God Through The Peephole

If God knocked on your door and you could see Him through the peephole, what would be the expression on His face?

Your answer might reveal what you think His opinion is of you. I'll follow-up with this in a day or two.

Sanitized & Innocent

The past of every Christian has been entirely sanitized and made innocent--even yesterday! Further than that, God has given to us the righteousness, the right-doing of Jesus, as our very own. If God were to talk about our past, it would be through the accurate lens of our being in Christ. He has made our past as though we’ve always been in Christ, and have loved God and our neighbor as ourselves.

Any time you might bring up something that happened “way back when,” the angle God will take on it will be what good you did or what good He did for you and through you. Go ahead—bring up something you’ve been reluctant to talk with Him about, and listen. Really listen. Your Father has been waiting for you to talk with Him about anything and everything. You’ve nothing to fear from Him.

Angel Talk

If all of your sins have been forgiven and forgotten by God, then if He were to talk about your past, what would it be about? If you overheard Him chatting with the angels about you, do you suppose you’d like what you heard?

(This has to do with how you view your life: from God’s viewpoint or from an earthly one.)

My Book Has Arrived!

My book has just been published by Harvest House!

With a foreword by Steve McVey, and recommendations from David Gregory, Malcolm Smith, Twila Paris, and Mike Quarles, I’m thrilled to make it available. You may see/order it at my ministry web site (http://lifecourse.org/), and it is just now available at Amazon.com.

Soon it will make it to all the bookstores, and the e-book arrives on March 1.

Pretty cool.

My Heroes On Valentine's Day

(I’ve been thinking of my Christian women friends who are single today, and this blog post from a while back came to mind. I thought I’d re-post it in honor of those we love and depend upon so much, but who often are overlooked. If you think it might encourage someone, please re-post it or send it to someone in whatever form you like.)

If I had the chance to stand up and praise the heroes in my life, I suppose it would take a while. And if I stood up today, perhaps I’d give the most time to a specific group of heroes—single Christian women. From Zagreb to Georgia, and Barbados to California, I admire and respect them deeply. They’re incredible.

While they have become the righteous and holy, new creation daughters of God, they nevertheless endure the faulty, measuring scrutiny of the world. Even from the church.

Even though the apostle Paul suggested we would all be better off single, rather than married, in our service to God (1 Cor 7), nowadays we don’t actually believe it’s true. Think of the single Christian women in your church and tell me they don’t endure endless prescriptions from well meaning, but Bible disbelieving people as to how they can “be healed” of their infirmity—singleness. Spoken or implied, we mostly think of them as incomplete or crippled, and shuttle them off to Children’s Ministry where they can at least partially fulfill their presumed destiny.

Single Christian women live with the not-so-subtle prejudice that there is something wrong with them, something that can only be cured by a ring on their finger and a man in their bed. Do you think my words are too strong? Then accept my challenge: ask them. Ask them if they believe they are seen and valued for who they are, according to God, or if they are seen as something less, something different. Ask them if they feel revered because they remain single. And not just the nineteen year olds; ask the thirty-eight year old, single Christian women. Ask them.

While I don’t recommend a contrary and curative prescription of giving single Christian women new places of prominence and authority as a way of proving our repentance, I do believe that we need to look anew at our saintly sisters. Do you see what God says is true of them? Do you believe that each is His chosen dwelling place, made pure and faultless, the perfect, New Testament, Holy of Holies? They don’t need to be fixed-up in order to be useful and whole, they’ve been separated unto God, at least for a season. How fantastic! For some, it will be a life-long marriage to the One we cannot see.

But can you see them anyway? Can you, by the eyes of faith, see them for who they are—the chosen, twice born, holy and blameless, radiant daughters of God? If you can, I’m certain you will see similar “invisible traits” emerging from the rest of the church, too. The temporal shadows of this world—clothing, physical looks and abilities, status, etc.—hide the sons of God already, even from themselves. But you and I see according to The Truth, even when the suggested truth of this world says otherwise. The Truth directs our thoughts about God, and it directs our thoughts about each other. It must.

If we would approach each other according to the truth—let it begin with our single Christian women—then the revival many of us hope for would begin with us. We would thank them for the great example they are to us in their single-hearted, undivided devotion to the Lord, we would encourage the single Christian women to “go for it” with God, to run off at His leading, to be daring and adventurous in their godly situation, unencumbered by the challenges Paul says marriage brings.* We’ll think of them as the royalty they are, instead of the royalty they could become . . . if only.

Knowing something of the struggle they face, we would be their cheerleaders—our team is on the field! Hooray! for single Christian women.

You’re my heroes—especially on Valentines Day.

*An unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the Lord's affairs: Her aim is to be devoted to the Lord in both body and spirit. But a married woman is concerned about the affairs of this world—how she can please her husband. 35 I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but that you may live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord. 1 Corinthians 7:34b-35

Forever Free From Sin

What will have to happen in order for you to finally be free from the power of sin?

The short answer is: You’ll have to die. The follow up question gets at the truth: When did you die? If you’re a Christian, then you’ve already died—had a burial and everything—and sin no longer has power over you. Rom 6:3 “Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?”

Christians shared in the very death of Jesus, as well as in His follow-up resurrection. On the cross we were in Christ, and what happened to Him happened to us—We were crucified with Him, and a few days later we were raised with Him. The nature pre-disposed to sin that we had before we were crucified with Him, was removed, and a new nature pre-disposed to righteousness was given to each of us. Rom 6:6 “For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— 7 because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.” Read verse 7 again. That means you. And that means me. Fantastic!

We now share in the very nature of our Father, and the way to escape the corruption in this world caused by the evil desires of the flesh is to participate with Him (2 Peter 1:3-4). How? We who have been put into Christ do what He did: Rom 6:11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. 13 Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. 14 For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.

This passage does not say “Offer yourselves to good deeds,” as though the Christian life is found in good works as opposed to bad. “Offer yourselves to God” is what it says and that’s what it means. And where is God now? He is in you and He is in me—in all who have received Him. When I look for God now in me, when I sow toward Him by offering myself to Him, He produces LIFE! Christ is formed in me! And how will that look? After thinking in my head something like, “Father, I offer myself to you…Holy Spirit, what do you think about all this?...Jesus, I know you’re in me and I am in you, so…” I reap eternal life, the life of God (Gal 6:8), and I am either led toward some godly behavior, some fruit of the Spirit is produced in me (Gal 5:22-23), or I go on my way in the perfect confidence that God’s grace to me is perfect for what’s ahead.

I fit perfectly in Him, and He fits perfectly in me. We’re compatible! Even if I fail, the Spirit is right then working with me to convince me of my place in Him as well as my life in Him. I’m secure. Nothing has changed. I am still free from sin. I may have fallen to it, but I am quick to resist the temptation to believe otherwise, and offer myself to Him all over again. And more and more, you and I will come to find and to know that our life is in Christ, by the Spirit, and free from sin.

Our performance or experience does not determine whether or not we are free from the power of sin! What God thinks determines it. And His thinking is incredible, with lots and lots of invigorating power that goes with it for those who believe. Watch what happens as you do.

By the way, I write extensively about this in my about-to-be-published book, "God's Astounding Opinion of You." More info soon!

I hope this helps.

Pop Quiz

Pop Quiz: What will have to happen in order for you to finally be free from the power of sin?

A Treasured Trust

God cares less about your obedience than He does about your trust. It's why He so enjoys hanging out with you. To the extent you believe obedience is higher than trust, so is the height and thickness of the wall of failure you believe you have to keep pulling down between you and God. There is no wall—He removed it forever.

God Is Not

God is not sick and tired of your neediness.

He Isn't

He is not finding fault with you.

If You Don’t Forgive Others, God Won’t Forgive You

(I occasionally post something excellent from another blog. While I have written about forgiveness and separation from God as well, Steve McVey has just posted this at his blog. It's an excerpt from his new book: 52 Lies Heard In Church Every Sunday (And Why The Truth Is So Much Better). If you're interested, look for the link at the bottom of this post.)


There are times in each of our lives where we might be holding unforgiveness towards someone else. If you take that statement at face value — “If you don’t forgive others, God won’t forgive you” — it would mean there are unforgiven sins in your life. If there are unforgiven sins in your life, and you were to die without them being forgiven, then I suppose you would be separated from God forever, wouldn’t you? At the very least, we would be in big trouble even in this life if God looks at us and sees unforgiven sins.

Not surprisingly, this teaching creates a lot of anxiety among Christians. Others might preach at us and tell us we ought to forgive. They make it sound so easy. But it’s not easy. All of us have been hurt by others; some of us severely. We do people a disservice by heartlessly pounding on them to forgive those that have injured them, and it can be even more heartless when we use Bible verses to pound them with. How much greater is the damage when our teaching causes people to feel that God rejects them because they have been unable to forgive others for inexcusable actions.

However, we still need to make good sense of the Bible’s teaching on forgiveness, because the difficult verses in question come from Jesus Himself. Jesus says at the end of His model prayer (that we’ve called “The Lord’s Prayer”),

For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive you your transgressions. Matthew 6:14-15

If we read those words alone, then it seems like game, set, and match. How could we come to any other conclusion than to believe that our forgiveness totally depends on our forgiveness of others? However, we must never forget that verses must never be interpreted on their own out of context, but must always be interpreted in light of the whole Word of God.

Jesus did say those words, but let me remind you again of the need to consider when Jesus was speaking, to whom He was speaking, and what he was doing. Those are things you have to remember whenever you interpret the Scriptures. Not everything Jesus said is to be applied to you personally, because everything changed at the cross.

TAKE A FRESH LOOK AT THE SCRIPTURES

When Christ died, the Old Covenant was made obsolete, and the New Covenant was brought into existence. The night before He died, Jesus took cup and passed it, saying,

This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood. Luke 22:20

Covenants in the ancient world were almost always inaugurated by the blood sacrifice of an animal. That practice was similar to a contract today being put in force through signing on the dotted line. Jesus was indicating beforehand that His death would bring into reality the long-promised New Covenant. This New Covenant is both different and superior to the Old Covenant, the Law of Moses:

But now He [Christ] has obtained a more excellent ministry, by a much as He is also the mediator of a better covenant which has been enacted on better promises. For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion sought for a second. Hebrews 8:6-7

This means that Jesus’ death not only inaugurated the New Covenant, but it also simultaneously brought the law, the Old Covenant, to an end:

When He said, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear. Hebrews 8:13

I can’t overemphasize the importance of getting this: When Jesus taught, He was speaking according to the law to people living under the law. Whenever you read the words of Jesus recorded in the gospels, you must keep this in mind. When Jesus taught, “You must forgive in order to be forgiven,” He was magnifying the demands of the law in order to provoke people to understand their need for Him as Savior. But when He died, was buried, and rose again, the New Covenant was inaugurated by His death, and things changed.

That’s why you read in later New Testament writings a different order of reasoning. First, the New Testament teaches us that we are forgiven already:

In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace. Ephesians 1:7

When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions. Colossians 2:13

Then, on the basis of the forgiveness we have already received, the New Testament urges us to forgive others — but notice the change in order:

Be kind to one other, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you. Ephesians 4:32

So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. Colossians 3:12-13

Do you see the distinction there? Before the cross, the Bible says you forgive to be forgiven. But after the cross, the Scripture teaches that we forgive because we have been forgiven.

CLARIFY YOUR THINKING

The idea that if you don’t forgive others God won’t forgive you is an Old Covenant teaching, even though we hear it from the lips of Jesus. It was prior to the cross, which is where the law ended. Why did the Lord teach it? Because He often held up the law to raise the awareness of sin in the people’s hearts, so that it would pave the way for them to recognize their need for a Savior. By His death, burial and resurrection, He accomplished the work, and the good news is now preached in His name.

Today, to tell someone that if you don’t forgive others God won’t forgive you is to tell a lie. That’s not applicable in the New Covenant. The truth is, we forgive others because we have been forgiven. As I acknowledged in the beginning of this challenge, forgiveness is often difficult, if not impossible for us on our own. We need supernatural power to find forgiveness in our hearts. The best source of that power is a heart that has been changed by first receiving the amazing grace and forgiveness of Christ.


(This blog is one of the chapters in my new book, 52 Lies Heard In Church Every Sunday (And Why The Truth Is So Much Better) You can order a copy by clicking this link:
http://gracewalkresources.com/item.asp?cID=0&PID=635 )

"Who, me?" Yes, you. (Number 3)

Have you ever thought that God is a show-off? I’m pretty sure He is. It’s a sort of divine hobby for Him. And He’s not going to stop anytime soon.

God wants everyone and everything to know how incomparably good and capable and faithful and loving and perfect He is. Why? So the truth about Him will be known, and so everyone will want Him—and get everything they’ve been looking for and everything they need. He is the source of life itself, and He has designed us to find all of our longings for life satisfied in Him.

Figuring that out is difficult, I know! There’s so much that offers fractional satisfaction. A clear sign that I’ve been looking for satisfaction in the wrong place is that I fall to the ugly suggestion to pretend I’m satisfied. I hate that.

Fortunately, you and I are still God’s workmanship, which means He’s going to convince us—over and over and over again—that He is amazing toward us by doing good to us. And, much as I don’t like my many slips and repeated neediness, still His over and over and over again display isn’t a bad thing, at least not for Him. Sometimes I think I’m the vacuum of neediness—“Lord, please rescue/restore/renew me again!” And He does. And His riches are on display in me. Who sees? Everyone and everything, and all those watching on the big screen in heaven. “Wow. Look at God. He’s incredible with Ralph.” And with you.

"And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus." (Ephesians 2:6-7, italics mine)

If you’ve been suspicious that God has you on display, it’s not because He’s asking you to be a good example for Him. He’s bragging on you because He’s made you a good example of Himself.

Brag on, God.

"Who, me?" Yes, you. (Number 2)

You’ll never have to wonder if God is with you. Never ever. In fact, he thinks you’re with Him. It might be difficult to imagine that, seeing as how it’s from His point of view, which might be a tad better than yours. But go ahead. Imagine.

And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. Ephesians 2:6-7

Think how secure you are, having taken your seat in Christ. Nothing to worry about, nothing to make happen—it’s all on Him because you’re seated. And what a view you’ve got.

Yeah, God did it, and that’s what He thinks of you.

What do you think?

"Who, me?" Yes, you. (Number 1)

While walking out the door on your way into the world this morning, did you think, “Well, here I go; God’s sacred mobile home into the day. . .”? No? If you did, you’d be right. Consider the following:

“Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple.” 1 Corinthians 3:16-17

See, sacred-mobile-homey? It’s true. God did it, and that's what He thinks of you.

What do you think?

Speculation?

Here's one for the weekend. . .I hope you're having a great one.