It moved me from a self-view to an others-view. It shifted my focus away from me being a better person to serving others just as I am.

I don’t know that I will ever get over my past sin. I know there will be times when it comes back to haunt me. But if I can check my self-incrimination and turn my focus to why I am here, I can get past it. Life here on earth can be joyful and peaceful. God does not want us to live a life of regret and guilt. He wants us to enjoy the fullness of His presence.

As hard as it is to believe, our past is forgiven and gone. If we waste our time fretting over the past rather than doing the good works prepared for us to do now; well, we build up more regret and guilt.

James 1:22 “But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.”

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Forgiveness

Psalm 25:6-7, “Lord, remember your great mercy and love. You have shown them to your people for a long time. Don’t remember the sins I committed when I was young. Don’t remember how often I refused to obey you. Remember me because you love me.”

WE HAVE ALL BEEN WOUNDED

When you run into people who create negativity in your life, you can take direct action; you can unfriend them, cancel them, block them, and ignore them. However, you can not run away from yourself; that voice in your head goes everywhere you go. If you allow it, the negativity they created hangs around long after they are gone.

Matthew 18:21-22, “Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.”

As hard as it is for me to forgive others for their transgression, it is almost impossible for me to forgive my transgression. Somehow I think mine is worse. I can walk away from others, but I can’t walk away from myself.

Why do I stress this? I let other people’s transgression highjack my life. There comes this tipping point where their offense becomes my obsession. Long after the event, I play it over and over in my mind. I try to figure out why it happened, what was my role? I try to understand where it will lead, how do I handle the next interaction?  And the big one, how do I get it across to them how they made me feel? When I am anxious or angry I can not bear God’s fruit in my life.

HEALING STARTS AT HOME

Before I can truly forgive others, I have to understand and accept my forgiveness. I may not have started the transgression; I may not have contributed in any way, but I have my sin. Offenses happen, and they cause real pain that sometimes takes a long time to go away, sometimes a lifetime.  Although I am not a proponent of today’s victim culture, I do understand that we are all victims at one point or another. Forgiveness isn’t about pretending bad things never happened; it is not about forgetting. It is how do we get through the things that do occur.

Colossians 3:13, “Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”

“What consumes your mind is what controls your life.” Anonymous

I wish I knew who said this. It is one of those pearls of wisdom that echo over and over throughout my life. It is one of the go-to thoughts that creep into my head when I let others take control of my thoughts. What consumes your mind controls your life. The more you play that record of transgression over and over, the more control it exercises over your life. We need to find a way of playing a different song. I believe the start of that transition is to understand who I am and what God did for me. A friend of mine refers to himself as a scoundrel; that is the perfect description of myself.

Ephesians 4:31-32, “Get rid of all bitterness, rage, and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as Christ God forgave you.

When I first start absorbing the incredible gift God gave me through His forgiveness of my sin, and I take the time to acknowledge the scoundrel in me, it makes it easier to have compassion for the scoundrel in others. I can’t imagine what my life would look like if God held me accountable for all of my sins. I need God’s forgiveness.

EXTENDING GRACE

Matthew 6: 14-15, “Forgive other people when they sin against you. If you do, your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive the sins of other people, your Father will not forgive your sins.”

Forgiveness is not just something that happens to us; forgiveness flows through us. We forgive so that we may be forgiven. I know this is extremely hard at times. Remember, forgiveness is not forgetting; it is not accepting, it is not acquiescing; it releases us to feel compassion and love again. Forgiveness is putting transgressions behind us and moving forward.

Mark 11:25, “And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”

Forgiveness is not about them; it is about us. It is about us showing God how much His forgiveness means to us; it means so much we will put other people’s transgressions behind us. What consumes our mind will be the love of Christ; what controls our life will be the love of Christ. 

Ephesians 1:7, “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.”

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When…If…Then

“When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

2 Chronicles 7:13-14

2020 has been a very tough year. I hear competing ideas and philosophies about why this has happened. It covers everything from we live in a fallen world to God’s judgment for evil people.  I know I am not smart enough to answer that question. But I am smart enough to question what it means to me and what God wants me to do about it. 2 Chronicles guides me. It does not explain why, but it does explain what. Executing “the what” opens my eyes to the love God has put all around me.

WHEN

“When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people.”

We have had to deal with a worldwide pandemic, social unrest, economic upheaval, and an extremely vitriol election. If this isn’t modern-day locust, drought, and plague, it is as close as I have seen during my time on this earth. I don’t know the why of this, but scripture tells me what. We are in the situation we are in for reasons only God may fully understand, and God will use it. If….

IF

“if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways.”

The first and most important clue is “my people, who are called by my name.” Our worldly problems are not about a political ideology, political parties, government legalism, social movement, or any other earthly pursuit; it is not a third-party issue. It falls in the lap of believers. God says the solution is not in the hands of others; it in the hands of people who call themselves Christians. The first step after the when is to recognize that the solution starts and ends with believers acting like believers. But there are conditions.

1 Peter 2:9, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”

HUMBLE THEMSELVES

Step back for worldly issues. Set aside temporal bias and wants. Get on your knees and let God know that you are pushing those issues behind you and only seeking His will. Acknowledge that you have let the world creep in between you and Him. Let Him know you were wrong, the only real guide is the Messiah. You allowed the worries of the world to distract you from your mission.

Titus 2:12, “Training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age.”

PRAY

Now speak to Him. Acknowledge your weaknesses and your desire to be back in harmony with Him. Ask that He will do His will in your life and this country and this world. The Bible says we have not because we do not ask. It also states that He will answer all prayers that are in accordance with His will. Prayer is the beginning of all healing.

Philippians 4:6, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”

SEEK MY FACE

We need to prioritize the information that enters our brain. God made an incredibly complex computer between our ears. But like all computers, it is garbage in garbage out. If you continue to fill your brain with worthless or even harmful information, you will find it increasingly difficult to communion with God.

In all things, seek first the Kingdom of Heaven. Perform every interaction as if it was being performed in front of God. Consume every conversation, every video, every book or article as if you were on God’s knee. Do not think you can hide your distractions in the closet to be brought out when God is not looking.

Deuteronomy 4:29, “But from there you will seek the Lord your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul.”

TURN FROM THEIR WICKED WAYS

Change is the indication of repentance. It is easy to say you are sorry; it is easy to be remorseful of your actions or fearful of the repercussions. It is challenging to modify your behavior to minimize the chance of falling back into old ways. You have to break the habits that created the problem. God knows we will never be perfect this side of Heaven, but He expects us to try. He will continue to forgive our earnest failures.

Romans 12:2, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

THEN

“then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

Here is the excellent part. Our God is a God of love and redemption. He is a God who wants us to bask in the radiant splendor and warmth of His compassion. God does not want us to fall or fail. If we accept that it is us, the body of His Church, that have failed this nation and this world, then He will heal the land.

1 Corinthians 2:9, “But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him.”

The non-believers are lost in a world they do not understand. They are part of the problem, but only because they do not understand. How can they learn, but that we would teach them? If we commit to doing our part, He will do these three things:

HEAR FROM HEAVEN

He will hear our prayers. Without repentance and change, we build a wall between God and us that hampers our prayers. The roar of our pain becomes a whisper. Once we repent and turn, all the white noise goes away, and our voice becomes loud and clear.

John 9:31, “We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly person who does his will.”

FORGIVE THEIR SIN

Forgiveness of sin is so much better than relief from worldly troubles. Sin separates us from God for eternity. Earthly pain lasts just a short time. We live in this world, and we have to deal with what it throws at us. Many of those moments can be extremely painful. But that pain is nothing compared to an eternity separated from God.

1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

HEAL THEIR LAND

Now God heals the world around us. We are right with Him, which is His priority. We will never see the end of world hunger, social injustice, or disease on this side of Heaven, but we can find peace. God will raise Godly leaders; He will dampen our sorrows and lighten our loads.

John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”

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