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For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. Romans 3:23-24 (NLT)
During a very difficult time in my life I was unemployed and unable to get work in the area of my training. It was a very difficult time for me. Few jobs were available in the first place. Secondly, there were some jobs that I’d have liked to have, but I didn’t have the training. Other jobs required experience that I didn’t have. In an act of desperation I even tried to get a job at McDonalds and was told I was too overqualified.
Needless to say it was a very tough time for me financially, but it was even more damaging emotionally. I ‘realized’ at that time that I wasn’t able to meet anyone’s standards. I felt defeated, worthless, and hopeless.
When we don’t feel like we measure up it affects our entire outlook on life. We can give up on relationships; bury our frustrations in food, drugs or other addictive behaviors and activities. That kind of behavior leads to a negative spiral. We do something stupid and feel guilty about it. We look for relief for our actions which usually leads to more activity of the same, which of course makes us feel guilty so we find some way to comfort our feelings of failure by…yep, engaging in some inappropriate activity of feelings.
Rehab centers and counseling offices are full of people who have, at some time in their lives, felt they didn’t measure up. ‘New religions’ and changes in church policies are put in place to try to make you feel better about your lifestyle. Nothing is working though. We continue to struggle with ourselves.
Part of the problem is we try to meet up to people’s standards. But that’s a losing battle because some people are impossible to please. Others standards are much lower than your own or fickle. What we need is to find a standard which will show love and acceptance. A standard that will make us feel fulfilled no matter what life throws at us. A standard that will lead us to eternal life.
Sound impossible? You are right, it is. That level of standard only comes from God. His standards are perfect. His standards are loving, kind and full of mercy and understanding. So to feel good about yourself and what you do the trick is to live up to the standards of a Holy, Perfect God.
Sound impossible? It is. We are all human. Whether you are gay or straight, pro-choice or pro-life, regardless of your political persuasion or religious affiliation, you have fallen short of the standards God requires for a good life here and eternal life with him.
So what’s the solution to not meeting up to the standards God demands? Jesus. There is nothing you can do in and of yourselves to meet up to Godly standards. Only through the free gift of Jesus Christ can you find the success to live the life God and you desire. It’s not your power. It’s not your striving. It’s accepting the fact you can’t and living according to the grace given through Jesus.
Stop depending on your own actions to succeed. Stop striving to kick the old habits. Let God take that away. Through Jesus you can meet his standards.
PRAYER: Father God, I thank and praise you for your gift of salvation through Jesus. I’m tired of doing the same stupid things over and over again. Forgive me for the things I’ve done to hurt myself and others. Empower me with your Spirit to live free because of Jesus. In your name, Amen.
And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. Revelation 21:2(NLT)
There is nothing so stunning as the bride as she walks down the aisle. We all stand as she enters. All eyes are on her. Even those of us guys who maintain our stoic ‘masculine’ image will admit in our honest times, that we are taken back by the moment.
The groom watches her enter. His face mesmerized by her beauty. To him, there’ s no one else in the room. In fact, both the groom and the bride, when their eyes meet are taken out of this world for a moment. They are the only two in the whole world that matters. She is the most important thing in his life at that moment. He is the prince of her dreams.
The moment is filled with hope and passion. Those of us lucky enough to look on remember our own weddings or the dreams we have of one day, walking that aisle or watching the one we love come to us in radiance.
What a marvelous picture of hope, expectation and passion. How fitting that this is the picture the Word of God gives of us as the church meeting the object of our passion: Jesus of Nazareth. Regardless of how we or others view ourselves, He views us as the groom views the bride. We are spotless, pure, perfect in every way, the object of his passion. Forever.
Not one of us has ever walked that aisle or waited at the front of the room without believing that this was it, this was the happily ever after, this was the ‘til death do us part.’ Even those of us who have experienced the painful reality of divorce entered that relationship believing that this was the ‘one for us.’
The difference is, this relationship with Jesus…it never will end. We are his and his forever. Every day, when we get out of bed, no matter how bad we look in the mirror, he sees us as his radiant bride, the object of his passion. He smiles whenever he looks at us. He pauses constantly to think of us. We are always on his mind. This marriage relationship will never grow old, never be taken for granted, never lose the passion of that wedding day.
What a glorious feast that will be! Now we struggle. We rebel. We endure the pain of broken relationships, financial hardship and political turmoil. In the midst of our struggle, even during those times we can’t see Jesus clearly, he sees us…and smiles.
PRAYER: Dear Jesus, I have a hard time imagining the fact of your passionate love for me. My love is so often shallow and built on performance. Relationships here on earth are marked by trouble and calamity. They grow cold and even die. Thank you that you always see me with the passion of a groom on his wedding day. In your name, Amen.
All of us were like sheep that had wandered off. We had each gone our own way, but the LORD gave him the punishment we deserved. Isaiah 53:6 (CEV)
Jesus wants each of us to know two things, we are all sheep and we’ve all wandered. It doesn’t matter if you are the CEO of a major company or a Single parent living in low-income housing. You are a sheep. It doesn’t matter if you are a teen struggling to get through school or a leading professor in a major university, you are a sheep. It doesn’t matter if you have a bank-roll the size of Rhode Islandor are unemployed and living on welfare and food stamps, you are a sheep. It doesn’t matter if you are on your sixth marriage (and it’s in trouble) or are celebrating your 75th wedding anniversary with your high school sweetheart, you are a sheep.
Before you conjure up in your minds the picture of a cute little lamb drinking from a bottle and looking all cute and cuddly, take a look at some sheep facts.
- Sheep have to have a leader to follow. Experiments with sheep have shown that usually one sheep is the dominant one. If that sheep is taken from the flock and the sheep are sent out to the same pasture they’ve gone to a thousand times, they will become confused. Some will lie down. Others will wander aimlessly or simply stand in one place and not know what to do.
- Sheep are crowd followers. They rarely think for themselves. They’d just as soon have someone else do that for them. As long as they are fed and comfortable they are happy.
- Sheep become very stressed with change and when separated from their friends. When danger comes they tend to panic and flee in different directions without thought of the consequences.
- Sheep tend to be closest to those who are ‘related’ to them and don’t interact well with sheep ‘of another color’ so to speak.
- Although not considered intelligent at all, sheep do tend to remember faces and voices very well and can differentiate between a familiar voice and an unfamiliar voice.
Consider, for a moment how many times we react like sheep in our daily lives, in our relationships with others and with God and during times of stress. Remember…we are ALL sheep.
Secondly, we have all wandered away. When I was young I remember hearing testimonies of men and women who had been delivered from the most horrendous lifestyle imaginable. I often wished that I could have a great testimony like that. One that speaks of God’s deliverance from terrible things. Of course, since then I’ve learned two things. One is that I’ve made enough blunders of my own to qualify. Secondly, in God’s eyes we are all sheep (have I mentioned that?) and we have all wandered. It doesn’t matter where we’ve wandered or how far or why. We have all wandered away from God. We all have stories of his deliverance.
It’s no wonder then that Jesus refers to himself as the good shepherd. The good shepherd knows the struggles sheep have. He knows they depend on him for protection, guidance and companionship. He knows their ways and they know his voice. Even though we, as sheep, wander we have a good shepherd who constantly looks after us to guide comfort and forgive.
PRAYER: Dear Jesus. Thank you for being the good shepherd. Thank you for forgiving me, being patient when I wander and seeking me out when I stray. Help me to follow your voice and not the other voices. In your name, Amen.
You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. James 4:4
Several years ago now, I worked in a warehouse driving forklift to load and unload trucks. I’m pretty sure I was the only Christ-follower in my department. This was made evident one day when we were in the foreman’s office killing some time. Soon jokes started flying that became more and more inappropriate. Apparently I didn’t hide my uneasiness with the situation. I said nothing, but excused myself from the office and went back to work.
After that whenever the conversation began to turn onto the ‘dirty side’ my foreman would look at me and, very respectfully, warn me that I may not want to hear the following story. I’d make some quip about having a truck to load and that would be the end of it.
I got along well with everyone in the department. I wasn’t a goody-two-shoe, Bible thumping preacher (at least not then!). I just had standards that were different than the rest of them and we respected those differences…I thought.
Christmas came and the foreman invited the entire department and their spouses to his house for dinner and drinks. In the days leading up to the party I’d overheard others talking about previous parties. I was torn. A part of me wanted nothing to do with the lifestyle that was being portrayed at those parties. But another part of me wanted to show my acceptance of my friends in the department, even though we were miles apart in what we considered appropriate.
The night of the party came and I reluctantly showed up at the party. I was, I admit, very apprehensive and already had an exit strategy planned if needed. I was surprised though. The foreman and his wife greeted each of us when we arrived. We were offered either alcoholic or non-alcoholic drinks. I wasn’t the only one that chose the latter!
When it came time for the meal I was really taken by surprise. My cigarette smoking, foul language master and dirty joke coinsure asked me if I’d say a table grace before the meal! I made sure my lord Jesus was glorified in those few minutes of silence and the party went on.
After dinner we played a couple games and I left, knowing full well that some of the others may spend the night because they’d be in no condition to drive.
A few days later I was talking with a friend of mine from church. He said, “I hear you got to pray at the party the other night.” I was taken back! How did he know? Then Don told me another part of the story.
His cousin was Bob, one of my co-workers. I hadn’t known that before. The family had been praying for Bob for quite some time and so far the prayers were unanswered. Bob was very angry with me that night because of my ‘holier than thou’ attitude. I was self-righteous, judgmental and made Bob feel very uneasy.
I began to apologize to Don and told him my story, which was completely different that Bob’s. Don laughed. “I was pretty sure that was the case. Bob is under conviction. He knows what he is doing is wrong and he refuses to change. You weren’t bothering him. HE was bothering him!”
I never heard if Bob ever came to Christ. But I learned a valuable lesson that day. Try as we might to get along with the world, there will be times when we have to take a stand for the right. It doesn’t necessarily have to be an open attack on ‘the sinful lifestyle’. It can be a quiet resolve to live what we know is right.
Not being a friend to the world doesn’t mean we reject those who don’t follow Christ. It simply means we hold to a different standard. At times that standard will put us at odds with others. The true Christ-follower will always choose to please Jesus rather than the world.
PRAYER: Father God, there are so many voices telling me what is right and wrong. So many times I’m forced to make decisions that may go against the mainstream. I ask that you would empower me with your Holy Spirit to have the wisdom and strength to choose your way regardless of the results. May my life be an example of your love and grace. In Jesus name, Amen.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 