Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe,  for our God is a consuming fire. (Hebrews 12:28~29)

This is what I call a “chewy” verse of Scripture ~ meaty, tasty, strong, and full of good things for us, the readers who sojourn with the Lord, or even those who are considering the sojourn.  This is the kind of verse that draws me to it with its heart-stirring significance and yet also makes me think it needs “proper” treatment by solid Biblical scholars!  I am not a Biblical scholar.  We have some marvelous writers on our staff and in our blog who are, and I so enjoy their insights and knowledge!  Yet one of the beauties of God’s Word is that it is for all of us ~ for Biblical scholars who joyfully and diligently mine the deep riches of Scripture, and it is also for us who partake of its nourishment on the “surface” levels.  Even on the surface levels of this grand verse, there is feast aplenty!

This is a day and age and season and time for strengthening words for us from the Word of God!  If we have not yet been touched by trouble close at hand, surely we all have been touched by the magnitude of trouble that seems to be manifesting everywhere.  Terrible natural disasters in nearly all corners of our country and so many parts of the world.  Wars, and all the horrific outflow of violence and tragic disruption of life that go with war.  Financial issues here and looming around the world; political uncertainties in this election year here in the U.S., disease and health issues … the list can go on and on as we all well know.  We need something that cannot be shaken, something that is sure ~ which is a word, a concept, that’s becoming rarely heard and rarely known or experienced in this era.  “A kingdom that cannot be shaken” certainly sounds good right now!

This is a verse for right now.  The frequent tendency is to think of the kingdom “we are receiving” as being that which is coming at the end of the age, the new heaven and the new earth.  Yet, in truth, “we are receiving” the kingdom of God each day, each moment, through the strong promises of the Word of God and the sure, faithful, and steady work of the Holy Spirit in each of us.  Once, on being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is in your midst.” (Luke 17:20-21)  Despite all that is shaky in all that we view around us, we have Truth in and from and through the Lord God Almighty, the very Creator of all that is!  “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:37-39) That is surety, but the Word does not stop there.

This is a bit stunning, where the Word goes next in this verse ~ “let us be thankful”.  Thankful? Not my first reaction when the trouble and disasters ever~present leap up before my eyes and press in on my awareness.  Yet because our God has given us His Holy Spirit ever~present within us, through Him and in Him it is possible to be thankful in the midst of what looms around us.  In Him and through Him “we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken” so we are in a sure place; by the strength of the Holy Spirit at work within us, we can be thankful for that surety and the oasis of peace that comes with this truth.

This is amazing, too ~ what comes next in the powerful, mini-banquet set out for us in this verse ~ “and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe”.  To open ourselves to the work of the Holy Spirit in helping us to be thankful ~ to receive that which He does in us and for us and through us ~ is worshiping the Lord our God acceptably and with reverence and awe! Thankfulness amid the troubles of these times is not typically something we can do of ourselves from our own strength; we need the Holy Spirit’s help, and yet when we surrender to Him and allow Him to bring us to thankfulness or thankfulness to us, it is considered worship by the Lord our God for Him.  That is abounding grace!

This is the biggest “hook”, the thing that catches my attention, in this verse ~ “for our God is a consuming fire.” This “hooks” me because when reading this I first think in terms of my sin and my selfishness and my lack of love for the Lord, the lack of making Him first in my life, and all the other abundant material in me which is so fit for rightly being burned up by the consuming fire which is our God.  Quite frankly, when the Lord brought this verse to my attention and set the title for it, that is the direction I expected this visit with the Word to take.  Yet in the process of writing this article, the Lord has also shown me that He is a consuming fire for the worry and fear that can come in the face of the troubles and great trials of these days.  In some cases, according to His plan and will, He is a consuming fire of the troubles themselves.  I am not saying this verse doesn’t apply to what first comes to my mind, and perhaps yours, too; I am suggesting the verse also goes to this kind of consuming on the part of the Lord our God, as a part of the “kingdom that cannot be shaken” which we are receiving.  For our God is a consuming fire consuming our fears and worries, so we can rest in the surety of His kingdom.

“But may all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; may those who long for Your saving help always say, “The Lord is great!” Psalm 70:4

All Scripture (Bible verses) are from the NIV (New International Version)

by Jacquie Wagner

]]> http://christianwomenonline.net/2012/05/25/consuming-fire/feed/ 0 http://christianwomenonline.net/2012/05/21/i-need-jesus/ http://christianwomenonline.net/2012/05/21/i-need-jesus/#comments Mon, 21 May 2012 07:05:38 +0000 Nicole Querido http://christianwomenonline.net/?p=5659

I can relate to the woman in this passage in so many ways.  I, too, am a single mom and although I do not have to worry that my kids will be taken as slaves if I cannot pay my bills, I do have many other things that could weigh heavy on my heart as I raise my children.  Our life is hard.  Beyond hard sometimes, but our God is good.

The thing I relate to most is that this mom has come to a place where she is at the end of her own resources.   I come to that place often, where I am at the end of myself and there is nothing left to do, but turn to God.   I was a little intimidated when considering sharing about turning to God in times of trouble, because the Lord knows I haven’t always walked with God and even now, as a Christian, I don’t do this perfectly.  I struggle sometimes and wrestle with the life I have been given, but when I turn to Him every time I have found Him faithful!  He is the only place to find peace when my heart feels weighted down by the load that I carry.

I didn’t grow up in the Church.  I became a Christian after my divorce 8 years ago.  Before I came to my Saviour, I turned to many other things in my times of difficulty ~ I turned to people and relationships, to bitterness and despair, drinking, drugs, anger, and even self-pity, but none of these things bring relief to our struggles.  Only Jesus can heal my brokenness, nothing but my Lord can fill my emptiness.  Nothing can bring strength to my weakness except Jesus Christ.

Over the last couple of years, God has been showing me what it means to fully rely on Him.   So many times He has removed all possibility of self-reliance to let me experience His provision.  Isn’t it the truth that we want to see God at work, but we don’t want to be placed in a position where we need to see Him work?  I surely don’t like to be in the position where I am helpless to do anything to help myself and my children, but what a place of blessing this is for me when I turn my eyes to Jesus. 

I battled illness last fall, and at times did not even have the energy to  even meet the basic needs of my children.  One day, we needed groceries and I ventured out, determined to get this simple task done, but I only got half way through the store before I’d reached my limit.  I had nothing left and just wanted to cry.  Mom having a meltdown in the middle of the pasta aisle would not have been a pretty sight.  I prayed my way though the rest of that shopping trip and what I learned was that when my strength is gone, I have no choice but to rely on the strength and faithfulness of God. 

I could share with you example after example like this of how God has provided for me and my children when I couldn’t do it myself.  Even today as I write, I am completely empty after a long and difficult week.  I can’t do this life on my own.  I constantly struggle with feeling overwhelmed and feeling like I am not enough for my kids, whom I love so dearly.  There is just not enough time or energy to do the things I need to do on a daily basis.  There is not enough of me to go around.  I need Jesus.

I’m  pretty sure that this widow knew where to turn, and had the faith to believe because she had been walking with God every day.  I seek to allow God to lead me and live through me each day ~ whether it is joy~filled or filled with trouble ~ and that is how I’ve learned to trust. 

It is an amazing privilege to be a mom.  Jessie and Ty bring me such happiness and I am so thankful for the life we share.  Yes it is hard, parenting is hard, but my God is faithful.  When I turn to Him our family is blessed and I can be full of joy even in the challenges we face.   Only through Jesus is this possible.  Only He is enough.  I so love Him.

Scripture quoted from the New International Version

Have you been sucked in by the drama of “Housewives”?  Either in the semi-reality display on our cable TV or in the comfort of our own neighborhoods, sometimes even in our church families, it plays out.  We would like to pretend that we have risen above our seventh grade antics of gossiping, ugly stares, cold shoulders, cliques and the rest…  Yet, have we really, or have we just graduated into more expensive shoes and bigger bras?  If we don’t actively participate in the shenanigans, it can be tempting to gawk from the sidelines for a giggle or a snicker.

Chicks are tough, there is no doubt about it.  From a very early age, the female mind can size up another person in seconds flat, determining everything from taste and status to confidence and likability.  Of course, the scale or measuring stick is completely subjective and subject to instantaneous adjustment by the assessor.  However, in the female world, subjective is king or should I say, “queen.”

Sadly, all of it… and I mean ALL of it, stems from feelings of insecurity.  Even more tragic, is that it passes from mother to daughter with more ease than most genetic traits.  Daughters quickly pick up on their mother’s responses and reactions and begin to deal with the world and women around them in a very similar way.  Catty responses slide off the tongue with greater ease as the years pass.  What should bring admiration for the complexity and diversity of God’s creation in other women, instead begins to beckon disdain and irritation.  It becomes simpler to dislike someone for what makes them special than to explore the gift God has offered there.  Walls are built, and a few “Besties” or “BFFs” are allowed inside.  Often though, these “close” friends never truly search out the depths of each other’s spirits, because to expose a soft side to anyone could be social suicide.

Sisters, if we don’t take the time to expose and correct these lies in our own hearts and minds and truly learn who we are in Christ, we run the risk of sending our own daughters down a road of dissatisfaction, discontentment, and disappointment.  If we place our confidence and worth in anything other than our Lord and Savior, we are setting ourselves up for nothing but regret.  What an empty offer to our daughters!

If your daughter’s confidence is in her beauty, she will be disappointed because it is fleeting and flawed, even though those flaws may be difficult for you to see. If her confidence is in her intellect, she will be disappointed when she is stumped in its limitations.  If her confidence is in her popularity, she will be disappointed when someone else upstages her since infatuation is fickle.  If her confidence is in her wealth, she will be disappointed when she finds it cannot buy her love, security, friends or faithfulness.  If her confidence  is in her position, she will be disappointed to find there is always someone above her.  If her confidence is in her sexuality and ability to seduce, she will be disappointed when the man she desires is looking for more depth than she can offer; and hurt when she realizes that the men who are drawn to her are not interested in her heart, but only their own selfish gratification.

All the things that the world holds in esteem are only empty promises of satisfaction and happiness.  The thrill WILL be temporary and won’t provide lifelong fulfillment, joy or peace.  In fact, because these worldly ideals are temporal and ever changing, they only create feelings of fear and anxiety… A girl will eventually know deep down that there is no real security in these things, but because she has never experienced the true acceptance of Christ, she will continue to work tirelessly to produce acceptance from the world.  Fear of rejection can override all common sense and is the cause of countless casualties of virtue (Proverbs 11:22).

Insecurity grabs hold as the heart looks to avoid the world’s rejection and self-preservation is sought at all costs.  Girls learn early that they must be the best, and if they are not, they must bring down those getting in their way.  You know the drill; this is where “Mean Girl” meets “Victim Girl.”  It is hard to not be one or the other, unless you are the girl who is sucking up to the “Mean Girl,” in attempt to keep her off of your own back.  The drama unfolds as the female mind convinces herself that if she draws attention to other people’s flaws, the focus of the world audience will shift, and hopefully, no one will notice her own.  It becomes an endless cycle that isolates women from others, when God has actually wired us to grow and thrive in relationships.  In the insecure heart lives a girl who never really rests and trusts, knowing more loneliness than she would care to admit.

If we allow ourselves to believe that anything is more important about us than how God views us, we will be insecure for as long as we believe it, and so will our girls.  They may not be able to express it fully, but deep down they understand that their beauty and abilities are limited, finite, and unreliable ~ no one can fully rest and trust in themselves or their own flawed human frailty. Only Jesus is limitless, infinite and totally reliable!   He is where we can truly rest, trust and find confidence.  (2 Corinthians 12:9)

A daughter of the Most High God, who knows where her true value lies, has a grace, assurance and confidence that are not shattered by the world’s definition of beauty or value.  Harsh words, mean stares, and cold shoulders of cruel, insecure girls are only inconvenient, not catastrophic.  She understands that their response to her is immaturity and insecurity.  She can learn to see them as God sees them, and have compassion and sympathy for them in their fruitless pursuits.  She can love them with Christ’s love, as He first loved her. She can see their perspective as a lack of Christ in their lives, recognizing that they are not fully trusting in God for their value and leading.  She knows that only her God is unchanging and only His perspective, plan and purpose matter! Despite what anyone says or thinks ~ peace, joy and contentment come in the knowing that He has a future and a hope for her. (Jeremiah 29:11)

The Lord desires to show you His Truth that will protect your heart and not allow the destructive lies of the world to derail your self-worth… or maybe better put, your “God-worth.”  He is ABLE!

Proverbs 31:30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.

Galatians 1:10  Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men?  If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.

Philippians 3:20-21 But our citizenship is in heaven.  And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

Romans 8:37-39  No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

All Bible references taken from the New International Version.

Something from nothing.  That is the way He began our story and it is the way of unfolding ever since.  It’s what we can’t extract, pin-point, or make in a test tube.  It’s elusive, invisible, and yet ~ it’s everything.  It’s life.  It’s that moment of untenable mystery ~ when egg becomes embryo, when seed becomes sprout, when what wasn’t suddenly is.

This beginning, it comes from Him ~ all God-spoken, God-breathed.  The source of being itself, it is Him.  Elohim, God the Creator and the judge of the universe… He created the world, He brought life into it, and called it ‘good’.

He is the difference-maker.  What was void and empty became full of goodness. Transformation is impossible without a power to fuel it, and it is His power ~ the spark of His voice ~ that ignites creation.  He is the source, the current of life that bursts through our own veins.  Our limbs unfurling, our eyes opening, our hearts tap-tap-tapping by His breath.

His voice speaks and where there was darkness, a planet spins.  Where there is formless depths, land emerges.  He knows what is to come and He prepares.  Plants, flowers, trees.  These ideas will have function, and He chooses to add loveliness.  A trade-mark, this making things beautiful in nearly endless varieties.  Out of the black, stars ~ and He knows them each by name.  A particular shining beacon, just close enough for the flourish of the foliage by day and its reflection to guide the night.  Another stage complete and there are animals large and small, patterned and quick, flying and swimming, tunneling and grazing.

Planet Earth, creation unrivaled.

When the scent of orange trees makes the air sweet, when the sun sets over an ocean and stops me right in my tracks, when snow twirls its frosted patterns over the ground, when I see a squirrel run up the pine tree in my backyard ~ I think of Him.

He didn’t have to dazzle us with the simple bright wonder of the full moon or a field of tulips.  He didn’t have to give the birds their cheerful melodies.  He didn’t have to form the horse with its awesome thundering gallop…

But He did.  And, in doing so, He shows us His character and He shows us how much He valued the creation still to come.

Consider this evidence of Him that we see every single day.  Can you see His glory written in the great expanse of sky?  His beauty in the arching of a dolphin’s leap through the air?  His brilliance and plan in every detail working together for ecosystems to thrive, for seasons to change and nourish, for a gentle, slow-moving caterpillar to grow wings of color and fly?  To everything a purpose… to everything His life-giving word.

Imagine a colorless world.  A world without the fragrance of a garden, the taste of a crisp apple, the feel of warm sand beneath your feet.  Could it be that the Creator designed it to bring your heart joy?  Could it be that He prepared it all for humanity, so that we could know pleasure in what He has given to us?  Could it be that He created it all to reveal His longing for relationship… His love… His heart for you and me?

And from His heart, with His marvelously transforming power, He creates us. Fallen from obedience, we hold ashes of guilt in our hands until He speaks mercy and beauty springs forth.  Yes, when you and I have nothing, He speaks into our lives and gives us everything.

And from us, He asks only faith and love…

…funny, when you think of it, since the seeds for both He planted in our hearts.  He requires nothing from us that He hasn’t already provided for us.

So what can we do but praise Him?  What can we do but exalt His name, this Lord of all Creation who is full of majesty and mercy?  To this Savior who brings life from death ~ life abundant, new, and eternal ~ can we offer anything but adoration?

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come… with all creation I sing, praise to the King of Kings… You are my everything and I will adore you!” (“Revelation Song” by Jennie Lee Riddle)

With so many trees in the city, you could see the spring coming each day until a night of warm wind would bring it suddenly in one morning.  Sometimes the heavy cold rains would beat it back so that it would seem that it would never come and that you were losing a season of your life.  Hemingway- A Moveable Feast

Hemingway caught a glimpse into my thoughts in a recent Spring as I read his chapter leading into Fake Spring.  It had been warm and springy for  few days, only to be brutally interrupted by cold temperatures and cold rain, sleet, and hail ~ all in one day.  Colorado weather is usually unpredictable, but especially so that Spring.  How I longed for the warmth of spring and the green of the trees.  I wished for the blooming of the flowers; an end to the death of winter and the resurrection of new life.

How often I wish for the springtime in life as well.  It is hard when God holds you in a winter season; so often it feels as though it will never end.  Sometimes a glimpse of Spring teases, only to awaken me back to reality with the harsh cold rain, like being awakened from a marvelous dream.  God holds us in winter seasons so that the old things die.  It hurts when those things die, but it is so that new life can grow.  Winter is a long hard season; it is cold, grey, and dingy.  The one refreshing thought in the midst of winter, eventually Spring will come.  Hemingway, upon giving up gambling on horse-racing announced, “I knew that everything good and bad left an emptiness when it stopped”.  Those words are so true; however, God wants to fill up the emptiness with Him, to bring us to new life.

You expected to be sad in the fall.  Part of you died each year when the leaves fell from the trees and their branches were bare against the wind and the cold, wintry light, But you knew there would always be spring, as you knew the river would flow again after it was frozen.  When the cold rains kept on and killed the spring, it was as though a young person had died for no reason. Hemingway ~ A Moveable Feast

Is that not our joy?  Knowing that spring will come; God will not keep us in winter forever.  How can we have that hope?  I wrote in “Ruth Part Seven” that Ruth and Naomi had vision attached to their perspective.  It does not matter how dismal things look, or how long we have to wait, when we hold to the vision God has given for our life, we can be assured Spring is on the way.  Most of us are familiar with Habakkuk 2:2, write the vision down, but I love the verse in The Message Bible:

“And then God answered: “Write this.  Write what you see.  Write it out in big block letters so that it can be read on the run.   This vision-message is a witness pointing to what’s coming. It aches for the coming ~ it can hardly wait!  And it doesn’t lie.  If it seems slow in coming, wait.  It’s on its way.  It will come right on time.” Habakkuk 2: 2-3.

It is important to wait out God’s seasons; they are part of the journey.  He can work great things in us when we wait.  Usually, I take my plants that made it through the winter, out of the greenhouse and arrange them in the front yard on Mother’s Day.  Something inside insisted I wait; if I had not, despite the warm temperatures of the past few days, they would have died in the cold night.  Thankfully, they are resting warm in the safety and security of the greenhouse.  Though the season demanded it was time for those geraniums and hydrangeas to turn their face to the sun, and grace my front yard, they would have died ~ it was not time.

And that is our strength, knowing that spring will come; the vision will come.  As constant as the seasons of the earth, While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease (c.f. Genesis 8:22 NASB), so is the constancy of the Creator who set those seasons in order.  Though it may still look like winter, spring is coming, just as sure as the sun will rise, ending the mourning (Psalm 30:5), and greeting most happily, the joy which He promises.

In those days, though, the spring always came finally but it was frightening that it had nearly failed.  Hemingway~ A Moveable Feast

But God has given us his Spirit.  That’s why we don’t think the same way that the people of this world think.  That’s also why we can recognize the blessings that God has given us.
1 Corinthians 2:11-13

Why do I talk about grace all the time?  Why the hype?  What’s the big deal? These are questions asked by those who don’t quite understand this truth.  If a person “gets” it, there’s no way he/she can keep quiet about the wonders of  it all.

A friend and I were discussing why we thought some Christians understand grace and others don’t.  We came to several conclusions.  For instance, many of us were taught you get nothing for free.  True, most things in life we must pay for, but God’s grace is free for the taking.  Maybe it just wasn’t explained clearly or was taught with a mixture of truth and lies, and the lies won out.  Some people believe a person must work for God’s love, so then grace is unattainable because it is a gift and can’t be worked for.  But whatever the reason that keeps us from understanding grace, it is a sad thing. The truth is, too, most of these reasons were our own reasons at one time or another, hence the conclusions.

Why do some Christians have a clear understanding of grace?  Several things come to mind.  Maybe they hear the truth proclaimed and accepted it.  Maybe those who were forgiven much grab hold of grace because they know they don’t deserve it.   Some might have asked for clarity and revelation to receive knowledge and truth and got it.  I don’t know their personal reasons for accepting God’s grace, but I know it is a truth that changes lives, families, churches, and has the potential to change the world!

Let me give you an illustration of the difference between mercy and grace. Sometimes we tend to get these two mixed up.  They may seem similar, but they are really quite different, although you can’t get one without the other.  It’s a package deal.

       A woman drives down the interstate 20 miles over the speed limit.  A policeman stops her.  He gets out of his car and walks to the window, “Ma’am you were speeding, but I’m not going to give you a ticket, though you really deserve it because you broke the law.” 

That’s mercy.

She deserves that ticket, but doesn’t get it.  The woman is so thankful to just be able to drive away at that moment, receiving nothing else.

With unbelief she says, “Really?! Oh thank you so much.”

The policeman says, “However I am going to give you something else.”

The woman’s demeanor changes as she thinks, “I thought it was too good to be true.”

But the officer gives her a one hundred dollar bill!   Then he says, “Now take this and go to the mall and spend it. When you get there you’ll receive another one.  Take that and spend it; there will be an unlimited supply.”

That’s never ending grace.  She didn’t have to pay the penalty for breaking the law because the policeman took care of it for her.  But she did get something she didn’t deserve (an unlimited supply of hundred dollar bills) and it certainly wasn’t based on her behavior.  That’s Unmerited Favor, which is grace.   Make sense?

You see God sent His Son Jesus to pay the penalty for our sins since we were lawbreakers (sinners). (Romans 5:8)  Because of His sacrifice on the cross we can be saved from an eternal hell when we accept (trust, believe) the truth of what Jesus did for us. (John 3:16)  God provided this freedom out of His love and mercy.  Heaven is freely given to those who believe!  But He did even more than that by including every spiritual blessing in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 1:1-6) No one is certain of everything provided in this gift of grace, but there is forgiveness, joy, peace, faith, a sound mind, love, security, provision, protection, and the benefits go on and on and on and on.  A new spirit, His Spirit, within us gives us the power to fulfill our purpose in life to glorify Him. All of this is grace in action.

Grace enables me to live for Jesus because it is His love and power in me that accomplishes His work and purpose through me.  His grace takes me over, under, through, in between, and far above all circumstances.  I am NEVER without Him.

The truth is, God could have saved a place in heaven for me and that would have been more than enough, more than I deserved.  But He also gave me His ongoing grace.

Why do I share this message over and over again?   Because Father God has lavished His unmerited favor upon me!  The greatest thing that ever happened in my life cannot be hidden.  I am one of those people who was forgiven much, who had the veil removed, who found it hard to believe I had worth.  Yet today and every day Grace tells me that I am highly favored, blessed, valuable, and loved by God Almighty, the Father of my heart.

Do I live graceful every day, every minute?  Nope, I don’t.  But those times when I do, whether in heartache or joy, I experience abundant life here on earth.  Praise to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit!

1 Corinthians 15:10 But by the grace of God I am what I am: and His grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.

2 Corinthians 12:8-9 But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Romans 6:14 For sin shall not [any longer] exert dominion over you, since now you are not under Law [as slaves], but under grace [as subjects of God's favor and mercy]. (It is grace that keeps me from living ungodly.)

A short time after I became a believer a friend gave me a little booklet by Amy Carmichael, called “If”.  It was a tough book for a new Christian to read because it is primarily a series of challenges to the self to be willing to be in submission to God in all circumstances. It called us always to desire to think and act motivated by what Miss Carmichael called “Calvary love”.  I was nowhere near that understanding of faith yet ~ but it opened my eyes to a depth of love for Christ and the possibilities in a life of faith of which I had never dreamed.

It set a standard, and gave me a glimpse of a very human life truly dedicated to serving Christ with all your heart, mind and soul.  I saw my own struggles reflected in her struggles.  I recognized internal things in my own life which I had never seen before: things like pride, selfishness, and lack of patience.  I knew that my primary example should be the Lord, but I also knew I wasn’t able to reach His perfection.  Miss Carmichael certainly was not perfect ~ but it was in her failures and conflicts that the true depth of her faith came out, and showed me that I could also fail, but eventually find forgiveness and strength to overcome at the feet of the Savior.  I read that book every day, and I think I can truthfully say that next to my Bible, it had more impact on my spiritual life than any other book at that time.

Recently I have been re-reading, with awe, her insights and the story of her life.  She was a missionary to India, going out in 1895 and eventually setting up a home for children and later others who needed refuge, including those who had been set aside to serve as temple prostitutes.  She served without a single furlough; never leaving India again until she died in 1951.  She had a fall in 1932, and after that was confined to her bed with constant pain, and ministered through her devotional writings.  I have experienced now, and know at greater depth the kind of spiritual struggles with which she wrestled. I thank God that He put her little book in my path at such a tender spiritual age, because it allowed me to understand that I was to go deeper.

I am still trying to learn that lesson.  I get so discouraged with myself at times.  I find myself coasting along, satisfied with the status quo, and being content to accept spiritual milk, when I should be hungering for meat.  Philip Yancey, in his book on prayer, speaks of the currently accepted vision of God who “represents success, good feelings, a sense of peace, a warm glow.”  He makes the point that Christians of today with “the cheery optimism of modern consumer-oriented faith”, are often confused by a call to go deeper.  They expect a life of peace and harmony and constant forward motion, and become anxious when it doesn’t go that way.  For them, an encounter with the occasional silence of God or an attack from the enemy is a terrible shock.  They have been taught that all they need to do is keep the rules and the Lord will give them everything they want, make the way smooth.

Yancey points out that our reading used to take us to works like Pilgrim’s Progress, the story of a struggling believer trying to find his way through trials like the Slough of Despond and other difficulties; or John of the Cross’s Dark Nights of the Soul; or Thomas à Kempis book “Imitation of Christ”; or Brother Lawrence practicing the presence of God as he labored in the most menial and humbling tasks.  These books helped us understand that the way of the Cross is often filled with difficulty; that challenge is the pathway to growth. Now we look for warm fuzzies and only enjoy reading about things that reinforce our magic genie vision of God and promise us lots of pie in the sky.  In the language of social media, we don’t “like” hard truths that call us to lose some of our complacency and challenge us to take the more demanding path.

Yet, I know that there is more, and increasingly I find I can’t be at peace if I try to take the easy way out.  It is all too comfortable for me to compare myself to others and say, “Well ~ look at them ~ they are happy, and they love the Lord, and they never seem to have these struggles.  If I just coast along and go through the motions, then I won’t have to go through all this angst and inner pain and life will be so much simpler”.  Whenever I do this, the Spirit begins to press.  I can’t pretend to myself that this is satisfactory because I have seen, in the lives of people like Amy Carmichael, Elisabeth Elliot and countless other spiritually mature women of God, that we need to go deeper.  I must take up my cross and follow Him, no matter where that takes me, no matter how hard the journey.  Nothing I have gone through in life can compare to the things He has suffered for my sake.  It isn’t as if I have to make the journey alone.  He is always at my side, encouraging, strengthening, and helping me up when I stumble.

What sometimes keeps me back is sheer funk.  Sometimes I am afraid to trust Him.  I know that there may be pain in the lessons, that the path may be rocky and full of risk.  Yet, in the end, I know I must follow, because I meant it when I gave my life to Christ all those years ago, and I love Him.  How can I hold back any part of me when He has given everything for me?

Ultimately, I am not responsible for the lives of my fellow believers, except that I know I always want to behave in a way that honors Christ, and that others, believers and non-believers, may be watching.  I want to represent Him in the truest way possible, for my sake as well as for their perception of who and what a believer can be. The deepest part of the journey lies in genuinely becoming more like Him, rather than being concerned with what appears on the surface.  It is an internal change that I desire.  The only way for this to happen is that I must die to self, and live to have Him fill me up: “to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God”. (Eph. 3:19)

What would it take to bring us all to the place where we could echo this prayer by Amy Carmichael?

“My Father, there are many reasons why I could feel downcast.

When I think about some parts of my life, it’s hard to pray… even harder to worship in freedom…

…relationships that are difficult…

…dreams and goals that are crumbling…

…old hurts that wound me over and over…

Some parts of me feel cold and wordless.

Is the problem that I’ve buried some things deep inside?  Are You patiently calling ~ through days and months ~ for me to open up to You at some deeper level?

Today, Father, I trust You to go deeper.”

That is the key ~ I WANT to go deeper; to be prepared to follow Him even into the scary places; not compromising with second best; being willing to take the harder way if that will bring me closer to Him. There is an old fashioned word which we seldom hear anymore ~ it is “sanctification”.  It means choosing to set ourselves apart for God; and letting Him change us layer by layer into His image by the submission of self to His will.  I can no longer accept any substitutes, any shallow cotton candy kind of faith.  I am to strap on the full armor of God and go forth as a warrior prepared to take on whatever the world and Satan throw at me.  Again and again I need to tell myself that it isn’t about me, and my wants, and my pride and my ego.  It is about the Savior who died, and the cost to Him at Calvary for my sake, and all that this means in terms of how I live my life.  I can’t be satisfied anymore with a Sunday go-to-meeting kind of faith that stops at the door of the church on my way out.  I am either Christ’s person, or I am not… whatever that costs.

Father, please guide me to the next level of faith; let me go deeper as I keep my hand trustingly in Yours.

Whew! Serious wake-up call for me the other day!  I was attending my church Bible study, when I finally understood a concept that has been eluding me for as long as I can recall.  The Bible tells us not to judge others… easier said than done ~ or at least that is what I chose to think.  So what if I have opinions about some people, who wouldn’t… Right? WRONG!

Our teacher explained that the Gospel, or good news of what Jesus Christ did for us on the cross, is for everyone ~ that all might hear, believe, and be saved. The rest of the story in the New Testament ~ the teaching of how to walk with God and live the life of a Christ follower ~ however, is only for those who believe.

It makes perfect sense!  It is ridiculous to think that we who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Savior, and are indwelled with the Holy Spirit, could or would expect those who do not believe and are not filled with the Holy Spirit to be able to live according to the principles of the Law and Grace!   Seriously, it is the Holy Spirit who convicts our hearts of sin and causes us to repent and change ~ becoming a new creation in Christ, and walking in the continual renewing of our hearts and minds.  His indwelling Spirit is continually remodeling us into the likeness of Christ, and causing us to want to live better and do better so that we might reflect Him more.  Not because we have to (grace check), but because we want to ~ out of gratefulness for all Jesus has done for us!  So, HELLO, it is crazy to expect Joe-Blow-Non-Christian to miraculously straighten up and fly right, without the help of the Author of the miraculous!

But that’s what we do, isn’t it?!  We feel a ping of irritation when we see a mother smoking in her car, windows rolled up, and a toddler in the backseat.  We glare at those individuals lacking self-discipline at the office Christmas party, who don’t seem to know when to stop drinking… We groan and shake our heads when we hear about someone cheating on their spouse ~ not because we grieve for them and the pain they are causing, but because we think, “how could they?!”    Good grief, as a former lost soul, what right have I to respond that way?  Joe (mentioned above) may be able to wise up some on his own, but he will continually fail to find freedom from the sin that grips him, as long as he tries in his own strength.

I am so thankful for how patient and gracious God has been with me, the filth that He has overlooked and even removed from the slate of my life…  So, why do I see others and judge?  Why would I allow myself to believe that I am any better than the next sinner?  Especially when the list of my own sins would easily one-up most of those I have let myself look down on.  That reminds me… You know that famous line given by some non-believers, about why they don’t go to church, “Church is full of a bunch of hippocrites.”  Honestly, I think it is more than that… I think it is our self-righteousness that keeps them running from places of worship.  Certainly they are aware of our condescension.  Please forgive me Lord!

Jesus spent time with sinners, not to stoop or fall to their “level,” but to love them UP to His!  Love, not judgment, shines the light of truth on sin and brings conviction to the heart.  Because with love, God’s grace is evident.  With judgment only condemnation lends itself.  Which would you have chosen in your pre-Christian state… Which would you have felt more drawn to when looking at life through the veil of an empty, broken heart and hopelessness? Would you gravitate toward love and the free gift of grace, or judgment and the self-loathing of condemnation.

So, yet another lesson learned for me.  Now, as I go about my day, and I catch myself sizing up others, judging their actions, attire, or words… I ask God to let me see them as He does… In need of a Savior, loved no less than those already in the fold.  He is then able to break my heart for them, and I am able to see those things as just outward symptoms of a lost heart.  In this frame of reference, I am able to share His Truth in love, and hopefully, His unfailing grace shines through!

Luke 6:37 “Do not judge, and you will not be judged.  Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned.  Forgive, and you will be forgiven.”

Philippians 2:3  Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.

Colossians 3:12  Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.  Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another.  Forgive as the Lord forgave you.  And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.