Hope and Forgiveness
This afternoon, as I sat at a local coffee shop and reviewed the lesson we would be going over in Bible Study this evening, one particular instruction to the study caught my eye. The author instructs, “The Bible is filled with verses such as First Corinthians 10:31, Romans 8:28-29, Proverbs 27:5-6, or First John 1:9, which offer hope and forgiveness. Choose one of those verses and then explain why you would use that particular verse to encourage someone” (The Gathering Place, page 87). With a sense of awe in regards to God’s awesome provision, I chose First John 1:9: “If we confess our sins, [God] is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (ESV). I believe this was my choice for the reason of the experiential implication of the Gospel and the truth that I am offered a fresh start through the blood of Jesus Christ for forgiveness of sin. This is good news, and it is important news that I would want to share with another person. It is the solid foundation for counsel that brings truth and life.
Holy Spirit, I pray that you would moment by moment remind me of the Truth of First John 2:1, “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world” (ESV). Thank You God for the fresh start You give me through Your Son, Jesus Christ. Help me to share this fresh start with others as You send me. In Jesus, Amen.
“But God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are His,” And “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity” (2 Timothy 2:16 ESV). Departure from sin begins at the cross.
A Humble Life
The life of Jesus was the first thing that came to mind as I pondered the question, “Because humility is necessary, what does a humble life look like (Isaiah 6:1-7)? (Question from the Gathering Place, Lesson 2, Reverence, page 257). And, the life of Jesus should be the first thing that comes to mind when we, as Christians, ponder a question such as this one. The Apostle Paul wrote boldly in Philippians 2:5-8, “Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn’t claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion” (MSG). As we gaze at truths such as this one, we become more like Christ and the reflections of verses such as “I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death” (Philippians 3:10) begin to be seen in us.
What catches my eye in this moment as I look at this question are the words “humility is necessary.” And as I ask myself, “Why is humility necessary?” I remember a quote from Eleanor Roosevelt that I read, “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” Thinking on this now, it makes sense to me that humility is the undertaking that keeps us from giving away our consent to “feel inferior.” This is what happened in the life of Isaiah: at the height of “feeling inferior,” God revealed Himself high and lifted up, “I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up…” and, in response the prophet cried out, “Woe is me! For I am undone and ruined, because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” Through his own confession of “feeling inferior,” God gave Isaiah a new confident perspective through forgiveness of sins, a resurrected perspective. As soon as he “died” to himself, God raised the prophet up to “go” for him. What an awesome reversal! He no longer submitted himself to the consent of his inferiority but to God’s superiority! And when God asked the question, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” Isaiah was confident to respond, “Here am I. Send me!”
Without Jesus, we are guilt-ridden and undone and it is our own pride and lack of humility that keeps us in a state of rebellious ruin with an “all about me” attitude not going anywhere. We don’t understand the scope of this until, like Isaiah, we see the LORD high and lifted up. At that point, if we have truly seen Him, we have no other wherewithal in us except to bow down and worship the Only One who leads us on the right road, set free from the deceptive guides of pride and selfishness. He releases us, in love, to be humble servants living out the life of Jesus on the pages of our lives with an ever increasing grace and knowledge. Jesus Christ, the Name above all names, is the only One who holds our redemption in His hands, we cannot redeem ourselves. This is the saving knowledge that sets us free from consenting to every inferiority complex borne of pride. I am small and God is big and in His great mercy, He lifts us up in our humility no longer undone, ruined, and unclean, but reborn, clothed in Christ, and fully redeemed!
Hemmed in By the Holy Spirit of God
As I ponder the question I am presented with tonight, I am reminded of my new granddaughter. The question, “How are you impacted by the knowledge that the Holy Spirit had you in mind as Scripture was penned?” (Question taken from Beth Moore’s, Children of the Day: First and Second Thessalonians) is timely, to say the least, in the wake of a most miraculous revelation of our God in the birth this precious life into the world. I penned this journal on June 15th, 2014 only a few days after her birth:
A Heart for the Lost:
On June 13th at 8:59 a.m. my daughter gave birth to a child, a child chosen by God even before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight (Ephesians 1:4). Her name is written in heaven. She came into this world, hemmed in by the Holy Spirit of God. Why do I believe this? Because of God’s goodness and glory to give us His very great and precious promises of salvation (2 Peter 1:3-4). His Word tells me, “For the promise is for you and for your children, and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call” (Acts 2:37). Not that she is saved through me or anyone else, but through Jesus Christ alone, saved through the very great and precious promises of salvation as she believes, by God’s grace, for herself. And I believe with all of my heart that she will believe! I believe her name to be written in His Book, as sure as I am my own name, my husband’s name and the names of all of our children. “Believe in the LORD Jesus and you will be saved, you and your household (Acts 16:31).
My daughter emailed me last night, “We love [this baby] so much. Now I know why you don’t want to be apart! I always will want to be by her” (June 15th @ 8:47 p.m. via email). O God, increase this in her and in me. What a reflection of God’s love for us, yet so strong but only a glimpse. That He chose us for Himself! Just as He chose this child to be entrusted to my daughter or my daughter to be entrusted to me. “He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:11-13 ESV). In a love we cannot even begin to comprehend, a love in which our human love is only a shadow, “He predestined us for adoption as sons [and daughters] through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will, to the praise of His glorious grace, with which He has blessed us in the Beloved” (Ephesians 1:5-6).
As soon as my granddaughter came into the world, a little before or a little after, the midwife who delivered her said, “Fearfully and wonderfully made.” This was the theme for her baby shower, Psalm 139:13-16, evidence that her little life has already been etched on the pages of God’s heart. Now, my daughter has God’s heart for her child as I have His heart for my daughter, a heart for our little ones to know God through Jesus Christ our LORD, the only way to know God. “No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, [Jesus Christ] He has made Him known (John 1:18 ESV). This is the heart of Jesus for us, to be found by Him, in Him, and through Him, as He has come to seek and to save those wrapped up in His promises (Luke 19:11). Her life is engraved on the palms of His hands. “Before God formed [her] in the womb-He set [her] apart. Before [she was] born He appointed [her] a prophet to the nations (Jeremiah 1:5; Matthew 28:19). Worship God, little one, because the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy” (Revelation 19:10).
“Just as parents delight in the laughter of their children, so I delight in hearing my children laugh” (Jesus Calling, June 17th). “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you” (Isaiah 49:15). What an awesome reminder that our love as intense and strong as it is for our own children cannot compare, absolutely pales in comparison, to God’s love for us, only a reflection, a glimpse of His love.” “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and how inscrutable His ways!” (Romans 11:33 ESV).
LORD Jesus, please give me and my children a heart for prayer for the generations. Help us to pass the baton of faith with great veracity. O LORD, you have chosen us through Your Holy Spirit. Help us to be good stewards of the adoption we have received in Christ. In Your Holy Name, Jesus.
Resist the Urge to Continue
“When we cannot put boundaries around certain areas of our lives and “resist the urge to continue,” what does this tell us about how we view God’s ability to protect and provide for us?” (Question taken from Priscilla Shirer’s, Breathe: Making room for Sabbath). I believe that when we come to the point that we cannot “resist the urge to continue” our lives have become about food, drink, and clothing (i.e. earthly provisions and protections) and we are enslaved to the passions of lust and no longer thankful for God’s good gifts. We have forgotten that God is the One who protects us and provides for us and we have come under the power of the lie that all of our abilities to protect and provide are in our own hands. We have forgotten about God. This inability, the fact that we “cannot resist the urge to continue” tells us that we are anxious about our life and worried about “many things.” Life has become about earthly things instead of heavenly things. The destructively fierce woman is “always pulled by the lure of ‘more. Her desires are never satisfied.” On the contrary, the beautifully fierce woman is “filled with gratitude for God’s good gifts. Her heart is ruled by the peace of contentment” (Kim Wagner: The Fierce woman: Beautiful vs. Destructive).
Dear God, it is Your good will for my sanctification that I know how to control my own body in holiness and honor, not in the passions of lust like those who do not know God (1 Thess. 4:4-5). By Your grace, help me to “resist the urge to continue” anything that I have become enslaved to. Satisfy my desires with your unfailing love. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Matthew 6:25-34Amplified Bible (AMP)
25 Therefore I tell you, stop being [a]perpetually uneasy (anxious and worried) about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink; or about your body, what you shall put on. Is not life greater [in quality] than food, and the body [far above and more excellent] than clothing?
26 Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father keeps feeding them. Are you not worth much more than they?
27 And who of you by worrying and being anxious can add one unit of measure (cubit) to his stature or to the [b]span of his life?
28 And why should you be anxious about clothes? Consider the lilies of the field and [c]learn thoroughly how they grow; they neither toil nor spin.
29 Yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his [d]magnificence (excellence, dignity, and grace) was not arrayed like one of these.
30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and green and tomorrow is tossed into the furnace, will He not much more surely clothe you, O you of little faith?
31 Therefore do not worry and be anxious, saying, What are we going to have to eat? or, What are we going to have to drink? or, What are we going to have to wear?
32 For the Gentiles (heathen) wish for and crave and diligently seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows well that you need them all.
33 But seek ([e]aim at and strive after) first of all His kingdom and His righteousness ([f]His way of doing and being right), and then all these things [g]taken together will be given you besides.
34 So do not worry or be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will have worries and anxieties of its own. Sufficient for each day is its own trouble.
Opposite of Humility
“What is the opposite of Humility? What are some of the ways or attitudes in which we become prideful or arrogant?” (Question taken from the Gathering Place, page 257.) In response to this question, I found a few appropriate quotes (go figure) from C.S. Lewis. In regards to the “opposite of humility,” I thought of pride and I found according to Lewis that in contrast to considering others better than ourselves (Philippians 2:3), “pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next man… It is the comparison that makes you proud: the pleasure of being above the rest. Once the element of competition is gone, pride is gone.” ― C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity When we keep a self-centered agenda, we cultivate pride and arrogance as an attitude. It could manifest itself in things like self-indulgence instead of gracious generosity, swollen conceit instead of genuine concern for others, heartlessness instead of compassion, and seeking to please people over seeking to please God, but “The beautifully Fierce…” walk in confidence and humility that flow from the recognition of Christ’s work of grace in their life” (Kim Wagner).
Today, September 18, 2014 on Bible Gateway the “Verse of the Day” comes from Philippians 2:304 (AMP). “Do nothing from factional motives [through contentiousness, strife, selfishness, or for unworthy ends] or prompted by conceit and empty arrogance. Instead, in the true spirit of humility (lowliness of mind) let each regard the others as better than and superior to himself [thinking more highly of one another than you do of yourselves]. Let each of you esteem and look upon and be concerned for not [merely] his own interests, but also each for the interests of others.” According to the Word of God attitudes in which we become prideful or arrogant manifest themselves in the form of “contentiousness, strife, and selfishness” only to name a few. Our remedy, in short, with our eyes on Jesus is to look out not only for our own good but also for the good of others. “I was thinking recently that if I could identify one single attribute biblically that would be the supreme attitude of all attitudes, the most desirable from God’s view point would be humility” (John MacArthur) (The Gathering Place, page 35).
LORD Jesus, please forgive me for when I have considered myself more highly than I ought to. Forgive me of pride. Help me to recognize your work of grace in my life and to walk in confidence and humility. I pray this for all of the women in the Gathering place bible study. Increase our love for you. In Jesus Name, Amen.
Humility is Often Viewed as Weakness
The question on the table tonight is this, “It seems in our culture that humility is often viewed as weakness. Do you agree or disagree? Why?” (Question taken from the Gathering Place, page 257.) My answer to this question is “agree.” If I could simply define humility, I would define it as the words of Paul in Philippians 2:3, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit but in humility consider others as better than yourself” (NIV). The realization of pride is found in the pervasive nature of vanity and the manifestation of swollen conceit. It is pride and the love of self that considers humility weakness. Pawns in the hand of the devil, those swollen with conceit see the inadequacies of the weak in their mind’s eye as a stepping stone. “As long as you are proud you cannot know God. A proud man is always looking down on thing and people: and, of course, as long as you are looking down you cannot see something that is above you.” (C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity ). Kim Wagner, author of Fierce woman: the power of a soft warrior, speaks of the destructively fierce woman as someone who “walks in arrogance and pride but is blind to her lack of humility. She views meek behavior as a sign of weakness. She sincerely believes her personal conflicts stem from others’ ineptness, lack of spirituality, or inferior behavior.”
“At the top of Paul’s description for godless [people] men is “love of self.” Rather than loving God and having Him be the center, men are going to continue to love themselves, and live arrogant, proud, pleasure-filled lives(2 Timothy 3:1-4). We live in a culture that says, “Live for yourself; its’ all about YOU!” So how can you and I be different? How can we determine to not allow our views, ideas, and concepts of God to be lower than they ought? I believe that before we can ever begin to see God for who He is, we must think rightly about ourselves. R.C. Sproul, in his book The Holiness of God, says it this way, “Men are never duly touched and impressed with a conviction of their significance, until they have contrasted themselves with the Majesty of God.” (The Gathering Place, page 34).
Dear Jesus, Your Word says that I am not to conform to the patterns of this world but that I am to be transformed by the power of Your Word. Please keep me from turning to things that cultivate vanity in my heart. Help me to keep my eyes on You through Your Word. You died for me that I might live for you. Help me not to think more highly of myself than I ought (Romans 12:1-4). In You, Amen.
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