God's grace

I think alot of us fall into the trap of thinking that we have fallen too far to be forgiven, that what we have done precludes us from the grace of God.  I certainly did.   What many of us don't consider is that our God knows the end from the beginning.  On the day that he made us our God knew every sin that we would committ, every unkind word or thought, every evil thing that we would do or say.  What did God do knowing all the bad things that we would do?  Well, he made us anyway he loved us so much that he made us knowing that we would fall.  So, when you think that what you have done precludes you from God's grace, remember that what has happened is no surprise to Him, he knew everthing that we would say, think or do from our begining and he made us anyway.  Repentance and acceptance of Jesus is not just about not going to hell, it's also about getting closer to God, fixing our relationship with him.

Romans 5: 8-11

8 But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.9 And since we have been made right in God's sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God's condemnation.10 For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son.11 So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God. Romans 10: 9-13 9 If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.10 For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved.11 As the Scriptures tell us, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced."12 Jew and Gentile are the same in this respect. They have the same Lord, who gives generously to all who call on him.13 For "Everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved."

God sent Jesus as the perfect sacrifice for our sins, so that we would not have to be separated from him by sin.

John 3:16-17
16 "For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.17 God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.

Mark 10:45
45For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

Romans 3: 23-26
23 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God's glorious standard.24 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.25 For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past,26 for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he declares sinners to be right in his sight when they believe in Jesus.

I'm tired...

I'm otired of our habit of always looking for an explanation in the natural everytime that something good happens or goes the way that we want it to.   Why are we so willing to ask God for his help in our lives, but so reluctant to give Him the credit and the glory when He answers our prayers?  We are, after all, asking God to intervene in our lives because there is a situation that seems impossible, or there seems to not be a way through your problems.  So when God answers our prayers, when he makes the impossible possible and makes a way where there was no way, we should be praising and thanking him not trying to explain away our blessings as the product of something as mundane or nonexistant as luck. 

"Luck is for atheists, I rely on a hire power."

Mission Peru: Arrival

Arrival

It is late afternoon on Saturday August 18, 2012.  We are on approach for landing at the Iquitos airport and I lean forward from my middle seat to look out the window.  I can see the landscape and my first thought is "I could live here, it is beautiful".  And then I see it, the houses, the poverty is apparent even at this height.  When I see the houses I think, no I couldn't live here, I could not live here and not feel compelled to do something about what I'm seeing.  And then I realize, I'm a hypocrite, I do that everyday right now.  Everyone knows there is poverty in Columbus, OH, we all know that there are people that cannot afford food.  We all know that there are homeless people, homeless families in Columbus, or as the Music Man would have put it "right here in river city".  We all know when it gets cold out that there are far too few shelter beds for the number of homeless people that we have and that many are turned away and end up sleeping outside in sub-zero weather.  We all, I, know this and turn a blind eye almost every day and yet I sit here thinking, as I see the poverty from the air, that I could not just sit by and do nothing and yet I do just that, back home, on almost a daily basis.  Am I really so out of touch that I think that occasional check to Faith Mission, near the holidays, is really making a difference or that the check I write every couple of months to the local food pantry is really what God had in mind in all the references to the poor in the bible, Hebrews 13:16 for example?  I used to think so, but in this moment, in this moment all that I have done seems to be inadequate.  Little did I know that what I was seeing right at that moment was some of the nicer housing, nicer areas of town that we would be seeing.

Under Seige

As we endure continued attacks from the enemy, I thought it might help to share part of a conversation I had today.

I have searched for this verse previously without much success, today when I needed to see it I had no trouble finding it.

Psalm 46:7

The LORD of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah (KJV)

"The LORD of hosts" is also translated "The LORD of Heaven's Armies"

Selah (Hebrew) is used to stress the importance of a preceding passage- the Amplified Bible says it means "pause, and think of that". 
Clark's commentary on the Bible defines it as: Selah- This is a firm, lasting, unshaken, well-tried truth.

I can't think of anyone better to have on our side going through this than the LORD of Heaven's Armies.  Doubt is a tool of the enemy, but I take heart in knowing that the LORD of Heaven's Armies is with us, he is our fortress and refuge.

Psalm 47 goes on to say:

10 Be still and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. (KJV)

It is a choice

Today, we received some less than ideal news.  This has caused the familiar cycle of depression and wavering in my faith to start all over again.  In response, I began reading my Bible verses that I have at the ready and I prayed.  One of the prayer is one that I received in an email from Joel Osteen Ministries (mailing list):

Father, thank You for Your hand of victory upon my life.  Thank You for making a way even when there seems to be no way.  I choose to stand in faith.  I choose to believe, knowing that You are ready, willing and able to cause me to overcome in this life in Jesus' name. Amen

As I was reading this prayer I thought -there it is my answer is right there  "I choose to stand in faith.  I choose to believe, ...".  It is a choice, a conscious decision to believe in the goodness of God even when life is not going the way we would like it to or have prayed for it to.  Instead of feeling like there is something wrong with me (why can't my faith be stronger?) and letting the enemy continue to try to crack my faith I say to the 3 alright maybe 4 readers of this blog:

I choose to stand in faith
I choose to believe in the goodness of God
I choose to trust that God is working behind the scenes on my behalf
I thank God for his favor which is making a way even if I cannot see a way
I choose to put an end to worry in my life
I choose to totally trust in God every day of my life
I believe and declare:
     That God is for us and not against us
     I am in the palm of God's hand
    This hasn't come to stay, it has come to pass
     I know who I am, I know whose I am
     God makes all things work together for my my good
     God goes before me to make my path straight and easy
     The blessings of God are chasing me down and overtaking me
     I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength
     Everyone who asks, receives
     Everyone who seeks, finds
     Everyone who knocks, the door will be opened

All these things are made possible with God and by believing in Him.  I choose to believe, I choose to stand in faith.

As for the other issues and feelings that I have been wrestling with these last 2 weeks-

Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:17: 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new (NKJV)
     I believe and declare that when I was saved, when I accepted Jesus Christ into my heart as my Lord and Savior that everything that I have done, all the times that I fell short of being the man that God wants me to be was washed away by the blood of Jesus and I shall feel condemned no longer.

I am forgiven

                                                 And so are you.

Psalm 27

A psalm of David.

1 The Lord is my light and my salvation-
so why should I be afraid?
The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger,
so why should I tremble?
2 When evil people come to devour me,
when my enemies and foes attack me,
they will stumble and fall.
3 Though a  mighty army surrounds me,
my heart will not be afraid.
Even if I'm attacked,
I will remain confident.
4 The one thing I ask of the Lord-
the thing I seek the most-
is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
delighting in the Lord's perfections
and meditating in his Temple.
5 For he will conceal me there when troubles come;
he will hide me in his sanctuary.
He will place me out of reach on a high rock.
6 Then I will hold my head high
above my enemies who surround me.
At his sanctuary I will offer sacrifices with shouts of joy,
singing and praising the Lord with music.
7 Hear me as I pray, O Lord.
Be merciful and answer me!
8 My heart has heard you say, "Come and talk with me."
And my heart responds, "Lord, I am coming."
9 Do not turn your back on me.
Do not reject your servant in anger.
You have always been my helper.
Don't leave me now; don't abandon me,
O God of my salvation!
10 Even if my father and mother abandon me, the Lord will hold me close.
11 Teach me how to live, O Lord.
Lead me along the right path,
for my enemies are waiting for me.
12 Do not let me fall into their hands.
For they accuse me of things I've never done;
with every breath they threaten me with violence.
13 Yet I am confident I will see the Lord's goodness
while I am here in the land of the living.
14 Wait patiently for the Lord.
Be brave and courageous.
Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.

This chapter from Psalms has helped me today, I post it here in the hope that it will find others in need of His comfort.