ApprehendingGrace.com

I’m enjoying a wonderful Day of Rest (or DOR as it’s known in our house). It started with an awesome, God-present time at church this morning. (I guess that’s redundant. Any time God is present is, by definition, awesome.) Church was followed by good fellowship over lunch, a nap, then some conversation and prayer with my husband, and now time with God. God is very good!

In my surfing today, I read and enjoyed this blog. The writing style and audience is quite different from mine, but I fully enjoyed his discussion around his title question “When I say ‘God,’ You Think…” To whet your appetite, here’s some of my favorite quotes from the blog:

“God just doesn’t simply exist, He is existence itself.”

“Without God, I have no purpose whatsoever.”

“Having a perfect relationship with God who already is in a Perfect relationship within His own God-head of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is something to behold. Something that should make us fall on our faces in worship.”

Well, you’ll have to visit the blog yourself to fill in the gaps. Otherwise I’d be in danger of plagiarism. Enjoy your reading. I did!

So when God destroyed the cities of the plain, he remembered Abraham, and he brought Lot out of the catastrophe that overthrew the cities where Lot had lived.
Genesis 19:29 (NIV)

God remembered Abraham and protected Lot from catastrophe! Did you catch that? God was about to destroy all of Sodom and Gomorrah, but then He remembered Abraham and he protected – saved – Abraham’s nephew Lot (and his family). I read this verse last week it has not stopped reverberating in my brain. The implications are staggering! And encouraging!

Lot was living in a city that the Lord was about to destroy because the outcry against it was “so great and [its] sin so grievous.” (Genesis 18:20) Lot was living in a city in which ten righteous people could not be found. It’s the place he chose to live. Some purport that he was a leader in the city because when the angels arrived, he was sitting at the city gate, a place where leaders often sat. For whatever reason, Lot liked living there. We’re not going to go there. But he liked it so much that when the angels sent to destroy the city urged Lot to flee, Scripture says he “still hesitated” and the angels had to physically grab him by the hands and rush him out of the city (Genesis 19:16). (More about Lot’s reluctance to leave in tomorrow’s blog!)

Put yourself into the scene. Imagine yourself in God’s place. (I know, we’re a poor and paltry substitute, and thinking we could become like God is at the center of this whole sin issue, but for just a moment, consider the story from God’s perspective.) The stench of Sodom and Gomorrah had reached the Lord and He sent angels to destroy it. On the way He and the angels visit Abraham. Abraham negotiates with God – God agreed not to destroy the city if He could find ten righteous people living in it. Obviously He could not, so the process that would lead to the destruction of the two cities began. What seems to be holding up the whole thing is this man Lot’s reluctance to leave. It’s a good thing I’m not God because I’m afraid I would have said something like “OK, then. Stay here. I’ll just destroy the city with you in it.” (Or at least I would have thought it. My sanctification is clearly not complete!)

But God didn’t do that. Scripture says that God remembered Abraham and kept Lot safe. What was it about Abraham that God remembered?

Perhaps God remembered the covenant He had made with Abraham. Undoubtedly, God had a special relationship with Abraham. God also has a special relationship with me. I may not be the father of many nations, I may not be the one to whom God said:

² “I will make you into a great nation
and I will bless you;I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.

³ I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.”
Gen 12:2-3

But I am the one about whom God said …..

⁹But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. ¹⁰Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
1 Peter 2:9-10 (NIV)

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!
1 John 3:1a (NIV)

He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?
Romans 8:32 (NIV)

These verses, and others like them, convince me that my relationship with God is as special to Him as His relationship with Abraham. I have every confidence that when God remembers me, He does so with as much pleasure as when He remembered Abraham.

Could it be, then, that God might remember me and protect my family members who are near danger?

Perhaps God remembered Abraham’s faith. Twelve of the forty verses in Hebrews 11, that great “Fathers of the Faith/Great Cloud of Witnesses” chapter, are dedicated to Abraham and his faith. Yet we know the stories of Abraham’s failures – times when he failed to live by the faith for which he was commended in Hebrews. These stories demonstrate that Abraham was as human as you and I, and his faith could be as weak as mine sometimes is.

Scripture says that “Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness” (Romans 4:3). If you have accepted Christ, if you believe that He is the son of God who came to earth and died on a cross for the forgiveness of your sins, God puts the righteousness of Christ upon you. What Scripture says about Abraham can be said about you – “[Your Name Here] believed God and it was credited to him/her as righteousness.”

Could it be, then, that God might remember you and protect your family members who are near danger?

Perhaps God remembered Abraham’s prayer. While unorthodox, Abraham’s negotiation with God can be seen as a prayer. He was asking God to spare the city. Some translations render Genesis 19:29 as “God had listened to Abraham’s request” (NLT) or “heeded Abraham’s plea” (TLB). I’m not a Hebrew scholar, but I don’t see anything in the text that should be translated God remembered “Abraham’s request,” although I suppose it can be extrapolated from the context.

James writes “The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective.” (James 5:16b, NRSV)

We’ve already established that God credits Jesus’ righteousness to believers. Our prayers, then are powerful and effective. If it was Abraham’s prayer that God remembered, I have every confidence that He will remember mine as well.

Could it be, then, if I pray diligently for family and friends who are at risk, that God might remember me and protect them from danger?

Perhaps, just perhaps, God will show mercy and will extend His protection to my loved ones because of the relationship He has with me, because of my faith, and/or because of my prayers.

Such a thought makes me view my life differently. It’s not just about me. My relationship with the Lord (and the condition of that relationship) affects those I love. My relationship with the Lord somehow extends a degree of grace to them. Wow!

Of course I’m not saying that my relationship with the Lord extends salvation to my loved ones. Everyone must choose that for themselves. Everyone must decide for themselves to yield to the One who stepped out of heaven, leaving all He had there, to live on this earth and then die on a cross. It’s that yielding of our will to His will that brings (or gives) eternal life.

Still…God remembered Abraham and saved Lot. What a gracious God we serve!

Thank You, Lord, for extending the umbrella of grace over my life to offer protection to my loved ones.

Be encouraged, friends! God may just remember you and save your loved ones from catastrophe! Hallelujah!

³⁴“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

³⁵The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. ³⁶Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. ³⁷For nothing is impossible with God.”

³⁸“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it be to me as you have said.” Then the angel left her.

³⁹At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, ⁴⁰where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. ⁴¹When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. ⁴²In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! ⁴³But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? ⁴⁴As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. ⁴⁵Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!”

⁴⁶And Mary said:
“My soul glorifies the Lord
⁴⁷ and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
⁴⁸ for he has been mindful
of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
⁴⁹ for the Mighty One has done great things for me—
holy is his name.
Luke 1:34-49

I listened to this passage being read at a church service Sunday afternoon. It was being read just before I was to get up and preach the sermon. What struck me was a phrase that had nothing to do with my sermon. I had planned on preaching about how Mary literally carried the Christ child in her womb everywhere she went. Likewise, we have the awesome privilege of carrying Christ with us everywhere we go. The mystery of Christ in us, the hope of glory! It would have been a good sermon.

God had other ideas. As I heard the passage read, what jumped out at me was verse 37: “For nothing is impossible with God.” It’s not a new verse. It’s been around a couple thousand years. I’ve know about it for, oh, maybe thirty or so. I’ve prayed it. I’ve clung to it when times are tough. Yet, it occurs to me that I walk through most of my life not really expecting the God of the impossible to actually do the impossible. I only look for it when what’s needed is beyond my own strength.

It’s been said that “you don’t need a miracle until you need a miracle.” In the past, I’ve like that perspective – it’s helped me be confident that God will step in before it’s too late. But I think I’m missing the boat. Using a biblical analogy, actually, I think I’ve been staying in the boat – instead of being a water-walker like Peter, I’ve been a boat-sitter like the other disciples. I’d rather be a water-walker. I’d rather trust the God of the impossible to do the impossible…even when I don’t realize that the impossible needs to be done! In other words, I want to look for the impossible that God is doing around me instead of just walking through life with my every-day glasses on.

Mary had her miracle-believing glasses on, and she was blessed for it. Notice what Elizabeth says “Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!” (v45) I’m confident that believing God – believing that He will accomplish that which He has said, is a blessing in and of itself. I can believe Him or I can stress. Believing Him lets me know that I know that I know, that He will prevail. And when I hang onto Him, that means I will prevail, too. So where’s the stress? “Blessed is she (or he) who has believed that what God has said will be accomplished.” I am not only blessed by the accomplishment of the thing, but for having believed that it will be accomplished. (I feel like I’m writing in circles, but it makes so much sense to me – hope it does to you, too!)

Finally, look at Mary’s response – she rejoices and praises God – why? Because “the Mighty One has done great things for me.” Quite frankly, at this point in her life, I’m pretty sure that all the Mighty One had done for Mary was throw her life into chaos. A young girl, engaged to be married and pregnant but not by her fiancé – these are not pleasant circumstances for a young girl living in the year 1 B.C. But Mary believed that God would accomplish what He had told her and in faith rejoiced at what He had done for her. Lord, give me Mary’s faith and praise-response when I’m in the middle of the chaos from which you will do the impossible! I’m pretty sure that chaos…or disappointment…or failure… or any of those other circumstances that don’t come wrapped in a perfect bow arriving in plenty of time for us to properly open, admire and respond to with grace…I’m pretty sure that all of those situations are perfect breeding ground for God’s miracles.

Can I encourage you to practice Mary’s faith this Christmas season? Look for the “impossible” things that God is doing. Believe that He will do the impossible in your life. Rejoice in the midst of the chaos that is a miracle in the making.

You will be blessed for it!

I love the Lord! This is a super crazy week! A super crazy week. Long, long work hours. It will probably be our busiest week of the year at work. Our community is engaged in a 24/7 prayer watch with community worship every evening. I’m involved in planning a ladies’ retreat that will be this Friday and Saturday. I didn’t get my grocery shopping done last week so we have no milk, bread, bananas (a staple in our house) and a long list of other things. My husband has been fighting a cold and I have felt the fatigue from it, although thankfully not the sinus and chest congestion. It is a super crazy week! And I’ve wondered how I would be able to write a blog (or two!). Writing blogs on a regular basis is a priority for me…but so are lots of other things!

So mostly, I’ve committed to not worrying (the theme of our retreat, coincidentally) and to do my best to sit back and watch God work it all out…all the while moving with what feels like warp speed from one task to the next. Are those two things possible in the same moment? Can I sit back and watch God work while I’m working and moving at a high rate of speed? Well, watch this space for more on that. There’s bound to be a future blog about it.

But back to loving the Lord. Now that you know the back story, let me tell you how the Lord is surprising me with joy. Sunday was the last day for signing up for our ladies’ retreat. There were at least 50% more people signed up than we expected! Praise God! (Right?) Well, we had planned a retreat that was going to be small and intimate in nature – one in which we sat together and shared what God was teaching us. One with lots of time for laughter and tears. No lecture format. There’s a point at which that format doesn’t work, though, and I’m afraid we’ve passed that point in attendance, so I’ve been wondering how to deal with it. It’s the top item on our prayer list for our next and last retreat planning meeting (which begins in less than two hours).

Yesterday as I mused about the situation (notice I am specifically not using the word “worry” because I am refusing to do so – I was simply wondering what God might do and I was beginning to pray for creativity) – anyway, yesterday as I mused about the situation, God made me laugh! He impressed upon me what His perspective must be of all the little plans we make. We’re almost like children playing grown-up – like the little girl playing “mommy” or the little boy playing “daddy.” He’s not deriding our efforts, in fact, I believe He is blessed and honored by our best efforts to bring Him glory. But we are His children, and I think sometimes He watches us in amusement as we “play” grownup. I’m OK with that. In fact, I am happy to bring my Savior amusement!

Then this morning…Late night, early morning, but I sat at my desk, bowl of oatmeal/12 grain hot cereal in front of me and water at my side, ready to greet the day. I took a deep breath and opened my Bible. I took a deep breath to help me resist the cry of all that was to be done and decided to continue my reading in Isaiah. I made it nine verses. Isaiah 19:9 struck me:

^“Those who work with combed flax will despair,
the weavers of fine linen will lose hope.”

Improbable verse to be struck by, right? Well, what struck me was not some deep spiritual significance or detailed meaning of any of the words…well maybe some of the latter…what struck me was that I read the first line as “those who work with com-bed flax will despair.” What in the world is com-bed flax? What is com-bed? Is it some different kind of flax? (That would be the two syllable kind of flax – you know the com-bed flax!) I must have blinked then because as I was scrunching my brow try to figure out what the word com-bed meant, I finally saw that it was the word “combed” – as in comb your hair which is something I barely did this morning! It made me laugh out loud.

Thank You, Lord, for laughter in the midst of deadlines. Thank You for helping us see that life is not so serious and important that there’s no time or room for expecting  joy and laughter.

Now I’m going to go greet the day with a smile on my face. How about you?

Yesterday’s blog was about choosing to have an unoffendable heart, even when others do things that are meant to harm us. Some would describe that as developing tougher skin. As I began to write this follow-on blog, I realized that it’s not tougher skin, but softer skin – skin that is so conformed to the image of Christ that we ooze His passions and His compassion. Christ’s Number 1 desire is that people come to know Him – that each person accept Him as their Savior. Paul shared Christ’s passion and he rejoiced even when others preached the gospel for the purpose of stirring up trouble that would result in him being treated more harshly in prison. It’s a hard thing to rejoice when others are purposefully trying to harm you. In one sense, Paul’s skin was tough enough to let those assaults roll off him. But in a greater sense, his skin was softened with compassion for even those who assaulted him, wanting to see the Gospel proclaimed to all.

Well, that was yesterday. Today I came to this verse:

Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge,
but he who hates correction is stupid.
Proverbs 12:1

As I started writing this blog, the phrase that was rolling around in my head was that we need to develop a “tougher skin.” It seems to me that few people accept discipline well these days. It seems that the slightest word of correction brings offense, and in many cases causes people to leave their church and often not find another one. The end result is that the Body of Christ is harmed in a number of ways.

• Both the person giving correction and the person receiving it are often hurt deeply. The closer the relationship they enjoyed, the deeper the pain.
• The larger Body of Christ is harmed as those around the people involved grieve and are now in the situation of having friends who are at odds with each other.
• The larger Body of Christ is also harmed as those not yet a part of the Body watch and walk away discouraged from ever joining themselves from such a group.

Sometimes this leads people to no longer give loving discipline. The results of this are equally devastating. Children who are never disciplined become spoiled and unruly. They develop an attitude of superiority. They grow up believing they can do whatever they want whenever they want, unconcerned about the effect their actions may have on others. Adult “children” are no different.

As I said, my first thought was that “we need to develop tougher skin” so that we are not offended at the slightest correction. We ought to welcome discipline, even seek it out if it helps us to become more like Christ. We ought to talk it out and then take it back to our prayer closets and ask God to reveal the truth in it. If we are the one being disciplined, we probably need to ask an objective brother or sister to pray with us and provide objective counseling based on God’s Word, because we may be too emotionally caught up in the situation and not able to hear God through our emotions.

It was as I sat down to write that I realized it’s not a tougher skin that we need, it’s a softer skin that can be more easily molded into the image of Christ. The attitude required to have tougher skin doesn’t yield itself to being reshaped by the working of Christ in our lives – because that’s what the correction and even the true offenses are – Christ, working in us to mold and shape us into the image of Christ.

Can we agree to have an unoffendable heart and a soft skin? Can we agree to rejoice in offenses and discipline that further the cause of Christ? Can we agree to allow Christ to have His way with us, putting us into situations that require us to humbly be molded into His image so that others see Him through us? Not an easy thing we’re called to, this Christ-likeness. But the payoff is high – seeing the Gospel preached (in word and deed) throughout our world.

¹Then the man brought me back to the entrance of the Temple. There I saw a stream flowing eastward from beneath the Temple threshold. This stream then passed to the right of the altar on its south side. ²The man brought me outside the wall through the north gateway and led me around to the eastern entrance. There I could see the stream flowing out through the south side of the east gateway. ³Measuring as he went, he led me along the stream for 1,750 feet and told me to go across. At that point the water was up to my ankles. ⁴He measured off another 1,750 feet and told me to go across again. This time the water was up to my knees. After another 1,750 feet, it was up to my waist. ⁵Then he measured another 1,750 feet, and the river was too deep to cross without swimming.

⁶He told me to keep in mind what I had seen; then he led me back along the riverbank. ⁷Suddenly, to my surprise, many trees were now growing on both sides of the river! ⁸Then he said to me, “This river flows east through the desert into the Jordan Valley, where it enters the Dead Sea. The waters of this stream will heal the salty waters of the Dead Sea and make them fresh and pure. ⁹Everything that touches the water of this river will live. Fish will abound in the Dead Sea, for its waters will be healed. Wherever this water flows, everything will live. ¹⁰Fishermen will stand along the shores of the Dead Sea, fishing all the way from En-gedi to En-eglaim. The shores will be covered with nets drying in the sun. Fish of every kind will fill the Dead Sea, just as they fill the Mediterranean! ¹¹But the marshes and swamps will not be purified; they will be sources of salt. ¹²All kinds of fruit trees will grow along both sides of the river. The leaves of these trees will never turn brown and fall, and there will always be fruit on their branches. There will be a new crop every month, without fail! For they are watered by the river flowing from the Temple. The fruit will be for food and the leaves for healing.”
Ezekiel 47:1-12 (New Living Translation)

My mom is afraid of water. Almost drowning as a child has left her with a life-long fear of bodies of water. She won’t even jump (or step) into a pool. She’s always game for a good water fight, though!

I thought of mom as I read this passage today. I think many of us are as afraid of God as mom is afraid of water. We’re happy to experience Him as a sprinkling (or even dousing) that might come from a good water fight, but we’re reluctant or even fearful of stepping into the river that flows from His temple.

As we read this passage, we learn that Ezekiel was taken into the river by degrees – first into ankle-deep water, then knee-deep, then waist-deep, then to the place where it was over his head. I appreciate that God doesn’t just drop us into water over our head – even if the water is the River of Life that flows from His temple. Most of us (me included) would be too afraid to jump into the full, raging river without first stepping in at the river’s edge. I am thankful that God allows us to get to know Him and His goodness and His faithfulness before He takes us into the river that is so high it cannot be crossed on foot.

Getting to know God is a lifelong process, though, and many of us get stuck at some point when He wants to take us deeper. May I encourage you to continue walking into the water and let God’s current take you to the dead places and bring His healing to them. That’s what happens – the river flows from the temple of God (that is, the place where He dwells – from His presence) (v1) to the dead places (v8a) and brings life where death has been (v8b-10).

During my ordination service last week, one of our pastors had an image as I was being prayed over. Our senior pastor was praying that God would not only release me into ministry, but to propel me into it. The image that came to our assistant pastor was of me on a huge water slide with the gate about to be opened for me to plunge full speed from the top of the slide. I don’t think he knows that I absolutely love water slides. I become like a little child (Matthew 18:3) on water slides, giggling and screaming with joy all the way from the top to the bottom.

What a way to envision serving God – as flowing in the current of the River of Life that goes from His presence to places that are dead – because “everything that touches the water of this river will live” (v9). It’s what you and I are called to – bringing life where there once was death.

Lord, increase our vision and help us be willing to jump into the water that is over our heads so that we might flow in its current, bringing life to all who come in contact with it. Lord, we want to be conduits of Your life to those who are dying.

P.S. Another friend had a different vision – she saw me as a human cannonball about to be shot out of a cannon. I’ve told her and God “no offense, but I prefer the water slide!”

Many many years ago, I was faced with the situation where my boss wanted me to lie to some auditors. Perhaps many of you have faced similar situations.

My job at the time was to train people how to pass audits. Sometimes that meant teaching them how to explain discrepancies. I had and still have absolutely no qualms about that because I wasn’t teaching them to lie, I was teaching them how to use words that communicate to people from another “culture” in a way that didn’t raise red flags. Having previously been an auditor, I knew that even the most sincere auditor understands that it is their responsibility to look for red flags and pursue those areas to determine if there are discrepancies. My training consisted of teaching engineers generally that “when you say “A”, I hear “B” and it makes me think something may not be right.” Another way of saying what you’re trying to say is “C” – it’s the truth put in words that assure me, the auditor, that you understand and have properly implemented the program. Now there were always times when the program wasn’t implemented properly. At those times, my job was to teach the engineers to speak the truth in a way that was least damaging to my employer. At least that’s how I saw my job. When faced with a particularly bad mistake, my boss wanted me to outright lie to the auditors, and to teach others how to do so.

I was still a fairly new Christian. I knew lying wasn’t consistent with the way God did things (seems like I’d heard it was one of the Big Ten), but I didn’t want to lose my job. I liked my job most of the time, my employer was the only one in the area who used my specialized knowledge, and I was providing half the income to our household budget. As I struggled with the issue, I remember reading the following verse during my morning devotions:

¹⁶ There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him:
¹⁷ haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood,
¹⁸ a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil,
¹⁹ a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.
Proverbs 6:16-29

Wow! I think that was the first time that Scripture I was reading in my daily devotions directly related to my current life situation. Scripture clearly says that a lying tongue is detestable to God. Detestable is a strong word. I don’t want to do anything that God finds detestable. I decided on the spot to not do what my boss asked. The decision led to my resignation and the finding of a better job! Isn’t God good? He chose that moment to grow my faith in His ability to provide when I am obedient to His Word.

In my business reading today, I came across this article entitled “Why White Lies are More Dangerous Than You Think.” It’s a good article, full of secular wisdom about the danger of even those lies we call “white lies.” (God doesn’t differentiate between the white lies and all other lies, of course.) I love it when secular wisdom “discovers” Biblical Truth. I don’t know if the author realizes he’s confirming Biblical Truth, but I commend him for publishing such an article.

Back to real life – may I encourage you to view white lies the way God does – as detestable. Avoid them just as you would avoid many of the other sins you find listed in Scripture. I know they’re not always easy to avoid. Doing so sometimes requires that we have difficult conversations we’d prefer not to have. Avoiding the white lies also means, however, that we are not doing what is detestable in God’s eyes. That’s always a good thing!

I had a cardio stress test yesterday – a stress test with Cardiolite. Sounds like a stress test on a diet. It’s not. It’s a stress test with a nuclear die injected into your body so they can see it flow through your heart after you’ve run on the treadmill.

The radiologist brought the Cardiolite into the room in lead-shielded containers that were obviously quite heavier than the small syringe of nuclear medicine they contained. When injecting the medicine, they have a lead shield around the syringe – so that the syringe is kind of like the lead in a pencil and the shielding is the wood that is around the pencil. Make sense?

I commented on the lead shielded heavy containers when the radiologist brought them into the room. I was immediately and repeatedly reminded that there were absolutely no side affects to the nuclear medicine. “The lady doth protest too much, methinks” (Hamlet) was just one of my thoughts that day.

I love modern medicine and I’m incredibly thankful for what it has done – Phil is alive today because of modern medicine. My dad lived longer than expected because of modern medicine. My mom still lives because of modern medicine. Heck, I can still walk and use my right arm because of modern medicine.

However…I don’t believe for a second that there are absolutely no side affects to pumping nuclear medicine into my body. There may be no measureable side affects or no side affects that anyone has recognized yet, but my body wasn’t designed to run nuclear material through it’s veins, so whether I feel the effects or not, there are side affects to this (and every) medicine.

OK, enough of a rant.

But I got to thinking about this (I had a long time to wait between the delivery of the lead-shielded nuclear medicine, the injection of the same, and the x-rays that showed it’s progress through my body). There are many things that this world tells us has no side affects. How about sex before marriage, abortion, pornography, recreational alcohol and drug use, and selfish ambition? I bet you can name many more. Scripture includes this list:

¹⁹The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; ²⁰idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions ²¹and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Galatians 5:19-21

Maybe you don’t feel like that list applies to you. How about some of the “lesser” sins: sarcasm, complaining and grumbling, speaking ill of someone (even your spouse or your children), being critical or impatient. The world encourages these qualities and more like them.

Anytime we look to the world to define appropriate behavior, we’re treading on very thin ice. There are fewer and fewer behaviors on which Scripture and our society agree. Society says “no harm, no foul” – if I’m not hurting anyone else, where’s the reason to cast dispersion on the activity. “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.”

Such an attitude is totally inconsistent with Scripture on at least three levels: personal, societal and spiritual.

Personal: On a personal level, there is a price associated with all behavior that the Bible describes as sinful. Sometimes we, like my radiologist, act as if we believe that there are absolutely no side affects, but there is always a price for sin, and even though Jesus has paid the ultimate price, there is often (usually) an additional price paid here on earth. Sarcasm, for example, affects our attitude at a subconscious level. It plants negative seeds that grow into bitterness.

Societal: Even a cursory read through the Old Testament teaches that God treats us as “a people” and “His people.” Yes, He deals with us individually, but He also treats us as a group and what one person does impacts the entire group. My sin impacts those around me. I blogged about this here  using the simple sin of lying as an example.

Spiritual: Ultimately, our sin and puts a barrier between us and God. Yes, Christ makes it possible for us to cross over  that barrier, but our sin remains an affront to God. Until we have confessed our sin and accepted Christ’s death as the payment required for it, we remain separated from God. Even after we’ve received Christ, our sin is an affront to God’s holiness. Unconfessed sin has side affects.

The world says many sinful behaviors have no side affects. God says the side affect is that “those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.” That’s a pretty stiff penalty, a pretty strong and undesirable side affect.

There is also a side affect of pursuing God, though. When we choose to live according to the spirit, saying “No” to the sinful things that the world tells us have no side affects, our life changes. Instead of the lifestyle that denies us the Kingdom of God, we have a lifestyle to be envied:

²²But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. ²⁴Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. ²⁵Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
Galatians 5:22-25

I felt like crap all day after having the nuclear medicine injected into my blood. Sin is like that, too. Yes, it may feel good “for a season,” but eventually, it will get into your blood stream and make you feel like crap.

I’d rather experience the fruit of the Spirit. How about you?

Lord, help me to crucify my sinful nature and pursue You each moment today.

Six Temptations of Failure, Day 6 of 6

Temptation # 6: Living in Fear of Failure
Sometimes we overreact to failure and build walls around ourselves and our activities so that eventually we wall ourselves in and no longer live in the freedom God has given us. Instead, we live in fear that we will fail again. So we essentially stop living. Sure, we’re still breathing and walking and talking, but the life has gone out of our life. Failure is a part of life, friends. We cannot build ourselves into such a safe place that we will not experience it, and to try to do so places limits around us that diminish our lives.

Fear ultimately leads to living a life characterized by legalism. We make rules and regulations to govern our lives and build a hedge of protection around ourselves to keep from ever being hurt again. Most of these new rules aren’t biblical. God never tells His people to stop stepping out in faith. These barriers you erect to prevent future failures all too often separates you from God and His best will for your life.

Fear is the antithesis of faith. Fear is believing that Satan will win instead of believing that the outcome will be what God has said it will be. Choose to believe God, friends. Engage your faith and live life to the fullest.

It occurs to me that perhaps I seem uncompassionate in this blog. Trust me, friends, I have compassion for those experiencing failure. Been there — done that. Refused to buy the T-shirt and don’t want to go back to have another opportunity to do so. But I also know that the temptations listed in these blogs are Satan’s way of binding us to the failure and blinding us to the plans God has for us.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
Jeremiah 29:11

God desires to give us freedom. God desires for us to be whole. God desires to make something great out of your failure and mine. Let’s resist Satan’s bait and trust God for the good stuff!

Six Temptations of Failure, Day 5 of 6

Are you still with me? So far we’ve covered the following temptations:

1. Believing that You are the Failure
2. Allowing a Failure to Spread its Branches
3. Making Inappropriate or Unintentional Vows
4. Blaming Others

Only two more to go. I pray that God is speaking to your heart as you read this series of blogs.

Temptation #5: Avoiding Others
In the midst of a failure, you may be quite tempted to avoid others because of feelings of humiliation.

First, know that the feelings of humiliation are probably totally inappropriate. Humility is a good thing; humiliation is a bad thing. Experiencing a failure may be humbling, but you should not feel humiliated by it. You tried something and it didn’t go as planned.

Repeat after me: “Everyone fails.” It’s a part of life. There’s no reason for you to feel humiliated. And everyone makes mistakes. If a mistake on your part lead to the failure, it wasn’t your first mistake and it undoubtedly won’t be your last. Learn to live with not being perfect. Only God is perfect and you’re not God.

So resist the temptation to avoid others – you need them to love you as you recover from the failure. You need people around you who will regularly remind you about the great talents and gifts God has given you, and about how special you are to God and to them. You need people to love you. Trust me, avoiding friends is debilitating and will prolong your recovery process.

And perhaps most importantly of all, the world needs to see how a confessing Christian deals with failures and setbacks in their lives. This might be the most important message that your life could ever deliver to the watching world around us. Hiding your failure and avoiding the world will never get that message across. It’s like burying your talent in the sand.

If you’ve avoided others lately, let me encourage to right now think of someone you will call later today or tomorrow. Or perhaps you can reach for the phone right now. Go for it!