A Hidden Sin

A sin unseen

“Get right with God,” the pastor says. “Clean up your language, throw away the pornography, stop taking what doesn’t belong to you.”  We ‘get it’ when talking about lust, greed, theft, and profanity.  That’s all good, for a person filled with the Spirit of God should be holy and honor Him in word and action.  The larger sins, however, are the relational ones.  They often go unseen.

Do you know that Jesus speaks far more about forgiveness, mercy, and love than He does about sexual purity?  But we often reverse that – focusing more on moral purity as evidence of a mature Christianity than on a person’s willingness to pursue a life of authentic love. For example, we may laud a man for his faithful church attendance, hold him up as an example for all because he gives generously and lives uprightly, even while he is unable to sustain a deep relationship with his children or his wife. We do not see his unwillingness to engage himself with his family as a ‘sin.’  As long as he provides for them and brings them to church we think he is a ‘good Christian man.’  A woman who is pure and demure, a picture of wholesomeness, is admired by her Christian friends in spite of the fact that she has no relationship with her mother and has cut herself off from her extended family.  Why this disconnect?  Because, we simply don’t view failure to love as a ‘sin’ problem.  Yet, if we take Jesus’ words at face value, the greater sins are those involving our willingness and/or ability to love!

We cannot gloss over the importance of relational wholeness when we read passages like these.  Jesus said, "If you love each other, everyone will know that you are my disciples." (John 13:35, CEV)  John amplifies the message with this uncompromising statement: "We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death." (1 John 3:14, NIV)

Dr. Larry Crabb, in Inside Out, writes “Our Lord severely rebuked the Pharisees for their scrupulous tithing, not because careful adherence to standards is wrong, but rather because they were neglecting more important matters like justice, mercy, and faithfulness (Matthew 23:23), matters that pertain to the way people treat one another.  … The whole purpose of the Law is to point the way towards quality relationships with God and others.”  Crabb describes a common human issue – the desire to protect ourselves.  We hold back from conflict, from costly engagement, from working towards reconciliation because those things hurt us, often wounding our souls. “Better just to leave it alone,” we conclude. In so doing, we fall short of God’s plan, and thus, we sin!

The price of real love always involves pain. Only when we are secured by the love of God, shown to us in Christ Jesus, is it possible for us to abandon ourselves to pursue radical life of love that marks the authentic Christian. The Bible simply says, "And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, “I love God,” yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother. Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well." (1 John 4:16-5:1, NIV)

The choice to live in love is not easy, nor is it simple.  If we think it is, we have confused mere affection or politeness with the real deal!  Love demands release of our desires to live for others first. Love dethrones ego and causes us to be content to serve God and people without recognition or thanks. Love abandons self-protection and goes out to be involved in the world where it lives.  Can you see now, why this kind of love is impossible to show without the Spirit working deeply in us?

Here’s a word from the Word. May the truth challenge us to live a life of love, so that Jesus may be seen in us, and so that we will know the greatest joy that is possible for us.
"Love never gives up. Love cares more for others than for self. Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have. Love doesn’t strut, Doesn’t have a swelled head, Doesn’t force itself on others, Isn’t always “me first,” Doesn’t fly off the handle, Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others, Doesn’t revel when others grovel, Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth, Puts up with anything, Trusts God always, Always looks for the best, Never looks back, But keeps going to the end." (1 Corinthians 13:4-7, The Message)  "But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love." (1 Corinthians 13:13, The Message)

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Old friend, Guilt; you keep me from sleep

Old friend, Guilt, you keep me from sleep

David, Israel’s king and poet, a man who loved God and yet became an adulterous murderer, tells of the deep pain of guilt: "When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer." (Psalm 32:3-4)  I am sure that you have felt that awful pain, too.  Nothing hurts like a guilty conscience.  The pain of shame and guilt are as common as a cold.  Temptation comes. We make a fateful choice. A cruel word is hurled, an immoral choice made, and the sword of the Spirit slashes our conscience. “Why did I do it?” we ask; “What was I thinking?” Not far behind those thoughts comes the fear of discovery. “If I’m found out, what then?”

Have you ever experienced that kind of torment? It takes away sleep at night, steals our appetite for the most delicious food, and even makes music as irritating as scraping of fingernails on a chalkboard in our ears.

All guilt is not bad! Guilt pain is God’s gift that calls on us to come back to right living. Yes, there is false guilt. Our conscience can be damaged, made too sensitive by constant criticism or scarred into uselessness by constant abuse. But, if our conscience is functioning in a healthy way, responsive to the Holy Spirit of God, informed by the truth, we should thank the Lord for the bone-deep ache that comes when we cross the line from right to wrong.
 
That ache that David felt found relief, and so can ours.  How? We make an important decision. Confession! "Then I let it all out; I said, “I’ll make a clean breast of my failures to God.” Suddenly the pressure was gone— my guilt dissolved, my sin disappeared. These things add up. Every one of us needs to pray; when all hell breaks loose and the dam bursts we’ll be on high ground, untouched." (Psalm 32:5-6, The Message) Confession is so hard, yet so liberating! It allows us to experience God’s forgiveness. Often sincere confession will also win the forgiveness of another person, even those we have wronged in the most serious way.
 
But, confession is not the end of the matter. The next step to healing is largely absent in our culture of excuses and blame. We must follow our confession with repentance. Many people want release from guilt. Many even regret what they have done because of the negative consequences, but they feel little need to change their ways! The ancient people of God disobeyed the Lord, knew they were estranged from Him, confessed, but often failed to turn back to Him! They did not want holiness. They only wanted relief. They had no hunger for righteousness. They would not turn around to pursue God. Will you?
 
Joel tells us about real confession and repentance that bring the restoration of our souls. "Come, spend the night in sackcloth, you who minister before my God; … (Joel 1:13, NIV) “Even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.” Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity." (Joel 2:12-13, NIV)
 
Is guilt over sins past plaguing you?
Are you alienated from the Lord who gives you peace, from His church that is your home?
 
If so, mourn your disobedience, but do not stay there! Own your sins, without excuse, without self-justification. Then, accept forgiveness found through Christ and His Cross.   But, grow on! Take the steps that will produce real change of repentance. "God, the Master, The Holy of Israel, has this solemn counsel: “Your salvation requires you to turn back to me and stop your silly efforts to save yourselves. Your strength will come from settling down in complete dependence on me. " (Isaiah 30:15, The Message)

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Print lyrics

I’m pleading my innocence here
Exposing my arrogance all the while
Hoping that nobody sees
Especially You

I've yielded to all that has cost me
And thrown to the side what is free
And I’m lying if I say that I've figured it out

But maybe this time
The bread and the wine
Will be more than food on my lips

I’m tasting forgiveness
And drinking of mercy
I feast on redemption
Tasting forgiveness

Copyright, Robbie Seay

Are you a wannabe?

Are you a wan·na·be? 

There are those who desperately wants to be somebody, but they do not put in the effort to reach their goal. A fake degree hangs in the office of the guy who did not make it through college. A made-up record of military service, borrowed stories of true warriors, fills the mouth of the man on the barstool who wants to impress friends. In Texas, this person is said to be ‘all hat and no cattle,’ a guy without a ranch who thinks he’s a cowboy! Some call them wannabes. The dictionary says that a ‘wannabe’ is "a person who aspires to a role or position, who imitates the behavior, customs, or dress of an admired person or group." Sometimes they're funny, sometimes pathetic, and sometimes down- right annoying. At first glance a wannabe is often indistinguishable from the authentic. The difference quickly becomes obvious in time. Because he hasn't put in the time learning the skills, getting the education, and developing the art, he cannot come through in the crunch.

Teens try on all kinds of identities as they are all their way to discovering who they are. Trying on a role, imitating the real thing, may even lead to choosing to become the authentic article. We accept, even smile along with the 13 year old boy who wants to be Tom Brady, the Patriot’s outstanding quarterback. However, a man in his 4^th decade of life who is still bragging that he can pass the ball just as well as Brady is a sorry sight, an individual we pity. Why?  Because being a wannabe is essentially a fraudulent life. The lack of substance and/or accomplishment leading to pretense erodes his integrity and steals his credibility. The wannabe knows another tragic result - he never finds out who he really is or what he is really capable of doing. Focused on trying to be somebody else, he misses the joy of being who God created him to be, joyfully filling the place in this world that God, through spiritual gifts, experiences, and opportunities, creates just for him.

Here's the direct question - are you a 'for real' Christian or a 'wannabe?'
Have you submitted your life to Christ in full surrender, allowing for a complete transformation of heart and mind OR are you just trying to imitate the lifestyle of a Christian disciple you admire?

The Bible says - "Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is. As God's messenger, I give each of you this warning: Be honest in your estimate of yourselves, measuring your value by how much faith God has given you." (Romans 12:2-3, NLT)

God loves YOU, friend. He has prepared a place for YOU in the Church, that no one else can fill.  He has Spiritual gifts prepared for you that will uniquely equip you for that ministry. "God’s various expressions of power are in action everywhere; but God himself is behind it all. Each person is given something to do that shows who God is: Everyone gets in on it, everyone benefits. All kinds of things are handed out by the Spirit, and to all kinds of people!" (1 Corinthians 12:6-7, The Message)  They are free, provided by Him, but we must accept and develop those gifts, usually a long process, of applying ourselves to the work, with good, mature mentors helping us along.

God won't love you more if you learn to imitate Mother Theresa or Billy Graham. Truth is, if you take that route, you will offend Him! He wants you to be you, a unique person with unique preparations to fill a unique place in this world. Self-acceptance can be difficult. Looking in the mirror- physically and spiritually - reveals reality which isn't always pretty. But, we are worthless to God and ourselves until we face the facts. We can take the imperfections and sins to God and He will transform us by giving us the Holy Spirit to work in us.

This word from the Word is our assurance of His work in us. "For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully." (Romans 12:3-8, NIV)

Remember this: God doesn't do 'make-overs.' He does transformations. You can be an authentic saint.  Live authentically today!

But, are you ready for the chaos?

But, are you ready for the chaos?

She came to faith in Christ from a life that many would envy;  a tenured professor, owning two homes, respected by her peers, doing good work in her  community. But, as a lesbian professor who dealt with Christians who superficially used Scripture and bashed others thoughtlessly, she came to despise Christians. She says, “The word Jesus stuck in my throat… those who professed His name commanded my pity and my wrath. …  Stupid. Pointless. Menacing. That’s what I thought of Christians and their god, Jesus.”  Rosaria Champagne Butterfield (CT, 2/2013)   Then God moved into her life, creating chaos and desperation from which grew a living faith in the loving Lord!  She writes, “Conversion put me in a complicated and comprehensive chaos. I sometimes wonder, when I hear other Christians pray for the salvation of the “lost,” if they realize that this comprehensive chaos is the desired end of such prayers.”  Today, she is a deeply devout Christian, a pastor’s wife, and the author of The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert.

Do you have friends and family members that do not know Christ? 
Are you praying for their salvation? 

The most likely way that they will become aware of the One who offers living Water is to become terribly thirsty. That thirst often develops only when the comforts of this present life are stripped away!  I wonder if we actually hinder the process of God’s calling when we pray so hard for smooth paths and untroubled days? Better that we should pray for the Spirit to break through the darkness with His blazing splendor, so that the “things of earth grow strangely dim in the Light of His glory and grace.”  it may be that you’re reading those lines and thinking that I am heartless. No, I take no joy in the troubles of life, my own or those of others. I am neither a sadist nor a masochist! But, I am a realist and know that most of us will take what comfort we can find from food, sex, or pleasure.  If there is no crisis, we will drift further away from God each day, content with our creature comforts, unwilling to ask the harder questions of ourselves about the meaning of our lives.  We are unlikely to look for God or His Heaven as long as we think we have a little ‘heaven on earth’ for ourselves.

I hasten to add, please do not tell your suffering friend, “God sent these circumstances your way so you would turn your heart toward Him!”  That is not wise. Better to be prepared with bandages and  listening ear, with compassion and intense prayer for them behind the scenes. Our prayers are for the Spirit to give insight, to bring faith, to draw that person to the arms of their loving Father.  Even then, we must not imply that if our friend ‘gets right with God,’ all the problems of his life will somehow disappear into thin air! This is the great lie that causes so many of us to doubt God.

Rosaria Butterfield’s phrase, “Conversion put me in a complicated and comprehensive chaos,” is so very true. When she acknowledged Christ as Lord, He turned her life upside down.  She is learning a whole new way to live, her old career, loves, and life gone. Our evangelistic fervor sometimes leads us to tell others that the peace and assurance that is truly found in Christ also means that life will be comfortable and that is most generally an untruth. Disciples swim against the current of their world. They choose to serve. They challenge the call of Self and choose to die with Christ. That is not, by any stretch of imagination, an easy life.

Here are words from the Word. Mediate on them.  May they lead us to drink deeply from wells that can actually quench the thirst within us. "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled. " (Matthew 5:6, NKJV)  "Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” (John 4:14, NKJV)

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Satisfied

All my lifelong I had panted

For a draught from some cool spring,

That I hoped would quench the burning

Of the thirst I felt within.

Poor I was and sought for riches,

Something that would satisfy,

But the dust I gathered 'round me

Only mocked my soul's sad cry.

Well of water ever springing,

Bread of life so rich and free,

Untold wealth that never faileth,

My Redeemer is to me.

Hallelujah, I have found Him

Whom my soul so long has craved!

Jesus satisfies my longings,

Thro' His blood I now am saved!

Clara Tear Williams | Ralph E. Hudson

Public Domain