wait on Him... Hebrews 9:27-28...

And just as it is appointed for man to die once,

and after that comes judgment, so Christ,

having been offered once to bear the sins of many,

will appear a second time, not to deal with sin

but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.

Hebrews 9:27-28 ESV

Man dies but once...

then judgment...

So Jesus...

dying once... as an offering for sin...

was judged sinless...

raised again to life...

life eternal...

He's coming back...

but He will not deal with sin...

that's done... judgment is set...

"... Whoever believes in him is not condemned,

but whoever does not believe is condemned already,

because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. ..."

John 3:18 ESV

He's coming to gather up... those who believe...

those eagerly waiting... for Him...

Do you believe...? 

Is He coming back for you...? 

Or have you condemned yourself...? with unbelief...?

If you believe...

wait eagerly...

He is coming for you...!

lean on Him... Psalm 112:7...

He is not afraid of bad news;

his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord.

Psalm 112:7 ESV

I used to live my life... afraid of bad news...

this is the reality of one who lives worried... anxious...

Being fearful of the next bad thing... flows from a heart filled with unbelief...

I say this because I know...

I was...

fearful... unbelieving...

even as a new Believer...

and a decade or so after...

To believe in Him is to trust Him...

to trust Him... is to know He has your best at heart...

to trust Him... is to know nothing happens without His allowing it...

to trust Him... is to know it is for your good and His glory...

A heart firm... trusting in our good... gracious... loving... all-powerful... God... is a heart free from fear of bad news... free of worry... free of anxiety...

Where are you...? when it comes to fear of bad news...?

Exercise your faith today... trust Him... with your worry...

believers... are... changed...

Three things converged...
three things seemingly unconnected... but now all tied up...
three things bringing clarity... stirring holy discontent... and a reason to preach...

First... today's word for the after school Bible lesson...changed...
a word inextricably tied to believing...

To be changed... is to be different than before...
the word for the Bible lesson led me to review my journey of change...

From the moment He captured my heart in an ICU waiting room... something happened in my spirit that distinctly changed... me...

It wasn't like God and the gospel were new to me...
they were things I would have told you I believed...
but really... there had been no change in my life...
therefore I really didn't believe...

Changes began with a commitment... desire... to seek Him out...
in His Word...
in prayer...

Changes began with the understanding that He is right...
I am wrong...
His Word true...
my way skewed...

Changes began to be revealed...
ones I hadn't tried to change... they... just... changed...
my taste in movies... books...
these changes caught me by surprise...

Yes... Believers... are... changed...

In addition to the Bible lesson...
I've pulled out a Bible study I began writing years ago...
one unfinished...
one on faith... and how to exercise it...

Reviewing... rewriting...
preparing to actually teach it...
the first lesson is... believe...

So in addition to the focus on being changed...
I've begun mulling over anew what it means to believe...

To be a Believer... we must... believe...
(1) there is a God... a single Creator... Three Persons in One...
(2) He is who He says He is... Sovereign... Almighty... All Knowing...
(3) we are sinners... broken... corrupt... perverted... in our reasoning and understanding...
(4) we must believe Jesus came to save us... the Son of God... God Himself... full of grace... mercy.... truth...
(5) we must believe Scripture... receive it literally as God's Word... breathed out by Him...

The gift of faith... leads to true believing...
an act of grace... on which we act...
in order to be changed... and... continue changing...

The third piece of these entangled thoughts...
center on the General Conference of the United Methodist Church (UMC)...

I currently attend... worship... with a United Methodist congregation...
this week the UMC is conducting their once every four year conference...
to consider change to the church discipline... doctrine... what they say they believe...

As with many other mainstream denominations...
they are seeking to change His Word... His Way...
make Him more in line with the world...
make Him more palatable to the twenty-first century...

And here is where I get stirred... especially with thoughts of changed... and believe... floating around in my heart...

Believers DON'T change His Word... His Way...
Believers understand we are broken...
Believers subject... surrender... themselves... to the process of change...

He is the Rock...
Unchangeable... Immutable... Eternal... Trustworthy...

For in Scripture it says:

"See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone,

and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame."

1 Peter 2:8

When we try to change Him...
it's only to our detriment...

"The stone the the builders rejected has become the capstone," and,

"A stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall."

1 Peter 2:7-8

So I have to wonder at Believers who say they believe...
yet don't allow Him to change them...
but fight... strive... connive... to change Him... His Word... His Way...

The challenge I gave to fourth graders today... I give to you...
Look at your life... since you've said you believe... if you call yourself a Believer...
Have you changed...? can you identify changes in your life...? your thoughts...? your desires...?
If not... ask Him for faith to believe... ask Him to change you...

It is a prayer with an automatic... Yes...

"Ask and it will be given to you;

seek, and you will find;

knock, and it will be opened to you. ..."

Matthew 7:7 ESV

Because it's just true... Believers... are... changed...

As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men

but in the sight of God chosen and precious,

you yourselves like living stones are being built up

as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood,

to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God

through Jesus Christ.

1 Peter 2:2 ESV

when things go wrong...

When things go wrong...
You... Lord... reveal my lack of faith...

And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea,

so that the boat was being swamped by the waves;

but he was asleep. And they went and woke him saying,

"Save us, Lord; we are perishing." And he said to them,

"Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?"

Matthew 8:24-26 ESV

Trials... both small and large... reveal the need for refining... purification... of faith...

The purification comes through repentance...
the recognition of lack of faith... trust...unbelief... as sin...
the confession... of each specific moment... each revelation where your faith failed...
the choosing to turn away from unbelief... and live by faith...

After yesterday... a hard day of minor trials...
it all comes together... while praising Him for His faithfulness...

But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God,

slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.

Psalm 86:15

The trials He allows...
the hindrances of Satan...
the brokenness of the world...
all expose... unbelief in a Believer's heart...

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of  various kinds,

for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.

And let steadfastness have its full effect,that you may be perfect and complete,

lacking in nothing.

James 1:2-4 ESV

The trials He allows... evidence of His love... and faithfulness...
to complete what He's begun in our hearts... perfect us...
to expose what needs to go... that we might draw nearer to Him...

What's been exposed in your heart lately...? what unbelief...?
Do you question His sovereignty and purpose...?
Do you doubt His love for you...?
Do you wonder if He can really heal...?

We are called to be faith-full...
He alone... the only one... true to His Word...
His Word of love... healing... and faithfulness...

Father God... thank You for trials that reveal unbelief...

Thank You... for the understanding of their purpose...

a refining fire... a means of revelation... and purification...

bless me with the faith and boldness to receive each difficulty

for what it truly is... a testing... of my faith... my trust... in You...

For you, O God, tested us; you refined us like silver.

You brought us into prison and laid burdens on our backs.

You let men ride over our heads; we went through fire and water,

but you brought us to a place of abundance.

Psalm  66:11

unbelief...

Words in the current Bible study remind me this morning of a dark time of anxiety and unbelief...

We say, "Trust God," yet we agonize privately over whether He can be trusted.

---Beth Moore, Children of the Day, 1 & 2 Thessalonians

Trust God... it's easy to say... hard to do...

Evidence of unbelief... which is not trusting God... include... worry... anxiety... fear...

Is there evidence of unbelief in your heart...?

I walked through a deep darkness of anxiety for about a decade...
not a fun walk... but at the deepest point of the pit...
I realized... all my anxiety... all my fear...
came from a heart of UNBELIEF...

I didn't believe Him...
I didn't believe He was who He said He was...
I didn't believe He had my best interest at heart...
I'm not even sure I believed He was good...
but... when I came face to face with the truth of my unbelief...
I began to choose to TRUST GOD...
through faithful obedience...

Steps of faithful obedience...
are the only cure...
for an unbelieving heart...

When we actually take God at His Word...
trust Him... and act on that trust...
that's when life begins to change...

Faithful obedience...
is the surest... and fastest way...
to experience the freedom...
He says we have as Believers...

I dare you... challenge you...
ask Him today...
Where am I walking in unbelief...?

When He reveals your lack of trust...
take heart... take courage... take steps of faithful obedience...

He is not afraid of bad news;

his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord.

Psalm 112:7 ESV

feeling small...

Last night's surrender... led to a not so mild meltdown...

The stretching thin... feeling more like a breaking point...

Grumpy... edgy... crotchety (as my mom would have said)...
I went about doing things I could do...
sweeping...
mopping...
cooking...
taking out garbage...

In the midst of all... He threw out reminders...

The stretching thin... to be a thin place... where I draw strength from Him... not seek more from within...

During the sweeping of dirt... and complaints about those who drug it in... He reminds... my loved ones... me... are made of the same stuff...

As a father shows compassion to his children,

so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.

For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust.

Psalm 103:13-14 ESV

Taking out the trash under the broad expanse of stars... I'm reminded... He is big enough... to handle what He has called me to do... in His time... not mine...

...therefore thus says the Lord God,

"Behold, I am the one who has laid as a foundation in Zion,

a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation:

'Whoever believes will not be in haste.' ..."

Isaiah 28:16 ESV

My frantic... panicked... haste... a lack of trust in Him... 

Unbelief raising its ugly head...

Under the stars... tears welled...

repentance returned...

and I became small...

But for you, O Lord, do I wait;

it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer.

Psalm 38:15 ESV

do you know you're free...?

As a new creation in Christ Jesus... we are free...from the power of sin... and death...

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.

Romans 8:1-2 ESV

How does this truth play out in your day-to-day life...? do you feel free...? 

I know I struggle... struggle with sin... fear... anxiety... struggle to find peace... wrestle with feelings of guilt... and shame...

What about you...?

But He says... we are free... dead to sin... 

So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

John 8:36 ESV

Seems to boil down to a belief issue... or more to the point... unbelief...

Do you believe it...? that you are free...? from the power of sin... and death...?

Is unbelief keeping you from living the resurrected life...? living out what is already yours...?

This has been a theme in my life lately... books... songs... reminding... explaining... what it means to be in Him...

Oh, it is a great thing to see that we are in Christ! Think of the bewilderment of trying to get into a room in which you already are! Think of the absurdity of asking to be put in! If we recognize the fact that we are in, we make no effort to enter. If we had more revelation, we should have fewer prayers and more praises. We spend so much time praying for ourselves just because we are blind to what God has done.

---Watchman Nee, The Normal Christian Life

Are you fighting for what you already have...? blind to what He has done...? in you...? for you...?

Before going to bed the other night... I tried to lock the back door...
The lock had been sticking lately... but I literally could not turn the deadbolt...
I was getting really frustrated...
then I realized... it was already locked...!

A picture for me... of the reality of the frustration... anger... confusion... we face when we try to achieve something that's already been done for us...

All there was for me to do... was accept that the door was locked... and go to bed (wondering if early onset dementia was in my future)...!

How often do we struggle with sin... wondering why God won't answer our prayer... make us more patient... kinder... merciful...? give us power to resist temptation...?

Well... consider... you are already dead to sin... it has no power over you... it does not need to be fought for with your will... and your strength... it's already done...

Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Romans 6:8-11 ESV

The Greek translated as... must consider... is an accounting term... a record keeping term involving debits and credits (Louw-Nida)... so Paul is telling us that we must believe ourselves dead to sin... and alive to God... in the same manner and surety... as we balance our checking accounts...

Believe it with the same acceptance... as I did the locked door...

I suppose I could have kept on struggling with the lock... letting unbelief have its way... but that would be stupid... insane actually...

Perhaps we need to consider... and count on... the promises and truths... He says we have in Him... and stop trying to get something... do something... be something... we already are... if we would just accept it...

Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

Romans 6:13-14 ESV

(emphasis added)

Just simply present yourself to Him... 

accepting His death... as yours... 

accepting His life... as yours...

He doesn't want your effort... or sacrifices... He wants you...

He wants your heart...

Are you willing to give it to Him...? wholly...?

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Believe Him wholly... and live free...

And my God will supply every need of yours

according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

To our God and Father be glory forever and ever.

Philippians 4:19-20 ESV

crucified...

Processing what it means... to be crucified with Him...

New insights... from an old book... bring me face to face... with my own unbelief... and limited understanding... of His crucifixion... my baptism into His death... and resurrection...

The real meaning behind baptism is that in the cross we were "baptized" into the historic death of Christ, so that  His death became ours. Our death and His became then so closely identified that it is impossible to divide between them. It is to this historic "baptism" --- this God-wrought union with Him --- that we assent when we go down into the water. Our public testimony in baptism today is our admission that the death of Christ two thousand years ago was a mighty all-inclusive death, mighty enough and all-inclusive enough to carry away in it and bring to an end everything in us that is not of God.

--- Watchman Nee, The Normal Christian Life 

His death... my death...

Receiving His crucifixion... brings to an end... everything in me that is not of God...

His resurrection... my resurrection...

Longing... to take hold of the freedom from sin He says is mine...

Seeking... asking Him to open my eyes... and heart... to the Truth...

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Galatians 2:20 ESV

Lord Jesus... open my eyes to the reality of my death... 

and resurrection... in You...

a question of faith...?

Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.

Hebrews 11:1 NLT

Is it really a question of faith...? this cynicism... rooted deep...?

Faith = confidence that what we hope will happen

I have very distinct hopes... 

but confidence that they will come to pass...?

not so much...

Where's the line between faith... and presumption...?

Shallow faith...? is that really what's at issue...?

By faith we understand 

that the universe was created by the word of God, 

so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.

Hebrews 11:3 ESV

This I can do... 

understand that the universe was created by the Word... 

visible made from invisible...

Perhaps I need to return to the beginning...

become grounded in the Truth...

God makes things visible... out of the invisible...

nothing needed... to create... what is hoped for...

the power of His Word... enough...

Perhaps I need to emulate the father of the faithful... 

take lessons from Abraham...

We call Abraham "father" not because he got God's attention by living like a saint, but because God made something out of Abraham when he was a nobody. Isn't that what we've always read in the Scripture, God saying to Abraham, "I set you up as father of many peoples"? Abraham was first named "father" and then became a father because he dared to trust God to do what only God could do: raise the dead to life, with a word make something out of nothing.

Romans 4:17 Msg

Lord... if I can believe... have faith... that You created the entire universe... and everything in it... out of nothing... then I can certainly... believe You can bring my hopes... to reality... even when there is no sign of change... Lord... I believe... in the power of Your Word... Amen...

fear vs faith

Fear is the opposite of faith...

I said it last week... it's not an original thought... several times I've heard it and read it...

The first emotion expressed by fallen humankind was fear (see Gen. 3:10). Fear of anything other than God is mutually exclusive to faith in God.

--- Neil Anderson, Victory Over Darkness 

The comment, however, has echoed... or rather haunted... because of the way it was received... or interpreted... as meaning: if you fear... you have no faith...

Now... I'm not saying... feelings of fear and worry... mark you as devoid of faith... faith-less...

To me... it simply means you are not living out of faith... you are exercising unbelief... rather than belief...

I have a lot of experience with fear... worry... anxiety...

For many years these emotions ran my life... and it all began after I took my step of faith... threw it all in with Him... began to walk the Way...

I can tell you the exact moment... fear began to corrupt... cripple... my ability to live by faith...

It began with an irrational choice to give into an inexplicable fear... rather than stand on the truth of what I knew... I let a feeling override my experience... I believed a lie...

Fear and anxiety entered... and began to grow... taking over more and more of my life... but faith did not leave... I just lived as if I didn't have any... acting as if His Word wasn't true... and He wasn't enough...

I lived that way... a... long... time...

It occurred to me this week... in the midst of this haunting... that to live with fear... as a Believer in Jesus... one of God's adopted... is to be like a very wealthy individual who lives as if they are very poor...

Do you know anyone like that...?

I do... it can be very frustrating... to see someone so well-off... fear and fret... over pennies...!

The Word tells us we have everything we need... to live a life of faith...

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing

in the heavenly places...

Ephesians 3:1 ESV

This verse begins a passage that I encourage you to read the rest of... (click on the Scripture reference above to go to the full chapter online if you don't have a Bible handy...) 

Paul expounds on the riches of His grace... the guarantee of the inheritance... and then he reveals his prayer for the faithful... 

I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.

Ephesians 3:17-19 NIV

Even though Paul knew of their faith... and love for the saints... he prayed for their spiritual eyes to be enlightened... to the truth... of their glorious riches... and power... in Christ...

Paul knew... it was important to know the Truth... because fear... is always ready to feed you a lie...

God began to work in my life... little by little... showing me where I was living in unbelief... not by faith...

I didn't believe He was who He said He was... or who I was... because if I had... I wouldn't have been so fearful... I would have trusted Him and lived quite differently...

Fear of the Lord... is the beginning of faith... and the key to leaving behind paralyzing fear...

People around the world are paralyzed by fear of anything and everything but God. Chuck Colson said, "For the church in the West to come alive, it needs to resolve its identity crisis, to stand on truth, to renew its vision... and more than anything else, it needs to recover the fear of the Lord."

 --- Neil Anderson, Victory Over Darkness

We are so susceptible to fear in this broken... troubled... world... but over and over... the Word tells us...

Do not be afraid...

Live in the Truth... not according to a lie...

Trust in him at all times, O people;

pour out your heart before him;

God is a refuge for us.

Psalm 62:8 ESV

So today... I pray for Believers struggling with fear... and anxiety... I pray as Paul prayed...

May God bless you with the Spirit of wisdom and revelation... that you may know Him better... trust Him more... and live by the riches of your faith... and by every spiritual blessing you have already received... Lord... open the eyes of their heart... to Your truth... love... power... and grace... in Jesus's name... Enable each one to live as the truly well-off... and not the bankrupt...

eccentric... exiting grace...

Eccentric... a word from Saturday's teaching on grace...

She made one brief point... but the word... it echoes...

eccentric - "ek" = exit    "centric" = center  

...leaving the center...

...as a Christian, grace is our center...

She spoke too fast for my pen... but this is what I drew...

The center of the cross... marks the center of grace...

Followers of Christ find center... by being crucified with Him... by faith... dead to self... 

At the center of the cross... we stand fully in grace...

For unbelievers... and the world... the center is found in self... 

(I drew as I processed this post today...)

The truth is... the selflessness of Christ on the cross... appears eccentric... to the world...

My current treadmill read confirms...

... the center of the secular worldview is self: What will I get out of this? Who will meet my needs? I'm doing my own thing. ...

...Satan is called the prince of this world because self-interest rules the world. ...

...Such is Satan's creed, and unfortunately the lives of all too many people validate his claims. Satan has deceived them into thinking they are serving themselves when in fact they are serving the world, the flesh, and the devil. 

--- Neil Anderson, The Bondage Breaker 

Unfortunately... many Believers are eccentric... living lives much like those of unbelievers... self-centered... leading to anxiety... depression... angst... worthlessness...

Keeping center... embracing His death... as ours... forms the foothold... of grace... a foundation of peace...

No need to fret over behavior... ours... or others... He has paid the price... He receives the glory... we receive His grace... by faith...

To lose one's life for His sake... seems like foolish eccentricity to the world... but for us who believe... it is the power of grace... and peace...

For the message of the cross is foolishness 

to those who are perishing,

but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

1 Corinthians 1:18

Eccentric... 

A word that reminds me... to keep centered... on grace... by faith...

[Similar fare...

grateful... for grace... and its power...

standing in... the joy of grace...

more thoughts... from the teaching on grace...]