Why can't he be more like me?

“Why can’t he be more like me?”

I strive to make choices for good, to live with excellence.  There’s nothing wrong with that.  As a person committed to Christ, I am called to self-denial, to the discipline of living a moral life. I desire to live honorably with all my heart. The downside is that I am tempted to congratulate myself on my ‘successes’ and to turn a blind eye to those gaps in my life, those places yet to be conquered by Christ, the King. Yes, tragically, I must confess that I drift into thinking “why can’t he be more like me?” on occasion because there is a Pharisee that lives in me. Remember that man who prayed so arrogantly, “Oh, God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, crooks, adulterers, or, heaven forbid, like this tax man. I fast twice a week and tithe on all my income.” (Luke 18:11-12, The Message) I know him! The second that I take my focus from Christ and His righteousness, I am prone to the corruption of pride. When self-discipline substitutes for surrender to the Spirit, a stench of Self that overwhelms the fragrance of Jesus Christ in me. The beauty of His holiness is obscured by an ugly religious spirit.

Pride is the devil’s favorite temptation for those who live a holy life. It is rather like the man who humbles himself and then takes note of his humility; losing it in that moment.  Some compound their sin by attempting to defeat their prideful sin with self-reproach. “I’m so worthless. I’m such a terrible person.” they say, but it’s only a fig-leaf that covers the pride. Such statements do nothing to change the underlying sin.  “Don’t look at me,” can really mean, “Please take note of me, but don’t congratulate me. Just quietly admire all my spiritual accomplishments!” There is but one way to put to such ugly sin to death – deep, heart-felt worship of the One who saves us. So-called ‘worm theology’ won’t do it. That phrase is borrowed from the Isaac Watts hymn, “At the Cross,” that includes this line, “would He devote that Sacred Head, for such a worm as I?” It is possible to be a very proud worm!

We must kneel, literally, for that posture is a way to pray even with our body and confess that Jesus is Lord, Master, and Savior. Even that should be done, Jesus said, in a secret place seen only by the Father! Contemplating His majesty, waiting silently before Him, giving thanks from a worshipful heart brings us to the realization that His grace is amazing. Such contemplative prayer is like a mirror and when it reveals the Pharisee in me, I weep in shame. Meditation on the truth of the Scripture brings to light the deception of ego, too. Can any sin can remain hidden under the brilliant light of the Word that says "it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." (Ephesians 2:8-10, NIV)? He gives me intrinsic worth, a wonderful fact that must never be forgotten.  The declaration of His love relieves me from the need to perform and frees me to live – authentically, lovingly, and without concern for the approval of others.

Some mistakenly think that the way to defeat pride is to sin with abandon. This is a mistaken response to grace that plagued even the first disciples. Paul addressed it in his letter to the Romans. "So what do we do? Keep on sinning so God can keep on forgiving? … Each of us is raised into a light-filled world by our Father so that we can see where we’re going in our new grace-sovereign country. Could it be any clearer? Our old way of life was nailed to the cross with Christ, a decisive end to that sin-miserable life—no longer at sin’s every beck and call!" (Romans 6:1, 5-6, The Message)

Disciple, are you gazing at yourself, admiring your goodness?  Are you a Christian Narcissus, in love with your image, increasingly out of touch with the reality hidden in your heart?  Is the Pharisee in thee alive and well?

Run to Jesus! Begin to worship, anew, at His Cross. Confess the pride born of comparison. AND, receive the grace offered freely.  Oh, what joy, what release is found to be holy when we accept a righteousness not of our own making. Oh, how I pray for a daily revelation of the profound truth of this word from the Word. " I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith." (Philippians 3:8-10, NIV)

Pride stinks, grace is sweetly fragrant. May grace fill our heart, our words, our life – today.

_________

That God should love a sinner such as I,
Should yearn to change my sorrow into bliss,
Nor rest till He had planned to bring me nigh,
How wonderful is love like this!

That Christ should join so freely in the scheme,
Although it meant His death on Calvary.
Did ever human tongue find nobler theme
Than love divine that ransomed me?

And now He takes me to His heart, a son;
He asks me not to fill a servant's place.
The "far off country" wand'rings all are done;
Wide open are His arms of grace.

Such love, such wondrous love!
Such love, such wondrous love!
That God should love a sinner such as I,
How wonderful is love like this!

Such Love
Bishop, C. / Harkness, Robert© 1929. Renewed 1957 Lillenas Publishing Company (Admin. by The Copyright Company)
CCLI License No. 810055

Get into the game!

Imagine a football team running off the bench to the field where they go into a huddle. After an excited exchange about the upcoming play, they all run back to the bench and sit down, talking about the quarterback's fine words. Then, they jump up and do it all over again. But, they never play the game! (parable by Francis Chan, "Forgotten God")  

That is how many Christians live. Every Sunday they huddle up to hear the pastor's talk, then they go home and largely forget it until the next Sunday, when they do it all over again. How about getting into the game?  Chan was not belittling the value of getting together for worship and solid Biblical teaching. That's part of what God commands us to do. But, discipleship is not learning a doctrine alone. It is about living in and by the Holy Spirit!

I believe many followers of Jesus want to do God's work, but they think it requires becoming an employee of a church or ministry, or that it demands a degree in theology, or ... (you fill in the blank here). In fact, God's work waits for us all around.

• Did you pray with your kids today, sharing the Word with them as they headed out the door? That's what He tells parents to do. "Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about my commands when you are at home and when you are away on a journey, when you are lying down and when you are getting up again." (Deuteronomy 6:7, NLT)
• Did you pray for your spouse, encourage him or her, joining heart and mind in mutual submission to Him? That's discipleship!
• That guy at work who's profane, who has no time for spiritual things, needs to know Christ. "Oh, yeah," you say, "that'll happen when pigs fly." Or, when you spend real time, day after day, praying actively and specifically for him! That's discipleship.
• When a ministry at church invites participation, you can point to all the stuff you have do, at your packed schedule, and excuse yourself, or you can say "Here I am, Lord, use me." That's discipleship.
• When you're offended, you can forgive. When you want to keep your stuff, you can give it away. When you're tempted to complain, you can choose to be thankful. That's discipleship!  

There's a myth that tells us that if God is in it, if He has called us, then an 'open door' will appear in front of us, that all the difficulties will disappear, all the funding will fall into our lap, that we will wake up excited to serve every day. Nonsense! Just like ancient Israel, we have to fight to possess the Promised Land. Joshua, the leader of Israel, heard the call and the promise. "Strength! Courage! You are going to lead this people to inherit the land that I promised to give their ancestors. Give it everything you have, heart and soul. Make sure you carry out The Revelation that Moses commanded you, every bit of it. Don't get off track, either left or right, so as to make sure you get to where you're going." (Joshua 1:6-7, The Message)  

All those who respond to the Spirit need that same encouragement. It's going to get tough. Strength! Courage! The Spirit will give us both. Jesus promised that "you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." (Acts 1:8, NIV) It's not magical. It's Spiritual!

The world systems, our inner sinful nature, and the demons of darkness will all rise up to resist the call of the Spirit and our engagement with the work of the Lord. Unless you're feeling desperately dependent on the Spirit, I'd say you haven't really gotten into the game. Spiritual service is exactly that - service empowered by the Holy Spirit. Forget the martyr's attitude. Discipleship is a privilege. What compares with beating back evil's hatred and darkness and raising up Christ's love and light?

I love the prayer of this song. It sets our commitment alongside of His empowerment. I sing often as my own prayer. Even if you don't know it, I hope you will pray it.

Father of creation,

Unfold Your sov'reign plan;

Raise up a chosen generation

That will march through the land.

All of creation is longing

For Your unveiling of pow'r.

Would You release Your anointing?

Oh God, let this be the hour!

Ruler of the nations,

The world has yet to see,

The full release of Your promise;

The Church in victory!

Turn to us, Lord, and touch us

Make us strong in Your might.

Overcome our weakness

That we could stand up and fight.

Let Your glory fall in this room,

Let it go forth from here to the nations.

Let Your fragrance rest in this place,

As we gather to seek Your face.

David Ruis © 1992 Mercy / Vineyard Publishing (Admin. by Music Services, Inc.)

Oh Lord, send me into the game. Amen!

Father of Creation - YouTube video

Tears? Of Joy?

Tears of Joy

David Letterman is clever man, quick with his words, a man who can time his well-rehearsed jokes perfectly. On those occasions that I watch his show, he will make me laugh, but what I feel is not joy. In fact, underlying the humor is a weariness with the world. It appears that the only way to escape the sense of futility is to cynically poke fun at it all. I get the feeling that many comedians are actually saying, "If I don't laugh, I'll cry." Then, too, there are some who appear to be covering a deep rage at life with jokes. Perhaps they're thinking, "If I don't laugh, I'll kill somebody!" Bill Maher comes to mind.

There is a joy that differs from a few laughs. When sadness is threatening to overwhelm me, when troubling circumstances appear to far outweigh successes, when disappointments march into my life one after another - I turn to prayerful worship, not hollow laugh tracks!  A week full of stress makes me anticipate Sunday's worship gathering like a starving man longing for food! In that focus on my Heavenly Abba, the Lord's Spirit comes over me. Frequently I find tears flowing down my face, but they are not coming from a broken heart. They are tears of joy. I am not alone in this. A young boy whose mother died several years ago started attending our church. His dad told me that during worship, the boy often cries, but like me, he says that his tears comes from a sense of peace and relief.  The songs, he says, make me feel 'really happy inside.'

We who the Presence of the Spirit are privileged to know something called the joy of the Lord. Nehemiah, the re-builder of Jerusalem, called the people of God together to read them the Law. As they heard it, they realized the depth of their sin and they began to weep. "Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who were instructing the people said to them all, "This day is sacred to the LORD your God. Do not mourn or weep." For all the people had been weeping as they listened to the words of the Law. Nehemiah said, "Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength." (Nehemiah 8:8-12, NIV)

There is a profound spiritual joy that gives us an ability to rise above our circumstances, to go through dark days and not to be crushed by them. That joy grows out of our assurance that there is more to life than what we can see at this moment. We rest in His rule, waiting for Him to make a way where there seems to be no way. We take our guilt to Him and we are forgiven and reconciled. We ask for faith to accept His grace and learn that even those things that we would never choose for ourselves are a means of knowing Him more deeply. In the Spirit's life, we find joy!

Are you sorrowful today? There's no sin in sorrow! Grief has many causes.

Are you wrestling with temptation to the point of exhaustion?

Are you frustrated with something that won't yield to your best efforts at finding a solution?

Has someone you loved rejected you?

Is life not at all what you thought it could or should be?

Are you angry with the Lord for allowing things to develop in your life that you did not expect?

The "joy of the Lord is your strength." Instead of making a joke of it all, or hiding your disappointment bravely, may I suggest that you find a place of worship? No, it need not necessarily be a church, though I hope you'll find your way there. Just find someplace alone with the Lord. Tell Him what's weighing you down, then thank Him for Who He is! Give it up. If tears flow, let them, for they are a language that the Man of Sorrows understands. Joy will find you as the Spirit fills you.

Make this word from the Word your confession so that the joy of the Lord will overtake your sorrow.

"Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." (Psalm 73:23-26, NIV)

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God." (2 Corinthians 1:3-4, NIV) "He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us."  (2 Corinthians 1:10, NIV) 

Two simple words; one major change

Want to revolutionize your relationship with other people building strong ties? Want to know a deeper, richer walk with the Lord? Want to know a greater serenity?  Now there is a build-up.  I promise you that I have not oversold this concept.  It is amazingly simple, but often ignored.  Here goes – “Be thankful!”   The command is unadorned, without qualification: "No matter what happens, always be thankful, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus." (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, NLT)

Do you love to gripe and complain? It can be, and often is, a habit that gets worse with age. Little kids seem to know how to be happy with almost nothing.  I spoke to about 30 kids between the ages of 5 and 12 last Sunday night.  We did a little exercise called, “How’s it goin’?”  in which I let them put their initials on a poster near a number.  1 meant “life is awful.”  5 meant “life is great.”  Out of all those kids only 2 rated life below 4.  Take the same number of adults and do the same thing. I guarantee a result that is very different.  The refrain for so many of us is “Life doesn’t suit me.”  Hey, I’m often guilty, too.

Oh that we would realize the high cost of constant complaining. Ingratitude is a thief. It takes away our ability to receive the grace God has given us for this day. It blinds us to the goodness of another. It keeps us miserable even in the middle of seasons of blessings. It blocks us from participating positively in the lives of others.  It is impossible to be full of complaint and to exercise deep faith at the same time.  The people of God were miraculously led out of slavery, guided by the Lord on a journey to the Promised Land.  Exodus tells us that they griped day in and day out.  God fed them with “manna,” a perfect food and were they grateful? No! The ridiculousness of their complaint is obvious to us, but they did not see it. "We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost—also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!” (Numbers 11:5-6, NIV)  Are you kidding me? No cost?  You were slaves!  They complained about their leadership, about the difficulties of the task, about dying in the wilderness even though God had promised them life beyond their imagination.  Now, let’s get serious.  Eventually, their ingratitude cost them their lives. When the Lord’s patience was exhausted, He told them their whole generation would die without receiving His promise; and they did!

We need not ignore our problems or our pain. God does not ask us to deny reality.  But He invites us to "Pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done." (Philippians 4:6, NLT) When we invite Him to enter our lives, to shed the light into the darkness, to make a way where there seems to be no way; when we thank Him for Who He is and accept the grace He has prepared for this day, we will find the rest of that passage true. "If you do this, you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:7, NLT)

Two simple words will change everything. They are “thank you.”  When you are grateful, people will love your company and you will  have more friends. When you are grateful, you will develop eyes to see beyond the trials of this day and gain hope, which will allow you to change. When you are grateful, God can work in you, through you, and around you.  There is a lie that keeps many in slavery to their worries, that robs today’s joy.  What is it?  My happiness lies outside of me, in a different place, a different time, a different set of circumstances.  The truth is that we can live joyfully today, right where we are.

Here’s a word from the Word. Your choice is to accept it and live in it, or to excuse yourself because you would rather complain. "This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it." (Psalm 118:24, NLT)

So, I choose thankfulness and receive His joy.

_________________

Joyful joyful we adore Thee

God of glory Lord of love

Hearts unfold like flowers before Thee

Opening to the sun above

Melt the clouds of sin and sadness

Drive the dark of doubt away

Giver of immortal gladness

Fill us with the light of day

All Thy works with joy surround Thee

Earth and heaven reflect Thy rays

Stars and angels sing around Thee

Center of unbroken praise

Field and forest vale and mountain

Flowery meadow flashing sea

Chanting bird and flowing fountain

Call us to rejoice in Thee

Thou art giving and forgiving

Ever blessing ever blest

Wellspring of the joy of living

Ocean depth of happy rest

Thou our Father Christ our Brother

All who live in love are Thine

Teach us how to love each other

Lift us to the joy divine

Mortals join the mighty chorus

Which the morning stars began

Father love is reigning o'er us

Brother love binds man to man

Ever singing march we onward

Victors in the midst of strife

Joyful music lifts us sunward

In the triumph song of life

Edward Hodges | Henry Van Dyke | Ludwig van Beethoven

Public Domain

Building Bridges?

It started as a difference of opinion, grew into a disagreement, escalated into an argument, and ended in a fight!  No, not all in one day. The ‘thing’ went on for weeks, with days of quiet and moments of engagement. Most puzzling of all is not knowing how to resolve it, or even understanding why it started in the first place. I wish it were possible to peel back the multiple layers of another's thought process so I could see what is really going, don’t you? How can two people look at the same situation and reach completely different and opposing conclusions?

In those situations, the natural impulse is to go to battle. When I have to deal with a person who frustrates every my attempt at reasonable dialogue I pains me to admit that I too often think - "Not again!"  That attitude is a basic failure of love.  When I am willing to write off a relationship as ‘beyond repair’ and to abandon it, I reveal my self-love, that I value my comfort more than that relationship. Whether we are talking about a 'casual' friendships or a long-standing marriage, if we allow conflict to bring about separation, it is really a failure of love. Christians, who are to be first and foremost characterized by love for one another, cannot afford to walk away from each other, leaving issues unresolved. They will sap energy like an infected wound brings fever to the body!

A friend once wrote to me and encouraged me to be 'in the bridge-building business.'  His counsel reflects the demands of God for disciples of Christ. Nowhere does God's Word tell us that we should expect to live without conflict, but it does teach us that we must approach conflict differently. Take a look - "Be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. Always keep yourselves united in the Holy Spirit, and bind yourselves together with peace. We are all one body, we have the same Spirit, and we have all been called to the same glorious future." (Ephesians 4:1-4, NLT) What a practical passage, but full of challenging concepts: humility, gentleness, patience, tolerance!

Never under-estimate the power of prayer when working through a conflict, be it in your marriage, at work, with a neighbor, in your family, or in the world! Jesus tells us to "Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you." (Luke 6:28, KJV)  The Message says, "When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer for that person."  As I wrote last week, we may be tempted to pray “Get’em God” prayers that reveal our anger. (Vindication)  Yes, we can and we should take our anger and/or frustration to the Lord. However, our prayers need to mature beyond “help them to see how right I am” to “Lord, open my ears and my heart. Help me to listen to You, to the one who is arguing with me. Be our peace.”  

Bridge-builders cannot seek vindication first. They must be committed to reconciliation. That does not mean that we give up on the truth or wave the flag of surrender to purchase peace at any price. We patiently allow the truth to mature, to develop; yes, in us as well as our opponent. Humility is a key. Dying to self means we give up our desire to be comfortable – either by walking off or exercising power to win! to self. In constant prayer, we lay ourselves down before Him. Yes, it is true that when we 'give up and give in' to Him, the Spirit comes with new life, new love, new peace.

Never forget that just as we can ‘wage war,’ we can ‘make peace!’ Here’s a word from the Word. "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God." (Matthew 5:9, NIV) “You’re blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That’s when you discover who you really are, and your place in God’s family." (Matthew 5:9, The Message)

So, I'm going to be a bridge-builder - with God's help! How about you?
__________________________

I found this appropriate to my life today. Perhaps you will, too.

The Paradoxical Commandments

People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered. Love them anyway.

If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives. Do good anyway.

If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies. Succeed anyway.

The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.

Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable. Be honest and frank anyway.

The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds. Think big anyway.

People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs. Fight for a few underdogs anyway.

What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. Build anyway.

People really need help but may attack you if you do help them. Help people anyway.

Give the world the best you have and you'll get kicked in the teeth.
Give the world the best you have anyway.

© Copyright Kent M. Keith 1968, renewed 2001