Walking With Jesus

A Dryer That Folds Laundry?

“Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.” (James 5:16 NLT)

When you get married, “morning breath” takes on a whole new meaning. All the lovey-dovey slobber-swappin’ that you did the night before pales quickly in light of the new odors that present themselves with the morning light. You’d think by now someone would have invented something you could put under your tongue or hang around your neck that would absorb all the foul odors our mouth and bodies create. Aren’t you grateful for toothpaste, mouthwash, soap, and shampoo?

Then, of course, our bodies love to share their “delightful” smells with whatever clothes we put on them, thus, the heightened value of washers and dryers. But our work doesn’t end with simply washing and drying our dirty laundry, we need to fold them and put them away. Wouldn’t it be nice if someone would invent a dryer that would fold your clothes?

“Okay, Ed, thanks for the “BO” and stinky laundry lesson, but what does any of this have to do with walking with Jesus?” Actually, quite a lot. Have you ever spent an extended period around anyone with a “smelly,” negative attitude? What if it’s a spouse, parent, child, or close friend? Unfortunately, most of us are reluctant to share what’s really bothering us, even with those we love the most.

Part of the problem stems from the fact that there are times when we genuinely don’t know what’s bothering us. My wife is great about sharing her feelings, but me, not so good. By God’s grace I’m getting better, but it’s typically hard for me to pinpoint why I feel the way I do sometimes.

I’ve learned that feelings can be cyclical. What does that mean? It means that I’ll often feel bad emotionally on the anniversaries of certain events. For years around the end of July I would get moody and out of sorts. Then it would dawn on me, it was the anniversary of my divorce. The same kind of thing can happen on the anniversary of the passing of a loved one or close friend. Even the remembrance of our failures and sins can put us in a downward spiral.

It’s in those times the words of James (above) can give us guidance. Do you have someone you can trust enough to tell your darkest secrets? Yeh, I get it – they’re few and far between, but ask the Lord to give you insight into a person like that in your life. Hopefully, if you’re married, your spouse can be that kind of person for you, but if not, look for a believing friend who loves Jesus and loves you with whom you can be totally transparent.

Because “the devil is in the details,” please be careful that, if you’re a man you’re talking with another man and if you’re a woman, choose another woman. Sharing intimate things about ourselves with someone of the opposite sex can be an invitation for intimacy in other ways that would be damaging to your marriage and dishonoring to your Savior.

Ideally, a small group of like-minded men or women, or even couples, can be a blessing from heaven. The point is, we need people in our lives with whom we can air our “dirty laundry.” The longer our sins remain hidden and private, the smellier they become, often leaving us in a state of discontent that results in us repelling the very people whom we need the most.

Yes, of course, it’s vital that we confess our sins to the Lord, but often the break-through we need doesn’t come until we’re honest with someone else about our sin, shame, and guilt. And many times this can happen when we reach out to someone we’ve hurt or who has hurt us.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Spiritual Warfare

“Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil.” (Ephesians 6:13 NLT)

In yesterday’s post we looked at an early chapter in the lives of the children of Israel as they began their conquest of the land the Lord had promised them. Sometimes I’m tempted to believe that we view physical warfare as more hazardous and difficult than spiritual warfare, but we do that to our peril.

Demons are no joke and the evil that is often disguised by expensive clothes and nice cars is setting the stage for a war the likes of which no one currently living has ever experienced. And please understand, I have nothing but respect and appreciation for our military and police who go to literal battle for the freedoms we enjoy and too often take for granted. But the stakes in physical battle are physical deaths.

What’s on the line when dealing with the enemy of our soul is eternal damnation. When we pray for the souls of our loved ones and friends who are lost, if we fail to take that battle seriously, there could be eternal consequences, not for us, but for them. We must not be lax when it comes to the battles we wage in prayer.

The Lord spoke clearly to Joshua and when he shared God’s plan there’s no indication in Scripture that anyone did anything but fully and completely carry out His plan. That’s got to be our response to His directives when we pray. Looking at the “walls” of resistance you’re facing in your life, how should you proceed?

First, listen carefully. But how? The Holy Spirit speaks in many ways, but usually in a way that He knows we will recognize. For me, He speaks through His Word, the Bible; through authors of books that I read; through other believers I trust and know they live closely to the Lord; through my wife; through circumstances of my life; through nature; through meditation and thoughtful consideration of an issue with which I’m dealing; through pain and suffering. I sometimes do my most serious praying when I don’t feel good physically. But one of the ways He speaks to me most powerfully is through the still, quiet voice of my own spirit. The point is – God speaks! So, our first response must be to take the time and make the effort to listen. We can’t hear when we’re not listening.

Second, believe what He tells you. The army of Israel did exactly what the Lord instructed them to do. If you think about it, no reputable military strategist in the world would have come up with a plan like God’s, yet, when carried out it worked like no other plan could have.

Third, take God at His word and obey what He tells you to do. A word of caution. God will NEVER tell you to do anything that contradicts His written words in Scripture. Verify whatever you think you’re hearing with God’s written word.

Fourth, they watched God do what only He could do, then they did what only they could do. Without believing, persistent prayer we’ll not see the victories God has for us. The most critical issues with which I deal in prayer pertain to the souls of my lost loved ones, friends, and neighbors. I can’t save anyone, but I can share words of life that are ignited and empowered by God’s Spirit, and so can you, my beloved friend, so can you!

God will do what only He can do when we commit to seriously doing what only we can do.

Blessings, Ed 😊

What Walls Are You Marching Around?

“It was by faith that the people of Israel marched around Jericho for seven days, and the walls came crashing down.” (Hebrews 11:30 NLT)

What is it that you’re desperate for God to do for you? Is it financial? Health related? A relationship? A job or career issue? A lost loved one or friend? Whatever it is, on some levels it’s like the Israelites when they faced their first battle after finally crossing the Jordan river into what they hoped would soon become their promised land.

Sometimes when I read the Bible, I don’t stop to ask questions, but when I do that, I often miss the blessing of seeing something of real value and hearing from the Lord. The Bible isn’t simply comprised of words on a page, it’s an alive and breathing portrayal of life and death, faith and hope, victory and defeat. It’s a chronicle of our lives from which we can gain valuable insight if we’ll take the time and make the effort.

Think of the children of Israel as they stood on the shoreline of what it meant to be free. For the most part this is the 2^nd generation of free Israelites. They are the children of the slaves who had served the Egyptians their whole lives. These men and women had never known slavery, but neither had they ever had an opportunity to live a life that approximated any sense of being normal. They’d been camping in the wilderness trying to eek out an existence their whole lives.

The men had been well trained, but most had never seen battle and were far from being the seasoned warriors with whom they would soon square off. And to compound the problem, the first city they have to conquer has huge walls that surround the whole city. So, what’s their strategy? They do the only reasonable thing they can – they pray!

And what does God tell them to do? Joshua 6:3-5 says: “You and your fighting men should march around the town once a day for six days. Seven priests will walk ahead of the Ark, each carrying a ram’s horn. On the seventh day you are to march around the town seven times, with the priests blowing the horns. When you hear the priests give one long blast on the rams’ horns, have all the people shout as loud as they can. Then the walls of the town will collapse, and the people can charge straight into the town.”

Okay, sounds reasonable. Get a little exercise (the town of Jericho was estimated to be about 1.24 miles around), play a little music, but it doesn’t seem like a very effective military strategy. Yet, when they obeyed God’s directives to the letter, the walls came down and Israel won the victory. Okay, that’s all well and good, but what does it have to do with the “walls” I’m facing? That’s a great question, I’m so glad you asked!

Here’s my takeaway. We must do as the children of Israel: they prayed, they listened, they believed, they exercised their faith by obeying exactly what the Lord told them to do, then they watched God work. Remember, prayer is the work, then God works. What’s my point? For the most part, for us as believers in Jesus, our battles aren’t physical, they’re spiritual.

Paul writes in Ephesians 6:12: “For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.” Then he goes into the necessity of being well equipped by putting on the whole armor only God can provide.

This is too rich to leave it hang, let’s look at this a little more closely in tomorrow’s post.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Are You Clinging to the Cross?

“Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, ‘One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.’” (Mark 10:21 NKJV)

There’s a story that Mark shares in chapter 10 about a man who came running up to Jesus, knelt before Him and asked: “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” That’s a question a lot of people are asking today: “What must I do?” The question behind the question is essentially: “How can I earn or deserve my place in heaven?”

Today the question is framed a little differently, but it’s the same message: “How can I live in a way that will reward me with all the riches of this world, all the pleasures, all the advantages, all the excesses, and still give me my rightful place in heaven.” And the premise behind the question is: “Because I’m a good person and I deserve the best of everything!”

Let’s notice some things about the Biblical account (Mark 10:17-21) First, the young man knew who Jesus was. Second, the man who came to Jesus was Biblically literate – he knew the Commandments. Third, he was disciplined – he’d kept the Commandments, at least in his mind. Fourth, he was, from all outward appearances, a genuinely good human being. Fifth, Jesus loved Him. Sixth, he was very wealthy. Seventh, he ultimately decided to love his wealth more than Jesus. What’s my point?

He’s the average church-going American. A lot of folks today want Jesus, they just don’t want to change the way they’re living. In short, they don’t want to pick up their cross and follow Him. What does it mean to “take up the cross?” What did it mean for Jesus?

It meant utter denial of all He wanted in favor of all God, His Heavenly Father, wanted. A few chapters later, in Mark 14:36 Jesus prayed: “’Abba, Father,’ He cried out, ‘everything is possible for You. Please take this cup of suffering away from Me.’” What “cup of suffering?” His betrayal, mocking, beating, torture that would have killed the average man before they ever made it to the Cross. He was human and in the shadow of the Cross even Jesus wanted a way out. But, unlike the rich young man, Jesus didn’t turn and walk away.

John MacArthur wrote: “The cross is proof of both the immense love of God and the profound wickedness of sin.”

Jesus boldly confessed His desire to please His Father above Himself, praying: “Yet I want Your will to be done, not Mine.” Self-denial and sacrifice are the ways of the cross. We may not be commanded to sell all we have, but we, nonetheless, are directed to treat it as if it’s garbage compared with the all-encompassing majesty and glory of our Savior.

The “cross” to us is choosing Jesus – His will, His way, His glory, His honor – above and before – our will, our way, our glory, our honor! In light of the privilege of being called a child of God we reckon all things in comparison worthless.

Paul wrote in Philippians 3:8-9: “Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For His sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with Him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with Himself depends on faith.”

So, by God’s grace and with His help, I’m clinging to that old rugged Cross. How about you?

Blessings, Ed 😊

Self-Worth and Net-Worth

“Can a mother forget her little child and not have love for her own son? Yet even if that should be, I will not forget you. See, I have tattooed your name upon my palm”(Isaiah 49:15-16 TLB)

One of the reasons a lot of people miss Jesus is because they’re too busy trying to make a name for themselves. They’re so consumed with the drive to make more so they can get more so they, at least in their own eyes, can be more, they bypass their need of the only One whose opinion of them matters.

Somewhere along the way we’ve gotten our significance mixed up with our net-worth, believing if we have wealth and prestige we can impress others and feel good about ourselves. Our value becomes tied to our bottom line. How differently the Lord sees us.

One of my favorite Christmas movies is “It’s a Wonderful Life” with James Stewart, Donna Reed, and Lionel Barrymore. James Stewart plays the part of a young man with big dreams. All he can think about is getting an education so he can shake the dust of Bedford Falls off his shoes and never look back. He wants to travel the world and build sky-scrapers and bridges so he can have a sense of accomplishment so he can feel his life matters.

As it turns out, he marries a local girl and takes over the Building and Loan that his father had started. He stays in Bedford Falls, has children, and builds a good life. At one point, due to no fault of his own, his Building and Loan comes up short a lot of money, so he decides his life is worth more dead than alive, but he’s given a gift from God of the ability to see what life in Bedford Falls would have been like if he’d never been born. His eyes are opened to the reality of how “rich” he really was.

That’s what needs to happen in a lot of our hearts, minds, and eyes today. God doesn’t make mistakes and every person who is born has value and infinite worth in the eyes of God. If we’re alive we have purpose, which gives value, not only to our lives, but the lives of those we love and whose lives ours touches.

In my life, though I’ve never made very much money, by God’s grace I’ve had a very “rich” life. I’ve seen poverty and experienced the joy that comes despite how much money I have or the worldly possessions I’ve accumulated. At the end of life on earth all the money in the world won’t help anyone miss hell, only Jesus can do that.

Rick Warren wrote: “One of the reasons people can’t relax is that they confuse their work and their worth. They confuse their net worth with their self-worth. They think, ‘If I work really hard and succeed at work, then I am valuable. If I’m not productive, then I’m not valuable.’ That’s a lie! But in Western culture, our identity often revolves around our work, so we overwork in an attempt to prove ourselves. We believe that if we achieve a lot, then we must be worth a lot. But your significance has nothing to do with your job, your career, or your achievements.”

In an effort to feel validated we often seek to make ourselves look better than we are, somehow hoping to gain glory and honor for ourselves. We crave the praise of men, ignoring our need to give honor and glory to God. But as Andy Stanley said: “Your glory is too small a thing to live for.”

If you’re seeking to find value and worth in the things of this world, whether material, relational, or otherwise, hoping they will make you feel better about yourself, it’s like becoming an alcoholic hoping to dull the pain of life, it’s only going to lead to self-destruction.

The only way to realize our worth is to contemplate the beauty, majesty, and riches of the One who designed and created us. He knows us best and loves us most. His plans are to give us a future and a hope, not to have us work ourselves to death for the trinkets of this world.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Are You Leaving a Hole?

“Owe nothing to anyone – except for your obligation to love one another. If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill the requirements of God’s law.” (Romans 13:8 NLT)

As followers of the Lord Jesus, when we die it’s expected that we should leave an emptiness in the hearts and lives of those whom we love and who love us. But what about our neighbors and friends? “Love your neighbor as yourself” is a commandment which, according to Jesus, is equally important to loving the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. What’s my point?

Loving God, for all intent and purpose, is valueless unless and until our love for Him translates into love for others. Years ago I heard someone ask a question that haunted me as a pastor, and haunts me today as it relates to those in my spheres of influence. They asked: “If your church was to close it’s doors, would anyone in the neighborhood of your church miss it?”

If the church I attend now would close it would be devastating to not only the surrounding neighborhoods, but to Las Vegas, the West, and on many levels, the world. But I’m not so sure about some of the churches I pastored and which I have attended.

It causes me to think about my life and the people whose lives I am touching. There are at least two aspects of this issue of leaving a “hole.” First, as it relates to your family and loved ones, don’t leave a hole of doubt as to whether you loved them. Say it every day, often. But do more than say it – live it! Be available, not just physically present, but emotionally attentive. As my precious wife will sometimes say: “Listen to me with your whole face!”

Related to that, be fiscally responsible. Don’t leave your family with a mountain of debt, but not the means to pay it. If you can’t afford to buy something and have enough investments and/or life insurance to cover your debt in the event of your death, you probably shouldn’t buy whatever it is.

But secondly, loving your family is a given, but your neighbors and friends are another story. I want my neighbors to miss me when I move away, whether to another location on earth or to heaven. And please hear my heart. I don’t expect to endear myself to every neighbor as I do to my family, but I do want them to miss the fact that I pray for them every day; that they have someone to turn to in a crisis; that I’ve been helpful to them in practical ways; but most importantly, I want my absence to bring to their mind the presence of the One I loved and about whom I talked with them and sought to reflect His image.

A lot of folks are concerned about their legacy, in terms of what they’re going to leave their family and others. But to me, money or material things pale in comparison to the fact that people know you loved and cared for them. You can leave a legacy, but not a “hole,” at least not in the way I’m thinking about it.

You’ve likely heard the expression: “When they left (either by death or separation) it was like my heart was torn out.” That’s the way I felt when my first wife left. There was definitely a “hole” in my heart and life without her. But it was a hole of regret for all I could have done and been but wasn’t.

The “hole” I want to leave is a vacuum only Jesus can fill. On a much smaller scale, it’s similar to when Jesus was preparing to leave and He comforted His disciples with the assurance that His place with them would be filled by His Holy Spirit.

I’m not suggesting that I’m Jesus, but I would love it if when I die, the Holy Spirit would comfort, encourage, empower, and enable my loved ones and friends to recognize that the “hole” that my absence leaves is being filled by God’s Spirit. And as they remember me, His presence with them reminds them of how dependent they need to be on the Holy Spirit. And how full of joy, peace, kindness, and love they are, reflected in their love for others because of the example I lived before them.

I’m not there yet, but I believe that’s what my sister’s homegoing brings to my mind, and, by God’s grace, I’m hopeful I make a lot more headway in that direction before He calls me home.

Blessings, Ed 😊

When Clarity is Called for

“There are many different languages in the world, and every language has meaning. But if I don’t understand a language, I will be a foreigner to someone who speaks it, and the one who speaks it will be a foreigner to me.” (1 Corinthians 14:10-11 NLT)

Having been on 3 mission’s trips to other countries, I know first-hand the frustration caused by not knowing the native language of the person with whom I’m trying to speak. I remember sitting with three little girls trying to communicate. I had my English/Spanish dictionary, but every time I tried to say a word in Spanish all these little girls could do was laugh. Laughter became our “common” language.

But I’ve also been engaged in conversations with people who speak fluent English but have trouble understanding my “Christianeze.” (“refers to the contained terms and jargon used within many of the branches and denominations of Christianity as a functional system of religious terminology.” Wikipedia).

It doesn’t take long to learn the particular lingo of a given group of Jesus followers. We get so accustomed to speaking about “Jesus, the Father, grace, fellowship, salvation, sin, the Word, sanctification, the Holy Spirit, the Trinity” and on and on that we wrongly assume the average unchurched person on the street will know what we’re talking about. But many of those words are lost on them. They don’t have a clue how they apply to their life.

Dr. Eric Mason rightly noted: “Just because you explained something to someone one time, doesn’t mean they got it! Clarity demands patience and relationship!” That’s why the most effective evangelism (yep, there’s one of those words 😊) grows out of relationship. When we take the time to nurture a friendship, people are more likely to let you know what they’re “hearing” and what they understand and what they don’t.

Sometimes in our zeal we can come across as confrontational, almost angry, which can lead to arguments. Someone told me a long time ago that no one is ever argued into heaven. I agree. But the fact remains that when we’re trying to help someone understand that they’re a sinner, separated from God and headed to a Christless eternity, it may not set well with them.

Keith Green, whom I learned to love and appreciate when I was a teenager in the 60’s said: “I’ve never tried to be controversial. The truth is controversial enough.” Keith was a young man on fire for Jesus who died much too soon. But his point is well taken. The Truth (Jesus) can be controversial, thus the reason for time and patience, to give rise to other opportunities to bring clarity.

There’s a young man I met when my wife and I were looking to buy something for our house. He was personable, knowledgeable, and just the kind of person I’d enjoy getting to know. So, I offered him a proposition: “If I buy this item from you, will you go to dinner with me so I can speak with you about Jesus?” He said “yes,” and that has led to multiple lunches and dinners together.

It’s been almost two years since we met and he’s still not a believer, but I continue to pray for him and reach out to him in order to bring more clarity to his understanding of who Jesus is and why it’s so critical that he understand who He is and why He came. Obviously, insight and true understanding of Jesus is a ministry of the Holy Spirit. Our words are simply conduits for the Holy Spirit to speak into a person’s life.

So, clarity, in it’s deepest and best sense, will only come to us and flow through us as we continually seek it in prayer. Prayer is the language of heaven and is the only avenue anyone gains enough clarity to say “yes” to Jesus and open their heart, mind, soul, and strength to Him.

Blessings, Ed 😊

God’s Most Loving Words

“Some people brought to Him a paralyzed man on a mat. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, ‘Be encouraged, My child! Your sins are forgiven.’” (Matthew 9:2 NLT)

If you’re a Jesus follower, do you remember the first time He told you your sins were forgiven? On some levels those words have had more impact on my heart and mind than hearing words of love and compassion. Why is that? Because His love is offered to everyone without exception, but His forgiveness is contingent upon our response to His love, not necessarily our words, but by the attitude of our heart.

In the verse above, the paralyzed man didn’t ask Jesus for forgiveness, at least not with words, but in a way that only Jesus can, He saw in the faith of this man’s friends such love for their friend, Jesus offered forgiveness to the man. Which causes me to wonder. What if, like so many I’ve met in my lifetime, there are those who might never ask for the Lord’s forgiveness?

It’s easy not to feel deserving of forgiveness, from a friend, and certainly not from God. “After how badly I messed up? I can’t forgive myself, let alone expect forgiveness from God!” I’ve felt that way and I suspect you have too. Perhaps that’s why “forgiveness” is one of God’s most loving words.

Another application of that same thought is for us to forgive someone when they’ve purposely and deliberately hurt us. In some ways it’s more liberating for us when we forgive someone than when we are forgiven. It’s like we have our hands around someone’s neck, choking the life out of them with our hatred and unforgiving spirit, but by God’s grace and with the power of His Spirit, we release our grip and forego our “right” to hate, and instead offer forgiveness.

Another loving word that we rarely like to hear is “no!” How many times have we begged God to give us something we thought would be so good for us to have? To spare my loved one! To save my marriage! To save my job or other source of income! To let me have that house, apartment, car, relationship – the list is virtually endless of things for which we’ve asked God and His answer was “no!”

“How is that loving?” you may wonder. Often, regardless of the specific request, God’s answer of “no” leads us down a path we would never have chosen for ourselves, yet one that reaps so much blessing it’s hard to imagine why we wouldn’t have desired it for ourselves. Time is a gift the Lord gives us to help us put things into proper perspective and to give us insight into what He’s known since before the beginning of time.

That’s why trust is such a critical element in our walk with Jesus. We’re so often blinded to what’s best for us, but God sees our journey from start to finish, and He has insight into what’s best for us in ways we could never figure out on our own.

Photo by mohamed abdelghaffar on Pexels.com

Another word with which we wrestle in our walk with Jesus is “wait!” We’re often like the red-faced toddler holding their breath in an effort to make us let them have their way. Stomping their feet or shrieking their displeasure. How childish we can be with our heavenly Father, who, gratefully, never loses His “cool.” He loves us far too much to let us have our way sometimes. If we’ll allow it, waiting for God’s answer can be some of the most important and beneficial times in our lives.

Patience is a virtue that is never developed instantly, it must be learned over time. God in His loving mercy offers us the opportunity to be yoked with Him, not to see how fast we can run, but to see how carefully we can listen. Often, in our haste, we misinterpret or misunderstand the loving words our Savior speaks, not because we don’t hear them, but because we don’t want to obey them.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Seeing Things Imperfectly (Part 2)

“So all of us who have had the veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord – who is the Spirit – makes us more and more like Him as we are changed into His glorious image.” (2 Corinthians 3:18 NLT)

Based on what I wrote in yesterday’s post, someone may conclude that everything we believe is up for grabs, but that isn’t what I said and is certainly not the “takeaway” I wanted anyone to get. Every human being is imperfect and defiled by sin. The only exception is Jesus. And because He is an exception, He alone was able to pay the penalty for our sin and remove from the “faces” of those who choose to put their trust in Him, the veil of ignorance that hardened our heart to the truth of who Jesus is and what He accomplished on the Cross.

The Bible is clear on many things, especially regarding who Jesus is, what He came to accomplish, and what faith and trust in Him can enable us to become to His honor and fame. Yes, of course, there are points of doctrine on which we may disagree, but the vast majority of Scripture allows us to see clearly what we need to believe and have full confidence in the Bible’s authority and accuracy.

Even in the early years of the Church there were misunderstandings and false teachers who were leading people to believe wrong things, thus the reason the Apostles created this early creed as a guide and guard to the basic doctrines of faith that would keep us grounded in our faith in Christ.

“I believe in God the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, who suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried, descended into hell, rose again from the dead on the third day, ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty, who will come again to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.” *Note “holy catholic Church” has reference to the Church Universal comprised of all those who have been born again by faith in the Lord Jesus. It does not have reference to the Roman Catholic Church)

The goal of our faith in Christ is intimacy with the Father made possible by trust in what Jesus did on the Cross in our place. In John 14 Jesus explained that He was in the Father and the Father was in Him. (14:16) Why is that important? Because if we lose sight of who Jesus is – God in human flesh – we can more easily be sidetracked by variations of belief about Jesus that range anywhere from a good teacher, to a misinformed lunatic.

Only God has the power and authority to defeat Satan and to free us from our bondage to sin. Without full trust and confidence in the fact that Jesus is God, it casts shadows of doubt on His virgin birth, His sinless life, His resurrection from the dead, and His ascension back to heaven where He continues to bear intercession for the saints (us).

The more clearly we see Jesus, the more closeness we’ll enjoy with His Father, who is now, by faith, OUR Father. We also, because of who Jesus is, are given the Holy Spirit who teaches us, leads us, informs our daily decisions, and empowers us to overcome sin, walk faithfully in obedience to His directives, and share the Good News of His life, death, resurrection, and ascension with those who now walk in darkness, the same darkness out of which we’ve been delivered.

Yes, of course we see things imperfectly now, but the longer we walk with Jesus the clearer the truth of who He is and what He desires of us becomes, and the more certainty we can have in the authority of Scripture and the glorious end He will bring to those who know and love Him.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Seeing Things Imperfectly

“Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.” (1 Corinthians 13:12 NLT)

As long as we’re in this human body there are things we’ll never understand. Yes, of course, God gives some people higher IQ’s and greater measures of understanding and insight, but no human being, regardless of how intelligent they are, can know the mind of God or why He does or allows things to happen as they do. Realizing this helps me to come to some personal conclusions.

First, everyone is flawed in their understanding of the Bible. We do the best we can with what we’ve got but estimates of the number of denominations within Christianity in the world today range from 4500 – 40,000. What does that say? Even professing believers have issues with one another, but beyond that, it shouts that our misunderstanding of Scripture is very divisive, which breaks the heart of God.

Second, ultimately we only have a couple of choices as to what we personally believe: we can take someone else’s views as our own – i.e. a respected theologian, of whom there are hundreds, or we can read and study the Bible and draw our own conclusions. The likelihood is that we will do some combination of those two, but the end result is the same – we’ll have an imperfect understanding.

Why is that important to understand? Mainly, since we’re all in the same boat, we need to offer grace to those with whom we disagree. I believe we’re all going to gasp at the simple truths of Scripture that we misunderstood or missed all together.

Thirdly, we’ve got to stop making excuses for God, based on our inability to understand His heart, mind, and actions completely. There are things we won’t ever understand until we get to the other side. Things like why God allows suffering, especially of children and other “innocents.” Why people who love God and have such a bright future die so young? Why so much division within the Body of Christ? There are hundreds of questions that arise for which we don’t have definitive answers, but there comes a point where we just must admit: “I don’t know the answer to that!”

Related to that, God will often give us answers to questions that satisfy us but may not satisfy someone else. I’m content in my own mind and heart to realize that God does and or allows some things that I don’t understand, but I can continue to love and serve Him without a definitive answer. Why? Because He’s God and I’m not. I’m very limited in my ability to see and understand things, God is not. I’m finite and earthbound, God is not.

God gives insight and understanding to some from whom we can learn and gain insight, but only to the extent it aligns with God’s Word, the Bible. But it’s interesting to me that different ones can read the same Books of the Bible or verses within a given book and come to completely opposite conclusions, each giving assurance that their conclusions came directly from God. For example, end times.

A pastor I respect and appreciate did a series on the subject of the Millennium. He explained that there are those who are premillenial, postmillenial, amillenial, then he said there are also those who are promillenial, which means they’re for whatever God decides to do. But his personal position was that he was a panmillenialist. He then explained that he believed it would all “pan” out in the end.

While that may seem to some to take a very important theological issue too lightly, the reality is, we don’t know for sure what God’s going to do, yet we allow our differing views to blind us to our need to love and accept those with whom we disagree.

Yes, of course, as you’ve been taught and because of your personal study you’ve come to conclusions that you firmly believe, and I applaud that. But don’t let your certainty on an issue drive a wedge between you and a brother or sister in Christ who is just as certain that you’re wrong and they’re right.

I’m content to believe that about which the Lord gives me certainty, but I will not argue with anyone who disagrees, because the fact of it is, we’re only expressing our opinions based on our imperfect earthbound understanding.

Let’s look at this from another angle in tomorrow’s post.

Blessings, Ed 😊