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Posts Tagged ‘Christ’

Slave to Confession

Posted in Christmas Through Epiphany, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on February 8, 2010| 1 Comment »

Our culture recoils at the word “slave.” Our corporate guilt over the many peoples we have enslaved compels us to resist. As a result, we overlook our own “state of enslavement.”

Romans 6:16
Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? [NKJV]

As much as I don’t want to admit it, I am still a slave to the wrong voice in my heart. I listen more often than I should to the voice that says, “Oh, what the heck! Why not?” or “Might as well… ” or “Who will know?” This voice gives me permission to indulge myself by eating too much or wasting time in front of the television or daydreaming myself into discontentment about my life. This voice would encourage me to have an affair or get a divorce. This voice is sarcastic and mocking. This voice is relentless.

The slavery begins when I listen. The slavery intensifies when I act. The slavery becomes a yoke around my neck over time.

But the Spirit carries the sword of truth and can slash through that yoke. The Spirit of Christ is my champion. There is only one hitch: the Spirit is also a Master, a benevolent Master, if I choose to follow, believe and confess.

“Obedience” is really a form of confession. To be a slave to confession is a powerful and transformative process. I am not very good at obeying because I keep making mistakes. But anyone can be good at confessing and as the breath of forgiveness and grace blows over me, I grow strong enough to step away from sin, to close my inner ear to that other voice, to turn toward the light.

I can be a slave to confession.

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Small Deaths

Posted in Christmas Through Epiphany, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 6, 2010| 1 Comment »

As a believer, I am promised a new life when I accept Christ’s sacrifice (his death) as the propitiation (satisfactory compensation) for my sin. Although the sacrifice is enough, my ability to embrace the truth of it in daily life is wanting.

Romans 6:3, 5
Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? . . . If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection.

I firmly believe the faith walk is a process. And although our beloved Messiah did everything necessary to repair the separation between God and us, I am still learning how to walk the new path (the Way). I struggle with the paradox: death = life. I tend to hold onto what is familiar instead of letting those parts of me die.

I understand in my head that I must be more like the seed that dies before the plant will grow. Instead, I keep trying to be the best seed I can be. I’m missing out on the real transformation.

But God is patient. My old nature, my old self, is in various partitions and states of renewal. Gradually, sections do die. And with each small death, new life finds root. This is sanctification, my rite of passage from death to life.

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There is only one God

Posted in Christmas Through Epiphany, tagged , , , , , , , , , on January 29, 2010| 3 Comments »

I love this. God is God: there is only one God. And it doesn’t really matter what name is given to God or whether one believes “in” God or not, God is still God, in fact, the God of all gods. My faith in God does not change God, it only changes me.

Romans 3:29-30
Is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith.

For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome . . . [Deuteronomy 10:17]

Give thanks to the God of gods. His love endures forever. [Psalm 136:2]

The king said to Daniel, “Surely your God is the God of gods and the Lord of kings . . . ” [Daniel 2:47]

So, here’s this God of all gods willing, able and ready to accept the faith of the people, all people. When anyone puts his/her faith in God, a way is opened toward justification, toward relationship.

Jesus says in John 14:6 that “he is the way, the truth, and the light. No one comes to the Father except through me.” and I believe him. The promise is that relationship with Jesus opens the door to relationship with God as Father.

But, it rankles most non-Christians and non-believers that Jesus would claim to be the “only way” to God (both then and now). Even I am uncomfortable with this strict “way.” So, what is there to say?

Jesus is a sure thing. If a person wants to know God, to experience God, to be in relationship with God, then follow the way of Jesus and you will find what you seek. It is a promise. And I can testify to the truth of it. I was lost and through Jesus, I found my way.

But I will give an additional interpretation: Since God is God of all… then who am I to say that Jesus does not manifest alternatively to others? Said differently, if a person truly seeks God, then I believe that person will also find Jesus on the way. But it is more difficult.

The way of Jesus is easier, more direct. It is not burdensome. And in it, there is freedom.

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Secrets of the Heart

Posted in Christmas Through Epiphany, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on January 21, 2010| 1 Comment »

“Can you keep a secret?” Ooooh, we think, inside information! We imagine it’s a compliment to be told a secret. But a secret can be a millstone around the neck, waiting to drown us.

Romans 2:16a
This [judgment] will take place on the day when God will judge men’s [and women’s] secrets through Jesus Christ . . .

We mistakenly believe we can keep secrets well hidden; if we never voice them or think about them, they will never see the light of day.

But secrets are more like mold.

Mold flourishes in dark, damp, organic places. Once established, mold is difficult to remove. Either the object must be thrown away or some kind of astringent, anti-bacterial solution is used to clean it (if it is caught in time). Mold damages its host. Mold doesn’t just cover an object, it interacts and transforms it.

And secrets will do the same.

A secret’s greatest power lies in its hidden nature. It will grow a life of its own, morphing into something bigger and more complicated and sometimes, even sinister. It changes us from the inside out.

Why do I keep secrets about myself? It’s simple, really. I’m afraid. I’m afraid of the reaction of others. I’m afraid the truth will be too much for others to bear. I’m afraid of the exposure. I’m afraid of the ramifications.

Keeping a secret about myself is more like a lie than anything else. In order to keep truth hidden, I cover myself with plastic, with false overlays. And yet, that secret truth just breeds more and more lies.

The safest place for a secret is in the hands of Christ. Being a wise counselor, Christ can bring light and healing to any festering growth. If I bring my secret to God willingly, the exposure is done with the gentle hand of mercy. If I wait, the secret will be laid bare eventually anyway. It may not be until the worst hour, or the last hour, but it will be uncovered.

In Greek, confess is homologeō which means “to say the same thing.” In other words, acknowledging or professing what is already known. Confession is coming to the truth of ourselves. Giving up our secrets to Christ is the beginning of holiness and wholeness. Amen.

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Called to Belong

Posted in Christmas Through Epiphany, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on January 11, 2010| Leave a Comment »

As much as we hate to admit it, most of us want to belong–to something or someone. I think we’re wired that way. We’re just waiting for the invitation, the opening, the opportunity.

Romans 1:6
And you also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.

Historically, I have always been the joiner. Even as far back as high school, my participation index in the yearbook was longer than anyone else. I haven’t changed much. I still join clubs, I join groups, I join movements, I join sororities, I join churches, and I join associations. But what I really want to join is a relationship. The difficulty is that relationships are two-way streets. To join a relationship, there has to be give and take, mutual agreement, and growth. In a group situation, I can join and then I can be a good member of the group or a lazy member of the group, but basically, I’m still a member. Being lazy in a relationship is the kiss of death.

In a relationship, there has to be commitment and contact and communication. There has to be transparency and authenticity. There has to be a willingness to work through the rough spots. There has to be a desire to actually be in the relationship. It takes energy to start and stay in a relationship.

In the epistle to the Romans, Paul is telling his readers and listeners that they are ALL called (invited) to be in a particular relationship. That relationship begins with the Christ and then manifests in koinonia (fellowship with others). That’s how we can really gauge our progress in this relationship: how we relate to others.

Once I enter into relationship with Christ, there’s also a benefit package, just like belonging to an organization. Those benefits are laid out in the scriptures. Among the benefits is a promise that Christ Jesus will be with me always, through everything. Once committed to this particular relationship, nothing can separate me from Christ [Romans 8:38-39].

And if I fear, I can call out, “I am yours, save me!” [Psalm 119:94].

I am yours. Save me. I am yours. Help me. I am yours. Draw me. I am yours… and no other.

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Past and Future Witness

Posted in Christmas Through Epiphany, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on December 31, 2009| Leave a Comment »

When we enter into relationship with Christ Jesus we are also entering into an agreement to be a witness to the acts of Jesus in our lives up until that moment and as events unfold in the future. Much like the cusp of the New Year… we look back, but we also look forward.

Acts 26:15b-16
” ‘I am Jesus, whom you [Paul] are persecuting,’ the Lord replied. ‘Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen of me and what I will show you. …”

When I started on the Way, I was a little embarrassed. I wasn’t comfortable with the trappings of being a “Christian.” There was a whole new vocabulary and depending on the types of believers around me, there were expectations about behaviors. Sometimes, the whole thing just didn’t feel real. Was I really going to carry a bible around with me all the time and wear a cross around my neck and give homage to Christian holidays? Was I really a person who would stop saying Jesus Christ! when I banged my toe or hit my fingers with a hammer? Was I really going to go to church every Sunday or even extra days throughout the week? Would I pray in public? Would I raise my hands and dance in the aisles or would I kneel in a pew and cross myself? Would I pray for people over the phone? Would I ask people to pray for me on the Internet?

Which of these outward expressions would really witness to my faith in Christ?

None. Not really. Somewhere along the way, I realized it was my transformations within that would dictate my outer expressions. And even from the very beginning, there was a powerful presence of the Holy Spirit in my life. No matter how I stumbled, there was a wooing that would bring me back to the Way.

I experienced private joy when I walked around my apartment for an hour singing the only Christian song I knew, Jesus Loves Me. There were intense times of forgiveness of my father who died and abandoned me at a young age, and forgiveness of people who had hurt me, and forgiveness of myself for the hurts I had caused others (my mother, my first husband, my brother, my friends). There were testing times too because I wanted to see if God really cared about me as an individual. He did. He does.

Now, what of tomorrow? What will be my witness be for tomorrow? What more will the Christ do in my life? Perhaps this is the reason I write now… to capture today so I can be ready for the next hour, the afternoon, the evening, and then tomorrow.

Yes, I am on the Way. It is a long path that winds ahead. I can look back on that path and see where I took some “long cuts” (opposite of a short cut) and I can see where the path was wide and easy as well as the places that were narrow and difficult. When I turn to look ahead, I can see there are curves ahead that prevent me from seeing very far into the future. But I do see that there is a path. And when I look around, I can see the footprints of others. I am not alone on the Way.

Yes, it’s all good. I am comfortable in my Jesus shoes at last. I am content.

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Cup of Grace

Posted in Advent, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on December 10, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Each day has an abundance of bad choices, wrong steps, hurt feelings, and ill temper. If my sins were collected in bottles, I’d have a case of them in no time at all. This is why I am so grateful for a faith that offers an abundance of grace (unmerited favor, spiritual blessing, and mercy [Amplified]).

Acts 20:24b
“…if only I [Paul] may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.”

The people of Paul’s time were equally downtrodden with the burdens of their day. For the Jews, it was the codified law that had become a heavy weight around their necks. There was no way to follow and meet the standards of that law. For the non-Jews who believed in Yahweh (and thereby, one God), there was this overwhelming sense of being on the “outside” of the whole truth, stepchildren of the faithful. And for those who had walked away from God, there was no hope of redemption at all.

This was the message of grace that Paul offered to everyone he met: accept Jesus as the Messiah and find freedom in his rabbi’s yoke.

Some fear this emphasis on grace and have coined the appropriation of God’s Grace when applied everything and everyone as “cheap grace” particularly when a person calls on grace to cover ongoing and willful sins or bad behaviors. But, if grace belongs to God, then it is God who ultimately sorts out the application of His love to a person’s circumstances or human troubles.

My job, like Paul’s, is to tell the story of God’s Grace in my life. I cannot know how grace will feel or look in the life of another. But I do know, on the day that Grace covered me, I was made new. Where there had been no hope, there was hope. Where there had been disillusionment and fear, there was confidence and peace. Where there had been deep sorrows, there was a possibility for joy.

And so it goes each day, I pour out my bottle of sins and grievances into the hands of Christ and He has me drink instead from the cup of his mercy.

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