Saturday, September 28, 2013
Guilt Free - Honestly
Have
you ever done something you knew was wrong even if society didn't seem to
consider it wrong? Has your conscience
ever kept you up at night? Have you ever
tried to salve your conscience only to find that the guilt never goes
away? How does a person get away from
that kind of guilt? This problem is as
old as mankind and it is easily solved through good, old-fashioned honesty.
Thousands
of years ago King David shared great wisdom concerning this issue. He wrote, "Oh,
what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sin is put out of
sight! Yes, what joy for those whose
record the LORD has cleared of guilt, whose lives are lived in complete
honesty!" (Psalm 32: 1-2 NLT) After
making some major blunders, David
discovered that honesty is not a constraint, rather, it is a freedom.
The
powerful king learned - the hard way - what happens when we do something wrong
and refuse to "fess up". He also experienced a personal breakthrough
when he finally got honest with God: "When I refused to confess my sin, my
body wasted away, and I groaned all day long. Day and night your hand of
discipline was heavy on me. My strength evaporated like water in the summer
heat. Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide my
guilt. I said to myself, “I will confess my rebellion to the LORD.” And you
forgave me! All my guilt is gone. (vs 4-5)
When we offend God, He is only a prayer away. He is much more merciful and forgiving that
many people realize.
It
helps me to think of God as a coach who is trying to help me live the best life
possible. When He holds me accountable
it is in my best interest. When He is
firm with me, it is His way of insuring my success. Again, David wrote, "The LORD says, “I
will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and
watch over you. Do not be like a senseless horse or mule that needs a bit and
bridle to keep it under control.” (vs 8-9)
It would be foolish for me to ask God to help me and then ignore all of
His advice, wouldn't it? Stubbornness toward God has ruined a great many
wonderful lives.
Honesty
really is the best policy. It may seem
like bad people get away with a lot, but they have to live with
themselves. Many people try to bury or
mask their guilt by pretending there is no God and losing themselves in other
pursuits. But no one can escape God's
spiritual laws. Once more, King David put it best when he wrote, "Many
sorrows come to the wicked, but unfailing love surrounds those who trust the
LORD. So rejoice in the LORD and be glad, all you who obey him! Shout for joy,
all you whose hearts are pure!" (vs 10)
God
has always been merciful and forgiving, but when He robed Himself in flesh and
lived among us, He did so to die so our sins could be expunged. That is what
Calvary was about; He paid for your sins
with His own blood, so you can live guilt free - honestly!
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
He Thought of Everything
The
arborists showed up at 6:30 on a Wednesday morning. They were uninvited but didn't seem to
notice. They hadn't called or asked
permission. As I sat on my patio staring
at them, they ignored my gaze and climbed up two of the tallest trees in our
back yard and started to work. Limbs
began floating to the ground. It rained
acorns as they scurried about doing what they had come to do. Then they left without a word.
I
should mention that these are not your typical tree trimmers. They were nervous, chattered a lot, and had
long bushy tails. They were the
God-appointed arborists who will later come back to bury many of the acorns
they were harvesting. The diligent
efforts of squirrels like these help to keep trees healthy and forests
growing.
In
the scientific world this " close and often long-term interaction between
two or more different biological species" is called symbiosis. For
example: "In a symbiotic mutualistic relationship, the clownfish feeds on
small invertebrates that otherwise have potential to harm the sea anemone, and
the fecal matter from the clownfish provides nutrients to the sea anemone. The
clownfish is additionally protected from predators by the anemone's stinging
cells, to which the clownfish is immune." (Wikipedia) To believers and
scientists who recognize "intelligent design", this is one more proof
that there is a ingenious Creator and that He thought of everything!
Environmentalists
will wisely preach to us that our ecosystems are in balance and that we should
strive to keep things as they are. If we
killed all the squirrels the trees would not be as well kept. If we killed the
trees, the squirrels would not survive. Therefore,
we need to make sure nothing becomes extinct.
I agree, but this sermon begs the questions:
-
If all living things evolved how did all the ecosystems survive before the bulk of their participants evolved?
- How did the food chain work when there were fish galore and nothing to eat them?
- Why should we worry about man destroying the earth if evolution will simply adapt and evolve until things get better?
The
truth is, you can't have it both ways. If you believe the earth is in balance
and needs to be well-managed, then it only makes sense to believe in a Creator
who thought of everything.
Early
that Wednesday morning, those furry little tree trimmers reminded me that God
made a wonderful planet and He left us in charge. We get to explore it and marvel at His
handiwork. We get to take care of Eden. And,
as we do, we will recognize that it is incredibly complex and efficient -- He
thought of everything. The heavens and
earth declare His creativity and power.
But
God thought of things far beyond our time and space as well. He did not intend that mankind should live
forever here on earth. He created us as
eternal beings and then prepared a place for those who are born again of the
water and the Spirit. (John 3:5). Water
baptism and Spirit baptism are the doorway into eternal life. Life on earth is just the antechamber of what
He has planned for those who love Him.
He thought of everything!
Friday, September 06, 2013
Conveniently Forgotten
"Oh, I
forgot," explained the teen to his father. "You told me to mow the
lawn before going to my friends house but I guess it slipped my
mind." That kind of forgetting
does sometimes legitimately occur. But far more often one conveniently
forgets. It is our way of conning
ourselves into believing our actions are excusable.
This human
trait is well-documented and often acknowledged. Here are a few observations
from well-known sources:
-
“The human brain is a complex organ with the wonderful power of enabling man to find reasons for continuing to believe whatever it is that he wants to believe.” ― Voltaire
- “Of all the liars in the world, sometimes the worst are our own fears.” ― Rudyard Kipling
- We run carelessly to the precipice, after we have put something before us to prevent us from seeing it. --Blaise Pascal
- "The greatest deception men suffer is from their own opinions." Leonardo da Vinci
I am
wondering if one of the most "conveniently forgotten" truths
throughout history is the truth that God made all things, thereby making Him
the rightful King of the universe.
Mankind pretends to forget this "little detail," because embracing
it would force him to alter his life choices.
But, just as in our example of a forgetful teen, willfully ignoring
something doesn't make it go away. The
only one deceived is the one choosing to ignore the Creator and all of His
handiwork, which declares His glory on a daily basis.
I,
personally, find it very freeing to look at the world honestly; admitting that
an almighty God made all things and is overseeing it all. Several thousand years ago our Creator
"robed Himself in flesh" and dwelt among us" so that we could be
a part of His eternal kingdom. According
to the Bible, very soon Jesus will return to take His rule of the earth to a
whole new level. It is self-deception
that will rob many people of their place in that Kingdom.
This is how
St. Peter said it: "First off, you need to know that in the last days,
mockers are going to have a heyday. Reducing everything to the level of their
puny feelings, they'll mock, "So what's happened to the promise of his
Coming? Our ancestors are dead and buried, and everything's going on just as it
has from the first day of creation. Nothing's changed." They conveniently
forget that long ago all the galaxies and this very planet were brought into
existence out of watery chaos by God's word." (2 Peter 3:3-5 MSG) The New Living Translation translates it this
way: "They deliberately forget that God made the heavens by the word of
his command,"
My appeal is
not to the skeptic nor is it to those who want to define their own version of reality. My appeal is to those who have true faith in
an Almighty God. It has been a long time
since He promised to return, but He is still making good on His promises. He is still forgiving, healing people's
bodies and emotions, and demonstrating His power in many other ways. Choose to remember your Creator. Choose to make Him your Lord and Your
God. It is the path to true freedom from
sin, falsehoods, and the foolish and arrogant path of self-deception.
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