The Old New Life

"I am at rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him." ( Psalm 62:1 )

During January I've decided to take a social media sabbatical. During this time of spiritual detox, I'll continue to post farming blogs which usually end up being more about theology than farming. 

And anyway to me the two are forever intertwined since our Maker saw fit to form man out of dust from the ground and then place us in a garden paradise. A garden God himself planted for mankind to work and keep. In that sense, we are all farmers. Now you know why you love animals so much or develop this urge in spring to push your bare fingers through rich, turned up soil and set a tomato plant.  

During the last eighteen years as I've walked about my little chunk of garden earth here east of Eden, I'm constantly reminding myself to listen to nature. Like most of us, I tend to get in a rush with my duties overlooking the wisdom standing unrestrained before me; God's handiwork directs my preoccupied mind to hush up and pay attention. As I've put my listening ear to the air, I do hear that nature sings. 

Even in its fallen condition groaning to be redeemed and restored along with mankind, creation in every wing and fin and tiny vegetable sprout still hums and harmonizes in praise of its Creator.  

This year I read John Updike's "Pigeon Feathers," a short story about a fourteen year old boy on a farm who is searching for someone to give him proof for the existence of God after H.G. Wells smashes his faith. His parents, catechism classmates, and even the apparently faithless and unreliable reverend teaching the class not only fail poor David but humiliate him as well for his questions. 

Then God moves like only the great Creator can when we are in our crisis of faith. As David begins to bury the dead pigeons his family instructs him to shoot with his new birthday rifle because they have invaded the barn, he encounters his God moment. 

As he examines the perfection and intricate design of the pigeon's feathers for flight and warmth and beauty, he becomes astounded and overwhelmed that such detail and precision could be given to such birds exterminated as pests, and thus sure of the existence of God. 

"And across the surface of the infinitely adjusted yet somehow effortless mechanics of the feathers played idle designs of color, no two alike, designs executed, it seemed, in a controlled rapture, with a joy that hung level in the air above and behind him." 

Nature sings. 

The dogs and I walk. 

I rest next to the creek while Aslan and Shasta lap up its cool refreshment. I notice the brook trout and minnows teaming in schools, swirling in unison with the trickling currents that flow around the huge creek boulders. As the dogs splash into the water the fish quickly disappear in the foam and bubbles. With glistening, flipping tails they seem to swim so happily together in that living stream.  

I see that fish have a relationship with water. 

If we were to scoop them all up in a net and fling them onto the earth, their happiness would end, their purpose and in fact their very lives would be snatched away.  

Fish were made for water. It's where they not only survive, but thrive. It's home. 

Standing up on my feet from the creek bank, I am small and humble under the huge shapely American sycamore trees that line the shore. A multitude of round, prickly pods dangle in the soft morning breeze. The trees' otherwise bare limbs out stretch in festive welcome as if into a magical land inhabited by hobbits and elves.

The dogs and I continue on to the sheep field as I admire the stately oaks and hickories along the way. Shells and acorns crunch and pop beneath our feet on the loamy trail. Rounding the curve at the top of the driveway back at the house, we are greeted there by the Farmer's dormant chestnut and fruit trees. The stark branches remind me not to be hopeless. In spring, their bleak and empty arms will become pregnant and heavy with leaves, blossoms, and then full of rich, ripe fruit.  

I see that trees have a relationship with soil. 

Their life is found in the dirt. If we were to bulldoze them over and uproot them from their earth home, they would wither and die. They can only prosper and bring forth a harvest as long as they are rooted in soil. 

If you feel like you are exhausted and empty and can't catch your breath, if you feel as if you're unplugged from a power that can make you whole, it is because you are not connected to your life source. 

Like the fish swimming inside of water and trees planted deep within soil, you were made to be connected to something. 

You were made for God. 

Mankind has been disconnected from our life blood since the sin that took place by our first parents in the Garden of Eden when they disobeyed the only commandment God gave to them. Their sin transferred to all mankind separating us from God, and it continues to pile up day by day as we desperately live out of our own meager, borrowed resources.  

God could have walked out of our lives at that moment in the garden not ever looking back, and he would have done us no wrong. But he didn't. He made a covenant with Adam and Eve. There would be thorns and thistles, consequences, yes, because of sin, but there would also be a Rescuer. God himself would provide a sacrifice for us. The only One that could save us from our sin. He would send his Son Jesus. 

Being called a sinner may offend you and sound like abuse, but true love speaks the truth even if it hurts. If you saw a person beating on someone's chest, you might think that they were assaulting them. But if you knew that person had stopped breathing and the person pounding on their chest was in fact trying frantically to save the person's life, you would be urging them on, perhaps shouting and praying for success. 

We were made to worship God, and if we are not connected back to him, we will worship something else instead. Something else that will never satisfy the longings of our aching soul no matter how hard we try. 

Career, family, romantic partner, identity, status, reputation, addictions, wealth, health, talents, homesteads, revenge - we will worship something. Something will take up residency in our empty heart. 

But that heart was made to be the home of a King. A King who reigns supreme in righteousness. 

In the end the things we make our idols will crush us, and we will crush them with our demands. No one can carry the weight of our emptiness but God. No one can sustain us but him. 

Yes, God stayed in the garden, and Jesus stayed on the cross. 

But he didn't stay in the tomb. 

Our Redeemer lives. 

So, like David in the story your faith may be shattered and you're looking for answers. We all have questions. If we understood the depths of an all-knowing, infinite, holy God, we wouldn't have questions. 

But that's just it! I do understand those things: God is all-knowing and all-wise, loving, good, and great. I understand he loved me so much that he sent his only Son to die so I could live. However, I have two sons and a grandson, and I can't even begin to understand demonstrating that kind of love and grace and mercy toward rebellious creatures who think they know better how to live their lives than the transcendent One who created them. But I believe he did it. 

I've learn to root what I don't understand in the fertile soil of what I do understand. I guess you could call it 'spiritual farming.' 

I can't explain it but, somehow, someway, we are going to be better for having been lost and found again. 

"For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls." ( 1 Peter 2:25 ) 

Come back to him. 

Repent and believe in the One he sent. 

Happy New Year! 🎉

"I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing." ( John 15:5 )  

Unspeakable Joy

"... and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy." ( Psalm 19:5b ) 

Often when people hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ presented to them, they make the mistake of thinking that they will consider it to see if it "fits" them and their family. They will take into account how Christianity will help them achieve their goals and dreams; they might ask it they can still live in a particular lifestyle or ask if they have to give up this or that thing before they commit. 

Sometimes people will have kids and think that they need to raise them in church because they need to learn moral values, to make sure they build good character. I thought this. 

When I'm sharing my faith with someone who is closed off to Christianity I tell them that they need to at least investigate the claims of Jesus Christ because he was the most influential person to ever walk the face of the planet. No one man left greater and deeper footprints in all of human history in every facet of human life, and they owe it to themselves to check out those claims. There is too much at stake not to do that. 

Even though this knowledge alone will not save a person, I still stick by my plea. 

Why? Because looking into the evidence for Jesus has been known to lead skeptics to further study into the Scriptures ( sometimes attempting to disprove him )  and thus right into the saving grace, knowledge, and arms of Jesus Christ, not only as their Savior, but as the Lord of their lives. He has to be both. In their pursuit of denying him, they became passionate followers of him. I think of Tolkien and C.S. Lewis and others.

We can't think of the Gospel as something we look into to see if it "agrees" with us. That's missing the entire point of the Christian faith. For one thing, it will never "agree" with us entirely. How will it change us? The Gospel of Jesus Christ isn't something we "take up" - rather, it's something that takes us up. The late Dr. Tim Keller continually stressed that point in his preaching.  

When you sense you are being called and overwhelmed by a power greater than yourself, it's starting to happen. God is drawing you. 

Believe.

Ezekiel 11:19: "And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh"

Ezekiel 36:26: "And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh." 

God draws us and that drawing looks different for all of us. 

However, our struggles, questions, and suffering do not cease when we are drawn by God into this kingdom. No, in many ways, they are just beginning. When we become disciples of Christ, we quickly learn that as Paul said in Romans 8:17: "If we are children of God, then we are fellow heirs with Christ, providing we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him."

Paul goes on to say that he considers that the suffering we face in our lives is not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us." ( verse 18 ) 

In this life, we are to "look to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. ( Hebrews 12:2 )  

The Christian life is joy and suffering. 

That's the cost of discipleship. 

We tend to lean in one direction or the other, but the Scriptures clearly point out that it's both. 

You can't have one without the other. 

It's the crucifixion and the resurrection. 

We must face the afflictions so they can prepare for us the promised eternal weight of glory. ( 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 ) 

However, here's what I was thinking this week as the dogs and I walked through the sheep fields: One day our suffering, for all of its agony and unanswered interrogations, will be banished from our lives, and I'm sure our questions along with it.  ( Revelation 21 )  

Suffering will one day end, but joy will not. Isn't that the most beautiful truth? That's our hope, and we must determine that we will hold onto it like a life raft through every hurricane with our eyes fixed on Jesus seated above the flood, by the Father's right hand. And one day we will stand before them perfect without spot or blemish because Jesus endured the suffering for us. Praise God.  

"Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning." ( Psalms 30:5 ) 

In fact, joy will not only not end, but our joy will increase. 

That's the hope I hold in my hand as I walk through this life in all of my shortcomings, failures, and sins, through a world of suffering. That's the hope I must hold onto this Christmas. You can too when you see the beauty of Jesus and he becomes both the Savior and Lord of your life. 💜

"You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore." ( Psalm 16:11 ) 

"So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you." ( John 16:22 ) 

"Joy to the world, the Lord is come

Let Earth receive her King

Let every heart prepare Him room

And Heaven and nature sing"

Merry Christmas 

The Prince of Peace

"And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them....For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord... 

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased.'" ( Luke 2:8, 9, 11,13, 14 ) 

A year or so ago my oldest man child called me because he said that he had an epiphany while grocery shopping at Walmart. "This ought to be interesting," I said. He went on to say that almost every time he's in the store John Mayer's "I'm just waiting on the world to change" is playing over the sound system. 

He said that in exasperation he lifted his head up toward the ceiling and said out loud, "Hey John, you're going to be waiting forever because the world is never going to change." 

"It isn't, Mom, I finally see that. No social or educational program, no government agenda or system, no new generation, no self-help advice is going to save the planet. The world is never going to get better, and there is never going to be world peace." 

It was intriguing because he wasn't having a bipolar episode; he wasn't depressed. He just at long last saw the truth, and he was embracing it. 

But isn't that what Jesus came to bring us? World peace? Isn't that what Christmas is all about? Isn't that the message that was announced to the shepherds that First Noel while they kept watch over their flock? 

Jesus said it wasn't. 

"Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you." ( John 14:27 ) 

So Jesus does give us peace, but not in the way that the world gives or expects. 

We know this peace Jesus gives is not an end to war because in Matthew 24 when his disciples ask him what will be the sign of his coming back and the end of the age and Jesus replies that you will hear of wars and rumors of wars and nation will rise against nation. So Jesus wasn't promising world peace. 

He says in Matthew that he has come to set family members against one another. I found people who like to say that Jesus always talked of love and lovely things have never actually read what Jesus said. I was like that too, and became shocked at many of his statements. "Do you think that I have come to bring peace. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword." ( Matthew 10:34 )

This isn't a literal sword. When Peter drew a sword and swiped off the high priest servant's ear in the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus rebuked him, told him to put the sword away, and he healed the man's ear. ( John 18:10, Matthew 56:21, Mark 14:47, Luke 22:50 ) 

Although Jesus made it clear that violence wasn't the way into his kingdom, we do see that this peace isn't that everyone's going to get along either, happily singing campfire songs together. This text reveals that even within a family there will be tension and disagreement because of the gospel.  

To be clear, there is a peace that we experience in this life as Christians, but it is a temporary peace. Sometimes I feel it, and sometimes I don't. I certainly don't feel this peace when I listen to the news. It's a subjective peace. The Bible tells us that its like a river and a part of the fruit of the Spirit. I have a peace that floods my heart at times, but there are times when I'm anxious and afraid. One day this peace will be complete but for now it isn't as we continue to live in this "already but not now" kingdom.

As we wait for Jesus's return and the Kingdom of God to be fully established, we are commanded in Scripture to be peacemakers, to work for human flourishing and to carry out the great commission. That's how Jesus wants to find his Bride when he returns for her.  

So if that peace isn't the peace the angels rejoiced over above the shepherds that Christmas night, then what is it exactly? Look what Luke 1:76-79 says:

This is Zechariah, John the Baptist's dad speaking: 

"And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace." 

This is the peace that is imparted to us at salvation because of the mercy of God for the forgiveness of our sins. 

But why do we need this peace? 

Because we are at war with God. 

When we read the account of the angels appearing to the shepherds that glorious night, it's actually the middle of the Christmas story. It's hard to understand what's going on in a movie if you come into it halfway through. It's like opening a novel and starting in the middle - it makes no sense. 

We have to go back to Genesis in the Garden of Eden where God created man and woman to live in a perfect, life-giving environment. When our first parents sinned by disobeying God and eating the fruit their sin was imputed into the entire human race. We aren't enemies of God because we sin, but because we are born sinners. It's the nature of our heart. We no longer live for God, but for ourselves, just like Adam and Eve. 

When I look around our world, this makes perfect sense to me. 

"None is righteous, no not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one....the way of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes." ( Romans 3:11,12, 17, 18 ) 

When we believe in Jesus, this peace is given to us as a gift in salvation. 

"There since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." ( Romans 5:1 ) 

Paul goes on to say in next verses that this grace in which we now stand causes us to rejoice - just like the angels that night above the shepherds.  

We stand in it. 

The peace that Jesus came into the world to give to those who believe in him - "those in whom he is pleased" - is not a comfortable, tranquil, feeling that fluctuates. No, it is a new and permanent standing with God. No circumstance or person can take this peace from us. Jesus has reconciled sinners back to God through himself. We are no longer enemies of God, but in Christ, we are now dearly beloved children. 

How do we get this peace? By laying down our "weapons" - our pride, our lofty arguments against God, our own self-righteousness, our selfishness. By seeing our sins and our neediness and coming to him because we realize that we can't save ourselves. If we don't see ourselves as we truly are - helpless sinners in need of God's mercy and grace, we will never repent and come to him to be rescued. 

If we don't see that the Christian faith isn't me just trying to live a bit better, behave, or turn over a new leaf, but a desperately needed, radical heart change found only in Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit, we will never understand what Jesus came to give us that glorious night. 

He came to give us a changed heart. 

A heart that is reconciled back to God through his life and death. A heart that can love God. And all of these changed hearts, will work to change the world. Not by creating a government system or military force that will usher in world peace, but by proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ until he comes again to establish his kingdom as he will wipe away every tear, set all things right, and make all things new. 

This promise of peace truly is the greatest announcement in the history of mankind. 

In fact, this peace changes more than the world. It changes everything. 

May we treasure this reconciliatory peace in our hearts more than ever this Christmas season and everyday of our lives. May we seek to continually worship and understand at a deeper level God's indescribable gift to us in his Son. 

May we never stop sharing the Good News with the world as the Lord and his angels did that night! 💜

"Hark! The herald angels sing,
'Glory to the newborn King;
Peace on earth, and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled!'" 

"For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace." ( Isaiah 9:6 ) 

Aslan and Shasta watching over the flock

Glance back; but don't stare

"I am sure of this, that he who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." ( Philippians 1:6 CSB ) 

This morning in my "God Time" I was reminded that in spite of what I may feel about my seemingly slow, bumbling growth in the sanctification process, God is in deed working and will complete the good work he began in me. God is not a quitter. He will complete the work he commands of us. 

I've learned not to stress too much over that paradox and my intellectual anxiety, but to rest my head and heart in the soft feather bed of God's greatness, grace and mystery. He began the work, so he'll finish it. But I believe all throughout the New Testament we are taught to live as if we could lose it at any moment. Is that how precious our salvation is to us? Are we guarding our hearts with that kind of tenacity? Do we take it that serious? 

I think this may offer us a test: 

Sometimes through the struggle in our good fight of faith, (1 Timothy 6:12 ) because it is a battle, we may fail to see how much we really are growing. Here's some encouraging words in my devotional from the great preacher Charles Spurgeon: 

"The Lord knows how to educate you up to such a point that you can endure in years to come what you could not endure today; just as today He may make you to stand firm under such a burden, which ten years ago, would have crushed you into the dust." 

I find this helpful, but also humbling. I cringe at words I wrote as short as five years ago, things I thought and said and did. Even a year ago. 

I've experienced this humility and come to understand that it is a part of the growth process; if we are consistently being humbled with these growing pains, we are actually on the right track - Scripture refers to it as "the path of life." ( Psalm 16:11, Matthew 7:13-14 ) 

The good news is that we can see the fruit of our growth not only in our deeper understanding of the Bible and devotion to Jesus, but in our ability to handle with more poise, strength, and wisdom the increasing intensity of the fiery trials that come our way. ( 1 Peter 4:12-19 ) 

So be encouraged today. Yes, we may look back and shudder, but we all start out as infants after we are born again. We drink milk and fall a lot before we are able to stand and eat meat. 

This knowledge should motivate us and reassure us at the same time, and also increase our grace for one another. 

Happy Thursday. 💜

Happy 57th birthday, Kathy - It's hard to believe almost twenty years have passed. I'm running the best I can. I still miss you terribly and look forward to the day we worship at the throne together. 💕

Aslan looks out over his kingdom 

Silent Purposes

"For God alone my soul waits in silence," Psalm 62:1 

A couple of weeks ago I shared thoughts from my journal on the divine hiddenness of God and argued how this silence is actually not God avoiding us or proof that God doesn't exist, but is in fact the very way that God chooses to pursue us. The same lovingly way a groom woos his future bride. 

There is divine purpose in the hiddenness of God. 

This Psalm in my reading today is my responds back to God:

"For God alone my soul waits in silence, from him comes my salvation." 

In the silence, I will wait in silence. As I wait in the silence, I will remember the goodness of God in my life. 

How he saved me. How he sought me when I didn't or couldn't seek for him. How he rescued me by his grace just the way I was, uniting me to his Son, and then how he began to carefully clean me up and change me into the image of Jesus. 

How he's always been working toward that end goal. 

How he's never left me nor forsaken me. How he pours out his mercy every morning in the rising of the sun in my backyard until it sets behind the blue mountains in front of my home and afterward as the stars begin to take shape and twinkle over all the hairs of my head. Because he knows those too. 

How no matter what happens, he is only, always working for my good, to make me like Christ. 

I remember his creation that surrounds me every day and how soothing it is when I'm suffering to have dogs lick my face and stay close beside me during chores. How healing it is to feed chickens and ducks and geese and marvel at their brilliant design, to bury my nose in the warm, musky smell of a sheep's fleece and remember that I'm the one Jesus left the flock to go find. 

I remember how he has answered my prayers throughout the years, not in what I asked for in my limited knowledge, but in His, often perplexingly painful, perfect ways that have ended extravagantly in treasures I could have never known to seek. 

The dynamics of such an interwoven web beyond all knowledge baffle my mind and cause tears to spill forth. Tears God bottles for future use. 

As I remember all of his goodness, my tears of joy turn to tears of repentance because I have taken so much for granted. 

I go through my life and remember his faithfulness to me in every season. 

Something supernatural happens while we wait in silence. 

We strengthen.  

Maybe that's what God wants us to do. 

Maybe that's another divine purpose in the hiddenness. 

Maybe he's waiting on us too. 💜

"For God alone my soul waits in silence, from him comes my salvation. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken." Psalm 62:1-2 

These masterpieces grace our fence line. 

Jesus Our Emmanuel

"By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God," ( 1 John 4:2 ) 

What makes Christianity different from every other religion in the world is the resurrection. Our leader does have a tomb like the other founders, only his is empty. 

Sadly in the past century many churches in America's mainline Christian denominations have rejected belief in the supernatural in order to become more culturally friendly to "enlightened" modern minds. In doing so they have cut the very heart out of the Christian faith. I'm not sure what is left, but it's not Christianity. And a faith emptied of its power will never satisfy the longings of the empty human soul nor can it wash away its sin, guilt, and shame without an empty tomb. It becomes little more than self-help. 

However, thankfully, ours is a supernatural faith from start to finish. There's no getting around it. 

"And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain." ( 1 Corinthians 15:14 ) 

"And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins." ( 1 Corinthians 15:17 ) 

"But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead." ( 1 Corinthians 15:20 ) 

 Our redeemer lives. The Good News of the gospel is that Jesus Christ has resurrected from the dead.  

But we first must have a baby. 

A God baby. One who is mysteriously to us fully man and at the same time fully God. 

Born of a virgin. 

He comes as one of us, sleeping in a manger. Little did man know this is how the greater comes into the filth and sin of the lesser, surrounded by manure and smelly, ruminant cattle breath. I love cows, but their breath is gross if you've ever smelled it. His initial visitors were keepers of sheep from the poorest ranks of society while the wealthiest and most powerful were left to travel miles and wonder much or plot his murder. 

Jesus couldn't just show up as a 33 year old God man if he was to be our propitiation, voluntarily sacrificing himself in our place. He must start as a humble, helpless infant, growing from a toddler into an adolescent and into a man, experiencing everything we experience, even our temptations, living the perfect, obedient life as he suffered and struggled in our messy world before he ever got to the horrific execution that we deserved  

Some religions and individuals say that they just can't believe in the doctrine of the incarnation - Jesus becoming flesh - because God is so great that he would never lower himself like that. But don't you see? This is what makes the incarnation so believable and so great.  

The Greater has come down to the lesser. 

The Greater has lowered himself for us, coming as a servant, stepping inside of vulnerable human flesh. We can not reach God. The lower does not remotely possess the ability to go up, but the Greater can come down. And he did. Jesus became a man whose flesh we can touch. ( Romans 3:10-18, Psalm 14:1-3, Psalm 53:1-3 ) 

Yes, Jesus Christ is arguably the most influential person to ever live, in fact, touching every single facet of human existence, from art to literature to music to human rights to healthcare to education to missions of mercy to family life to work ethics to science to the dignity of women and children even to holidays, and the list continues. It's astounding. The evidence surrounding the life and resurrection of Jesus Christ is overwhelming and everyone owes it to themselves to investigate his claims. Please. It would be foolish not to with all that is at stake. 

Not only did he touch every generation and culture in the history of mankind, but he touched our pain and sorrows with his flesh. He carried our guilt, shame, and sins in his flesh. Unless Jesus comes in the flesh there is no resurrection, no remission of sins.

Nothing for the angels to announce or rejoice about; no peace with God on earth, goodwill toward men.  No Christmas. 

"If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, " ( 1 Corinthians 15:20 ) The Apostle Paul goes on to tell us that one day the end will come, and so will Christ. Again. For us. For God's children. This time not as a baby, but as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. And we too will be resurrected from the dead, given imperishable bodies because Jesus's body was resurrected, and he is the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. 

John, the disciple and apostle, writes possibly some of the most glorious words in the Scriptures in the Revelation of Jesus Christ: "for you were slain and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth." ( 5:10 ) 

"He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. And he who was seated on the throne said, 'Behold I am making all things new.... these words are trustyworthy and true.'" ( 21:4-6 )

But first we must have a baby. 💜

"Christ, by highest Heaven adored; 

Christ the everlasting Lord:

Late in time, behold Him come,

Offspring of a virgin’s womb.

Veiled in flesh the Godhead see;

Hail the incarnate Deity,

Pleased with us in flesh to dwell,

Jesus our Emmanuel.

Hark! the herald angels sing,
'Glory to the newborn King!'” 

Charles Wesley 

Cranberry bread from my sister in law 

Thankful

A friend asked me recently what I thought someone should look for when deciding on a church, specifically, how could they know if the church they were visiting preached a false gospel. She had been reading my blog. 

I wasn't going to write this, but honestly, it has just vexed my soul to no end. 

I told my friend what I have heard from mentors in the faith: Know your Bible. You can easily spot a counterfeit when you know the Truth. 

I know this may sound facetious, and actually I guess it should be the first thing on the list for potential churches, but we should look for a church where the pastors, teachers, and elders actually open the Bible and teach and preach out of it. You may say that that's just a given, and I say, "You'd be surprised." 

Thirdly, I told her to check out the church's website. Look at what's important to them. Look at their main thing. 

Later on that evening, after everyone was fed and locked in for the night, when the Farmer and I had settled down into our well-worn places on the adjoining couches in the living room, he began to get caught up on the news and reruns of The Rifleman. I usually read, but I had grown a bit curious after speaking with my friend. I decided to check out the website of the prosperity gospel church we attended in Texas over thirty-five years ago. I wondered if they were still around. I thought I'd do some digging. 

I guess I wan't prepared for what I found on the site because it shocked and disturbed me. 

Although I had believed it myself for many years and even at some level instilled it in my young boys, I just couldn't shake it. I kept going through an array of emotions, from angry to sad, and back to anger. I didn't even share it with the Farmer right away. 

The church was still around and sadly had actually grown, planting other campuses in their city. The pastor, now in his seventies, was still the lead pastor and in his testimony and how he had come to found the church there was no mention of Jesus or the Gospel. I'm not sure how one can have a testimony of coming to faith in Christ without Christ. 

Here's what got me; this is a direct quote: "His main message to this day is how to enjoy an Abundant Life, embracing positivity and blessings, something that all of God's children deserve." 

His "main message" is not the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but a health and wealth, insubstantial false gospel that will never satisfy or sustain the human soul. 

If he was teaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ, that mankind is born hopelessly imputed with sin from our first parents, that Jesus Christ, God himself, took that sin and imputed into himself, that he lived the perfect life we should have lived and died taking our punishment, the death we should have died, that he resurrected from the dead and for all who believe in him, he has imputed with his righteousness making us now beloved children of God, he would be teaching people how to live the true abundant life. ( Ephesians 1 ) 

He has emptied the cross of its power. This is what makes me so sad. People are being led astray and not taught the true, life-giving message of the Gospel. The one Jesus gave his life for us to have. ( Romans 1: 16-17 ) 

This false teaching has to be countered with the Truth. People have to know the Truth. 

“And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified” ( 1 Corinthians 2:1-2 ) 

"For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." ( 1 Corinthians 1:17 ) 

The word "deserve" in this pastor's statement is beyond worrisome. It reveals a lack of understanding of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, of the doctrine of original sin, divine grace, and the mercy of God. Even when we are graciously adopted into the family of God by the atoning sacrifice of precious Jesus, we do not ever "deserve" these blessings. 

If we "deserve" anything from God it's condemnation. If we think we "deserve" something from God then we could have just rescued ourselves and saved Jesus the trouble. I hope I don't sound judgmental; I believed this false doctrine for years so I feel I can speak into it. I know how flimsy, prideful, and hopeless it is in the end, but also how tempting it is to believe as it tickles one's ears. 

It has taken me years to deconstruct this theology out of my belief system. I have apologized to my sons profusely over the years, and they have graciously not held it against me. The Farmer reminds me that God will use it for his glory and our good, so if you have believed it too, God not only forgives us, but turns it around to work out for his good purposes. Praise the Lord, God is so good like that. ( Romans 8:28 ) 

Today I am thankful that I go to a church where my pastor's main message is to preach Jesus straight out of the Bible. Since I checked out my former church's website, I've been praying for them. I'm thankful someone was praying for me. 

After the Texas years, the Farmer and I took our sons along with a small group of young adults to Atlanta to the Passion Conference founded by Louie and Shelley Giglio. We found out about the movement from the boy's youth group. The second night a balding, middle-aged pastor took to the stage to speak in the huge arena filled to capacity with college students and young people. I will never forget it. 

I was mesmerized during his sermon. I know, so dramatic. Afterward as we walked back to our hotel rooms, I kept thinking about what the preacher had said. When we got to our room and the kids all went to theirs, I asked the Farmer what he thought about the service. I told him that I had never heard that message before, and I couldn't stop thinking about it. 

"Why have I never heard that?" I asked him. 

"Babe, that was the Gospel," he said, "You mean you've never heard the Gospel?" 

"I guess not because that was the most beautiful thing I've ever heard in my life." 

The preacher was John Piper, yes, he's old now, an oldie, but a goodie, and I bought several of his books and began to study God's Word in a way I never had before that point. I had questions. I had problems in my life. I had a longing to hear more of what he spoke about. I had held to a twisted version of the gospel message that seemed to cloud the Truth, but that night by the mercy of God, my ears were opened to hear the true Gospel of Jesus Christ.

That is the thing I am most thankful for in my entire life. 

If only one person reads my blog, I will not stop writing. I will not stop being a part of the voices proclaiming the Truth. My Lord and Savior died for it. 

Once we've heard the true Gospel, no counterfeit will satisfy. 

And that's the best answer I can give in looking for a church. 

If the gospel is treasured up in your heart, when you hear it or when you don't hear it, you'll know. 💜

Happy Thanksgiving! 🍗

 

Divine Silence

"Truly, you are a God who hides himself, O God of Israel, the Savior." ( Isaiah 45:15 ) 

In the past few decades, after debating with Christians over the famous cosmological and teleological arguments, atheists and skeptics seem to have moved away a bit from the arena of natural theology now launching into a more philosophical argumentation against the existence of God: the divine hiddenness.  

The truth is that believers in God have been struggling themselves with this one since ancient times. 

"Why do you hide your face and count me as your enemy?" ( Job 13:24 ) 

And Psalm 88. 

The only Psalm that starts in silence and ends in silence. Many Bible commentators say that Psalm 88 proves the Bible because if you were trying to convince someone to join your religion why in the world would you include this hopeless lament in your holy book? 

I think we forget that in the beginning God created man to live in a perfect garden environment while enjoying a close personal relationship with him. We are the ones that didn't trust God's divine order, falling into sin because we thought we knew better than the God of the Universe. 

After the fall, we were the ones hiding, not God. 

Some will say, "Why doesn't God just write across the sky 'I am God - here I am!' Or why doesn't he come down and do a bunch of miracles and prove himself to us? Why doesn't he just make himself known plainly?" For one thing, the Bible is clear that seeing is not always believing. ( Luke 16:19-21, Matthew 28:16-20 ) 

Some atheists insist that if a perfectly all-loving God exists then he would make himself plainly known to his creatures, especially to "nonresistant nonbelievers." I'm skeptical about this term. I'm still thinking about it. The debate doesn't take into account any of the other attributes of God. They argue under the assumption that a sentimental love from an obvious God is the best way for him to pursue a loving relationship with his creatures.

Is it? 

What if his divine hiddenness IS how God is showing himself to us? 

Since the Bible so often portrays our relationship to God as a marriage, maybe this is how God knows to best pursue us. Maybe, just maybe, God chooses to reveal himself this way because through the angst and the struggle, a true, beautiful, trusting relationship is formed. Not just crashing into our lives with a lot of noisy fanfare and pollution, but slowly drawing us to himself like a loving groom woos his future bride.

Maybe we've become so fixated on finding him in such a big way that we've missed the whispers and the wooing. When we ask for him to please make himself known to us, maybe he is. Maybe we're the ones missing it. Our lives reflect an adventure or a romance; I'm back to the fairytale. It makes sense God would pursue us in ways that cause us to look inside of our own hearts and wrestle with them. 

Personally, I know full well God pursued me in my waywardness; although at first I couldn't see him. There was darkness and a silence that chased after me and tormented my soul day and night for months until I broke and surrendered to God for help. I realized later, to my astonishment, that God allowed the darkness and the silence to pursue me continually, for my good, to bring me to the end of myself and into his arms for all that I needed. He knew in the midst of those circumstances, I would cry out to him in utter humility. God was in the storm. The deafening thunder was his voice not the enemy's. 

It is never going to be what we expect.

How can it be? God is a infinite, transcendent, holy Being. And we are finite and small with little understanding. And in addition to all this, for now, we see dimly Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians. Why do we think that God is on our level? If I'm being honest, I have no interest in serving a God who is my size and would take directions from me. That's scary. 

This Holy God of ours created the entire universe and set its order and established his purposes within it, and we think we know how things ought to go better than him? How pompous and prideful. 

That doesn't sound like a "nonresistant" attitude; it sounds more like animosity. The Scriptures are clear that those who are humble are the ones who God doesn't resist. "God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble." ( 1 Peter 5:5-6, James 4:6-7 ) We have to admit we need him if we ever expect to find him. God is under no obligation to show himself to prideful creatures. Or even humble creatures for that matter. But his mercy says he does. 

I've come to believe that divine hiddenness is an important aspect of our faith and of our worship. Some atheists ( and Christians ) think they know how God should best respond to his creatures. This thought displays a misunderstanding of the love of God and takes great liberties in thinking one can figure out God's purposes and procedures in dealing with his 'beloved' children. God alone knows best how to cultivate a relationship with his offspring; He's a perfect Father. 

God may seem hidden to us, but we are never hidden to him nor our pain or brokenness. 

"O LORD all my longing is before you: my sighing is not hidden from you." ( Psalm 38:9 ) 

"Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence?" ( Read Psalm 139 )  

God has not only seen all of our sighing, but our sins and our flaws, and he sent Jesus into fallen humanity, as perfect humanity, to live and die for us. 

God did not hide his most beloved treasure from us - His Son. Jesus willingly stepped inside of human baby flesh, hung on a cross and then raised from the dead because he said that he came to do the Father's will. But we must have eyes to see and ears to hear. We can't harden our hearts toward him. 

I've found that the strongest believers in the faith, not the weakest, are those who have wrestled with divine hiddenness. I've found them to be the most devoted disciples of Christ with the most beautiful and trusting relationships with him. I'm drawn to those saints. They have a relationship with Jesus that I long for, and one that I am determined to pursue. 

I've found as I continue to draw near to God in my quiet time with him each day, not allowing anything else to monopolize that space, that he is drawing near to me, revealing himself slowly. This philosophical truth won't convince any nonresistant nonbelievers, but I hope it will inspire them to keep searching and asking questions and to consider praying if they have not already. 

Jesus said: "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you." ( Matthew 7:7 ) If you are truly seeking God, I believe you will eventually find him. Don't give up. 

This week as the dogs and I made our way to the barn through the frozen cow field, the grass had drooped and was curled over facing the hard soil, their blades burdened underneath a heavy frost. It reminded me that the winter season is once again at hand, relentless in its icy pursuit to find us and crimp us beneath its callous wings.  

A few moments later as the sun began to rise over the beautiful blue ridges, her beams stretched out across the frozen field reflecting a million shimmering diamonds in the frozen ground. It was breath-taking. Silence was given a voice. Darkness had come to light. This is God. 

There is a divine purpose in the hard, hidden tundra of life, in the stillness and the suffering. It is difficult to imagine, but at just the right moment, when divine hiddenness has had its perfect way, God will reveal our glorious sparkles. 

💖

Living Deserts

"Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert. The burning sand will become a pool, the thirsty ground bubbling springs. In the haunts where jackals once lay, grass and reeds and papyrus will grow. And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness." ( Isaiah 35:7-8 ) 

"Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, 'Out of his heart will flow rivers of living waters.'" ( John 7:38 )

..."whoever drinks of the water I give them, will never be thirsty again." ( John 4:14 ) 

After walking through an unusually dry season here at the farm, it was such a pleasant surprise to wake up yesterday morning to the sound of refreshing raindrops tap dancing on the tin roof of our little cabin. 

As we drove and worked and coughed through the clouds of thick dust surrounding our daily chore routines, I knew eventually, as the sun faithfully rises each day in the east, the rains too would return. They did. And we were better for it. 

When we first come to faith in Christ, we experience such an euphoria of spiritual awakenings and joy in our salvation that we can't possible imagine God ever allowing us to walk through a dry season. We feel now all of life will be these breath-taking, mountain summit views. No desert wildernesses, no dry bone valleys. 

And yet journeys through the parched, sun-baked terrains of life are ironically the exact thing God uses to grow us into lush orchard trees bearing healthy, ripe fruit. If we had never tasted from the streams of living water, how would we know we were dry? How would we know what we are missing?  

You see the simple fact that we have been united to Christ in the first place and tasted his goodness, walked by the Spirit, enjoyed sweet fellowship; the fact that we have experienced his love is proof that we are in him. And he will return us to those sweet waters. In this world we have troubles Jesus taught us, and sometimes it seems disciples of Jesus encounter more than most. 

God allows us to thirst. 

Why? 

One day my grandson Jonah asked for more juice in his cup at breakfast, and I told him that he could have water because Daddy said only one cup of juice is allowed. He is familiar with the family rules, but you know grandkids and grandparents. The two are forever bending parental stipulations into shimmering rainbows of fun. 

"I don't like water," he said. 

"I bet if you were very thirsty you would love water," I responded.  

I could tell he was thinking.

When we get thirsty we remember and long for those living waters, and we should be willing to dig through all sorts of mud and sediment to get back to them. These dry times of drilling through scorched soil can usher in some of our most meaningful conversations with our Father through tears and questions and waiting. 

They can also strengthen our orthodoxy as we press into the Scriptures with a new tenacity and determination to understand. They cause us to rely on our church family instead of carrying the burdens alone. Strong bonds begin to form out of our loneliness and within our local body. 

More than anything perhaps, dry seasons with God are meant to be growth seasons if we submit to him through the dust and the thorns and thistles instead of collapsing into despair or playing the blame game. 

Dry seasons prepare us for ministry. Like Elijah, we learn a deeper trust in God waiting on the ravens to bring our nourishment in the midst of the drought. 

If we lived out our entire lives in plenty, we would not learn to depend on God. The truth, the reality, that God is our sole provider, protector, and preparer, not just in the wilderness years, but in all our years, would never be found otherwise. 

So in the wilderness we find our humility. We realize that God is not just a bigger version of us. 

The dry earth we walk upon spiritually is Son-baked. This is the most crucial truth to remember in the dry seasons. Jesus has gone before us, so he understands every temptation and feeling of loneliness, rejection, and abandonment.  

When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, choosing their way over God's, their sin was imputed to all mankind from that moment on, to every human. We are all born condemned. ( John 3:18 )  Jesus Christ, the perfect lamb of God, came from Heaven and imputed himself with our sin, the sin that resulted from the fall and kept us from the Holy God. 

He lived the perfect life we should have lived, and then dies the death we should have died, in our place, penal, substitutionary atonement. He takes our punishment, satisfying the wrath of God. He is raised from the dead, and all those who come to him, he imputes, by the power of the Holy Spirit, his perfect righteousness. 

Jesus takes our sin, and then in return gives us his perfect righteousness, known as the "glorious exchange." We will never truly thirst again. Why? 

On the cross, God allowed his son to thirst to death.  

"My God, my God why have you forsaken me?" ( Matthew 27:46, Mark 15:34, Psalm 22:1 ) 

In the dry seasons, it only feels like God has abandoned us; when in fact, the living water has never left us. His Word promises that in deed he has not and never will. 

Why? 

He abandoned Jesus, so he wouldn't have to abandon us. 

This Gospel truth received into our hearts is the strength that pushes us through the dry seasons and into the refreshing waters no matter what we are walking through. We grieve in the wilderness, but with a godly grief, a grief that always ends in hope. 

💜

"Amazing love! how can it be

That Thou, my God, would die for me!

Long my imprisoned spirit lay

Fast bound in sin and nature's night;

Thine eye diffused a quick'ning ray,

I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;

My chains fell off, my heart was free;

I rose, went forth and followed Thee."

Charles Wesley 

I love hymns.  

 

For the Love of People

 "The generous will themselves be blessed, for they share their food with the poor." ( Proverbs 22:9 ) 

"Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints." ( Jude 3 ) 

Jude's words ring as true today as they did to the first century church, as the young wheat became entangled with weeds and the sheep vulnerable to predatory wolves in wool wardrobes. Not outside the sanctuary, mind you, but sitting within the pews and even preaching to the flock. Jesus warned us before he left that this would happen. ( John 10 ) 

"Ungodly people who pervert the grace of our God," and "deny our Master and Lord, Jesus Christ." Strong language from Saint Jude. 

There are many ways the grace of God can be perverted and the beauty of Jesus's atonement denied, and although the cultural problems have changed down through church history, it is the same enemy with the same battle tactics, fighting on the same fronts. Christianity is a fighting faith, not in the physical, but spiritual realm. And Jude reminds us that we must contend for the faith - the true Gospel of Jesus Christ.

 

So I would like to continue contending for the faith this morning against one of the western church's worst enemies, the prosperity gospel, and share another November devotional from the late Dr. Keller. 

He brings clarity to the true Gospel of Jesus Christ concerning our money. It is important that folks investigating the claims of Jesus and looking into the Christian faith have the correct facts. I feel like most can see through the false teaching of the word of faith/prosperity gospel preachers we see on TV, whose books litter the bookstands of retail stores, but we can not assume they can. If Jesus told his sheep to be on guard against the wolves, then I believe all of us are susceptible to fall prey to their deception. 

One thing I've learned is that not all wolves know they are wolves. Many actually believe the slop they are spreading. I used to believe that hog wash also; although I look back at myself more of a naive sheep than a wolf. Whatever the case may have been, I ask God to forgive me and keep my wandering feet on the path of life. Anyway, here's Dr. Keller with some very wise counsel from the Scriptures for those looking at the Christian faith from the outside and lest we on the inside fall back into the pit again. 

"The generous will themselves be blessed, for they share their food with the poor." ( Proverbs 22:9 )

The Blessing of Generosity. The generous will themselves be blessed when they share their food with the poor. Of what does this blessing consists? Generosity that breaks the power of money over you may make you wiser in your financial dealings. 

But the blessing here is surely the increase in the true wealth of love. 

Even at the level of common sense, we feel the most rich when we most love and are loved. Radical generosity is an act of love toward God and toward others that exponentially increases love.

It moves us from seeing money as a currency of status and power to instead seeing it as a currency for loving God and others. We love God with our money when we treat it as his, not ours, and send it out to the things he loves. We love people with our money when we heal and repair lives with it. 

And in the Bible we are blessed the more like God we become. God originally gave us our own lives, then he gave us his Son's life. The more we give away, the more like our God we become. And that is blessed." 

God's Wisdom for Navigating Life ( 307 ) 

"We love people with our money when we heal and repair lives with it." 

"Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God." ( Ephesians 5:1-2 ) 

I think that is a beautiful word for us this Monday morning. 

Gospel clarity. 

Contending for the faith. 

"Keep yourselves in the love of God." ( Jude 21 ) 

Give radically. 

Happy Monday! 🌍

Of Providence and Prayer

"And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp and golden bowl full of incense which are the prayers of the saints." ( Revelation 5:8 ) 

Recently I had a revelation that came to me when I was searching the Scriptures attempting to better understand how God's providence and our responsibility work together, how the tension of Philippians 2:12 "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling" and "for it is God who works in you both to will and work for his good pleasure," becomes the glorious ebb and flow of our Christian lives. 

And the epiphany was quite simple really, but it just seemed to reach the bottom of my heart that day where I had not grasped it before.

It's like when I tell the Farmer something and he says to me, "You told me that three times already!" And I say, "That's because the first time it went in one ear and out the other. The second time it landed on the surface. By the third time it finally started to make some headway." 

This is just how the human brain works, especially in our current culture with so many things clamoring for our attention. We have to be deliberate about the lost art of meditation, allowing time to let the Word we've read in our study marinate in our brains. It's not a suggestion we see in the Scriptures; it's a commandment. "... meditate ( on the Word ) day and night..." ( Joshua 1:8 ) 

Anyway while I was contemplating all of this, the Holy Spirit revealed to me that God uses our prayers to accomplish his purposes. Now there is still much mystery to this, but something took hold in my heart and lit a fire that has fueled my prayers with an urgency I lacked before. 

"You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessings granted us through the prayers of many." ( 2 Corinthians 1:11 ) 

Somehow knowing I have this part to play in the grand scheme of God's divine will, through my imperfect, broken prayers, even when I can't unravel the mystery of it all, has been a prayer game changer for me. 

One would think this knowledge would stir up one's pride, but it's just the opposite. It's humbling. It births the reality that only God has the power to change a heart, heal a wound, order a step, or stop a disaster, but he has given to his children in the midst of this prayer laboring by his Holy Spirit a power he uses to accomplish these things and many others. ( Ephesians 6:17-18 ) ( Romans 8:27 ) 

And this doesn't mean that God answers our prayers the way we think he should. I believe we will do well to begin our prayers with the prayer Jesus taught us: "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done." ( Matthew 6 ) 

His kingdom. His will. Not ours. His will is perfect, and the Bible reminds us that it can't be stopped. "Why bother praying then?" That's easy to answer: Because the Bible commands us to. 

We have a part, but God does it all. ( Philippians 2:12 ) 

Yes, it is that mysterious tension again, one of those paradoxes that blows our minds, but not his. One thing I do know is that in this beautiful, divine partnership of prayer, God is establishing a deeper relationship with us. Can you feel it? Have you experienced it? ( Isaiah 14:7 ) ( Job 42:2 ) 

When the pain is so huge, and the lament so loud, where do we run? Who hears our prayers and catches our tears? Our Father in heaven. 

Hallowed be His Name. His Name is who he is - every inch of his perfect, infinite divinity is found in his Name.

Yes, it is humbling to think that God would stoop so low to not only hear our prayers but use them to accomplish his perfect will. 

But then again God has always been stooping to interact with his fallen creatures, not abandoning them in the Garden, but making a covenant with them. A covenant he knew full well we would never keep, knowing full well, that in the end, he would be the one to keep our part. 

That was his perfect will all along. Not plan B. Plan B is not God's providence. 

And it shouldn't surprise us that God would stoop that low since Jesus was already willing to stoop so low when he entered our world as a man baby to fulfill his Father's will, the Perfect interacting with the imperfect, to live the life we should have lived and to die in our place. 

So God could adopt us. So we could draw near to God and he to us. ( James 4:8 ) ( Hebrews 11:6 ) ( Romans 8:15 ) 

Jesus revealed that the mystery of God's kingdom is found when up becomes down. 

And the kingdom's purposes become fulfilled to the highest heaven, down on our knees. 💜 

"Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen." ( Ephesians 3:20-21 ) 

Happy Weekend.

It's bone broth weather 

Scattering and Gathering

"One person gives freely, yet gains even more: another withholds unduly, and comes to poverty." ( Proverbs 11:24 ) 

In addressing the pitfalls and false teaching of the prosperity gospel that has plagued the western church in recent decades, I felt this morning it would be a good idea to share a short devotional from the late Dr. Tim Keller that I believe brings clarity to the biblical principle of "sowing and reaping" because this is a truth that God built into the structure of his universe at creation. 

It is crucial we understand his definition from his Word and not our own, so what does that principal look like in its biblical, godly form?

That's a great question, and I'm sorry that I have not conveyed this sooner. Dr. Keller brings much clarity to the concept of planting and reaping. As everything in life, it traces back to the motives of our heart. Are we giving to get back or are we giving because it springs from hearts that simply can't help themselves as we think of all God has given to us in the life and death of his Son? 

Scattering And Gathering: "The more you scatter your wealth, the more you gather it, and the more you try to keep it for yourself, the more it dissipates. How could that be? Think of farmers. The more they scatter seed, the more they will reap. And keep in mind that seed comes back in a better form, as harvest you can eat and sell. In the same way, spiritually wise people realize their money is seed, and the only way for them to turn it into real riches is by giving it away in remarkable proportions. ( cf. 2 Corinthians 9:6 ) 

This is not a promise that the more you give away, the more money you will make. Rather the more you give away wisely to ministries and programs that help people spiritually and physically, the more your money becomes the real wealth of changed lives in others and of spiritual health in yourself. And you will be walking in the footsteps of the one who was literally broken and scattered so he could gather us to himself. 

Where have you seen this principle of scattering and gathering illustrated? How?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, your infinite loss on the cross has led to resurrection and infinite gains for us. Give me the faith to follow your path, to disburse and scatter my goods and time for others, and thereby see your grace and life grow in the lives of people around me. Amen" 

We have been richly blessed in Christ Jesus, so we can now be a blessing to others! 

Happy Friday! 🌻

A Pound of Cure

Seriously though, today as we celebrate the Protestant Reformation, as powerful and influential, praise God, as it was, it was never meant to be a once and for all-time event. The Church as a whole and as individual parts of the Body should always be reforming. History teaches us that it is dangerous if we are not. 

As I study church history, I am continually blown away by just how wide-spread the Reformation actually was, over many countries and many years, through many saints of God from all walks of life. 

Officially beginning this day 506 years ago after Martin Luther pounded his 95 thesis into the Castle Church door in Wittenberg, Germany. ( Although some historians report he actually used glue; however, when I glue anything, I always still give the thing glued a firm pounding for good measure. ) 

The points listed in the thesis are the heartbeat of the Reformation; however, the arteries spread thickly around the entire world pumping lifeblood back into not only the Church, but all of humanity, giving the glorious Gospel back into the hands of the "common folk." 

Before this time people relied on church leaders to read and expound the Scriptures to them. Without a copy of the Bible, bishops and other church leaders could paraphrase the Scriptures and move them in any direction they chose, inflicting ungodly fear into hearts instead of the true gospel. 

"I defy the pope and his laws!" proclaimed William Tyndale to a church bishop who had informed him that it would be better for the people to have the pope's law than God's, "If God spares my life," Tyndale continued, "In a few years a plow boy shall know more of the Scriptures than you do." 

Praise God those word would ring true. 

Some think that what happened during the Reformation was a breaking away from the true church to start another religion - Protestantism. This could not be further from the truth. 

The church leaders had become caught up in immoral as well as financial scandals selling indulgences to people under the false teaching that their money would spring their loved ones out of a life of suffering in purgatory, that their money could buy forgiveness. 

"May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money."  ( Spoken by Peter in Acts 8:20 ) "Though they know God's righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them." ( Romans 1:32 ) 

As Luther wrestled with his sin and guilt and the church's teachings on salvation, God broke through to him by the power of the Holy Spirit as he read the Gospel in the Book of Romans revealing to him the truth: Salvation is not grace plus the works you must add to it, your self-righteousness, your filthy rags, but salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone in Christ alone. To add to Christ's salvation would be to take it away. 

The rest is history. The most important discovery that emerged from the Protestant Reformation was the rediscovery of the Bible - the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 

Luther reminds us when we have the integrity to wrestle with God and his Word, asking him our questions, refusing to give up, repenting of our sins, crying out to him, wonderful things are revealed. 

The Church leaders were not dividing the Holy Word of God rightly. They were obscuring the Gospel from the people, adding to it, not handling it with fear and trembling or reverence. They were not tending the Flock entrusted to them with truth and love. 

What else could the Church do but protest? 

Jesus said that he would build his Church and the gates of hell would not prevail against it. We can look back through history and trace his handiwork. It was not a coincidence that the rediscovery of the Gospel coincided with the invention of the printing press. And those printers burned the midnight oil ( and ink in this case ) to keep up with all of Luther's tracks explaining and teaching the Gospel, justification by faith alone, and the Five Solas, Scripture alone, Christ alone, faith alone, grace alone, and glory to God alone. 

The printers produced thousands of copies of God's Holy Word. ( Now written in the people's language, and not Latin. ) Imagine the freedom the people felt as they read the Good News for themselves, or the many illiterate having family or friends read it to them as they sat and listened to the beautiful Story of God, his redemption through the sacrifice of his Son alone, walking out of spiritual darkness and into the Light as hearts were opened to the Truth. 

And yes, Protestants have also done and continue to do ungodly things in the name of God, and this is sinful and not what Jesus taught. Violence should never be a means of spreading the Gospel. And this is exactly why we can't allow ourselves to drift for a second, but always be about our spiritual disciplines, practicing the discerning of spirits, ever vigilant to see that we are dividing the Word rightly and proclaiming the Gospel to the ends of the earth. 

We don't need to pound the Gospel over people's heads - but we must never stop pounding it on every church door. 

"For I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes; to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, "The righteous shall live by faith." ( Romans 1:16 & 17 ) 

Happy Reformation Day! 💜

Bless Your Heart

"Blessed shall you be be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out." ( Deuteronomy 28:6 ) 

This Scripture was one of the first we learned at a church in Texas the Farmer and I attended in the mid 80s. I just recently contextualized it. 

I know it seems as if I have a chip on my shoulder over the word of faith/prosperity gospel, and perhaps I do, but it is because I have attended these churches. I know what they teach. Their teaching typically focuses on the blessings we have in God while avoiding the true Gospel of Jesus Christ. They journey people straight to a "Promised Land" of their own making bypassing the wilderness and ironically and sadly missing the true blessings and promises we joyfully and thankfully have in Christ Jesus. 

It can be a bit confusing because there is an element of truth in their theology, but even that has been distorted. 

First off, we see before this blessing scripture that the children of Israel were promised to be blessed if they obeyed ALL of the law. 

"And if you faithfully obey the voice of the LORD your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the LORD your God will set you high above the nations of the earth." ( Deuteronomy 28:1 )

And we know they did not. And neither do we. 

This is why Jesus couldn't just come to earth as a 33 year old man and die for us. In order for us to be saved from our sin and receive the blessings of God, Jesus had to live the life we should have lived. This is why he stepped down from heaven beginning life as a vulnerable embryo, born to poor parents in suspicious circumstances and livestock manure, announcing his arrival first to second class shepherds and experiencing rejection, ridicule, injustice, and finally crucifixion at the hands of his own creation. 

There is nothing wrong with being positive. God is a positive God, but he is also a genuine, mysterious, just God. 

And God does care very much about our physical needs. 

Look at the beautiful clothes he spun for the lilies in the field and look how he feeds the birds of the air and all of his creatures. "Are you not of more value than they?" Jesus asks. ( Matthew 6:25-34 ) He heals. He restores. He brings hope in the dry seasons. He never leaves us. He brings beauty from ashes. We don't need to worry over this Jesus told us. So we certainly don't need to build a doctrine around it. 

And let us pray for our suffering and the suffering of others to end; there is no shame in this. Jesus teaches us to pray for our daily bread. Pray for justice for the afflicted. Pray that God uses our pain and that our suffering is not wasted. 

When I am going through something painful, I want a saint to sit beside me, hold my hand, and walk me through it who has been up against the wilderness and lived to tell about it. Not because God removed the mountain, but because he didn't. Because he tunneled them through it; he opened up a way, building their faith and their character into the image of his Son in the midst of the turmoil. I don't hunger for cool whip, but a nourishing meal. I want meat to build and strengthen my bones of faith. Tell me your testimony! Tell me how you wrestled with God, and how he blessed you. 

Jesus did not die to give us a "good life" here on earth. You'll find that promise no where in the Scriptures. In fact God goes out of his way to tell us that there is a cost to discipleship. No matter how many times smiley face preachers on TV proclaim otherwise, followers of Jesus suffered all throughout the Scriptures and throughout church history. And they were better for it. Those are the cloud of witnesses cheering us on in our sufferings and our joys. ( Hebrews 12:1 ) 

If we follow these false teachings, instead of the Scriptures, emphasizing the goods without God, we are in danger of missing the true gospel. Do you see how superficial and shallow this teaching is? And how offensive it must be to God? Jesus is his only Son he sent for us, in whom he is well pleased. The "good life" will never fill the void in our souls. 

I've been there. I know what I'm talking about, and I want my friends and family to know the truth. It plagues many of our pulpits in the western church, and it needs to be constantly addressed because we are all so prone to believe the lie especially in this comfortable culture. And sadly, we have in many cases spread it to other nations instead of the true gospel. 

Although God cares about our physical needs, he cares more about our spiritual needs. It is the greater need Jesus told us. It is the message he commissioned us to share. ( Luke 5:17-26 ) ( Matthew 28:16-20 ) 

The truth is that what Jesus died to give us is exceedingly better than what prosperity preachers are promising. 

Jesus died to bring us back to God. ( Romans 5:8-11 ) ( 2 Corinthians 5:18-21 ) ( Colossians 1:19-20 ) 

God created us for his glory, to enjoy his presence, not the things of this world. Him. Although he gave all things for us to enjoy, he knows their enjoyment can only point to something greater. God is the only thing that will satisfy the human ache and the emptiness in our souls. After our first parents sinned in the Garden of Eden we lost the presence of God, banished from it, but God has sent his Son to cover our sins, as he covered Adam and Eve's naked bodies, their sin, shame and guilt with animal skins, the first sacrifice.  

He made a covenant with them that one day a sacrifice would be made, blood would be shed, by his only Son that would be the propitiation for our sins, returning us to God's holy presence once more. 

The true longing of the human heart is not an absence of suffering, but the presence of God. To simply be with God and nothing else. To want him for what he can give us or do for us, isn't love. We must check the motives of our wandering hearts always. 

"One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple." ( Psalm 27:4 ) 

If we could in fact eradicate the earth of suffering and bring only health and wealth into everyone's life, we would still come up empty and miserable.  

Why? 

"You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore."  ( Psalm 16:11 ) 

It simply can not be found anywhere else other than the presence of God. Nothing else in this broken world can be substituted to fill the longing in our souls, no matter how glitzy it seems to sparkle, nothing will quench the thirst like returning to our true identity we lost in Eden, our purpose, our meaning, our satisfaction, our hope, and yes, a way to deal with our suffering until Christ's return. 

You see, God really has graciously and mercifully supplied every need we have in Jesus. Maybe the real problem is that we don't understand our own hearts or our own needs. Thank God, he does.  

"Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think......" ( Ephesians 3:20 )  

Sorry, I can get a little fired up, but please don't buy the tempting, prosperity lie the enemy is peddling. 

Listen to the Apostle Paul's words of exhortation written to the church in Colossae through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit: "and Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding of God's mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." ( Colossians 2: 1-3 ) 

This morning I come to my Father sinful, broken, empty, and weak, but I also come with the greatest gift I could possibly be given: Because of Jesus, I come as God's beloved daughter. I am confident and trust as I bow before him that he will not hesitate to extend his scepter out toward me, meeting every one of my needs, known and unknown, in his perfect way, in his impeccable timing. 

To God be the glory. Soli Deo Gloria. 

💜

Digging up the Truth

"For our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory. So we do not focus on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." ( 2 Corinthians 4:17-18 CSB ) 

Jackie Hill Perry says in her new devotional, "Suffering creates an interpretive lens. Either refining the suffer's vision of God or blurring it." 

I've found this to be exceedingly true. For some it makes them hate God or gives them a reason to deny him, saying that if there is a God, he would not allow suffering. For others, it makes them concoct all sorts of false doctrines like believers aren't suppose to suffer, twisting Scriptures to fit their fancy. 

If we give ourselves over to truly studying the Bible, having the integrity to read it and let it speak to us, not explaining away the difficult verses, but reading the entire counsel of Scripture for what it is, in there, and there only, lies the story and hope we are so desperately hungering for in our hearts. 

For those willing to do this, we not only find some semblance of sense in suffering, but we find a Savior who lowered himself into ours feeling every inch of our pain and infinitely more, crying out, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" ( Matthew 27:46 ) 

Why? Why did God forsake his own Son? 

So he wouldn't have to forsake us. 

That truth is worth us digging into. 

The Truth about Fairytales

"Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends." ( John 15:13 ) 

Many years ago now, I went with the Farmer to this party way out in the country at a dilapidated, old farmhouse. I didn't know any of the people there. By the time we arrived, things were already out of hand. Everyone was drinking and cursing and smoking weed and probably other illegal substances, some were laughing hysterically, others were falling down, one group was fighting, but I was in love, so whatever.  

All the shenanigans got to be too much even for the Farmer to deal with so he took my hand and led me out the front door and over to the porch swing. I think we would have left, but our ride was drunk as a skunk and so we were sort of stuck. I definitely was no angel; I was drinking a bottle of cheap, sweet wine the Farmer had picked up for me at a local convenience store on the way. 

As we began to swing together, we heard a loud voice above all the others yell, "Out Devil - Get Out! I mean it, Devil, get out!" I said, "Oh great, now they're casting out demons." I'm not making this up. Then all of a sudden this huge, black lab came running out of the door. The Farmer and I both burst out laughing. To this day, we still tell the story of the dog named Devil. 

After Devil came out, I began to pet him and this music starts playing. We peep through the grimy window beside the swing and some of the partiers now had banjos and guitars and were singing gospel songs. Through slurred speech and missed notes they started with "Just a Closer Walk with Thee" and then proceeded to desecrate a whole host of gospel music's greatest hits. 

I wasn't sure what to do with that. I know it may sound judgmental, but back then, I didn't feel worthy to sing a hymn in the middle of my mess. I knew I wasn't living the way I should be, and I felt like a hypocrite. 

And I want to be clear that I'm not saying alcohol in and of itself is a sin, but the abuse of it carries with it a dread that is heavy, deceiving, and dark. The abuse of any good or bad thing, especially people, is a sin. I don't drink alcohol, not mainly because of my history of addiction, but because of God's mercy in delivering me. I can't pay him back, but I can honor him with my whole, sober life for all he has done for me. It's my personal conviction concerning alcohol that I do not place on anyone else. 

Anyway, back then I might not have sang gospel songs in the midst of my broken life, but I would read a few Bible verses in the morning and attend church to make myself feel half-way like a Christian. But isn't that how we are before we come to Jesus? We want to come on our own terms. We want to decide which parts of our lives we give to Jesus and which ones we keep to ourselves.

Sometimes when we see someone engaging in sinful behavior, we might hear someone say that that person needs to get "a little bit of Jesus." 

But as C.S. Lewis so bluntly put it: "He ( Jesus ) has not left that open to us." 

With Jesus it's all or nothing. He's either Lord or lunatic. There's no middle ground. 

Cold or hot. "Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth." ( Revelation 3:15 -16 ) Those are Jesus's words to the church in Laodicea. Yeah, he's speaking to the church. 

Jesus lived a perfect life and died a criminal's death for us. In our place. When we just grab a little bit of Jesus to make us feel good in our sin, I imagine it saddens him greatly. Like when he lamented over Jerusalem longing to tuck the people under him like a hen gathers in her chicks. ( Matthew 23:37 ) 

We've seen in TV shows, movies, and books these scenarios where someone saves someone else's life, and then the one who was rescued gives their very own life over to the hero. They say that they owe them their lives now that they saved them. 

I believe we see this depicted so much in film and all genre of literature, especially fairy stories and fantasy tales, because it's a longing deep inside the human soul. We want someone to love us so much that they are willing to search the world over to find us, then give their lives to save ours so that we then can become theirs forever. 

And we have that! That is exactly what we have in Jesus! 

When the truth of this gracious and merciful knowledge makes its way to the bottom of our broken hearts, the response is always: "I'm yours forever, Jesus! You own every part of my life!" 

This gratitude springs up and out into praise to God and a willingness to go where ever he sends us, to love all those he places before us, to serve him with gladness, and to surrender to him every square inch of our sinful lives so he can begin our metamorphosis into his glorious image that pleases our heavenly Father. Not to try and save ourselves, but because he has saved us! 

A few weekends ago I thought about this long ago memory as I sat swinging on the front porch at Josh's house with my grandchildren. I was overcome with emotion because in our rebellion, God had grace and mercy on me and the Farmer. We didn't deserve it. No one does. If we deserved it, it wouldn't be grace. And if we weren't guilty, it wouldn't be mercy. If we thanked God for eternity, it wouldn't be enough.

But I'm prepared to try. 

I look forward to it. 

Thank God for his indescribable gift and give your heart and entire life to Christ if you haven't already. The King has come for you. 💜

It was a treat to share a movie experience with my oldest man child near his home in Atlanta. ( Wow, the seats were recliners! ) I really need to get out more.