Loved Not By Our Own Merit

"We are more sinful and flawed that we ever dared believe; we are more loved and welcomed than we ever dared hope.  In light of this, we're to put off all the unbelief and self-love that motivated our former identity."
                                         -Because He Loves Me, Elyse Fitzpatrick

The old man, sinful and self-serving, sought to console itself in finding it's worth in something outside itself.  It would seek to bring something in, without giving more than necessary,  like a parasite.  Fame, money, praise, accomplishment, affection were all sought as a balm for our desperate souls.  

Now, we are loved completely.  Not the way we were, but how we are now-in Christ.  Not because of what we have done, but because of His choice (agape) and His righteousness (Christ's atonement for our sin).  

But too often we behave as if the transaction has not taken place, and then wonder where our joy, our security, our peace has gone.  Sometimes,while we search elsewhere,  we even dare to suggest God isn't keeping His promises. His promises are not to keep us from trails, temptations, bad days or even awful years.  His promise is His presence, His transforming power.  He is more interested in making us more like His Son than making the day flow smoothly for us.  Each occasion is an opportunity to grow in righteousness.  But this even is not in our power.  It's is through Him.  Ephesians 2:6, "⁶ As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, ⁷ rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it^[b] with thanksgiving."

Yes, there it is again, that thanksgiving word. It's intertwined with joy.  Again, it's having our hearts and minds transformed.  It's grace, His power to live and move.  His righteousness to live out.  His love to revel in.


¹⁶ I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, ¹⁷ so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, ¹⁸ may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, ¹⁹ and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

²⁰ Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, ²¹ to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxz8koz1SOQ

Rejoicing, Relationships and Trust

Philipians 4:4-7
Be glad, be delighted in the Lord, I repeat be glad and delighted!
Let your moderation, gentleness be known by everyone around.
Your master is near by.
Do not be concerned about things, but contrariwise in every situation, through public and private petitioning of God, with thankfulness and gratitude. make your requests to God.
And the superior tranquility from God that is above understanding will protect your heart and mind (intellect, purpose, passions, desires, appetites, affections, purposes, endeavors ) because of the anointed Messiah, Jesus.
( taken from greek definitons as found on netbible.org)

Before the command, yes -note that command- to rejoice, Paul urges for peace between two particular believers.
Discord between believers -within the same home or in the local body- disrupts our desire and ability to delight in the Lord.

Psalm 24:3-4

24:3 Who is allowed to ascend ⁴  the mountain of the Lord? ⁵ 

Who may go up to his holy dwelling place?

24:4 The one whose deeds are blameless

and whose motives are pure, ⁶ 

who does not lie, ⁷ 

or make promises with no intention of keeping them. ⁸ 

^{Self-seeking, pride and fear cause trouble in our relationships (James 4:1-3).  In contrast, the gentleness we are to display means essentially to be unruffled.  How can we be unruffled when there are schedules to keep, money problems, world terrors?}  

^{The answer is in the next verses of Philippians:}

^{4:8 Finally, brothers and sisters, 6  whatever is true, whatever is worthyof respect, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely,whatever is commendable, if something is excellent or praiseworthy,think about these things. 4:9 And what you learned and received andheard and saw in me, do these things. And the God of peace will be withyou.}

^{More thoughts on that next time!}

After quoting many notables from Augustine to C.S. Lewis on the subject of Christian joy, John Piper in His book The Dangerous Duty of Delight asks:

"So if Christian Hedonism (the pursuit of joy) is old-fashioned, why is it so controversial?   One reason is that it insists that joy is not just the spin-off of obedience to God, but part of obedience.  It seems as though people are willing to let joy be a by-product of our relationship to God, but not an essential part of it.  People are uncomfortable saying that we are duty-bound to pursue joy."......."joy is an act of obedience"

.  Is this as foreign to you as to me?  Seeking joy has not been on my radar.  It's not been on my wish-list.  Gentleness and  kindness, but not joy.

It's an act of obedience.  Of course we are all familiar with the "Rejoice in the Lord" commands scattered throughout the Word.  But it seems so.....vague.  Of course when our feelings hit us right, when circumstances are good or we experience God's working, we can be glad and rejoice.  But this is commanded.

Those disciples in prison.  The martyrs of history.  Those Singing through the Night   even now know that this command is not a passive matter.  Rejoicing, being glad is not something that happens to us.

This is foreign.  How do I "glad"? net.bible.org tell me that "rejoice" as s "a primary verb; to be "cheer"ful, i.e. calmly happy or well-off; "

That leads me to think about the "gentle and quiet spirit" I spent so much time studying and dreaming  I would posses.  Gentleness came from confidence in the Lord, and it means to be "unruffled".  

I guess there is food for thought for another time.  But I'd love to hear what you think!

Waiting and Joy by Spurgeon

C.H. Spurgeon
"Wait on the Lord."—Psalm 27:14.

It may seem an easy thing to wait, but it is one of the postures which a Christian soldier learns not without years of teaching. Marching and quick-marching are much easier to God's warriors than standing still. There are hours of perplexity when the most willing spirit, anxiously desirous to serve the Lord, knows not what part to take. Then what sha

ll it do? Vex itself by despair? Fly back in cowardice, turn to the right hand in fear, or rush forward in presumption? No, but simply wait. Wait in prayer, however. Call upon God, and spread the case before Him; tell Him your difficulty, and plead His promise of aid. In dilemmas between one duty and another, it is sweet to be humble as a child, and wait with simplicity of soul upon the Lord. It is sure to be well with us when we feel and know our own folly, and are heartily willing to be guided by the will of God. But wait in faith. Express your unstaggering confidence in Him; for unfaithful, untrusting waiting, is but an insult to the Lord. Believe that if He keep you tarrying even till midnight, yet He will come at the right time; the vision shall come and shall not tarry. Wait in quiet patience, not rebelling because you are under the affliction, but blessing your God for it. Never murmur against the second cause, as the children of Israel did against Moses; never wish you could go back to the world again, but accept the case as it is, and put it as it stands, simply and with your whole heart, without any self-will, into the hand of your covenant God, saying, "Now, Lord, not my will, but Thine be done. I know not what to do; I am brought to extremities, but I will wait until Thou shalt cleave the floods, or drive back my foes. I will wait, if Thou keep me many a day, for my heart is fixed upon Thee alone, O God, and my spirit waiteth for Thee in the full conviction that Thou wilt yet be my joy and my salvation, my refuge and my strong tower."

Thanks to my friend for posting on fb! :)

short and sweet today

"God, who foresaw your tribulation, has specially armed you to go through it, not without pain but without stain.”
 (C. S. Lewis)
Thank's to Kim Sharp's fb page!

Pain is not the Opposite of Joy

Knowing that some may be coming to visit me for the first time from Raising Arrows,  I am re-posting what I consider to be one of the essential posts.  
To give you a summary, I have always found the subject of joy a bit scary.  I figured there were be corresponding lows to any high.  Joy was fragile.  Joy was something that enabled one to endure in a godly manner, but too often I was caught up in dealing with the problem in my life or that of someone else.  Joy, for me, I finally realized, is a matter of trusting the Father completely.  If there is a corresponding low to a felt joy,  is He able to see me through it?  Of  course.  Furthermore, it finally, finally hit me that rejoicing (root word being joy!) is a command.  I don't have a choice about this.  It is not a luxury I can simply pass on.  


I invite, encourage, urge and plea for your input on this subject!  I'm sure many understand and live this more fully than my toddling steps and look forward to your insights!

Pain is not the opposite of joy. Pleasure is the opposite of pain.

My friend who lived in a non-western country during her growing up years told me that we in the west view pain very differently than much of the rest of the world, and sometimes to our detriment. Pain is an expected part of life in much of the world where they do not have the luxuries we take for granted. While I'm not ready to forego pain relief after surgery, nor do I think it's advisable, I am willing to consider that we come to fear pain to the point we don't see it's benefits. And fear is turning away from trust in the Father. If our minds are not stayed on Christ, there is no perfect peace. (Is 26:3).

I believe it was in the book Fearfully and Wonderfully Made, that the author explained how victims of leprosy loose limbs not due to the disease, but due to the lack of pain. They endanger their limbs and bodies in general because things simply do not hurt. This leads to damage, and eventually the loss of limbs. Pain alerts us to the fact something is wrong. Pain can protect us.

Pain may also cleanse us. Are we in pain because our selfish desires are not met or our reputation upheld? Maybe it needs to be purged. Are we in pain because we are not experiencing the pleasure we craved, maybe our appetities need retrained.

I don't want to write about physical pain. So many have suffered so much for the sake of Christ. It is an area I loathe to consider. I confess I'm not eager to join their exalted ranks . (Rev 12:11) But Paul said our example is Christ, who for the joy set before Him endured.....Hebrews 12:2-3

Wait. For the joy, He endured. Consider Him. Consider Him so you don't grow weary or loose heart. Endure for the joy set before .

C.S. Lewis in The Great Divorce, beautifully portrays how this earth is such a shadow, it is not true Reality. What is above is Really Real!

May the Father increase our love of Him so that we can endure for the joy that is set before us!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mktjoryv_8Y&feature=related

"Only a deep appreciation of all he has done for us in Christ will motivate us to pursue true happiness, to put off all our shabby attempts to make our mud pies a little more tasty, and to see the One who loves us more than we'll ever comprehend." Because He loves Us, Elyse Fitzpatrick, 


Only such a deep appreciation of Christ will help us to distinguish between the Truth, and  the self-sufficient counterfeits we create.  We were made to worship, so find fulfillment in doing what we were created to do.  But when we think we cannot live, or be fulfilled without a particular circumstance, a person or an object, a position, or some other measure of success it only shows us for the idolaters we are.  God is a jealous God.  Not because he is arrogant, but because He knows what we were created for...and who He is!


Maybe that is why God was always telling the Israelites to remember...to recall what He had done for them.  That was the whole point of all those feasts.  Jesus, on the night He was betrayed, told them to remember what was about to happen with the bread and wine.


Ann Vos Kamp challenges us to remember...more than that to see  grace in our everyday lives.  To identify it and respond with gratitude.


This is not an escapist "everything is fine" attitude.  It is truth.  Yes, there is pain here.  Yes, there is ugliness here.  Yes, there are lives ruined by brutality. But this is only a reflection.  This is not real reality.  But what we see, feel, and hear is only a small part of reality,a nd it is often tainted.  When we renew our minds to think as He thinks, we can have joy