Wholly, Holy Confidence!

Last week, when the news was full of another politician’s infidelity, Bev said, "Promise me that you will never have an affair!" My response surprised her, "I can't make you that promise." I explained that IF I think that I am too good, too smart, or too dedicated to her to sin in that way, I am a lying to myself and living with a flimsy defense against sin. The Word warns, "Don’t be so naive and self-confident. You’re not exempt. You could fall flat on your face as easily as anyone else. Forget about self-confidence; it’s useless. Cultivate God-confidence." (1 Corinthians 10:12, The Message) If my hope for holy living is misplaced in my own self-discipline, I am a prime candidate for failure. However, IF I acknowledge the sinful nature that struggles within us all, and consequently open up my life to the Spirit of God and His gracious work, He strengthens me. I finished my response to my wife saying, "I can't make that promise. But, by God's grace, I will love you faithfully and always."

When I hear a disciple huffing and puffing about another's sin: "How could he do that? What kind of person is he? Why, I'd never do such a thing!" - I cringe inwardly. That self-righteousness, which is no righteousness at all, is a tragedy in progress. There is no one quite so blind as the one who think he is above sin! Jeremiah evaluates human nature with a piercing statement: "The heart is deceitful above all things, and it is exceedingly corrupt: who can know it?" (17:9) Only the Holy Spirit discerns the secrets hidden in you and me! IF we will walk humbly and constantly with Him, His power will keep us! David, whose heart was divided - sometimes passionately in love with his God and sometimes filled with sin - cries out with a prayer we all should pray: "Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life." (Psalm 139:23-24, NLT)

It seems so logical to respond to a rebel heart with stronger rules or self-condemnation, but these will always fail. Why? Because there is a flaw in the inner man called 'sin' that sabotages even our best intentions. That is why Paul comes down hard on those Christians who look to self-discipline alone for holiness. "Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!"? These are all destined to perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings. Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence." (Colossians 3:22-23 NIV) The mystery of our Christianity is the Cross and the weakness of the Cross is our strength, our holiness, and our hope!

Is there a place in our lives for disciplined choices? Of course.
Is there a need to make wise decisions and to practice those habits that open our lives to the inflow of the Holy Spirit? Yes, and again, yes! We are fools if we abuse the grace of God by flirting with sin. A person who lives carelessly with open sin in his life has failed to grasp the full dimension of God's grace which will lead him to a changed life! Some, on hearing Paul's exposition of God's grace that responds to human sinfulness by expanding to encompass it, said, "So then shall we sin freely?" The Word's answer is this: "Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it?" (Romans 6:2, NLT)

Are you locked in mortal combat with some sinful habit? Does it seem to you that you are about to be destroyed by lust, greed, a lack of forgiveness, or hatred?

Now, here's the illogical statement. Take your eyes off of yourself and your sin. Stop obsessing over it!
"But, Jerry, if I do that, I just know I will be destroyed by it." No, you will not IF you gaze on Christ. The Word says, "If you’re serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don’t shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ—that’s where the action is. See things from his perspective." (Colossians 3:1-2, The Message) See the Son standing there, holding out a new coat of holiness to you. It is a holiness that God alone can provide. Put it on! You are His child. The Enemy of your soul will argue mightily against this truth. He will seek to turn your attention to what you were and what you fear you may become again. He will tell you that God cannot love you UNTIL you have mastered all sin. He lies!

God loves you today because of His Son. In the full acceptance of that love is found the freedom to choose, to say "yes" to holiness today. Becoming a disciple with a life that is disciplined in the ways of the Spirit is important, but it is not first. Transformation by the power of the Cross is FIRST, then comes the patterning of discipleship.

Now, do you understand why I, in myself, could not promise faithfulness to my wife?
Yet, she is secure in our covenant because of Christ, IN ME, that gives me strength to love her with a faithful and true heart.
You are secure in Him. Let Him love you to wholeness and holiness today.
________________

Just a closer walk with Thee,
Grant it, Jesus, is my plea,
Daily walking close to Thee,
Let it be, dear Lord, let it be.

I am weak but Thou art strong;
Jesus, keep me from all wrong;
I'll be satisfied as long
As I walk, let me walk close to Thee.

When my feeble life is o'er,
Time for me will be no more;
Guide me gently, safely o'er,
To Thy kingdom shore, to Thy shore.

Just a Closer Walk With Thee© Public Domain

The Gaffe

The sermon was on the subject of loving completely. I had made the first point about our inability to love well unless we have experienced God’s love. I moved into my next idea about those things that keep us from loving others. Then, it happened. I spoke three words and saw the eyes of a woman in front of me widen as she thought of an entirely different image than I was reaching for! Then I heard the snickers of several others. The second meaning of what I had just said hit me. My face grew hot with embarrassment! Yes, it was a gaffe and a half. No, I won’t repeat here. Last night as Bev and I remembered the moment, we dissolved into laughter. 35 minutes of preaching and what will most people remember? Three words!

On the serious side, my faux pas yesterday made me think about how easily our lives can become defined by a single decision, a mistake, a choice made in haste or for ignoble reasons. My little mistake only ruined a single sermon. The mistakes of some ruin their lives. While watching “Frost vs. Nixon” last night, the same thought returned. Richard M. Nixon’s entire political career comes down to a single word for most people, “Watergate.” A stupid decision to cover up a crime of little significance destroyed him and His Presidency. But, the seeds of that destruction were planted by a wider flaw, an insecurity that ran deep and unacknowledged in the man. If Nixon had learned to overcome his sense of inferiority and defeated his paranoia, only God knows what his political acumen might have produced for America.

Are you living wisely, disciple? Are you giving the Spirit access to your heart and mind so that He can bring about health and wholeness in your thoughts and plans? The pitfalls, temptations, and possibilities of mistakes are many. We need to pray- "Oh! Teach us to live well! Teach us to live wisely and well!" (Psalm 90:12, The Message)

Should we somehow fall or fail, and we will; the Scripture is replete with illustrations of the redemption God offers to those who turn to Him. David, the poet–king of Israel, fell long and hard into deep sin. When the ugly facts were exposed, he turned to God in humble prayer. "Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. … Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me." (Psalm 51:1-2, 10-12, NIV)

John reminds us that the road to restoration requires confession, owning our sins without excuse. "If we admit our sins—make a clean breast of them—he won’t let us down; he’ll be true to himself. He’ll forgive our sins and purge us of all wrongdoing. If we claim that we’ve never sinned, we out-and-out contradict God—make a liar out of him. A claim like that only shows off our ignorance of God. I write this, dear children, to guide you out of sin. But if anyone does sin, we have a Priest-Friend in the presence of the Father: Jesus Christ, righteous Jesus." (1 John 1:9-2:1, The Message)

I’ll have to live with the jokes about my gaffe in the pulpit for a few weeks! I will probably be a little apprehensive about speaking next Sunday and certainly more vigilant in my choice of words. Disciple, be vigilant about those choices that really matter. Walk near to the Lord. Respond quickly to the Spirit’s gentle prompts.
“Our Father in heaven, Reveal who you are. Set the world right; Do what’s best— as above, so below. Keep us alive with three square meals. Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil. You’re in charge! You can do anything you want! You’re ablaze in beauty! Yes. Yes. Yes." (Matthew 6:9-13, The Message)
____________

O God, our Help in ages past,
Our Hope for years to come,
Our Shelter from the stormy blast,
And our eternal Home!

Under the shadow of Thy throne
Still may we dwell secure;
Sufficient is Thine arm alone,
And our defense is sure.

O God, our Help in ages past,
Our Hope for years to come,
Be Thou my Guide while life shall last,
And our eternal Home.

O God Our Help In Ages Past

Watts, Isaac / Croft, William© Public Domain

Dead and Done!

Some situations appear to be beyond hope, don’t they? It’s over. Vitality is gone. Any spark quenched. Churches appear dead! Relationships turn cold. Love for God evaporates in the heat of temptation and trials. Can these things live again? According to the Bible, yes! Are you familiar with that weird vision of the valley of dry bones that God gave to Ezekiel? Yes, it’s the one that inspired the spiritual – “Dem Dry Bones.”

In the 37th chapter of the book, the prophet tells of being set in the middle of a valley that was full of bones, bleached and dried by the sun. The flesh that clothed the bones is gone. The sinews that connected the bones - gone. Any semblance of life- gone. As he sees this vision of desolation, God asks Ezekiel, "Can these bones live again?" What a question. How do would you respond to it? With natural understanding, one would have to say, "The day for life in these bones is long since past! No, Lord, they won't live again." Ezekiel chooses a different response. "Lord God, only you can answer that." (37:3) It's not exactly a statement full of faith, but at least it allows for the possibility of life, however remote. Sometimes that is all the faith we have, just enough to allow for a possibility. Jesus says that is more than enough.

Now comes the test. God said “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life." (Ezekiel 37:4-5, NIV) The man of God was commanded to do something that would have looked very foolish to any observer. Under the direction of the Holy Spirit, Ezekiel spoke the improbable, into a situation of the impossible. And as he spoke, those bones rattled and moved! They assembled into skeletons, began to be connected, then covered with flesh. As he continued to preach, the Spirit of God swept over the corpses and "breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army." (37:10)

It's quite a vision, isn't it? I am captivated by the promise in it! It was God's message to His people who thought all hope was gone. These bones are the whole house of Israel. Listen to what they're saying: “Our bones are dried up, our hope is gone, there's nothing left of us.” (37:11) The man of God needed obedience, courage, boldness, and vision to draw life back to that 'dead' nation. It was a work beyond anyone's natural ability. Who can make bones live again? Only God can raise the dead! "You, my people, will know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the LORD have spoken, and I have done it, declares the LORD.'" Ezekiel 37:13-14

What seems dead, beyond hope, to you?
Is your marriage, which once was filled with life and love, just a barren, dead thing now?
Are your dreams for the future, hopes to make a real difference, rattling around in your mind, dried up and dead?
Is your church, once alive with the Spirit, a place of skeletons and ghosts of things past?
Is your spiritual life nothing but bones seeming dead to the Spirit of God?

God is putting the question to you - "Can these bones live?" In asking the question, He is stirring faith, be it ever so slight. As His Spirit stirs in us, let us become bold like the prophet,
speaking the Words of life to a dead situation. "Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD!" Nothing is so thrilling as seeing God bring life back, breathing His life into a person, situation, relationship, or church that is in the natural realm, beyond hope. So, hear the Word of the Lord!

Here is a word from the Word to ponder today. May it bring life to the dry places!
“As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it." (Isaiah 55:9-11, NIV)
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These are the days of Ezekiel,
The dry bones becoming as flesh;
And these are the days
Of Your servant David,
Rebuilding the temple of praise.
These are the days of the harvest,
The fields are as white in the world,
And we are the laborers
In the vineyard,
Declaring the word of the Lord.

Behold He comes
Riding on the clouds,
Shining like the sun
At the trumpet call;
Lift your voice,
It's the year of jubilee,
Out of Zion's hill
Salvation comes.

Days Of Elijah-
Mark, Robin- Integrity Music, Inc.© 1997 Daybreak Music, Ltd. (Admin. by Integrity Music, Inc.) CCLI License No. 810055