"With what shall I come before the Lord and bow down before the exalted God? Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?" Micah 6:6-7
So often we ask the same thing. What should I offer my God? What will compensate for my wrong-doing? We begin to live a lifestyle of works, thinking that if we work hard enough and do enough good deeds God will be pleased. Wrong. James 2:17 says "....faith by itself, if not accompanied by action, is dead." This is true. However, so often we focus on the action of doing and overlook faith in the equation. We do not serve a God that can be bought. All the good deeds in the world cannot save your soul. I'm not saying there isn't a place for good deeds. Jesus himself, called us to love the poor and the weak. What I am saying is empty works are just that--empty. God is not looking for a resume' of good works--for someone to buy their way to heaven out of guilt. He is looking for a person, who will live with integrity, who will honor Him inside and out.
Right after the question was asked, "with what shall I come before the Lord?" the answer was given in Micah 6:8. “He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." Let us think on this for a moment: to act justly and love mercy and walk humbly with your God. Notice the lack of commas which would suggest that one be done after the other. No, instead "and" appears in its place. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines "and" as a function word to indicate connection. Verse 8 says that we should "live justly and love mercy and walk humbly." Each should be done equally and simultaneously with the previous. It isn't an option of picking and choosing.
What does this mean? It means that as believers we are called to act in a way that honors our brothers in Christ but more importantly our God. It means to be merciful to our neighbor and when our neighbor isn't merciful in return to love them anyway. Finally it means to rid ourselves of pompous thinking--to move our focus from ourselves to others and Christ and to live graciously. I can guarantee that this is not an easy thing to do. I also guarantee that there will be times when we will cry out to God. But I know that if we don't examine our hearts and rid ourselves of all unrighteous (including selfish gain) that one day, you and I both will look back and regret not living to our fullest potential which is to honor Christ.
"Father, show me how to strip myself of selfish gain. Envelope me. May my every breath be for Your glory. Without you, my life is meaningless. May I not live on this earth only to die in vain, having not furthered Your kingdom. To You be the glory, forever and ever. Amen."
Monday, February 15, 2010
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Pressing On.
I realize my posts have a similar trend and often state the same truths. Regardless, I invite you to walk alongside me as you get a glimpse of my heart and the things God has taught me through this new phase in life.
"Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." - Philippians 3:12-14
Eight months ago I graduated from college, finished my last day of work and embarked on a new journey--one that would have twists and turns I could not imagine. I spent my summer months roaming, searching, grasping for something. Finally in late July, after months of silence I heard His voice--a sense of direction, finally! So I gathered my earthly belongings and moved! Admittedly I thought that things would fall into place once I settled in--that I would have a source of income, a social life, a sense of purpose and belonging. It was as if I had pictured life after college to be the last chapter, that it was all smooth sailing. Of course, logically I knew there would be trials and I knew that I would be stretched but I am not sure that reality had struck quite yet.
Five months, 30+ job applications, and a hit and miss part-time job later I am beginning to realize something I knew all along--life is not the perfect dream! One thing remains true however, God is sovereign! I know I have said this before but I will not be convinced otherwise. I remember writing a philosophy paper in college about whether God determined good or if good determined God. Think about that for a minute. I don't remember my conclusion in the paper exactly but I can tell you this: God's desire is for the greater good. We are a narrow-minded, selfish people who ninety-nine percent of the time look to our own interests first. God is not confined to our way of thinking. He sees the bigger picture, the WHOLE picture. So what if things are not the way I planned. Regardless of my plan, my prayer is that I would be willing to further His kingdom! I have never before felt this strongly about that objective.
Even knowing these things it is easy to allow the fact that my finances are dwindling rapidly, that I have no prospects for employment and that I will likely have to move out of my apartment, get me down at times. Then there was tonight. As a youth worker I have the opportunity to hear a good friend and mentor share his heart. He spoke about pressing on. When you are in the thick of it, tired and can't muster up enough strength to take another step, press on anyway. When things seem grim, when all you want to do is quit, press on.
"Father, you know my heart. Your Word says You knitted me together in my mother's womb. You rejoice over me in love. Abba, when my strength is fleeting I cry out to You to lift me up. I have faith in You, not because of Your goodness towards me but because You deserve my praise. When my pride seeps to my bones, You are patient. You gently remind me of Your majesty. I admit, some days I don't want to do things the way You would have me do them. But with every fiber I cry,'All for Your glory.' Lord, let it be."
"Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." - Philippians 3:12-14
Eight months ago I graduated from college, finished my last day of work and embarked on a new journey--one that would have twists and turns I could not imagine. I spent my summer months roaming, searching, grasping for something. Finally in late July, after months of silence I heard His voice--a sense of direction, finally! So I gathered my earthly belongings and moved! Admittedly I thought that things would fall into place once I settled in--that I would have a source of income, a social life, a sense of purpose and belonging. It was as if I had pictured life after college to be the last chapter, that it was all smooth sailing. Of course, logically I knew there would be trials and I knew that I would be stretched but I am not sure that reality had struck quite yet.
Five months, 30+ job applications, and a hit and miss part-time job later I am beginning to realize something I knew all along--life is not the perfect dream! One thing remains true however, God is sovereign! I know I have said this before but I will not be convinced otherwise. I remember writing a philosophy paper in college about whether God determined good or if good determined God. Think about that for a minute. I don't remember my conclusion in the paper exactly but I can tell you this: God's desire is for the greater good. We are a narrow-minded, selfish people who ninety-nine percent of the time look to our own interests first. God is not confined to our way of thinking. He sees the bigger picture, the WHOLE picture. So what if things are not the way I planned. Regardless of my plan, my prayer is that I would be willing to further His kingdom! I have never before felt this strongly about that objective.
Even knowing these things it is easy to allow the fact that my finances are dwindling rapidly, that I have no prospects for employment and that I will likely have to move out of my apartment, get me down at times. Then there was tonight. As a youth worker I have the opportunity to hear a good friend and mentor share his heart. He spoke about pressing on. When you are in the thick of it, tired and can't muster up enough strength to take another step, press on anyway. When things seem grim, when all you want to do is quit, press on.
"Father, you know my heart. Your Word says You knitted me together in my mother's womb. You rejoice over me in love. Abba, when my strength is fleeting I cry out to You to lift me up. I have faith in You, not because of Your goodness towards me but because You deserve my praise. When my pride seeps to my bones, You are patient. You gently remind me of Your majesty. I admit, some days I don't want to do things the way You would have me do them. But with every fiber I cry,'All for Your glory.' Lord, let it be."
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