A mind set on God's Interests

Peter's confession of Jesus as the Christ was one of his "finest moments" yet it was followed by one of his worst. Jesus began to share how he would be delivered over to the authorities and killed and then rise again and Peter would have none of that talk. Jesus soundly rebuked Peter and among other things said, "...you are not setting your mind on God's interests, but on man's" (Mk.8:33). This made me stop and think how often it is that I am prone to set my mind on man's interests and not God's. When things don't go my way, life is difficult, hardships come, disappointment, economic woes, people disappoint, work is discouraging, people let me down, encouragement is scarce, and I don't perform as I want. Jesus went on to give us a hint as to just what He was talking about by mind set on God's interests in the next few verses. A life of sacrifice in service for Him. "If anyone wishes to come after me, let Him deny Himself, take up His cross and follow me"(Mk.8:34). A call to deny ourselves, to die to self and to follow Christ, to make Him Lord of all. To lose our lives--to sacrifice what we look to as a source of satisfaction--for Him will mean that we gain life. Lord, help me keep my mind focused on your interests today.

No Condemnation

Paul declared in Romans 8:1-2, "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set us free from the law of sin and death." What a blessed privilege to be FREE from the power and penalty of sin. Not perfect mind you; Not free to live however I want; but free from sin's control, and free to chose to do what is right, not because of who I am, but because of what He's done, not because of what I've done, but because of who He is. Grateful to be pardoned through Christ's great sacrifice and wanting others to know that pardon, peace, and purpose as well. Later Paul reminds everyone who is trusting Christ as Savior that "If God is for us, then who can be against us" (Ro.8:31)--the verse Ray Lewis quoted last night after the Ravens won the super bowl. Paul went on to remind us that nothing will separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord (8:38-39). Comforting words in a world where it is increasingly difficult to live our faith.

Who is this?

Ever been on a lake when the wind was blowing and the waves were choppy? The disciples--many seasoned fishermen--were freaked out by a severe storm (Mk.4). Jesus "rebuked the wind...and the wind died down and it became perfectly calm." That's amazing--"perfectly calm". The disciples response? "Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him" (Mk.4:41). Jesus' exercise of divine authority is a comfort to me as I see a world in turmoil; wrong promoted as right and right vilified as wrong; the wicked seemingly prospering and the righteous suffering; so many chasing satisfaction in fame, fortune, and fancy stuff; class envy, greed, people proud of and rewarded for violating the law; politicians promoting their own selfish agenda under the guise of "concern for others"; and unrest throughout the world. I look to the one who is in charge, trust Him to lead the way forward, and pray that many others will turn to Him as well.

Created Free

One of the most significant marks of our being "in the image of God" is our ability to exercise our will and make choices. When we do these things in a way that is pleasing to God we reflect His character and bring Him Glory. When we are deprived of the ability to make these God-honoring free choices (by individuals, government, or other circumstances) then a major part of our God-likeness is unjustly suppressed. Freedom is a fundamental right from our creator that human beings will go to great lengths to preserve. That is why the writers of the Declaration of Independence stated that "Liberty" in an unalienable right received from our Creator. That's why those who founded the United States threw off the tyranny of the King. That's why Patrick Henry cried out, "Give me liberty or give me death." Everyone created in the image of God resonates with the deep call for freedom. I believe that a good deal of the discontent in America today centers around the fact that more and more people are sensing that their liberty is in jeopardy. Increasingly the freedom to choose what is pleasing to God is being taken from us. We are required to have health care or pay a "tax". When we pay for health care we are forced to pay for services and procedures that we may personally find offensive (i.e. for contraceptives). For a long time I wondered what the Biblical basis was for the founders declaring that liberty was an unalienable right. In a recent study of God's attributes (His will and freedom) which to some degree have been passed along to us made it clear that freedom of choice (not any choices, but those which are pleasing to Him, reflect His character and bring Him glory) is part of what it means to be an image bearer...to be made in the likeness of God. So indeed, liberty is an unalienable right and one which deep within our being we seek to defend. Tyranny attempts to suppress freedom and it is against such suppression those created in the image work to free themselves.

Accept the Gift

‎"There is none who seeks for God; All have turned aside...there is none who does good... for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" Ro. 3:11,12,23. Bad news indeed, but the glorious good news is that God seeks after us so that we can be "justified as a gift by His grace...through faith apart from the works of the Law" (Ro.3:24,28). I'm so glad that God came after me and moved in me to accept His gift. That same gift of being declared right before God when we are in fact guilty, is available to all who by grace through faith accept Christ's sacrifice/death as the payment we deserve. When in repentance (turning from our sin) and faith (belief that Christ's death paid the debt I owe) we humble ourselves and turn to God through Christ, we are declared not guilty. Pauls says, that we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from the works of the Law. So many of us believe that if we just do enough of the right things God will accept us. WRONG! Doing nice things won't earn forgiveness. We are saved only by grace through faith in Christ--Ephesians 2:8-9. Why not accept the gift of salvation today? Romans 10:9-10 says, If we confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in our heart that God has raised Him from the dead we will be saved. For with the heart man believes resulting in righteousness and with the mouth he confesses resulting in salvation. So my friend, believe in your heart and confess with your mouth and be saved from sin, death, and eternity apart from God.

Good News

After an intense day of ministry (Mark 1:14-34) Jesus rose early to spend time alone praying. When His disciples found Him they urged Him to return to the crowds and Jesus replied, " Let us go somewhere else to the towns nearby, in order that I may preach there also; for that is what I came out for" (1:38). Jesus stayed on mission--to proclaim primarily that restoration back into right relationship with God and forgiveness of sins is available to all who believe His death on the cross paid the penalty they owe. Jesus did a lot of wonderful things, said a lot of important things, but if we miss that He sacrificed His life to provide a way for us back into right relationship with God we miss the Good News. I don't know about you but as I listen to all that is happening in the world I could use a little good news. Great to know that God knew that what we really needed is a Savior. Not an economist, not a military strategist, not a politician, not an educator. But because our greatest problem is that we are bent on living for ourselves in rebellion against God, He sent His Son to provide a way for us to be forgiven and be restored back into right relationship with Him. This is the good news Jesus proclaimed---"repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand" and what we are called to proclaim as well.

God is in this Place

Jacob met God while sleeping on a rock. he was not looking for God, but God found Jacob (Gen. 28). in fact, Jacob had been a scoundrel, but God is in the business of seeking out and saving such people. jacob's response, "Surely The Lord is in this place and I did not know it" (28:16) is a powerful reminder to everyone. For those running from God it is a reminder of how vain it is to think He is unaware. For every child of God--especially those struggling to understand their difficulty or those feeling lonely or whenever we feel empty or like God is silent and not working--there is such wonderful, powerful, and meaningful encouragement in knowing, "Surely The Lord is in this place and I did not know it." He is with us even when we are not cognizant of the fact. Good news indeed.