Great version of Hallelujah...

I did my best, it wasn't much

I couldn't feel, so I tried to touch

I've told the truth, I didn't come to fool you

And even though it all went wrong

I'll stand before the Lord of Song

With nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah

Omission... The Most Revolting Sin? (part 1)

Hello Beloveds!

I was recently pondering sins of omission, those times in life we’re prompted to act but don’t.  Would God really hold us accountable for something we didn't do?

 

The truth is, choosing inaction is itself an action.  This can take many different forms:

-That time you felt called to go on a mission trip, but didn't go because “life is just too crazy right now”.

-The time you drove by the person on the side of the road with the broken down car because “someone else will stop”.

-That time your wife hinted she needed to take a vacation, but you didn't because “money is just too tight”.

Life is full of choices which ultimately define us.  We go to church and through the motions, we speak a mean “christianese”, but when it comes to putting action to words or making the difficult decisions, we fall desperately short.  We're only half in.

What does the Bible say?

Airplane Analogy

Hi Beloveds...

If you've ever flown in an airplane, you know, before the plane even taxis out to the runway, all the passengers on board are given instructions on what to do in the case of an emergency.

One of these instructions has always amazed me.

Passengers are told, in case of an emergency where pressure and oxygen fall in the cabin, oxygen masks will drop from overhead.  They’re told to place these masks on themselves before assisting any of the passengers around them.   Special emphasis is even placed on doing this before helping any children or elderly.

To some this may seem selfish or cruel.  Is it really rational to ask a mother to put her life before that of her young child?

There is a profound wisdom here though.  And, I believe it’s a wisdom backed by the Word of God.

The reason our flight-attendant friends give the instruction they do, is because they know how quickly lack of oxygen can cause the human body to pass out.  Though still alive, the body is rendered completely ineffective.  They know, in this type of emergency, the best chance at saving lives is to have as many people conscious as possible.  If a passenger, including our mother, helps the person next to them while failing to secure their own mask first, there’s a chance both will end up unconscious and without oxygen.  Inversely, if our passenger first gets their mask on, they’ll be much more likely to stay conscious and able to help the passenger next to them.  Even if the passenger sitting next to them passes out while waiting for help, they’ll both ultimately receive the oxygen they need to survive.

Bottom line is this…  We’re no good to anyone else if we’re not ok ourselves.

Now I said there was Biblical evidence to back this up, and here it is:

You Won't Relent...

Beloveds...

I fell in love with these verses, and this song, a long time ago.  To this day, both still send shivers up my spine...  I break down the scripture a little bit below.

“Put me like a seal over your heart,

Like a seal on your arm.

For love is as strong as death,

Jealousy is as severe as Sheol;

Its flashes are flashes of fire,

The very flame of the Lord.

“Many waters cannot quench love,

Nor will rivers overflow it;

If a man were to give all the riches of his house for love,

It would be utterly despised.” ~Song of Solomon 8:6-7 (NASB)

“Put me like a seal over your heart,

~I, like many, believe Solomon is a representation of Christ, and the Shulammite Bride is a representation of His bride, the church.  There's much back and forth as to whether these verses are the bride talking to Solomon, or Solomon talking to his bride.  Though I guess it could work both ways, which in itself is beautiful, I lean towards the latter.   

Like a (Isaiah 49:16, Haggai 2:23) (Haggai 2:23) seal Or, Signet on your arm.

~The signet was a ring or seal worn around the neck, explaining the "over your heart" in previous line, or arm (shoulder).  Connotations of selection and ownership.

For love is as strong as death,

~The word for "is as strong" here is the Hebrew word 'az.  It carries with it the idea of vehemency, harshness, fierceness, greed, might, powerful, and  rough.  When paired with the word "jealousy"

The death of a patriarch and generational sin... part 3

Here are some verses confirming generational sin.

You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments. (Exodus 20:5-6 NASB) 

Then the Lord passed by in front of him and proclaimed, "The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations." (Exodus 34:6-7 NASB) 

'The Lord is slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, forgiving iniquity and transgression; but He will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generations.' (Numbers 14:18 NASB) 

You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, and on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments. (Deuteronomy 5:9-10 NASB) 

I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants, (Deuteronomy 30:19 NASB) 

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being My priest. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children. (Hosea 4:6 NASB)

Here are some verses proving generation sin in not permanent.

"Fathers shall not be put to death for their sons, nor shall sons be put to death for their fathers; everyone shall be put to death for his own sin. (Deuteronomy 24:16 NASB) 

"Yet you say, 'Why should the son not bear the punishment for the father's iniquity?' When the son has practiced justice and righteousness and has observed all My statutes and done them, he shall surely live. The person who sins will die. The son will not bear the punishment for the father's iniquity, nor will the father bear the punishment for the son's iniquity; the righteousness of the righteous will be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked will be upon himself. (Ezekiel 18:19-20 NASB) 

However, he did not put their children to death, but did as it is written in the law in the book of Moses, which the Lord commanded, saying, "Fathers shall not be put to death for sons, nor sons be put to death for fathers, but each shall be put to death for his own sin." (2 Chronicles 25:4 NASB)

Here’s how we get from one to the other.

So those of you who may be left will rot away because of their iniquity in the lands of your enemies; and also because of the iniquities of their forefathers they will rot away with them. 'If they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their forefathers, in their unfaithfulness which they committed against Me, and also in their acting with hostility against Me- I also was acting with hostility against them, to bring them into the land of their enemies-or if their uncircumcised heart becomes humbled so that they then make amends for their iniquity, then I will remember My covenant with Jacob, and I will remember also My covenant with Isaac, and My covenant with Abraham as well, and I will remember the land. (Leviticus 26:39-42 NASB) 

It’s also important to remember not all trials in life are the result of sin or generational sin.

As He passed by, He saw a man blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?" Jesus answered, " It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him. (John 9:1-3 NASB)

We need not be shacked to the sins of our parents.  Though generation sin IS real, It’s not God’s plan for us to stay there.  If we’re aware of these sins and confess them to God he will be faithful to forgive them.  The death they cause in our life will lose its sting.  Healing can happen.

I know this is just a beginning, but I hope it’s blessed someone.

The death of a patriarch and generational sin... part 2

As I pull into the parking lot of the hospital I’m greeted by my parents, “He just passed 5 minutes ago.”  Five hours, and I missed him by 5 minutes!  I tried to figure out why God would let that happen.  I comforted my father, and we walked into the hospital.

As I walk through the halls I was greeted by many family members and also did the best I could to comfort them.

Finally, I walked into his room.  There was my grandmother.  They'd been married almost 70 years.  I really didn't know what to say, other than “I’m sorry Grandma, I love you.”  As I felt her shake in my arms, I was confused.  I knew the whole story.  I knew the abuse.  After all that, she was still committed to him.  I was proud of her.  She lived her wedding vows.  She held on to the extreme.

(Please, don’t hear me say I think women should stay in a physically abusive relationship.  I don't.  I do think it’s possible for a spouse to separate, and stay committed to a marriage and it’s healing.  People heal and get better with love.  That’s not what this post is about.)

I let go of my Grandmother and walked over to the bed where my grandfather’s body lay, weak and broken, withered to nothing.  At first, rage came over me.  I thought... “You’re not so damn tough now, are you?”   I surveyed the room, and took inventory of the damage I knew about.  I internalized, and took inventory of my own wounds.  I laid my hand on him.  I can remember repeating over and over... “I forgive you”.

As I helped put him in the ground a few days later, I looked over his grave.  I forgave him one last time, and made two promises to him...