You are currently browsing the tag archive for the ‘Jesus Christ’ tag.
But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit. 1 Corinthians 6:17
“One with him in Spirit”
Think for a moment what that really means. Some of us are lucky enough to have a Soul Mate. Soul Mates aren’t the same as lovers, although soul mates can be your lover as well. You know what it’s like if you have one. It’s the person who starts the sentence you were going to start. They know what’s wrong before you can tell them. Soul mates cry with you, laugh with you, know when to talk, and when you need quiet; hug you when you need a hug and give you space when you need some room.
Soul Mates validate your feelings but will never let you destroy yourself emotionally, physically or spiritually if they can help it. And if you refuse to listen and continue on your slippery slope? When you reach the bottom, very likely, your Soul Mate will be the only one there to greet you. And they will. With hugs.
Here’s the real beauty behind the idea of a Soul Mate. The best Soul Mate you will ever have is the only one who can ultimately guard your soul and that’s Jesus.
The unfortunate thing is that who Jesus is has been clouded by religion. For far too long we’ve been told that Jesus won’t love us if we do this activity or make that choice. He hates those who get divorced. He hates those with sexual orientations outside the mainstream. He hates those who put everything else in front of church, or Bible study, or Prayer, or…(everyone has their list).
One of the most troubling ones I’ve heard is one I believed myself for years. “Jesus gets disappointed with you when you sin. You hurt him by your actions, your words, your thoughts.” The truth of the matter is, there is some truth to that. Anyone who is a Soul Mate knows what it’s like when we see this person whom we love dearly make decisions we know are self-destructive. But a true Soul Mate never condemns and always seeks to build up.
That’s the Jesus that reached out to the woman at the well who’d been married five times and was ‘living in sin’ with man number six. That’s the Jesus that saved the life of the woman caught in adultery. That’s the Jesus that, on a regular basis, sought out the people society rejected. That same Jesus still seeks you out today. Why? Because that’s what Soul Mates do.
PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I’m not worthy of our friendship. Frankly, I would never trust someone like me. Thank you for loving me, forgiving me, understanding me and waiting for me to see your light. Thank you for being my Soul Mate. In your name, Amen.
You did not choose me. I chose you and sent you out to produce fruit, the kind of fruit that will last. Then my Father will give you whatever you ask for in my name. John 15:16 (CEV)
The man led us down to the shed where we could hear the excited barking of puppies. I could see the look of anticipation and excitement in my son’s eyes. We’d been looking for a Cocker Spaniel for months and the price on this one seemed right.
As we entered the shed the pups called home, we were met by five excited, jumping little puppies. “Price on all of them is the same,” the kindly old gentleman said.
While I was looking at the five that met us, my son’s attention was drawn to a smaller, quiet puppy in the corner.
“What’s up with the little one in the corner?” My son asked. I could see by the look in his eyes that his heart had made its decision. My son had always had a soft spot in his heart for the down-and-outers of the world.
“Oh him? He’s the runt. Lucky to be alive actually. Came down here one morning and he had managed to climb the fence and fall in the stock tank on the other side. I figured he was a goner, but he seems fine now.”
While I would have chosen any of the other five, you have probably already guessed which one we went home with that day. The pup became my son’s closest friend until it died a few years later of cancer.
There are times in each of our lives when we may feel like the ‘runt’ in our circles. It seems like everyone else we know seems to get the whole Christian life, get the jobs they want, have the families we long for, and the list goes on.
The heart is a cruel liar. It constantly reminds us of our weaknesses. It continually points out the successes of others and compares them to our failures. It reminds us of our faults on a daily basis.
When your heart rears up and points at all the ‘uglies’ of your life, remember this: You were Chosen by the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, the Creator of the universe. Not only did he choose you as a friend, he made you His Child!
And if that isn’t enough, he did all this knowing you would fail, rebel, stray, stumble and fall. That’s because he didn’t choose you on the basis of anything you could offer. He chose you simply because he loves you.
Just as my son chose that puppy based on compassion, he chose you. Rejoice!
PRAYER: Father God…Daddy. Thank you for choosing me even though I have nothing of real significance to offer you. Help to live as a son of the Most High God. Amen.
For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit. John 3:34
I was watching one of those television shows about the rich and famous the other day. I don’t usually do that but I was channel hopping and something caught my eye. It is amazing to me how that side of society lives. That side of life in which you don’t have to count pocket change to see if you have enough money for a cheap cup of gas station coffee. That side of life where you don’t have to decide how you can take your kids to McDonalds and pay the electric bill the same week.
It’s easy to get caught up in the trap of wishing for more. We want more money, more land, more toys, more from our relationships, our church, our children, our government.
M.O.R.E. My Only Reason to Exist!
So much of our world is built around the idea that what we own is what we are; that what we’ve accomplished is our legacy; that the only way to push through life is by our own strength.
If King Solomon were here, he’d tell you different. He had all the wives he wanted, he had the financial resources to acquire anything he wanted and so he did. He bought, he built, he conquered. And when it was all over, he looked at what he possessed and saw that in reality he had nothing of any value.
On the other extreme was Jesus. Jesus and his disciples often used stones as pillows, ate raw grain from fields due to hunger, were ridiculed and looked down upon by society (especially the church) and were homeless! Yet, Jesus spoke of life and fulfillment. Even on the cross he looked out in his pain and said “it is finished.”
Forget, for a moment, all the theological implications of that statement. Focus instead on what Jesus was saying in his heart. “I’m done. The work that I came for is complete. I have accomplished everything I intended to accomplish.”
So what did Jesus accomplish? He didn’t acquire great wealth. While he was very popular among those he touched, the group was relatively small and made up of prostitutes, farmers, the sick, the lame and the destitute. Not extremely impressive, not so that is unless you consider that his lifestyle and his teachings changed the world. Regardless of what liberal theologians, scientists and professors tell you, much of the world is the way it is because of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
So what was it the drove him to greatness? What power was it that kept him going when all seemed hopeless? It was God’s Spirit working in him and through him.
Now, here’s the good news. The same Spirit that empowered Jesus to make a difference in his world is the same Spirit each of us are filled with when we accept Jesus Christ as the Lord and Master of our lives. And we don’t get just a little piece of the ‘Holy Spirit Pie’! John tells us that God’s servants, those that live under the forgiveness of Christ’s sacrifice, are filled to overflowing with that power.
So, still think you are too weak to accomplish much for God? Think you past, or your present are too insignificant to make a difference? Guess again. God’s Spirit is given to each of us with no limits!
PRAYER: Father, forgive me for the times I feel too insignificant to accomplish great things for your Kingdom. Help me to live in the power you have given me for your glory. Amen.
But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. Acts 9:15
I pity those who read the Bible with solemnity and fail to see the humor in many of the stories of our faith. Or, maybe it’s just that I have a sick sense of humor. At any rate, one of the stories I find most amusing is the story of poor Ananias.
We know little about this disciple of Jesus other than that he lived in Damascus and was visited by the Lord one day to embark on a most amazing journey. Unknown to him, in a room a few blocks away, a man huddled in darkness. The man, named Saul, was well-known to the early Christians. He was loud, brash and had no time for anyone following this man Jesus. He knew the Law. He knew what was right. And he would do anything to protect the religious traditions of his people…even to the point of death.
That’s why he was in Damascus…or so he thought. Saul left for Damascus to round up people like Ananias and drag them back to Jerusalem for a quick mock trial, a beating, and if Saul had his way, death by stoning. No one did more to try to destroy the early church than Saul.
But God had other plans and those plans were dramatically different for both Saul and Ananias. That’s often the way God is. He doesn’t follow the beat of our drums; he marches to his own music. The written Word doesn’t express the emotion that Ananias must have felt that day.
“Really God? Saul? You have to be kidding! Do you realize what you are asking me to do? He’s blind now? Good! Let him suffer for awhile. Look at what he’s done to your people.”
That’s probably a little more like the conversation I’d have had with God, and if you are honest, so would you.
The story of Ananias reminds me of at least two lessons that we all need to be reminded of. First, if we really sell out for Jesus, if we are really willing to ‘Go where you want me to go and do what you want me to do’ we can expect to be taken out of our comfort zone. The uttermost parts of the earth Jesus told us to take his gospel to may not always include squeaky clean churches and orderly programs. In fact, he rarely does his work there.
Secondly, the story of Ananias reminds me to never, ever look at any person and say “God will never be able to use him/her. He’s too bad, made to many mistakes, and has too sordid a past.” God uses people like Saul all the time. Those we overlook as not being a good choice for kingdom work may very likely be God’s first choice.
Oh and there’s one more thing the story of Ananias reminds me of. It reminds me to be thankful. You see, I have far more in common with Saul than I do Ananias. I’m thankful though that, like Saul, Jesus found me!
PRAYER: Lord Jesus, like Saul I confess that I fail you often. Sometimes from ignorance, other times from rebellion. Thank you for your grace. Empower me by your Spirit to be willing to step from my comfort zone when you call me to reach out to those I find to be ‘poor choices’ for the Kingdom. Amen.
So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.”Romans 8:15
Psychology Today says of guilt, “Guilt and its handmaiden, shame, can paralyze––or catalyze one into action. Appropriate guilt can function as social glue, spurring one to make reparations for wrongs. Excessive rumination about one’s failures, however, is a surefire recipe for resentment and depression.”
Guilt almost always focuses on the negative, even though it can have positive outcomes. We’ve all been there. Dealing with feelings of regret, failure and fear over decisions we’ve made and choices from our past that haunt us daily. Those times when we’ve been awakened in the night by worry or come to a point during the day when we look around ourselves and ask the questions. How did I get here? How will I get out?
Guilt has been used for centuries to control behavior and to protect the status quo. “Wait until your father gets home!” too many of us remember hearing.
“If you don’t behave the police will come and take you away!” (I actually heard a young, frustrated mom say to her very two-year-old acting two-year-old. I shudder to think how that child grew up looking at law-enforcement.)
“If you don’t go to church and read your Bible you will go straight to hell!” (Okay, maybe it was never verbalized like that, but the message was clear.)
God hates divorced people and gay people and anyone that does wrong things. (One of my personal ‘UN’-favorites.)
The most unfortunate thing about guilt is that it has been used for centuries as a motivator by organized religion. I use the term ‘organized religion’ to clearly differentiate those systems from what we commonly refer to Christianity. Christianity can be a religion; in fact most people refer to it as a religion. In reality however, True Christianity is more about relationship than it is about rules and religion and…guilt. Every religion known to man speaks of personal responsibility and punishment. Only Christianity speaks of unmerited love and forgiveness.
The Apostle Paul, the Apostle of grace, writes in his letter to the believers in Rome, ‘We have not received a spirit of fear!’ (My paraphrase) That means fear motivated by guilt and remorse has no place in the heart of a repentant believer in Jesus Christ. The church may wield the sword of guilt to chastise us and keep us in line, but grace trumps that sword.
What a blessed truth. Guilt has no more hold on me, just as a child enjoys all the rights of being an heir. We no longer need to live under the oppressive hold of guilt in our lives. We are free. We are children of God and as such can address the creator of the universe as Daddy. What a blessed promise!
PRAYER: Father God, Daddy. I claim the forgiveness you have given me through your son, Jesus Christ. I will no longer allow guilt or shame to have control over me. I’m your child and eternally thankful for that. Amen.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 