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...

The death of a patriarch and generational sin... part 1

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) 

Hi Beloveds, 

I've had the unfortunate pleasure of experiencing generational sin first hand. Truth be told, it's a beast I've battled my entire life.  I know I’m not alone in this.  As a matter of fact, I think everyone suffers the effects of generational sin in some fashion.  We all fall short of the glory of Christ, therefore the generations that follow must deal with the consequences. 

For a few reasons, this past Father's day was an extremely difficult for me.  One of those reasons was the recent passing of my grandfather.  I got a call one afternoon from my parents: "Grandpa's in the hospital. They don't think he has much time".  My paternal grandfather.  Over the previous two years, I'd received this call on a couple other occasions. There was something different about this time though, so I decided to make the almost five hour drive to go see him. 

We'd never been close, my grandfather and I.  To be bluntly honest, I harbored a great deal of hatred for the man.  He was an abusive and hard man who ruled his family by physical beatings, verbal degradation, and the spirit of fear.  We're not talking about the modern day definition of abuse, a little spank on the bottom.  We're talking about tossed down stairs, smashed into walls, black and blue with broken limbs abuse.  And that was just the physical. 

I'll never forget a story I was told about my father as a little boy...

Wrestling With God

Hi Beloveds,

This past week I was asked to serve on the leadership council for a large men's Bible study I attend.  I've attended this Bible study for the past 4 1/2 years and love it.  The men have had an enormous impact on my life, and I was eager to serve them.

As part of this process, along with a retreat and some other things, I was asked to fill out a two page questionnaire.  One of its questions struck me...  "How would you describe your relationship with God?"

Simple, right?  It really got me thinking though.

Here's the best description I can come up with right now...

24 Then Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. 25 When he saw that he had not prevailed against him, he touched the socket of his thigh; so the socket of Jacob’s thigh was dislocated while he wrestled with him. 26 Then he said, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking.” But he said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” 27 So he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” 28 He said, “Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel; for you have striven with God and with men and have prevailed.” 29 Then Jacob asked him and said, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And he blessed him there. 30 So Jacob named the place Peniel, for he said, “I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been preserved.” 31 Now the sun rose upon him just as he crossed over Penuel, and he was limping on his thigh. 32 Therefore, to this day the sons of Israel do not eat the sinew of the hip which is on the socket of the thigh, because he touched the socket of Jacob’s thigh in the sinew of the hip. ~Genesis 32:24-32

You see, I've been in a season of growth and transition for quite some time now.  At times, the journey's been an extremely painful one.

It may shock you to hear this, but that's actually the answer to a prayer.

At the beginning of this season, I asked God to work in me... "No matter what you have to do to me...  No matter what you have to allow happen...  I don't care how hard it is or how long it takes, God.  I want this to be real!  I want to serve You.  I want to serve and love like You.  And the only way I can do that is by being as close to You as possible."  I mentioned once in "The Tale of Two Songs", I can remember listening to Matthew West's "The Motions" and just asking Him to break me.

I had no idea how painful Matthew 10:39, Matthew 16:25, Mark 8:35, Luke 9:24, Luke 17:33, and John 12:25 could be.  There's a reason it's in there so many times!  :)

And, therein lies how I can say my relationship with God is like that He shared with Jacob at Peniel.

I comprehend very little of why God has done things or allowed things to happen the way they have in my life.  I struggle with how much of it I could have truly impacted.  I question how my sins and the sins of others played into it and the level of their permanency.  But, I've made a decision to trust in Him and His word.  I know who He is.  I believe wholeheartedly in His promises.  Though I don't understand... Though I may stumble.. I'm not going to let go until I walk in Him and my intended blessing.  I don't care how much it hurts.  I'll walk with a limp the rest of my life if I have to, I'm not letting go.

So this guy falls in a hole...

Hi Beloveds...

On my way home from work tonight I was thinking about how easy it is to feel unequipped for the tasks God has called us to do.  So often we focus on what we can and can't do rather than what God can and wants to do through us.  We look at the failures of our past and doubt.  We doubt our abilities and even our calling.  This is especially the case when He asks us to preach, teach, or lead in an area we've failed.

We ask...  "God how can you really be asking me to do this?  Can't you see all the times I've failed?  Not just failed, but failed epically!  They'll call me a hypocrite.  It'll never work."

One of my favorite TV shows of all time is Aaron Sorkin's "The West Wing".  And as I was pondering all this, I remembered a scene from the series that brought a huge smile to my face...

The Bible is full of "small and illequiped" men and women God uses to acomplish great things.  Many of whom suffered tremendous failures while fulfilling their callings.  Why?

Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. (2 Corinthians 12:8-9 ESV)

You see, God uses the weak and unlikely to accomplish great things as a means of glorifying Himself.  When it's all said and done, there can be no doubt it was Him and not the vessel He chose to use.

Seriously, don't let the irony of the above verse, and who penned it, be lost on you.  It was written by Paul.  The same man who viciously crucified Christians before becoming a cornerstone of the church and scribing a majority of the New Testament.

He's just one of many, and our God is no respecter of persons (Acts 10:34, Romans 2:11).  Is there any doubt He will do the same for you and I if we let Him?

He can take your greatest sin and turn it into His greatest victory!  Are you willing to give it to Him?  I am!

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.  (Romans 8:28 ESV)

But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.  (Matthew 19:26 ESV)

This is His redemption!  This is how He restores 100 fold that which the devil has taken and destroyed (John10:10, Joel 2:25-26)!

Please remember this process requires faith and submission...

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.  (Proverbs 3:5-6 ESV)

If you revel in your sin and refuse Him, He will not force Himself on you.  (True love never does.)

I'm not saying you have to be perfect.  His grace and mercy abound. (Romans 5:19-21)  But we're not to stay there.  (Romans 6:1-2).  He wants you healed and redeemed!  He wants others to look at you and be jealous for His love!

For me, I know my sins are not the end of my story.  They are the begging of my ministry.  A ministry that, by the power of God, will shake heaven and earth!

God bless beloved!

Jesus Never Moves On by Tim Challies

                                              Hi Beloveds

I tend to be a big fan of Tim Challies.  He authored a post today titled "Jesus Never Moves On".  I wanted to re-post a link to it here, because I think it's that spot on.

Truth be told, I have many of the same thoughts written in drafts of my own.  There's only one point I might add.  Our bridegroom loves us so much, that He will also never force Himself on us.

Please take a moment to read it...  "Jesus Never Moves On" by Tim Challeis

God Bless