belief

Gatekeepers or Grace Givers

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / 1 Comment

I think if we’re not careful, we can become gatekeepers of the grace of God. I read recently we judge ourselves by our intentions but others by their actions. In other words, we’re more lenient with ourselves than with others. I see a lot of professing believers posting about how they hope the other person gets karma (which almost always seems to be for somebody other than me).

It’s especially evident when it comes to people we don’t like or with people who think and vote differently than I. It’s almost as if God’s grace exists with exceptions for Donald Trump (or his supporters) and Kamala Harris (and her supporters). We make grace something you have to earn instead of a free gift.

But the truth is that no one is worthy of God’s grace and mercy, but everyone is welcome to it. I’ll say it again because someone out there (maybe me) needs to hear it again: no one is worthy of God’s grace and mercy but everyone is welcome to it.

That means that anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. With no exceptions. Anyone who acknowledges their sin and accepts Jesus as Lord and Savior, believes in Him by repenting of their sins and turning to His free gift of salvation, and confesses Him before others will be saved.

I think I get judgmental when I forget how it took the same amount of Jesus’ blood to save me as it took to save anyone else in history. It took all of it. I was (and still am) as much in need of the grace of God to save me and sustain me as anyone else who has ever lived.

The gospel means that no one is too lost to be found, too messed up to find grace, or too far gone to be saved. That’s the hope for the world and the message that every believer has to share with anyone who has ears to hear.

Act Yourself Into a New Way of Feeling

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“Feelings are great liars. If Christians worshipped only when they felt like it, there would be precious little worship. We think that if we don’t feel something there can be no authenticity in doing it. But the wisdom of God says something different: that we can act ourselves into a new way of feeling much quicker than we can feel ourselves into a new way of acting. Worship is an act that develops feelings for God, not a feeling for God that is expressed in an act of worship” (Eugene H. Peterson).

To act when you don’t feel it isn’t authentic. Often, it’s obedience. I do what’s right because I know it’s right and not because I feel it’s right. If I waited every time until I felt like worshipping or reading my Bible or tithing, I would do all those things a lot less.

Feelings are fickle. So often they are unreliable guides to base decisions and actions upon. I may not feel like it because I’m tired or hungry or not feeling well. Sometimes, feelings are based off of false or incomplete information. When I find out a key missing ingredient, my feelings change.

Faith is not a feeling. Love is not a feeling. Both are acts of the will. You are stating that I believe in something enough to put my full weight into it whether I feel like it or not. I love by acting in such a way that seeks the betterment of the other whether I feel it or not. Often when I commit to faith, the feeling follows. When I act in loving ways, then I feel loving.

Above all, worship is an act. It’s a declaration that God is worthy. Even when I don’t feel it, He’s still worthy. Even when I feel He’s absent or silent, He’s still worthy because my feelings may trick me or lie to me but God never will.

Happy Birth-Month to Me!

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I figured when you get to a certain age, you need to celebrate being alive. Somehow, I don’t think that one day is enough to appreciate the miracle of life, so I decided to take the whole month of February. I know, it’s a short month, even on leap years. But life is hard enough without allowing yourself some room for frivolity and fun.

My actual birthday is on February 28, as I was ever so close to being a leap year baby. If I’d been born only 11 hours later, I’d be celebrating on February 29 and only be 1/4 of my current age. I wish.

But age is nothing to be ashamed of, especially when you know far too many people who didn’t get to grow old. I see my life more and more as a gift, even when I’m starting to get those senior discounts without having to show any actual ID. That hurts a bit, I confess.

But God has been good to me for 53 years. I have way more blessings than I can count (and way more than I deserve if I’m being honest). I know that I’m a sinner saved by grace, and everything else that I get from God is the proverbial icing on the cake.

By the way, I wear size 8 1/2 Lucchese boots and I like my cabins size medium. JK. I figured out a long time ago that people matter more than stuff and memories last way longer than any possessions. Besides, I won’t be taking any of my stuff with me when I shuffle off this mortal coil. I mean have you ever seen a hearse pulling a U-Haul? Think about it.

Anyway, I’d like to make it to 100, but I’m thankful for whatever I get. If Jesus comes back before then, I’m definitely not going to complain. That will be the best day ever.

Comfortable Chairs or Carrying Crosses

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“What if we take away the cool music and the cushioned chairs? What if the screens are gone and the stage is no longer decorated? What if the air conditioning is off and the comforts are removed? Would His Word still be enough for his people to come together?” (David Platt)

“Heresy of method may be as deadly as heresy of message” (A.W. Tozer).

I’m a fan of comfortable chairs. I’m all for having working A/C in the summer and heating in the winter. But sometimes, I forget that people around the world are worshipping their Creator in caves or out in the open field. Some are in hiding because it’s illegal to be a believer where they live.

Maybe one day in America, churches won’t have the comforts and conveniences we’ve all grown used to and take for granted. Perhaps even down the road the churches could lose their tax exempt status. What then?

Will the Word of God be enough? When there’s no electricity to power the pyrotechnics and professional sound and production, will it be enough to praise God with our voices? Will people still show up if it’s someone in front of them reading God’s Word without flashy graphics or screens?

None of these things are wrong or bad in and of themselves, but I think we err when we make them the end rather than the means to proclaiming the gospel and leading the lost to find salvation in Jesus alone. Too many people to to churches to be entertain and fed rather than to worship and to serve. It’s more of a “what can I get out of it” mentality rather than one of “how can I serve the people inside and outside of these walls.”

I truly hope that we become a people of worship, but that doesn’t start when we walk through the sanctuary doors at 9 am or a 10:30 am on a Sunday. It starts when we pick up our Bibles on a Monday. When we share the gospel with a friend on Tuesday. When we work hard and don’t bend the rules on a Wednesday. The amount of worship we experience on Sunday stems from how well we worship throughout the week.

May God bless your churches and services tomorrow. I’m praying that God moves in each and every place. I’m also hoping that we don’t have to lose our comfortable buildings to find out what true worship looks like. God, please revive Your people so that we can be about Your business more than our comfort. Amen.

Amy Carmichael and Waiting

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“If I cannot hear ‘The sound of rain’ long before the rain falls, and then go out to some hilltop of the Spirit, as near to my God as I can and have faith to wait there with my face between my knees, though six times or sixty times I am told ‘There is nothing’, till at last there arises a little cloud out of the sea, then I know nothing of Calvary love (Read 1 Kings 18:41-45)” (Amy Carmichael).

We would get impatient after the first two times of waiting with no rain, but not Elijah. Seven times, he told his servant to go up and look toward the sea for any sign of rain. Six times, there was nothing. But the seventh time, there was a cloud as small as a man’s hand rising from the sea.

Imagine waiting that long. Then imagine waiting 70 X 7 times for that rain. Is that too long to wait? In this current age where everything is instant and having to wait for anything is tantamount to cruel and unusual punishment, then probably. But if it’s from God, it’s worth the wait, however long.

I love and appreciate the old writers like Amy Carmichael and Oswald Chambers because they didn’t mince words. They didn’t soft pedal the truth to sell more books. They spoke with the authority of a prophet and 100 years later, their words still ring true and speak to those with ears to hear.

Amy knew a bit about waiting. She was a missionary to India for 53 years and never had a furlough. She founded the Dohnavur Fellowship in 1901 with the aim of rescuing young girls from temple prostitution, making her the first to fight human trafficking long before it even had a name. It wasn’t until 1948, three years before she died, that temple prostitution was finally made illegal in India. That’s a long time to wait.

Waiting on God is never wasted. It’s always worth it because God is always worth it, and what He has for you is always worth waiting for. He is never early nor late with His promises, but always exactly right on time. People like Amy and Oswald learned through trials and suffering that they could trust Him, as do we when we learn to wait in silence upon the Lord.

Lord, again help us to wait well and trust Your promises even when everything seems to tell us differently. Our hope remains in You and Your stedfast love that never fails or runs out. Amen.

Blessed Are the Single-Hearted

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“Blessed are the single-hearted, for they shall enjoy much peace. If you refuse to be hurried and pressed, if you stay your soul on God, nothing can keep you from that clearness of spirit which is life and peace. In that stillness you will know what His will is” (Amy Carmichael).

“Purity of heart is to will one thing” (Søren Kierkegaard).

If we could only learn to keep our eyes on Jesus and not on our circumstances, we’d have more peace. As it is, we’re too often like Peter, who started off staring at Jesus as he walked out to Him on the waves but was too easily distracted by the storm. We’re too easily swayed by everything around us and the anxiety within us to look at Jesus for very long.

But He’s where the joy is, as I’ve heard a lot lately. Jesus is where the peace is. To be still and calm while the world is chaotic and raging around you can only be a gift of the Holy Spirit in you. That’s clarity in stillness.

I read recently that if you take a container full of muddy water and shake it, you won’t be able to see anything, but only when it is still does it become settled does it become clear. I think as we can remain calm and still before the Lord, so everything becomes clear for us as well as we can hear God’s voice without all the distractions from within and without.

Speak, Lord, for Your servants are listening. Help us to be still and know that You are God over our circumstances. Only You can speak peace to the storms within and without. Only You can still the fear inside Your children. Grant us rest and peace, O Lord. Amen.

Another Year, Another Devotional

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I’ve had this one a while. If memory serves, I picked it up outside the old library at Union University back in the day. If I had to hazard a guess, it would probably be somewhere around 1994 to 1995. So yeah, it’s been a little while.

But I always like to read through a good devotional along with reading through the Bible. This year felt like it needed some Charles H. Spurgeon. It’s an oldie but a goodie complete with King James-style English thrown in for good measure.

But it’s a book with a promise from God for every single day. Sometimes, you and I need that. We need to be reminded of God’s promises over and over again. We need to pray them every chance we get, not because God might have forgotten but because we have. And probably will again at some point.

Reading these old promises of God reminds me that the same God who made and fulfilled all His promises to His people way back when will keep every one toward us. We can rest on His every word and stand assured on the promises of God, as the old hymn says.

I for one am thankful that God is not like me when it comes to keeping those promises. I’d like to say that every time I said I’d pray for someone I kept that promise. Or whenever I said I’d keep in touch that I followed through. I wish.

But God is not like me. That gives me great comfort. What gives me greater comfort is that one day I will be like Him.

Thank You, Lord, that every single one of your Promises to Your people is YES and AMEN in Christ Jesus. That in itself is a promise as sure as the God who made it. Amen.

Ever Giving Lord

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“Our Lord Jesus is ever giving, and does not for a solitary instant withdraw His hand. As long as there is a vessel of grace not yet full to the brim, the oil shall not be stayed. He is a sun ever-shining; He is manna always falling round the camp; He is a rock in the desert, ever sending out streams of life from his smitten side; the rain of his grace is always dropping; the river of his bounty is ever-flowing, and the well-spring of his love is constantly overflowing” (Charles Spurgeon).

I remember a famous writer once said that you can never outgive God. I’ve never forgotten those words in all the years since I first read them. I’m finding them to be more and more true the older I get.

That’s the way God works. You go to serve in a homeless ministry or in a greeting capacity at a local church and end up getting way more blessed in return. It helps to remember that absolutely everything we own and all of our abilities we use to give were first gifts from God. We can never give anything back to God or to anyone else that God didn’t give to us first.

Sometimes, I think the only thing we offer God that’s ours is us. Our surrender. Our willingness. Our obedience. But even those are responses to the overflow of God’s love toward us, like us offering God a thimble of love from the ocean He washes over us.

But God is ever merciful and ever giving. He never ceases to give and bless and overwhelm His people with good things. They may not always look like blessings at first glance, but those with eyes of faith know.

Thank You, Lord, for every single blessing and gift — especially the small ones that I take for granted every day. I could never in a billion years come close to paying back or matching Your gifts to me. May I be a conduit for Your blessings to flow through me to others so that they can know You and know the joy of Your blessings. Amen.

In Place of Joy

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“For many, Christmas is no longer the day to celebrate the mystery of the birth of God among us, the God hidden in the wounds of humanity. It is no longer the day of the child, awaited with prayer and repentance, contemplated with watchful attentiveness, and remembered in liturgical solemnity, joyful song, and peaceful family meals. Instead, Christmas has become a time when companies send elaborate gifts to their clients to thank them for their business, when post offices work overtime to process an overload of greeting cards, when immense amounts of money are spent on food and drink, and socializing becomes a full-time activity. There are trees, decorated streets, sweet tunes in the supermarkets, and children saying to their parents: ‘I want this and I want that.’ The shallow happiness of busy people often fills the place meant to experience the deep, lasting joy of Emmanuel, God-with-us” (Henri Nouwen).

It seems strange for me to be posting a Christmas blog on January 7, the day after the Epiphany. But if you think about it, it makes sense. At least to me it does.

When you focus on all the wrong parts of Christmas, like the buying and getting, the wrapping and decorating, the parties and the food, then at some point it has to end. But when Christmas becomes the arrival of Emmanuel, then it never ends because Emmanuel has not left us nor will He ever.

I love all the other stuff. But it gets weird if the Christmas tree is still up and decorated in July. But I think the idea of treating others with kindness or giving to the less fortunate or being Jesus with skin on never gets old. That can be 24/7/365.

Above all, the greatest gift of Christmas is one that we can give to anybody anytime we share the hope of salvation in Jesus with anyone who hasn’t heard it before or who needs to hear it again for the 300th time. That’s the only part that we get to take with us to heaven — those who will go with us because we were faithful to share the good news.

The Way of Jesus

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What is the way of Jesus? What are those who follow Him called to be and to do?

The answer is simple. Repent and forgive.

Self-righteous finger pointing has no place in the Kingdom of God. Neither does condemning those who sin differently than I do. While we are called to speak in love against people when their actions don’t match their faith, neither you nor I get the right to judge their motives or intentions. Neither you nor I get to decide

Jesus never said, “You make sure everyone else is living right.”

What He said was, “You live right,” or better yet, “You repent. You seek to serve the least of these. You be holy.”

The Kingdom of God isn’t about a political party or platform. It’s not an ideology, either left or right, conservative or liberal.

It’s about the God’s love breaking into the world, one heart at a time.

You might say to Jesus, “But what about these people over there not doing right? What about those people flaunting their freedoms over and above any responsibility?”

Jesus says to you, “But what about you? You repent. You make peace and live in peace with others as much as it’s in your power to do so.

At the end of the day, the question to you and me will be how well we loved. How well we served and ministered to the least of them. How well we made visible the invisible grace of God.

Jesus also said to forgive.

That becomes possible when you and I understand that the kind of inhumanity and evil we’re capable of apart from the grace of God. Also, we need to embrace the fact that those we deem our enemies are still created in the image of God and loved by God.

When we grasp how much we’re forgiven by God, we can in turn forgive others.

“One of their religion scholars spoke for them, posing a question they hoped would show him up: ‘Teacher, which command in God’s Law is the most important?’ Jesus said, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence.’ This is the most important, the first on any list. But there is a second to set alongside it: ‘Love others as well as you love yourself.’ These two commands are pegs; everything in God’s Law and the Prophets hangs from them.'”