December 24, 1991
For many, this is the happiest time of year. Family gathers and warm memories are shared. Happy celebrations around the piano singing, around the table laughing. Gifts opened and squeals of delight echo through the house and Christmas is a time of abundance.
For some, this is the saddest time of year. Perhaps memories are not heart-warming; a Christmas past brought heartache. Perhaps celebrations are not happy; a family member is addicted to spirits of a chemical variety. Perhaps gift-giving brings no joy; hard times or foolish spending robbed the children of their toys. And those who yearn for an abundant Christmas spend it in physical, mental and emotional poverty.
The occasion is the birth of Christ (remember?) and the party is in His honor. Will the fact that the party has been ruined a few times destroy forever that abundance longed for and yet seemingly so out of reach? Or does the Christ child, now a resurrected and exalted King, still have a gift unopened for you?
For those who mourn and cannot applaud His birth, Jesus reaches out across time, across a million scarred and ruined holidays and cries, “This thief came to steal and kill and destroy... but I have come that you may have life, and that you may have it more abundantly.”
Abundant life. Anyone who searches the Word of God looking for more presents, a bigger tree, a nicer car, a larger wardrobe, a fancier house, will not find that kind of abundance. Jesus says anything that rots, mildews, or rusts is not worthy of our Christmas list. He has far more valuable treasures in His “santa sack”.
The first parcel is labeled “PARDON.” He offers it with this word: “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the LORD, and He will have mercy on him... for He will abundantly pardon.” The gift tag is made out “To __________”, so whoever wants this parcel can fill in their name and help themselves.
The second gift is labeled “RENEWAL.” This abundance is for those whose lives have been scarred by their own foolishness, at Christmas time and otherwise. When they fill out the tag on the first gift, this is what they receive: “...not by your good works, but according to His mercy He saves you, through washing you with new life and renewing you by the Holy Spirit... whom He poured out on you abundantly through Jesus Christ your Savior.” This Gift-giver trades His New Life for your old memories.
The next parcel is labeled “SATISFACTION” for He knows we need more than tinsel and glitter. “They (those who receive the first two parcels) are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of His house, and He gives them drink from the river of His pleasures.”
Whether the tree be buried under a great mound of worldly treasures or barren as a greedy man’s heart, the Lord’s gift of satisfaction doesn’t depend on cash flow. Furthermore, it also is free!
Is there any more? Yes, for those memories and miseries that threaten joy all year round, He offers still more surprise-packages. But these have no label and no one knows what is in them until they help themselves. Here is their promise: “He is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us....”
Whatever we ask for, whatever we can imagine that would make Christmas and all of life wonderful... He is able to do more, exceedingly abundantly more. And as we turn away from our rotting, rusting treasure and allow Him to give us His gifts, we find the last and most lasting parcel there for us.
It is called “HOPE,”the promise of “an entrance supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
With that, He vows someday the celebration will be totally without tears. For now, we can bring the sorrows of our celebrations to Jesus and let Him turn every one into abundance.
Showing posts with label renewed life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label renewed life. Show all posts
Friday, July 10, 2015
Monday, July 6, 2015
Establishing good habits .............. Parables 296
December 10, 1991
Is it ever difficult to start an exercise program in December after giving it up in late September. All summer and on into fall my husband and I biked, fished and played golf, but after the cold weather came, it is so nice to curl up in front of the fireplace with a good book. Who wants to exercise!
But before long, we notice the effects. Stiff joints and aching muscles, not being able to bend as easily as this summer — all add up to one conclusion — use it or lose it. So we strive at slim and trim.
Actually, the principle is the same in our spiritual lives. We have to decide how we will live and then work at it — or we rapidly get flabby. Yet making the choice is only the first step, and by far the easiest one! Doing it is the difficult part. Some persistent bad habits just continually hang us up; we can’t seem to get the habits established. Godliness, like fitness, must be continually worked at or it definitely eludes us.
Not only that, stubborn bad habits make us feel helpless. Sometimes those wrong things seem to take over and almost become obsessions with us. We can even assume our lives are out of control and there is nothing we can do to change. After all, we try so hard to say “no” to that sin, to simply stop doing it, but in spite of good intentions, we seem such slaves to it.
But is that biblical thinking? Is it possible to be out of control? Perhaps the real problem is simply focusing on the wrong issue. God tells us what we are supposed to DO as well as what we are to stop doing. He wants us to take our focus off the negatives... by doing the positives. For instance, God says tell the truth; don’t lie. Love our spouse; don’t be unfaithful. Work with our hands; don’t steal. Give thanks to Him; don’t jest or talk filthy. Love our enemies; don’t seek revenge.
So when sinful habits seem out of control, this is where the use-it-or-lose-it principle comes in. We need to ask God to help us concentrate on the DO’S. It is only by spending our energy there do we have any hope of victory over the DO NOT’S. In fact, like unused muscles, bad habits can atrophy — simply die — from lack of exercise.
It works the opposite way too. Those who refuses to tell the truth find lying easier and easier. After a time, their capacity to tell the truth becomes atrophied and lying develops strength to control their life. In the same way, anyone who refuses to love their spouse finds straying easier and easier. The capacity to love becomes atrophied — and marital treachery develops a strength that controls their life. Most compulsive or obsessive behavior is the same.
In contrast, a commitment to God calls for the exercise of godly virtues such as love, truth and faithfulness. As these things develop, sinful habits begin to wither up and lose their strength to govern our lives. They also lose their importance because the new habit is so rich and rewarding there is no desire or appetite for the old.
Simply put, God will help us overcome dominating sinful patterns by urging us to give extra-special attention to that sin’s opposite behavior. He says “Do not be overcome by evil but overcome evil by doing good.”
Of course sinful attitudes and actions cannot be completely ignored, denied or repressed. They must be confessed and forsaken as we use the new nature we have been given to prevent spiritual atrophy.
Yes, getting on the exercise bike takes much determination. My muscles ache and protest. Yet the resulting strength and endurance will be worth it, and a good reminder that the habit of obedience makes more obedience a little easier. With that gain, sin atrophies and loses much of its appeal.
Is it ever difficult to start an exercise program in December after giving it up in late September. All summer and on into fall my husband and I biked, fished and played golf, but after the cold weather came, it is so nice to curl up in front of the fireplace with a good book. Who wants to exercise!
But before long, we notice the effects. Stiff joints and aching muscles, not being able to bend as easily as this summer — all add up to one conclusion — use it or lose it. So we strive at slim and trim.
Actually, the principle is the same in our spiritual lives. We have to decide how we will live and then work at it — or we rapidly get flabby. Yet making the choice is only the first step, and by far the easiest one! Doing it is the difficult part. Some persistent bad habits just continually hang us up; we can’t seem to get the habits established. Godliness, like fitness, must be continually worked at or it definitely eludes us.
Not only that, stubborn bad habits make us feel helpless. Sometimes those wrong things seem to take over and almost become obsessions with us. We can even assume our lives are out of control and there is nothing we can do to change. After all, we try so hard to say “no” to that sin, to simply stop doing it, but in spite of good intentions, we seem such slaves to it.
But is that biblical thinking? Is it possible to be out of control? Perhaps the real problem is simply focusing on the wrong issue. God tells us what we are supposed to DO as well as what we are to stop doing. He wants us to take our focus off the negatives... by doing the positives. For instance, God says tell the truth; don’t lie. Love our spouse; don’t be unfaithful. Work with our hands; don’t steal. Give thanks to Him; don’t jest or talk filthy. Love our enemies; don’t seek revenge.
So when sinful habits seem out of control, this is where the use-it-or-lose-it principle comes in. We need to ask God to help us concentrate on the DO’S. It is only by spending our energy there do we have any hope of victory over the DO NOT’S. In fact, like unused muscles, bad habits can atrophy — simply die — from lack of exercise.
It works the opposite way too. Those who refuses to tell the truth find lying easier and easier. After a time, their capacity to tell the truth becomes atrophied and lying develops strength to control their life. In the same way, anyone who refuses to love their spouse finds straying easier and easier. The capacity to love becomes atrophied — and marital treachery develops a strength that controls their life. Most compulsive or obsessive behavior is the same.
In contrast, a commitment to God calls for the exercise of godly virtues such as love, truth and faithfulness. As these things develop, sinful habits begin to wither up and lose their strength to govern our lives. They also lose their importance because the new habit is so rich and rewarding there is no desire or appetite for the old.
Simply put, God will help us overcome dominating sinful patterns by urging us to give extra-special attention to that sin’s opposite behavior. He says “Do not be overcome by evil but overcome evil by doing good.”
Of course sinful attitudes and actions cannot be completely ignored, denied or repressed. They must be confessed and forsaken as we use the new nature we have been given to prevent spiritual atrophy.
Yes, getting on the exercise bike takes much determination. My muscles ache and protest. Yet the resulting strength and endurance will be worth it, and a good reminder that the habit of obedience makes more obedience a little easier. With that gain, sin atrophies and loses much of its appeal.
Monday, February 2, 2015
Resting and Waiting ................. Parables 230
(August 29, 1990)
Today, my body feels like it used to after 4-5 hours picking peas; no, more like after a week of forking hay or maybe breaking a horse. Muscles ache; bones ache. If I don’t keep moving, then I can’t move at all.
For all of that, it is a pleasant fatigue -- from hard, honest labor... but I would like a hot bath just the same. Work, effortless for a twenty-year old, becomes arduous after forty – that I have accepted. The Bible says, “the outer man perishes day by day” and today is no exception. However, God also has something to say regarding exhaustion.
Two of my favorite passages of Scripture are extremely comforting at the end of a day’s hard work. One is Matthew 11:28-30: “Come unto me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and you shall find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
The context and words indicate Jesus is speaking primarily to the spiritually fatigued, those who have been futile in seeking the favor of God through their own efforts, perhaps a result of adhering to a false religious system. Added to that is a heavy load, possibly the weight of sin and guilt. God’s solution to this kind of weariness is COME: be equally yoked with Jesus, the sin-bearer, who removes the sinner’s load and replaces it with forgiveness and new life. Those who seek this rest will find new energy as they experience peace with God plus a clean conscience.
The other passage is for those who have already come, but find themselves feeling “old” and overworked. It is Isaiah 40:28-31: “Have you not known? have you not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, faints not, neither is weary? There is no searching of his understanding. He gives power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; they shall walk, and not faint.”
Isaiah didn’t reserve fatigue for the middle years; it knows no age limit. There is no limit to its origin either. One cause might be a futile effort to please God without first checking what He wants. Another is adding unassigned work to God-given responsibilities, winding up with a work load He never intended. But even doing the Lord’s work the Lord’s way doesn’t produce immunity to bone-wearying exhaustion. Jesus became so tired He fell asleep in a fishing boat during a storm.
According to Isaiah, physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual burn out also have a practical solution: WAIT on Him, and He will re-new our strength. WAIT is from the Hebrew QAWA, meaning “to look to God in faith, eagerly expecting He will meet the current need.” This doesn’t mean we can pray and never have to sleep again, or read the Bible and never need a restful walk in the garden. What it does mean is expecting God to be our resource for restoration, and trusting Him to not only provide the means but also the opportunity. God created love, beauty, friends, even night time: all sources of renewal. He also gave us His Word and His Spirit; both minister to weary hearts with words of strength and encouragement.
So often we think we need another nap or more and more vacation time, when what we really need is the consistent ability to wait on the Lord. It is learned through spending time with Him on a regular basis, needy or not, in both good times and bad. It is a lifestyle, not an action for crisis only.
There is nothing wrong with being tired and sore from doing whatever the Lord has given us to do, but rest is honorable too – a hot bath or a night’s sleep might sooth aching muscles and restore physical well-being but rest and renewal at the feet of the Lord refreshes the spirit.
Today, my body feels like it used to after 4-5 hours picking peas; no, more like after a week of forking hay or maybe breaking a horse. Muscles ache; bones ache. If I don’t keep moving, then I can’t move at all.
For all of that, it is a pleasant fatigue -- from hard, honest labor... but I would like a hot bath just the same. Work, effortless for a twenty-year old, becomes arduous after forty – that I have accepted. The Bible says, “the outer man perishes day by day” and today is no exception. However, God also has something to say regarding exhaustion.
Two of my favorite passages of Scripture are extremely comforting at the end of a day’s hard work. One is Matthew 11:28-30: “Come unto me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and you shall find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
The context and words indicate Jesus is speaking primarily to the spiritually fatigued, those who have been futile in seeking the favor of God through their own efforts, perhaps a result of adhering to a false religious system. Added to that is a heavy load, possibly the weight of sin and guilt. God’s solution to this kind of weariness is COME: be equally yoked with Jesus, the sin-bearer, who removes the sinner’s load and replaces it with forgiveness and new life. Those who seek this rest will find new energy as they experience peace with God plus a clean conscience.
The other passage is for those who have already come, but find themselves feeling “old” and overworked. It is Isaiah 40:28-31: “Have you not known? have you not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, faints not, neither is weary? There is no searching of his understanding. He gives power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; they shall walk, and not faint.”
Isaiah didn’t reserve fatigue for the middle years; it knows no age limit. There is no limit to its origin either. One cause might be a futile effort to please God without first checking what He wants. Another is adding unassigned work to God-given responsibilities, winding up with a work load He never intended. But even doing the Lord’s work the Lord’s way doesn’t produce immunity to bone-wearying exhaustion. Jesus became so tired He fell asleep in a fishing boat during a storm.
According to Isaiah, physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual burn out also have a practical solution: WAIT on Him, and He will re-new our strength. WAIT is from the Hebrew QAWA, meaning “to look to God in faith, eagerly expecting He will meet the current need.” This doesn’t mean we can pray and never have to sleep again, or read the Bible and never need a restful walk in the garden. What it does mean is expecting God to be our resource for restoration, and trusting Him to not only provide the means but also the opportunity. God created love, beauty, friends, even night time: all sources of renewal. He also gave us His Word and His Spirit; both minister to weary hearts with words of strength and encouragement.
So often we think we need another nap or more and more vacation time, when what we really need is the consistent ability to wait on the Lord. It is learned through spending time with Him on a regular basis, needy or not, in both good times and bad. It is a lifestyle, not an action for crisis only.
There is nothing wrong with being tired and sore from doing whatever the Lord has given us to do, but rest is honorable too – a hot bath or a night’s sleep might sooth aching muscles and restore physical well-being but rest and renewal at the feet of the Lord refreshes the spirit.
Friday, August 8, 2014
Trash or Treasure? ........................ Parables 154
Last week, Simon my editor told me he’d had a lousy morning. He’d been tracing a special vintage motorcycle, one he wanted to restore. As the trail narrowed, anticipation grew. I could see his vision of what a little love and a lot of elbow grease could do with that particular bike. But when he finally found the most recent owner, he received the bad news; the bike had been taken to the dump over a year ago.
Can you identify? He must have felt just as we would if a precious possession had been dropped off a cliff. He could see it disappearing out of his grasp and there was absolutely nothing he could do about it.
I felt Simon’s disappointment with him. Besides, there’s a unique joy in restoring something back to new condition. And instead of adding to the pollution in the environment, restorers make meaningful contributions.
Later in the day, I thought about this throwaway generation that we live in. While some would feel repulsion at the thought, a few trips to the local trash bin has furnished a home for some who otherwise may never get beyond using cardboard boxes.
Cars, appliances, clothes, you name it, are not always worthless before they are treated that way. But affluence and easy-come, easy go makes the mounds of throwaways higher and higher.
Unfortunately, human lives sometimes are tossed aside too. Sometimes that life is an unwanted baby, or it could be a mentally or physically handicapped person. It might be a “fallen women” or a man who fell into the gutter somewhere and can’t get out.
Unfortunately, the human trash heap includes anyone that other people feel have no value, no purpose, or no potential. They are the ones that many of us tend to put on our “avoid this creature” list.
I wonder how God feels about lives that are tossed in the garbage. Does He feel their rejection? Of course He does. He has been rejected. Does He think about them the same way society often does? Not at all!
The good news is that God is in the restoration business. He sent Jesus Christ to “seek and to save that which was lost” … or tossed. That includes those whom no one else wants or will have anything to do with. In Jesus’ day, it was the prostitutes, the publicans (“traitorous” Jewish tax collectors working for Rome) and an assorted group of people simply called “sinners.”
Jesus said He came to seek these rejects, and when He ‘‘found” them, He loved them. The Bible says He was ‘‘the friend of sinners,” yet He did more than eat and drink with them. His saving power restored any who placed their faith in Him. They were given peace, joy, and the sure hope of eternal life, as well as a useful and purposeful life here on earth for God.
Ephesians 2:10 says that those who trust in Christ are “His workmanship, created in Jesus to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
When Simon finds an old motorcycle, he carefully cleans and restores each piece, remaking parts if necessary. Then he puts the whole bike back together with infinite care. The engine is tuned to purr-fection, the leather polished, and the paint bright and shiny. No one would even know that this sleek machine was once a cast-off, even if it came from a trash heap.
Jesus says. “If any man is in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things are gone, the new has come” ...that (sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers, prostitutes, homosexual offenders, thieves, those guilty of greed, drunkards, slanderers, swindlers) is “what some of you were, but you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”
In other words, unlike Simon’s latest disappointment, the human trash heap does not have to be the end. The Lord can do the job beautifully, no matter who has tossed us aside, and no matter what condition He finds us.
Can you identify? He must have felt just as we would if a precious possession had been dropped off a cliff. He could see it disappearing out of his grasp and there was absolutely nothing he could do about it.
I felt Simon’s disappointment with him. Besides, there’s a unique joy in restoring something back to new condition. And instead of adding to the pollution in the environment, restorers make meaningful contributions.
Later in the day, I thought about this throwaway generation that we live in. While some would feel repulsion at the thought, a few trips to the local trash bin has furnished a home for some who otherwise may never get beyond using cardboard boxes.
Cars, appliances, clothes, you name it, are not always worthless before they are treated that way. But affluence and easy-come, easy go makes the mounds of throwaways higher and higher.
Unfortunately, human lives sometimes are tossed aside too. Sometimes that life is an unwanted baby, or it could be a mentally or physically handicapped person. It might be a “fallen women” or a man who fell into the gutter somewhere and can’t get out.
Unfortunately, the human trash heap includes anyone that other people feel have no value, no purpose, or no potential. They are the ones that many of us tend to put on our “avoid this creature” list.
I wonder how God feels about lives that are tossed in the garbage. Does He feel their rejection? Of course He does. He has been rejected. Does He think about them the same way society often does? Not at all!
The good news is that God is in the restoration business. He sent Jesus Christ to “seek and to save that which was lost” … or tossed. That includes those whom no one else wants or will have anything to do with. In Jesus’ day, it was the prostitutes, the publicans (“traitorous” Jewish tax collectors working for Rome) and an assorted group of people simply called “sinners.”
Jesus said He came to seek these rejects, and when He ‘‘found” them, He loved them. The Bible says He was ‘‘the friend of sinners,” yet He did more than eat and drink with them. His saving power restored any who placed their faith in Him. They were given peace, joy, and the sure hope of eternal life, as well as a useful and purposeful life here on earth for God.
Ephesians 2:10 says that those who trust in Christ are “His workmanship, created in Jesus to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
When Simon finds an old motorcycle, he carefully cleans and restores each piece, remaking parts if necessary. Then he puts the whole bike back together with infinite care. The engine is tuned to purr-fection, the leather polished, and the paint bright and shiny. No one would even know that this sleek machine was once a cast-off, even if it came from a trash heap.
Jesus says. “If any man is in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things are gone, the new has come” ...that (sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers, prostitutes, homosexual offenders, thieves, those guilty of greed, drunkards, slanderers, swindlers) is “what some of you were, but you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”
In other words, unlike Simon’s latest disappointment, the human trash heap does not have to be the end. The Lord can do the job beautifully, no matter who has tossed us aside, and no matter what condition He finds us.
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Perfuming a pig? .................... Parables 085
While washing the wood paneled walls that line the stairway to the basement of our home, I felt like I was trying to perfume a pig. The stairs themselves are still the 2 inch boards used by the builder, without benefit of carpet or tile to cover them. A few years ago someone painted them off-white; someone else walked on the paint before it was dry; a few families moved in and out; some put a chip here, a gouge there... those stairs looked pretty shabby. In energy born from frustration, I grabbed a paint brush and give them a quick coat of fresh paint.
The nicks and gouges are the same color now. The wood is still rather beat-up but the paint gives a uniform effect. It will do, for a time, but I still feel vaguely unsatisfied; I did not fix the real problem.
That can happen in other areas of life too. Ever have an argument with someone, mumble “I’m sorry”, but still feel that something was left undone? Also, there is the vague unrest after doing a job at less than our best. It is easy to make an excuse and shrug it off, but it gets added to the clutter of the unfinished, the unsatisfactory, the “I-wish-I-could- do-it-over” stuff in our lives.
The Bible tells Christians to put the past behind, to press on toward the goal of Christlikeness. That sounds great, but we must also settle differences with others, pay our debts, and do our very best. How can we put the past behind without feeling like we are leaving a trail of debris along the way?
1) Keep short accounts with God: When I was a little girl, my grandmother told me never to apply perfume without first taking a bath. The principle carries over into spiritual life. If it is battered and gouged, or spotted and dirty, any efforts to whitewash it will only cover it up, not fix it. So, if the left-overs include unconfessed sin that must be dealt with. Putting on the perfume of goodness is important, but it does not correct the problem of any dirt that might be underneath.
Sin is serious, not to be swept under the carpet or whitewashed with excuses. David acknowledged his sin saying it was “always before me” and asked God “cleanse my heart and restore the joy of my salvation.” He did that because he knew that God “...is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (I John 1:9).
2) Make restitution: The past may include some unresolved relationship problems. God asks us to deal with them too, even if they seem like “old” issues. When I became a Christian the Lord impressed upon me to apologize to someone I had wronged ten years before. It was hard to find the person’s location and write a letter of apology, but the burden of the unfinished was lifted. Jesus said not to bring any gift to the alter of God without dealing with unresolved differences with others. (See Matt. 5:23,24)
3) Put the things we cannot do anything about into the Lord’s hands: No amount of regret, sighing, or unscrambling will change most of the past. If we have confessed any sin to God and done what we can to correct broken relationships with others, then it is time to move on. Moaning “if only” is destructive and time-wasting. When we spend a lot of time wishing we had done differently, that is all we do, wish. And our lives never change now - when we have opportunity to change.
4) Be free to build memories for the future. Tomorrow I want to be able to look back on today with the awareness that I did what the Lord wanted me to do with as much ability has He has given me to do it. If it does not happen that way, then, because of His mercy, I am “not consumed... His compassions fail not. They are new every morning...” making each new day a new beginning without a backlog of the unfinished to spoil it.
The nicks and gouges are the same color now. The wood is still rather beat-up but the paint gives a uniform effect. It will do, for a time, but I still feel vaguely unsatisfied; I did not fix the real problem.
That can happen in other areas of life too. Ever have an argument with someone, mumble “I’m sorry”, but still feel that something was left undone? Also, there is the vague unrest after doing a job at less than our best. It is easy to make an excuse and shrug it off, but it gets added to the clutter of the unfinished, the unsatisfactory, the “I-wish-I-could- do-it-over” stuff in our lives.
The Bible tells Christians to put the past behind, to press on toward the goal of Christlikeness. That sounds great, but we must also settle differences with others, pay our debts, and do our very best. How can we put the past behind without feeling like we are leaving a trail of debris along the way?
1) Keep short accounts with God: When I was a little girl, my grandmother told me never to apply perfume without first taking a bath. The principle carries over into spiritual life. If it is battered and gouged, or spotted and dirty, any efforts to whitewash it will only cover it up, not fix it. So, if the left-overs include unconfessed sin that must be dealt with. Putting on the perfume of goodness is important, but it does not correct the problem of any dirt that might be underneath.
Sin is serious, not to be swept under the carpet or whitewashed with excuses. David acknowledged his sin saying it was “always before me” and asked God “cleanse my heart and restore the joy of my salvation.” He did that because he knew that God “...is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (I John 1:9).
2) Make restitution: The past may include some unresolved relationship problems. God asks us to deal with them too, even if they seem like “old” issues. When I became a Christian the Lord impressed upon me to apologize to someone I had wronged ten years before. It was hard to find the person’s location and write a letter of apology, but the burden of the unfinished was lifted. Jesus said not to bring any gift to the alter of God without dealing with unresolved differences with others. (See Matt. 5:23,24)
3) Put the things we cannot do anything about into the Lord’s hands: No amount of regret, sighing, or unscrambling will change most of the past. If we have confessed any sin to God and done what we can to correct broken relationships with others, then it is time to move on. Moaning “if only” is destructive and time-wasting. When we spend a lot of time wishing we had done differently, that is all we do, wish. And our lives never change now - when we have opportunity to change.
4) Be free to build memories for the future. Tomorrow I want to be able to look back on today with the awareness that I did what the Lord wanted me to do with as much ability has He has given me to do it. If it does not happen that way, then, because of His mercy, I am “not consumed... His compassions fail not. They are new every morning...” making each new day a new beginning without a backlog of the unfinished to spoil it.
Thursday, August 29, 2013
Dramatization of a Promise.............................. Parables 014
We who live in climates of clearly defined seasons have the marvelous annual opportunity to witness a dramatic visual display that symbolizes the most important event in history, life coming out of death.
It happened one spring nearly 2000 years ago, halfway around the world. The person whose life had ended was considered to be a troublemaker by some, a threat to the political and religious establishment, with much too much influence on the common man. Those in authority wanted him dead. They couldn’t find any crime to convict him of however, so when his illegal trial was held, he was convicted for telling the truth about himself.
His death sentence was carried out by the government of the day. Their means of execution was uniquely horrible and cruel, incurring death by slow suffocation while suspended from a cross made of wood . . . a slow death, so slow that the impatient soldiers in charge would often break the legs of the prisoners, sudden shock bringing an end to the process, so they could go home. But they didn’t need to break the legs of this one. He was already dead when they came to him. Evidence reveals that his death was not by suffocation nor by shock, but that his heart literally ruptured and his blood was poured out.
His family and friends had been told that he would rise again, but just like you and me, or anyone who knows about life and death, they did not believe that or seem to understand. They felt no hope. They mourned. But they didn’t have to.
This Jesus Christ, whom they had given up everything to follow, was no ordinary man. Just as His life was not an ordinary life, His death was not an ordinary death. God pronounced that death comes to all who sin, but in His life, this man had never sinned. Therefore, death had no claim on Him. He died for someone else. Furthermore, in His life, He claimed to be the Son of God, and three days after His death, He proved it. He walked out of His tomb.
What does this have to do with us and with spring? Just This: Jesus Christ said, “I am the resurrection and the life: he that believeth on me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die” (John 11:25,26).
Just as the cold dark of winter cannot destroy plant and animal life, neither can the grave destroy those who put their trust in the One who conquered death. His own resurrection guarantees it.
And just to make sure that we have ample reminders of this event, and of His promise, He repeats it over and over again: in His Word, in the changed lives of those who believe, and in the marvelous season that we call Spring.
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