At Home In Your Own Skin

There is a mark of maturity that I love to see in others, in myself. What is it?  Learning to accept myself and be ‘at home’ in my own skin.  People who have grown past the need to impress, perform, or get everyone’s approval are so refreshing because they are authentic, have integrity, and are at peace.  And, they are a rare species in our image-making culture! Bombarded by messages of who we need to be, about values that are the ‘right’ ones, about the perfect body type … too many of us try to become ‘somebody’ other than the person we really are. By the way, I am not talking about avoiding self-improvement, gaining knowledge, or growing into social grace. There is nothing beautiful in a graceless slob who revels in his ignorance!  The person I admire is the one who refuses to lets people he doesn’t like pressure him into being someone he is not; who knows the healing love and amazing grace of our Father in Heaven, and thus lives authentically for Christ.

Jesus reserved His most critical words for a group of people who were full of religious zeal – the Pharisees. Our modern caricature of them fails to account for their scrupulous discipline and desire to be godly. They worked hard at learning the Law and developed detailed rules for life so that they could avoid sinning. There is much to praise in the pursuit of a holy life. We are ALL called to live that way. Yet Jesus called them “hypocrites” and compared them to nicely painted tombs that looked great on the outside but were full of death! What was wrong with them? They looked around for approval instead of up! They measured themselves against each other rather than seeking God’s transformation of the heart. Jesus anger with them was intense. “You’re hopeless, you religion scholars and Pharisees! Frauds! You burnish the surface of your cups and bowls so they sparkle in the sun, while the insides are maggoty with your greed and gluttony. Stupid Pharisee! Scour the insides, and then the gleaming surface will mean something." (Matthew 23:25-26, The Message)

Are you making the mistake of putting on a persona that you think pleases God and/or earns the approval of other Christians? 

Are you saying words you do not mean, praying in ways that are disconnected from your life and experience, refusing to deal with yourself?

Jesus tells us that the way to actually please God begins with humility. Comparing the prayers of two men, He teaches us about being real. “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ (By the way, Jesus does not say this man was lying. He probably was upright and living a life that looked good. But, he was proud and inauthentic.)  “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luke 18:10-15, NIV) The publican admitted to himself that he needed God!

The whole story of authenticity is not just in reveling in our sinfulness. God desires that we grow up in grace, genuinely at peace with His gifts and callings in our lives. Paul points us in the right direction when he reminds us that while we know who we are and where we are today, we press on in the Spirit to ‘’take hold of that for which God took hold of me.”  His desire was a real holiness, one that started deep inside and changed him into a whole person. "I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. …  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. Therefore, my brothers, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, that is how you should stand firm in the Lord, dear friends!" (Philippians 3:14-4:2, NIV)  

When we feel insecure, when we think we need to become ‘somebody’ that will make others (or even the Lord Himself) love us, we will be tempted to play games, put on a ‘face,’ twisting ourselves in someone unrecognizable.  In those moments, we need to recall that God made us unique, that He loves us in our all our imperfection (as we see it), and that His Spirit is equipping to deal authentically with life. As we ‘die to Self’ and let ourselves be ‘hidden in Christ,’ a mysterious work begins to occur:  we get real, grow up, and become people through whom God pours His love into a broken world. Does it get any better than that?

A word from the Word - "What marvelous love the Father has extended to us! Just look at it—we’re called children of God! That’s who we really are. But that’s also why the world doesn’t recognize us or take us seriously, because it has no idea who He is or what He’s up to. But friends, that’s exactly who we are: children of God. And that’s only the beginning. Who knows how we’ll end up! What we know is that when Christ is openly revealed, we’ll see him—and in seeing him, become like him. …  This is the only way we’ll know we’re living truly, living in God’s reality. It’s also the way to shut down debilitating self-criticism, even when there is something to it. For God is greater than our worried hearts and knows more about us than we do ourselves." (1 John 3:1-2, 19-20, The Message)

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A story about generosity

In 1892, the concert pianist, Paderewski, played a concert at Stanford University at the invitation of one Herbert Hoover, a poor student, who along with a friend, sponsored the concert to earn funds for his education. When the concert ended, the students discovered that they were $400 short of the $2000 fee. They promised Paderewski the balance, explaining that their predicament. The generous man, returned the $1600 they had, told them to take their expenses from it and give him whatever was left over! 

Paderewski went on to become the Prime Minister of Poland. When World War 1 broke out, that country was devastated and people were starving. He reached out the United States to the office of Food and Relief. The head of that office was one Herbert Hoover, who promptly set about to send tons of grain to help feed the Polish people. When Paderewski offered profuse thanks to Hoover, the young man, a future President of the US, reminded him of his generosity in 1892, which the pianist Prime Minister had completely forgotten!  Such is the nature of generosity!  We reap what we sow.

My heart jumps for joy when I interact with a person who has a generous spirit. They are positive towards others, speaking encouragement, hope for the best, and give of their resources and themselves. They make the world a richer place.  Jesus told a story about a man who failed the generosity test at the point where it is most important. “The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ “This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.” (Luke 12:16-21, NIV)

Are you ‘rich toward God’? Is your worship lavish? Do you serve to meet minimal expectations or in a way that reflects passion for Jesus and His Kingdom? 

Jesus spoke to some religious professionals who were not ‘rich toward God.’  They carefully calculated the tithe (10%) on even the herbs from their garden, but did not practice justice towards others.  Jesus’ words with regard to them are scathing: “How terrible it will be for you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest part of your income, but you ignore the important things of the law—justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but you should not leave undone the more important things." (Matthew 23:23, NLT) 

Love does not calculate returns. It overflows! If we are carefully keeping record of what we think God owes us, if we are clinging to our time, our money; yes, to our Self – we are not ‘rich toward God.’ Jesus said that the man who took such good care of himself was a ‘fool!’ Strong word, isn’t it?  He failed to understand that eternity waited and those things he had carefully laid aside for his own comfort would be spent by another. In 1956, a bright young father whose life was full of promise died on a beach in the Amazon, during an attempt to reach a remote tribal people with the Gospel of Christ. Jim and four friends had generously invested their lives in missionary work which was hard, which provided few earthly rewards, and ultimately they died in the cause.  Elliott was living his motto - "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose."

Generosity is inspired by love and kept alive by a sense of the rich resources we find only in the limitless storehouse of our Lord. Are you a selfish fool or a rich wise man?

Take these words from the Word to heart. "Walk out into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They never primp or shop, but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them. “If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don’t you think he’ll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you?

What I’m trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God’s giving. People who don’t know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met." (Matthew 6:28-33, The Message)

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Be Thou my vision
O Lord of my heart
Naught be all else to me
Save that Thou art
Thou my best thought
By day or by night
Waking or sleeping
Thy presence my light

 Be Thou my wisdom
Be Thou my true Word
I ever with Thee
And Thou with me Lord
Thou my great Father
I Thy true son
Thou in me dwelling
And I with Thee one

 Riches I heed not
Nor man's empty praise
Thou mine inheritance
Now and always
Thou and Thou only
Be first in my heart
High King of heaven
My treasure Thou art

 High King of heaven
When vict'ry is won
May I reach heaven's joys
O bright heaven's Sun
Heart of my own heart
Whatever befall
Still be my vision
O Ruler of all

Eleanor Henrietta Hull | Mary Elizabeth Byrne © Words: Public Domain

How Ignorant Can You Be?

The panelist on the news program made no effort to conceal her disgust with those on the ‘other side.’ Her professed aim was dialogue. Her demeanor spoke more than her words and plainly said, “I think you are ignorant, unworthy of my time.” Her intellect and accomplishments blinded her to any other perspective other than her own. Recently I read about a professor who is black and an evangelical Christian. George Yancey said that he has experienced active discrimination because of his race but that it is nothing compared to the prejudice he deals with in academia where it is widely assumed that no one could be an intellectual and a serious Christian at the same time. He finds it nearly impossible to bridge the chasm that pride, presuppositions, and stereotypes create. (http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/08/opinion/sunday/a-confession-of-liberal-intolerance.html)

The conceit of 'knowing it all' is not just the curse of the rich, or the famous, or the Right, or the Left, or the Christian, or of the atheist! 

A man just assumes a woman could never understand his world. 
A woman decides, in advance, he would not want to understand hers.
A black American insists that a white one ‘doesn’t get it,’ and the white American simply decides it’s easier not to have the conversation.
Republicans and Democrats talk past each other, hearing the words but missing the meaning, both convinced they are the better patriots. 
Young and old people do it. 
Parent, do you listen to your child or are you so full of 'adult' that you do not really pay attention?

"Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love." (Ephesians 4:2, NIV) Those few words are packed with meaning for us who are secure in the love of Christ Jesus.  We freely acknowledge that we do not know it all, we are able to listen with a tenderness that allows them to speak.  We are marked by patience that lets them find their words and thoughts and, even when they are simply wrong, we are willing to hold on, steadying the dialogue with careful reason as we search for clarity. Among Bible’s collection of wisdom, we find these gems:  "Better to live humbly with the poor than to share plunder with the proud. Those who listen to instruction will prosper; those who trust the Lord will be joyful. The wise are known for their understanding, and pleasant words are persuasive." (Proverbs 16:19-21, NLT)  

I am not suggesting that all ideas are of equal merit. There are a lot of foolish people spouting nonsense in our world. (I think that 24/7 cable news channels exist for them.) Our response cannot be to shout louder, to demean people with attacks. In the Spirit of Christ, let us pray for humility, for the ability to listen, to really talk with others – even those who far from our perspective. There is much to learn when we let the Light in us shine in every situation.

Here is a word from the Word.  Lord, speak to us.  "About that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?” Jesus called a little child to him and put the child among them. Then he said, “I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven." (Matthew 18:1-4, NLT)

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Spirit of God, descend upon my heart,

Wean it from earth, thro' all its pulses move.

Stoop to my weakness, mighty as Thou art,

And make me love Thee as I ought to love.

I ask no dream, no prophet ecstasies,

No sudden rending of the veil of clay;

No angel visitant, no opening skies,

But take the dimness of my soul away.

Hast Thou not bid us love Thee, God and King,

All Thine own, soul, heart, and strength, and mind?

I see Thy cross, there teach my heart to cling.

O let me seek Thee and O let me find.

Teach me to feel that Thou art always nigh.

Teach me the struggles of the soul to bear,

To check the rising doubt, the rebel sigh,

Teach me the patience of unanswered prayer.

Teach me to love Thee as Thine angels love,

One holy passion filling all my frame,

The baptism of the heav'n descended Dove,

My heart an altar and Thy love the flame!

Frederick Cook Atkinson | George Croly

© Words: Public Domain

Set your anchor

Are you a steady person, faithful to God and others through the up’s and down’s of life? Many of us are convinced that being ‘happy’ is so important that we will discard promises, quit a job, leave a marriage, and even abandon our pursuit of God in our quest for fulfillment and not experience the slightest awareness of guilt or remorse.  Feelings reign in some like a king! Emotions do enrich us. God made us capable of knowing joy, sorrow, love, hate, peace, and fear. We need not adopt a stoic detachment to live whole lives. But, beware - emotions as changeable as the weather.

Is your relationship with God primarily based on emotions? 
Have you set an expectation that loving God means always feeling ‘in love’ with Him?

Our soul surges with devotion and faith today, but then the next day we wonder if our prayers are making it past the ceiling. We may awaken to the dawn with a joyful songs of assurance in the morning only to find ourselves feeling adrift and lost as evening sets in. Such swings of emotion do not indicate that we are broken or that our faith is flawed! It reveals that we are ‘human.’  

That is why the Scripture teaches us about perseverance! "Do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. For in just a very little while, “He who is coming will come and will not delay. But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him.” But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved. Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." (Hebrews 10:35-11:1, NIV)  Where you read ‘persevere’ in that passage, the Greek (the New Testament’s original language) word is ‘hupomone,’ which literally means ‘to stand under.’  It describes a steadfast commitment, the choice to be loyal, to hold onto purpose.

Our Christianity needs to be anchored in God, not in ourselves! We trust in His unwavering promises, in His immutable (unchangeable) character, in His perfect salvation. The Word tells us that "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." (James 1:17, NIV)  God never blows hot and cold like we do. He is not the God who says “yes,” when He means “no.”   

After a time of intense difficulties in which he despaired of life itself, Paul wrote about the strength of the Lord that sustained him, that will keep us as well. "For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God. Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come." (2 Corinthians 1:20-22, NIV)

Set your anchor on the Rock, Christ Jesus. Do not deny your emotions, but do control them. Here is practical counsel for us, that will keep us steady, on course, and effective in the service of the Lord.  "Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings. It is good for our hearts to be strengthened by grace." (Hebrews 13:7-9, NIV)

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Father, do a work in my heart and mind

that will help me to enjoy the richness of my emotions

but that keeps me from being a slave to my feelings.

May the promises of Your Word and the

guiding Presence of the Spirit keep me

on true course for my eternal home.

Teach me to build strong, lasting ties

to those who have a mature, consistent faith

so that their example and leadership will be

a valued resource for this life.

Jesus, may I grow daily in Your grace. Amen

What’s that smell?

The human sense of smell (Olfaction) is probably the most under-rated of our senses. Humans can differentiate between millions of odors. Did you know you can smell emotion? Things like fear and disgust produce sweat that betrays the emotion even if the person tries to conceal it. Our emotional response to others is sometimes an unconscious reaction to the way they smell, and I just don’t that sweet perfume or wretched body odor, either! We enjoy a great meal as much through the sense of smell as we do our taste buds! Women usually have a better sense of smell than men, but every wife knows that, right? By the way, your dog’s sense of smell is about 44 times better than yours.

The Bible says that God, “through us, spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life.” (2 Corinthians 2:14, NIV)  Our lives should awaken an awareness of Christ Jesus today as we bear the distinctive mark of His love and goodness. Those who live and work around us will develop an imprint similar to one that a beautiful woman who is wearing just the right perfume creates as she walks through a room. Ask any man if he’s ever noticed a fragrance before a face?

Regardless of how much deodorant we put on, each of us has a unique odor that comes from our body chemistry. Our smell can be masked, improved by good hygiene (please!), changed by disease or illness, but we just have our own unique olfactory stamp.  Jesus creates a unique fragrance in us, too; one that cannot just be sprayed on in the morning! The sweetness of His Presence develops in us and becomes a part of who we are, making an unforgettable impression on others when we spend time alongside of them.  Some, the Scripture says, will detect Jesus in us and react to Him as one would to a beautiful fragrance. Others will recoil from His Presence in us like humans do to the stench of a decaying corpse.

The question is – is the smell of Jesus’ life on you, in you?  

Do you want to spread the aroma of Christ in your world?

Come to Jesus and let Him wash you clean.
Paul talks of the stink of sin that we once carried, but then tells us that "you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." (1 Corinthians 6:11, NIV)  Are you ‘clean’ through Christ?

Ask the Spirit to fill you with new life, a transformation that is inside out! 
Let love replace hate, joy replace sorrow, peace replace anxiety.  Remember, living in the Spirit is an ongoing experience, not a once and done thing. We are being “transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”  (2 Corinthians 3:18, NIV)

This new week pray to carry the beautiful fragrance of Christ with you. Pray for His Presence to be remarkably part of you. And, make a Kingdom difference for the glory of your Savior!

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Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in me,

All His wonderful passion and purity.

Savior divine, all my nature refine,

‘Till Your beauty is seen in me.

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