Saturday, March 28, 2015

The Fruit of Repentance

Life is filled with memorable experiences that seem unbelievable to those that weren't part of them. From bold acts of bravery, to daring stunts, to many other things that just seem to sound more Hollywood than normal life. However, in each story. there is a lesson to be learned. Paul said in Romans 8:28, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”

That doesn't mean everything is always good, but that everything has some part of it that can lead us closer to the one that is good--God. That might be from the wisdom others share with us, or by a rebuke. Or we may be drawn closer to God because our situation broke us to the point of total humility. Perhaps our situation may have caused so much pain to many other people that we learn from our failures. We can “consider it all joy when we face the trials” of life when we are searching for the spiritual lesson we can learn from, because those tests of “faith produce endurance” or staying “faithful until death.”

I’m reminded of two lessons that David learned from his mistakes: his adultery with Bathsheba and the census he took of Israel because of his pride. David may not have been expecting to hear a rebuke from the Lord because of his actions towards Uriah and Bathsheba, but Nathan approached him and told a parable about a rich man with many sheep taking the only sheep of his poor neighbor and used it to serve his guests. David was furious until he was told in that famous line in 2 Samuel 12:7, “You are the man!”

David was reminded of the need to humbly listen to God and learn. Later on, David decided against his counselors and took a census to see how big his kingdom was. His disobedience cost him the lives of 70,000 Israelites. He had remembered from previous errors and humbled himself and was willing to make a change.

David understood that to be repentant would cost him something. He responds to Ornan’s generous offer to supply the animal for the sacrifice to God by saying in 1 Chronicles 21:24, “No, I will surely buy [the animals for the sacrifice] for the full price; for I will not take what is yours for the Lord, or offer a burnt offering which costs me nothing.” God wants us to want to please Him, or as Jesus stated, the greatest commandment was to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your mind, with all your soul, and with all your strength.” There’s something about the effort we put into our relationship with God that begins to reveal more of who God is to us.

One of the keys to really understanding something is the seeking-to-understand process. When we realize the value in something, we’ll invest more of our time and energy in promoting it, obtaining it, and living it.

However, for many of us the hunger to understand more completely doesn't begin until we’re broke down enough to see the need for it. There is a reason that the redemption process revolves around repentance. A heart that is hard won’t understand the gospel and the heart that still seeks worldly fruit more passionately than spiritual fruit hasn't understood where their passion is leading them.

1 John 2:15-17, “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.”

When we are repentant, our heart wants to understand the good news and we demonstrate our hunger to understand by how we respond to it. Sacrifice leaves a bad taste in our mouths, but that’s only because Satan has twisted our understanding of how beautiful it is to give up all for God willingly. Jesus modeled that concept for us perfectly when he willingly went to the cross as a sacrifice for our sins.

Consider how many lessons you've learned in life that could have had a different outcome (or avoided all together) by simply trusting in God’s word and following the example of Jesus. Let’s be active in weeding out the distractions that crop up in our life and instead remain focused on the wonderful message of redemption through Jesus Christ.

Saturday, March 21, 2015

Blasphemy of the Spirit

Peter said in 1 Peter 4:14-19, “If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you(18) And if it is with difficulty that the righteous is saved, what will become of the godless man and the sinner?”

Jesus told the Rich Young Ruler what he needed to do to inherit eternal life, but when he heard that he’d have to give up his riches he decided an eternal inheritance wasn’t worth the sacrifice. However, Jesus told those listening to their conversation in Luke 18:25-27, “it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” When they heard it they said, “Then who can be saved?” But He said, “The things that are impossible with people are possible with God.”

While both of these passages describe the difficulties that may come in following Christ, they also elude to an important ingredient that makes it possible – the Holy Spirit. Jesus wanted his followers, which includes us, to know that God will not abandon us to face difficulties alone. He impresses upon his followers that when Jesus ascends into heaven, the Spirit would come in his place. He says in John 14:16-17, “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.”

     John 14:26-27, “The Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.”
     John 15:26, “When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me.”
     John 16:13, “When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.”

This begs the question, how important is the role of the Spirit in me going to heaven? Or how important is the role of the Spirit in me being faithful to God? Paul says in Ephesians 4:30, “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” In context Paul is describing the life that should no longer define us, and reminding us how our lives have changed because of the power Jesus gave us when we placed our faith in him.

Peter offered some good news to the terror struck crowd on the Day of Pentecost when he told them how rectify their rejection of Jesus as the Christ. He said in Acts 2:38-39 that they needed to “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.” What is the gift? Miraculous? Something more? Jesus had said in John 6:63, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.”

Christ has set us free from the bondage of sin. How? Paying the penalty of sin for us, but also by sending the Spirit to be our guide and our conscience. He wants us to allow him free control of our minds, which will never go against God. Paul says several important things in Romans about our relationship with God by the Spirit. Romans 8:9, “However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. (11) …He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. (14) For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. (16) The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God…”

Therefore walking with God is about trusting the guidance of the Spirit. The more we do that the more we realize the tremendous gift God has given us in the Spirit. But to rebel against His guidance will by default lead us away from God’s words of life. Blasphemy is the act of insulting or showing contempt or lack of reverence for God. However Jesus said in Matthew 12:32, “but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.” I can’t show contempt for a Spirit that I can’t even understand without God revealing to me (which is the case with the Spirit), and to show contempt for the very gift that seals me for the day of redemption reveals an attitude in my heart that Satan knows how to wield to his purposes.

Many people are worried they’ll slip up and blasphemy the Spirit by accident and thus go straight to hell, but consider that this kind of blasphemy is more of a rejection of the Spirit’s guidance who is your access into the heaven that Jesus made possible. Most of the New Testament is directed to Christians and how to keep their hearts focused on God and to stay clear of Satan’s schemes that can lure us away from Godly devotion.

Thursday, March 19, 2015

Leaving a Legacy

People came from all over the known world to have the opportunity to speak with Solomon. His advice was nearly priceless. The queen of Sheba honored him in these words found in 1 Kings 10:6-9, “It was a true report which I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom. Nevertheless I did not believe the reports, until I came and my eyes had seen it. And behold, the half was not told me. You exceed in wisdom and prosperity the report which I heard. How blessed are your men, how blessed are these your servants who stand before you continually and hear your wisdom.”

This was all a result of a blessing bestowed upon him by God when Solomon became king. He asked God for wisdom to rule his people and bless them. While he was wiser than anyone else on the planet, he didn’t have it all together. In spite of his great wisdom and all the teaching and advice he gave, it seems he failed to give something to his own children that could have changed their lives tremendously.

What does wisdom look like? Its not limited to intelligence. Intelligence is knowledge, and while that’s a worthy quality to obtain, wisdom speaks more to the understanding of decisions. Solomon says this to his son in Proverbs 2:1-2, “My son, listen to what I say, and treasure my commands. Tune your ears to wisdom, and concentrate on understanding… (5-6) Then you will understand what it means to fear the Lord, and you will gain knowledge of God. For the Lord grants wisdom! (9-11) Then you will understand what is right, just, and fair, and you will find the right way to go. For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will fill you with joy. Wise choices will watch over you. Understanding will keep you safe.”

Much like many parents today, Solomon told his sons many proverbs and wise sayings. He wanted his sons to learn from his mistakes, he wanted them to think before they made foolish decisions. However, those wise sayings he told his son didn’t automatically guarantee that they would listen. In fact, when his son Rehoboam became king he had to make a decision about how to rule his father’s kingdom.

In 2 Chronicles 10:4-14 we read of this instance; an event that changed the kingdom he inherited forever. The people came to Rehoboam and said, “Your father was a hard master, but if you’ll lighten the harsh labor demands and heavy taxes that your father imposed on us, then we will be your loyal subjects.” He told them to come back in three days and he’d give them his answer. In the meantime he went to two groups of people: His father’s counselors and his own. Solomon’s counselors said, “If you are good to these people and do your best to please them and give them a favorable answer, they will always be your loyal subjects.” However Rehoboam’s own counselors said, “This is what you should tell those complainers who want a lighter burden: 'My little finger is thicker than my father's waist! Yes, my father laid heavy burdens on you, but I'm going to make them even heavier! My father beat you with whips, but I will beat you with scorpions!”

By the third day Rehoboam had made up his mind and followed the advice of the younger, less experienced counselors of his own kingdom. The result was a split kingdom. Often we reject great advice from older more experienced people perhaps because we fail to recognize how their experience can help us.

How about our own life? Do we learn from those that have gone on before us? The legacy those people from older generations leave us is more than money; they leave us experiences that can save us a lot of heartache. How could the story have ended for Rehoboam? We’ll never really know, but consider a decision you’ve had to make recently, could the advice from older generations benefit you?

It’s important to have mentors and counselors to look up to. In the church, God designed it to consist of parents but also elders, people of a spiritual mind that when they share experiences and advice are more valuable than gold. Be sure to thank those people that have helped to shape who you are and for the legacy they’ve left you.