For Future Reference...

Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. ~2 Corinthians 7:1 (NKJV)

Light exposes. God represents the light, He created the light, He is the light, and therefore His presence in our lives must expose the sin in us and do away with it before we can fully come to Him. If we think we are in communion with the almighty God and His moving Spirit, yet there is something that lies in the way, then we are deceived and have not been exposed to the hidden sins that must come to repentance. If we truly fear God, we should come to Him with prayer, asking to be made right in every way.

How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart?

Cleanse me from these hidden faults. ~Psalms 19:12

There is an important note on the fact that we are indeed saved from our sins by grace and made perfect in the sight of God through His Son; it is this: we are saved in the future. What do I mean by that? I mean that we can never be perfect on this side of heaven and that in this life we will neither be seen as such. There are always those hidden faults of which do not know, and the only way we are saved from them is because God promises to keep Jesus before us on the day he judges the earth.

Sometimes we need to take a step back and examine where in our lives we could be growing, purifying, confronting God about, and making better. We don't always see or notice when our attitudes are less than ideal or our thoughts are sinful, but as long as we continually delve into God's magnificent instruction booklet for our lives and do so with prayer, asking that He will indeed reveal to us what He considers sin in our lives, He will honor it and show us how to become more Godly and God-fearing children.

He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. ~Micah 7:19 (ESV)

The Peace Paradox

“Enemy-occupied territory---that is what this world is. Christianity is the story of how the rightful king has landed, you might say landed in disguise, and is calling us to take part in a great campaign of sabotage.” ~C.S. Lewis

What do you say to the person who questions Jesus' deity? They conclude that, because this world is full of war, death, disease, conflict (and it's on the news every day), the acclaimed "Prince of Peace" is either a fraud or he's not strong enough to hold the peace he vowed to bring. While we sit around a warm cackling fire, a tree full of marvelous gifts, and tables full of wonderful food, there are riots going on against police, terrorists attacking elementary schools, and starvation raging across whole nations. Obviously this story of a savior being born to bring peace to a broken world holds no meaning or merit.

 

Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. ~Matthew 10:34 (NIV)

Sin will always wage war with peace on this earth. Jesus could force the world into order and sinners to repent, but he doesn't. What he did do was give us a way out. He brought "the sword" because his offer of true peace would split people apart. Jesus made followers, yes, but he also made enemies. The Word is a double-edged sword, and Jesus brought the truth of the Word to all peoples.

A Famous T-shirt logo, but very true when you think about it!

It is true that the peace Jesus brought was not one that would bring "world peace," but spiritual peace for those who choose to know him. It doesn't end there though, because simply knowing Jesus won't necessarily make your life nice and rosy. Sin makes life hard for us no matter where we stand, but Jesus promises that if we follow him, the Prince of Peace, we can find peace and comfort amidst hardships of many kinds.

I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world. ~John 16:33 (ESV)

Teeter & Totter

It's easy to have a disgust for the sins of others because when we get the whole picture, we can easily see God's point of view and how the sin affects him. When WE sin, however, the lies of the devil blind us to God and only allow us to see the supposed or false benefit of the act. We generally only find a true disgust for our sin when it's done and we can approach the Lord about it.

Here's an easy way to see temptation; consider that you're going on a spy mission. On this mission you are being fed false information. You are told to relax your guard because you have really seen any enemies so far. You are told that even if you do skip out on the mission, it's not like they would fire you, because you are too valuable--it doesn't matter if you fail! You are told that there probably aren't many booby traps on this mission, so you don't have to worry as much. What they aren't telling you is that it will affect someone if you don't follow all the rules! The mission will fail unless you make sure that whoever is backing you is going to do so without fault and that you are physically and mentally prepared for the mission beforehand. Funny thing is, God always has reinforcements when you need them, so as long as you're not too proud or self-seeking, there's really no way the mission can fail with God's help.

Something to remember: A stumble is not a fall. This means that even during the mission, if we start heading in the wrong direction or we get lost, all we need to do is radio in for directions instead of giving up and continuing on toward failure. And if we don't know what it means to fail your mission, God gives a pretty good mission statement in the Bible--you should go check it out!

For my iniquities have gone over my head; like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me. ~Psalm 38:4 (ESV)

Final thought: if you are ever teetering on the edge and about to give up and fall forward, just face the other direction and allow God to take the totter. Your iniquities might feel too heavy for you, but consider this: you're probably not the strongest person in the galaxy. Just take it to the Maker.

I'm the Best at Not Bragging

"Anything you do for the sake of personal glory is sin." ~Trip Lee

"Bang--Bang! Look at these guns! You know where I got 'em? From bailing hay all summer! That's right, and I got paid too. Beat that," said my imaginary friend, Bruce. "Alright," I replied, "no problem. See these guns?" "No." "Then you're not looking hard enough, because I'm using them all the time; fighting off demons, that is. I got these from reading God's word all summer! Yup, and I got paid too, a whole bunch more than you did--I'm going to be getting a mansion in heaven some day! Only thing is that I don't really care about the mansion, I'm content with these guns. I'd recommend looking into some yourself!"

As Trip Lee said it, "the root of bragging is thinking something you have is so amazing that everyone needs to know about it." I know that bragging isn't a perfect way to look at this, because the root of the word implies selfishness, but I think if you start bragging to those around you and you don't include yourself doing anything to earn what you got, people will start to get the picture!

"Everything you have was given to you. So why would you brag when all you did was accept a gift?" ~1 Corinthians 4:7 Paraphrase

 "He’s too great to keep to ourselves...[we] were built to brag on Him." ~Trip Lee

There are those (especially at my workplace) who say they are Christians but still cuss and act anything but the part. And then there are those (I'm guilty of it) who act the part of a Christian but never say a thing. People will assume you're just a nice person.

"Every decision you make is an opportunity to be a mirror, reflecting the goodness of your Maker. Each second is an chance to be a monitor, showcasing snapshots of His glory.  And when those around us catch glimpses of that goodness, we get to tell them that our light is only a dim reflection of His. The truth is, bragging with our lives and our lips goes hand in hand. If we only brag with our lives, people may assume we’re just nice people. They won’t know who compels us to live such good lives. And if our words say God is amazing, but our lives say otherwise, our claims lose credibility. We must do both." ~Trip Lee

It's like saying, "Yeah I have this really cool new iPhone 5, but honestly you should be idolizing my friend, who has the iPhone 6--forget me man." Nobody does that, and yet we should. When somebody says that you're a nice person and never do or say anything wrong, are always on time for work, and always give your best effort, we should respond by saying, "Man, that's nothing! I wouldn't be able to do it if it wasn't for Christ changing my life for the better! Everything I'm doing is still just a step down from what he is, so you should check Him out, for sure!" So why not? Let's practice that kind of response in our own lives.

In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. ~Matthew 5:16 (ESV)

Dying With Style

"School told me what to do for a living. Work helped me earn a living. But God gave me a reason to live." ~Lecrae

Most of us who are consistently around other people (i.e. the secular world) may begin to notice and/or participate in the way the majority of the world lives: "for the weekend." That's a generalization, but everyone lives for something because we all fear death and God--two of the things inherently found at the core of everyone's being. As we become more adept at hearing God's voice (and practicing His compassion for others) amidst the chaos of life and the roller coaster of changing emotions, we should also begin to see how zombie everyone is who doesn't know God like we do. As Solomon famously put, "all is meaningless" without our creator and savior. This means that anyone who does not live for God isn't living at all but dying with style.

In the same light, no one can be "thankful" unless it is directed toward someone else, otherwise it would probably just be called "glad to be in favorable circumstances." What I mean is that all those families across the country who celebrated Thanksgiving last Thursday were either in some way selfishly thankful (as apposed to selflessly praising God for what we are given) or falsely thanking someone/something from whom they could never have received the same blessings our Maker bestows upon us. So, as we all attempt to incorporate the attitude of thanksgiving into our lives, remember that it is one thing that truly sets us apart from the world. To God be all the glory forever and ever amen!

Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name.

~1 Chronicles 29:13 (NIV)

In memory of...oh wait, He's alive!

To start this off and bring up a past post: live like someone died for you! The reason we so often ignore this message in our lives is because we don't want to acknowledge the way He wants us to live for Him. There can be much mistreatment in this world for Christians who speak out, but that doesn't always imply persecution. Persecution means that there is attack/response/mistreatment/abuse for a righteous act when following Jesus rather than following the world. This does not include things like disrespecting/disputing/vehemently-defending-against/taking-action-over other beliefs/worldly things that don't line up with God's commandments--if you are reprimanded for that, it's not because you were following what Christ taught, but simply because you probably deserved it! In John 15, Jesus tells of how we are persecuted because we do not belong to this world.

Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends....If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. ~John 15:13, 19

Consider what your life would look like if you were living worthy of persecution. It wouldn't be easy. If, however, you are indeed living for the one who died for you, it all comes down to how much you love Jesus. Love obeys, and Jesus commanded us to go, to be lights in a broken world. That takes determination. I challenge us all to live so ardently for Christ that people take notice.

Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us. ~1 Peter 2:12

Doing hard things...or doing hardly anything...?

Doing hard things is an essential part of life. In the category of ridding all selfishness as an act of doing hard things for Christ, there is a point to be made. Self-denial is very different from the "denying of self" that Jesus preached. He said to take up your cross as a way of denying yourself. Self-denial on the other hand, could apply to any discipline: sports training, dieting, studying, even becoming something as awesome as a monk! However, all these things still involve or can involve selfishness. God doesn't want us to do hard things on humanity's standards, He wants us to do hard things on His standards, which usually involve doing things that both make you uncomfortable and don't seem to have any earthly or immediate reward.

This is a great story that spoke to me, one that you might have heard, but it was also relayed well in this article. I know from experience (though nothing like this woman's example...yet) how awesome (in the true use of the word) it is when you find yourself doing scary things for Christ and he strengthens you for it. It doesn't even need to feel encouraging or un-akward once you're through enacting God's calling, but as long as you do what you know He is leading you to, that's enough.

"I prayed… ‘Lord! Tell me when!’ At that moment I saw a figure of Christ on the cross some distance away. I stood up." ~Christine Weick

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