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"That's gotta be a coinkydink"

7/15/2013

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It’s difficult to describe just how far Mbeya, Tanzania actually is from Indianapolis, Indiana. There really is no good way to get there"
  • 8 hours to Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam.
  • 10 more hours south to Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania.
  • 14 more hours on the very underdeveloped highway system in Tanzania.
In June, I traveled to Mbeya at the invitation of my friend Rev. Dr. Barnabas Mtokambali, to speak at a very special dedication of a church planting school that is situated a couple hours away in an even more remote, out-of-the-way town (if that’s even possible) called Makambako. Tanzania has a culture that values honor, so while I was there I was assigned a “driver” to get me to the various meetings, meals, and church services.

His name was Pastor George James.

Pastor George is a quiet man with a very sweet spirit. He first gave his heart to Christ in 1988. Eight years later he felt called by God to become a pastor, so he went to Bible College and completed his education. After leading a local church for a few years, he became the principal of the Bible College in Mbeya. You don’t have to spend a long time with Pastor George to see that he has the heart of a teacher and a mentor. He lives on campus with his wife and two children, and has coached, educated, and trained hundreds of men and women for ministry over the last 10 years.

I spent three days climbing in and out of Pastor George’s late-1990’s Toyota Cressida, and he claims it was sitting there the whole time. Somehow I never saw it until our last ride together back to the airport. There, on the armrest between the driver and passenger seats, sat a burgundy leather Bible. But more than just the color or the binding, something very unique caught my attention.

There was a name clearly stamped in gold leaf on the lower right corner.

No, that can’t be right.

I was still a little jet-lagged. Worn down emotionally, physically and spiritually from three days of preaching. Were my eyes playing tricks on me?

YES! That’s what it says: KAREN COOPER

Karen is the mother of my life-long friend and brother-in-law, Erik Cooper. She’s been a spiritual mom to so many over the course of her life. Could it actually be possible that this Bible once belonged to her? I was already starting to get that sense something special was happening when I asked Pastor George how this had found its way into his possession.

“A few years ago, a friend of mine was travelling to Dar Es Salaam, so I gave him some money and asked him to try and find an NIV Bible. Many of the classes I teach are in English, and up to that point my only English Bible was a King James. He found this tabbed, thin-line NIV at a used bookstore in the city for 1,500 schillings (about one US dollar) and I’ve been using it ever since.”

For nearly a decade, Pastor George says that Bible has been his constant companion at every Bible college class he taught, every chapel service he has preached, and every Sunday morning service he has attended or led.

So how does a Bible with my life-long friend and brother-in-law’s mother’s name on it end up in Pastor George’s hands in Mbeya, Tanzania?

Needle in a haystack?

Happenstance?

Providence!

Karen remembers donating several Bibles to a “Bible Drive” at our local church in Indianapolis nearly 25 years ago. Initially, she wasn’t going to give away the ones that had her name on them or held any kind of “keepsake” value. But she distinctly remembers her father-in-law, Rev. Ed Cooper, saying, “Karen, Bibles weren’t meant to be kept on a shelf gathering dust. They were meant to be used.”

So right about the time Pastor George was leaving a life of East African tribal religion, animism, and witchcraft for new life in Jesus Christ, Karen Cooper gave away a few of her Bibles. And somehow, it seems, one of those Bibles ended up in a used bookstore in Dar Es Salaam, East Africa.

Until a few weeks ago, she had mostly forgotten and certainly didn’t know where any of those Bibles ended up. Perhaps now she does.

“So will the words that come out of my mouth not come back empty-handed. They’ll do the work I sent them to do, they’ll complete the assignment I gave them.” 

On a dusty road in Mbeya a few weeks ago, I got a little glimpse of heaven. Can you imagine what it will be like when the curtains that separate us from eternity’s perspective are rolled back and we will see all of the investments we have made in the Kingdom of God?


This post is taken from Erik Cooper's blog (son of Karen Cooper):  http://beyondtherisk.com/2013/07/10/an-inspiring-story-25-years-in-the-making/


BE HOLY.
BE A MAN.

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12 things your church needs to know about addicts

6/26/2013

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1. My clean time and my conversion date are not the same thing. I’ve been clean for 8 years, and a Christian for 13. I was a saved-by-grace, Bible believing Christian who was using drugs. If I relapse tomorrow I will still be a Christian, redeemed and forgiven.

2. I am alive because Christians showed me grace. Sure, I can pull off the soccer mom act now, if I want to. But there was a time when I was literally stumbling into church on Sunday mornings, looking to find God again after a particularly rough week or month or year. There were Christians who told me to smarten up and Christians who asked me to leave. But there were also Christians who welcomed me, bought me a cup of coffee after church, listened to me, mentored me, prayed for me, and bared their own souls and struggles when I felt alone.

3. When people tell me that they would love to hear my story, sometimes I feel more like a two-headed alien than a friend. Please don’t pry for the gory details of some of my most tragic moments. Someday I might tell you about the dark places I’ve been, but only when I know I can trust you — and that I can trust myself to tell the story for God’s glory and not my own wistful, dangerous reminiscence.

4. Please don’t tell me that you know what I’ve been through. I am thrilled to hear that you have found freedom over your own life controlling issues, but please don’t tell me that you know exactly what I’ve gone through. Let’s show one another more respect for our unique situations than to presume we know what each other has been through.

5. Addiction doesn’t always look like it does in tragic made-for-tv movies. Yes, I had a time in my life when I was the homeless punk kid passed out on the sidewalk. I also achieved a 4-point-0 at bible college while smoking crack. People rarely fit into their stereotypes.

6. Addiction is both a sin issue and a disease. Please Please Please hear what I’m saying on this one. Any treatment plan or advice that only tackles one side of the equation is more hurtful than helpful. Encourage addicts to get treatment for their disease; even if it is not faith based treatment. You wouldn’t tell someone with cancer not to visit a secular oncologist, or someone with diabetes to just try harder and read their bible more. In my experience, Christians who are struggling with addiction are well aware of their sin. They need hope, help and support, not condemnation.

7. Please stop using the word addiction to mean “affinity for”. You aren’t “addicted” to reality tv or strawberry frappucinos. Please don’t trivialize the pain that people struggle with every single day by referring to your hobbies and preferences as addictions.

8. I’m still an addict. 8 years clean and I still have to be very careful where I go, what I watch, and where I let my mind wander to. If I breathe in too slow sometimes I can almost for a moment taste and feel the drugs. Sometimes when that happens I pray that sin would not have dominion over me; other times I take another slow breath to try sadly and desperately to feel it again. The temptation doesn’t disappear just because I’ve been clean for years, which brings me to the next point…

9. Sometimes I just really want to get high. And for the most part I can’t tell people this because they think it means I’m about to relapse. If I do tell you I’m struggling, please don’t freak out.

10. And I am so much more than an addict. I am passionate and creative and opinionated. God is daily showing me bigger, better glimpses of who I am in Him.

11. Sometimes, deliverance is white knuckled work. I used to ask why God wasn’t setting me free from this in the powerful, miraculous ways he sometimes does. What I’ve come to see is that freedom is not the lack of temptation, it is the ability to stand against it. Everyday my weakness is made strong in Him.

12. My old life was full of lies. It was how I protected my addiction. So sometimes now I say things that are uncomfortably and painfully true. I have to. The whole “I’m okay, your okay” game we like so much to play in the church can mean certain death for an addict. Ultimately, it isn’t really good for anyone. I’m not okay, you’re not okay, we all have issues we are working through.

This post was written by Kelly.  You can find the original post at:  http://redandhoney.com/2013/06/12-things-an-addict-wants-the-church-to-know/


BE HOLY.
BE A MAN.


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It's time for a party!!  (a short story about Grace)

6/21/2013

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It was a beautiful house. The most welcoming of houses. A stunning house. A house like no other. The house where Grace lived.

A home like this was destined to be shared, so as she often did, Grace prepared a meal. No, no, no, it wasn’t just a meal – this was a FEAST! The kind of cuisine reserved for castles, princesses, and fairytales. No expense was spared. She decked out her oversized, antique table with the finest china and the most elaborately embroidered tablecloths. The smell of exotic, culinary delicacies hung thickly in the air.  It was time for a party.

Right about then, a man came struggling along the path in front of the house. He was obviously agitated. Jumpy. He talked out loud to the air with a phobic paranoia. And to make matters even stranger, behind him he dragged a large metal cage full of the ugliest black birds you have ever seen. It was attached to his waist with a massive steel chain, and he dragged it through the dirt with a strained shuffling gait. Whenever he stumbled or wobbled, the cage would shake and the birds would let out the most horrifying chorus of shrieks. The man would instinctively crumble in terror, balling himself into a fetal position, clawing at the air, as he begged in agony for them to stop.

Grace could see this awful unfolding scene from her dining room window and rushed outside to his aid.

“My friend,” she said in the most soothing of tones, “please relax, you’re not alone. I’m here to help, I have the answer. Let me cut these heavy chains and remove this hideous cage. You don’t have to drag these fears around with you anymore. Come inside, I’ve made the most splendid of meals and I want you to be my guest. I can do things for you that you could never possibly do for yourself.”

But the man shrieked all the louder. “Get away! Get away! These fears may be hideous, but they’re all I know. I’ve dragged them for more miles than you can imagine. I got them from trusting, trusting people like you! So leave me alone and let me get on with it. If there is freedom from these fears it will have to be of my own doing. And amidst the ever growing sounds of terror, he trudged into the darkness and disappeared from the warm glow of the house. The house where Grace lived.

Not more than a few moments later a new figure appeared on the path. Unlike the first, this man didn’t seem to be struggling much at all. In fact, cloaked in a massive oversized white fur coat, he actually looked to be…strutting. He paused every few steps to gaze at his reflection in the adjacent pond until he was frozen dead in his tracks by the almost mirror-like qualities of Grace’s massive dining room window. Absolutely gorgeous!

Even though the man’s ego was nearly as ugly as his coat, Grace rushed to the front door and warmly greeted this new opportunity with her usual warmth and charm. ”Hello friend! I’ve prepared a feast, will you come join me? I’ve planned a great party and I’m expecting many guests. I would love to add you to the celebration!”

“Eat with such plebes?” he replied with a smirk. “I’m sure they’re far beneath the class of a specimen like me. But I am hungry after this long walk.” And so he brashly sauntered up the stairs, brushing Grace to the side and heading straight for the front door.

“Oh, there’s just one thing,” Grace interrupted as she politely stopped his progress. “Your coat. It stays out here. In my house, all the warmth and covering you’ll ever need has already been provided for you. The only way we dine together is if we see the real you. No coats. No pretense. All that stays out here.”

“But this coat is my pride!” the man violently hissed. “If it stays outside then so do I!” And he stormed back down the front steps (with much less of a swagger this time), onto the path, and back into the woods (only pausing at a few leftover rain puddles for a quick peek at his reflection). His choice was made, and his egocentric silhouette quickly faded into the forrest near the house. The house where Grace lived.

As Grace reached for the doorknob to return to her preparations, she caught a glimpse of yet a third weary traveler struggling up the path. The woman appeared to be carrying a large sack, easily twice as big as she was, and was painfully doubled over under its incredible weight. Grace ran quickly down the front steps and up the walk to offer the poor woman her assistance.

“Dear friend, you can hardly walk! Here, give me your sack, we’ll leave it here. Come in and rest. Let me tend to you. I’m preparing a huge feast and expecting many guests. Join us! The food and drink is overflowing!”

The woman never looked up. Her voice was so soft and shaken she could barely be understood. “This bag is my shame, full of unspeakable sorrow and regret. Skeletons and memories I’ve carried so long they’ve become a permanent part of me.”

Sure enough, the sack had been on her back for so long it had quite literally attached itself to her skin!

“My dear,” Grace replied in her comforting tones, “please come inside and let me help you. I have just the tools to set you free, you only need to trust me. I’ve already done all the work to ensure you don’t have to carry a bag of shame like this anymore.”

“Thank you kind lady,” came the woman’s trembling reply. “But many have tried to help me do just that on the course of this painful journey, and to no avail. Freedom is an illusion I’m afraid. This sack of shame is who I am. If you cut it off I’ll most certainly die. Now let me on my way. I can manage this burden on my own. I’ve been doing it for quite some time now.” And so she slowly set out, following the same lonely path that fear and pride had forged just a few short moments earlier, and leaving the warm glow of the house as nothing more than a distant memory. The house where Grace lived.

The party was a smash! The house was filled with every kind of person you could possibly imagine. Princes and paupers. Businessmen and beggars. Aristocrats and commoners. They came from near and far for this feast of the ages!

No one left unchanged. Grace made sure of it. Cages and coats and large empty sacks littered the front walkway like a graveyard of self-salvation projects. And yet even as she relished in the joy of her miraculous work, Grace couldn’t help but wonder why three exhausted travelers chose to miss the celebration and continue alone. It was so unnecessary. The work had already been completed. All they had to do was come inside.

But the Good News for all weary wanderers is that the warm, inviting, transformational doors of this house always remain open. The house where Grace still lives.


This post was written by Erik Cooper.  You can find the original post here:  http://beyondtherisk.com/2013/06/11/the-house-where-grace-lived/


BE HOLY.
BE A MAN.

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Work out your salvation:  A proper illustration

5/24/2013

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Let’s look at a specific example: Philippians 2:12-13 “Work out your own salvation…for God is at work in you….” Some (e.g., D. M. Baillie) have labeled this the “paradox of grace.” I have used that term myself. I’m okay with that. As I explained in Part 1, I find certain paradoxes inevitable signs of mystery. But is it a sheer contradiction? I hope not. One of theology’s tasks is to show that, even though we cannot plumb the depths of God’s agency and ours in salvation, thus reducing mystery to something completely comprehensible to the finite intellect, there is no need to embrace sheer contradiction.

Philippians 2:12-13 is not a contradiction once we see and acknowledge that our “work” is not the same as God’s “work” in salvation (including sanctification). Two different Greek words are translated “work” in these two verses. There’s our first clue that no contradiction is involved. However, knowing their meanings doesn’t automatically resolve the apparent tension. Theology steps in, however, to say that God’s work surrounds and underlies, enables, our “work” which is simply to allow God to do his work in us.

I use a homely illustration. Every summer here in central Texas I struggle to keep bushes alive. I turn on the outdoor faucet to which a hose is attached and drag the hundred foot hose around the house to a thirsty bush. I aim the spray nozzle at the bush and press the trigger. Nothing comes out. I go back to make sure the faucet is actually turned on. It is. Pressurized water is there in the hose. Then I realize there’s got to be a kink somewhere in that long hose that’s keeping the water from flowing. I track the length of the hose, find the kink(s) and straighten them out.

The water represents God’s grace; the kink(s) represents a wrong attitude or habit or desire that blocks up the flow of God’s grace in my life. My task is to remove those with the Spirit’s help.

The analogy breaks down, of course, in that, in my spiritual life, removing the “kinks” is just as much God’s work as mine, but I have to want it and permit it. The “energy” (one of the Greek words translated “work”) is all God’s. All I contribute is heartfelt desire, prayer and submission. That’s also “work” insofar as it’s not easy; it’s not what comes naturally.

Philippians 2:12-13 may express a paradox, but it doesn’t express a sheer contradiction. It would only be a contradiction if it said that salvation is exclusively God’s work and exclusively mine. It doesn’t say that. It implies a cooperation—a synergy. At least that’s the best way to interpret it.



This post is an excerpt from a blog post by Roger E Olson.  For the original post with comments, go to:  http://www.patheos.com/blogs/rogereolson/2012/07/a-sermon-grace-works-philippians-212-13/


BE HOLY.
BE A MAN.

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Wrestling bears:  The love of a father

4/17/2013

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When my daughter was two years old she ran away from home. It wasn’t exactly a pre-meditated fleeing. Truth is, someone (most likely me) left the back fence gate unlatched. So while my wife stepped inside to answer the phone, our little (evil) Yorkshire terrier made a break for it, taking our sweet little toddler as an accomplice on her cross-neighborhood joy-run.

Who knew a two year old with a saggy diaper could run so fast? In less than 60 seconds she was gone. Vanished. Completely out of sight.

A panicked call had me speeding home from the office while a band of concerned neighbors started the hunt. Thankfully, just as I was frantically screeching into our development, relief came. They’d found her (and unfortunately the dog, too) nearly three streets away and just a few yards short of a retention pond, completely oblivious to the chaos her devious curiosity had created.



Here’s what I know…

I would have wrestled a bear to find my daughter that day (because, as you know, there is a burgeoning kodiak population here in suburban Indianapolis). Nothing else mattered. Meetings. Deadlines. Obligations. Life paused until she was back home safe where she belonged. We dropped everything to go and find her.

And that’s exactly the way God feels about you and me (but I fear we’re internally wired to think the opposite).

We see it from the very first chapters of the Bible:

“The woman stared at the fruit. It looked beautiful and tasty. She wanted the wisdom that it would give her, and she ate some of the fruit. Her husband was there with her, so she gave some to him, and he ate it too. At once they saw what they had done, and they realized they were naked. Then they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves. Late in the afternoon, when the breeze began to blow, the man and woman heard the Lord God walking in the garden. So they hid behind some trees.

The Lord God called out to the man and asked, “Where are you?”

-Genesis 3:6-9


When Adam & Eve sinned, they were the ones that covered up. They were the ones that ran and hid. God came looking for them.

And He’s been pursuing us ever since.

You see, we instinctively think we have to clean things up. That we’re the ones who right the wrongs. That we’re the ones who must do the work to fill the gap between our sinful selves and a holy God. That we’re the ones who have to pay the price. That we’re the ones sentenced to go looking for a God who has hidden Himself from our ugly screw-ups.

But let me remind you, Holiness came looking for sinfulness. Jesus chased you all the way to a cross. Not to destroy you, but to redeem you. And then to empower you, transform you, and call you to something greater.

He’s looking for you. Right where you’re at. No matter where you’re at. It’s time to stop hiding and let yourself to be found.

This post was written by Erik Cooper.  For the original post, go to:  http://beyondtherisk.com/2013/04/10/i-would-wrestle-a-bear/



BE HOLY.
BE A MAN.

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Sunday Meditation

3/17/2013

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Many believers in Christ have at least one or several habitual sins of which they think they cannot seem to shake. Whether the case be saying what ought not be said, thinking what ought not be thought, greed, stinginess, lust, theft or crass and sarcastic attitudes, failures can affect our emotions in such a way as to cause us to despair. I know because I have experienced despair as a result of my failures many times. My guess is that many followers of Christ have as well. If such includes you, then do yourself a favor, and let the grace of God in Christ wash over you.

Grace, by English definition, refers to "a disposition to be generous or helpful; goodwill" (link). In our Greek New Testament the word grace (charis) refers to "a gift or blessing brought to man by Jesus Christ"; "favor," "kindness," "gratitude" (link). In a theological but practical sense, of what is called "the Lord's favor," charis refers to God being "freely extended to give Himself away to people (because He is 'always leaning toward them')" (link).

Though God is, without doubt, angry at sinners and at sin, because of Christ Jesus, He is also gracious toward sinners; He is especially gracious toward those who are redeemed in Christ. While the grace of God does not grant us permission to continue in sin (Rom. 6:2), God's grace is certainly extended to us in Christ when and after we sin (1 John 1:9). Too often some of us think -- or at least we seem to live and think -- as though God has more grace on us before we come to Christ for salvation than when we are actually in Christ and in the sphere of salvation. This ought not to be so.

In our union with Christ Jesus, by grace through faith in Him, God blessed us with every spiritual blessing that can be named (Eph. 1:3). Of those spiritual blessings includes the forgiveness of our sins. We are taught to confess our sins, and that when we do so, God will "forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9). The Greek word "confess" (homologeó) refers to agreement in acknowledgment: lit. "to voice the same conclusion" (link). We acknowledge our agreement with God about our sinful act(s). When we agree with His righteous judgment, asking for forgiveness, He forgives us through and in and for the sake of Christ Jesus.

For me, I become troubled not as much for doing wrong as for wanting to do wrong. In other words, I become even more frustrated and angry at myself because I want to do wrong as when I actually commit a wrong act (whether in speech, attitude, or other sinful behavior). I want to be rid of the "want to" factor of my sin nature. But I am not convinced that such a wish is even possible to be lived out in this life. My sin nature always seeks its own selfish, sinful desires; while my renewed, spiritual nature always seeks a hereafter reality of holiness (cf. Gal. 5:17).

Granted, were I to, each moment of every day, live "by [or in] the Spirit" of God (Gal. 5:16), I would not seek to fulfill the desires of the sin nature. But such seems easier said (and read) than to actually live out. "The spirit is willing," I remember Jesus saying, "but the flesh [or fallen nature] is weak" (Matt. 26:41).

I think, though, that I am getting off track. Because when and after we have sinned, though we may realize that we chose not to live according to the standards of the indwelling Holy Spirit, we then have to cope with the guilt of our sin; and with guilt comes shame, and with shame comes despair. What then? Here, I think, is where the theological rubber meets our practical road.

I find comfort in a few spiritually uncontested facts. First, God's love for me is not only eternal (Jer. 31:3), but also inseparable (Rom. 8:35) and irrevocable (Rom. 11:29). This love of God for me does not depend upon my righteousness, for I have none, nor upon my obedience, since Christ is both my righteousness and obedience. Again, this truth in no way grants me permission to live a disobedient life (Rom. 6:2-3). But God's love for me to whatever degree is not dependent upon the level of my obedience. 

Second, since by grace through faith in and union with Christ I have been justified, I therefore have peace with God (Rom. 5:1). I am no longer at war with God, and am no longer abiding under His wrath (John 3:36). A proper fear of God's wrath has been replaced with a respectable honor, trust, and love for Him that was previously unknown.

Third, if I am justified in and through Christ, then I am, from a positional perspective, viewed as sinless. Though I sin -- though I am guilty of sin and though I even at times want to sin -- in and through Christ, God views me as having fulfilled all righteousness. While this truth could inspire an apathetic lawlessness, and promote sinful living to some people, I think the opposite holds much potential as well.

In other words, because of the immeasurable grace of God through Christ Jesus in declaring us sinners justified -- as though we had not sinned -- such carries the potential for living in true gratefulness, whereby we are inspired to live godly lives. Only when we fail to achieve godliness do we regain a sense of failure (coupled with guilt and shame).

In those times is when we avoid despair by reminding ourselves of all we have gained in and through Christ. May we, by the leading of the Holy Spirit, look not upon our failures but to the grace of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Only then will we truly be free from the power of guilt, shame and despair, and "grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen" (2 Pet. 3:18). 



This post was written by William Birch.  You can find the original post at:  http://www.classicalarminian.com/2013/03/do-yourself-favor.html

BE HOLY.
BE A MAN.

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Grateful for Grace

3/16/2013

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Lord, the feelings are not the same
I guess I'm older, I guess I've changed
And how I wish it had been explained
That as you're growing you must remember

That nothing lasts, except the grace of God
By which I stand, in Jesus
I know that I would surely fall away, except for grace
By which I'm saved

Lord, I remember that special way
I vowed to serve You, when it was brand new
But like Peter, I can't even watch and pray
One hour with You and I bet, I could deny You too.


But nothing lasts, except the grace of God
By which I stand, in Jesus
I'm sure that my whole life would waste away, except for grace
By which I'm saved

But nothing lasts, except the grace of God
By which I stand, in Jesus
I know that I would surely fall away, except for grace
By which I'm saved

Keith Green

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Sunday Meditation

3/3/2013

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Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Many of us find it very difficult to feel confident in intimate relationships. If we learned early in life that the people most important to us were unapproachable, then confidently approaching others as adults may be difficult. There are many ways to learn that approaching other people is dangerous. It can come from abuse, or criticism, or disinterest.

One result of experiences of this kind is that we find it difficult to be confident when we approach God. This is particularly true when we are feeling fragile, weak or needy. The last thing we expect is mercy and grace in our time of need. We expect to be criticized. We expect God to say 'why are you still so needy?'. We expect to be abandoned. We expect God to say 'I'm busy now.' We expect to be rejected. We expect God to say 'If only you had more faith or prayed more or read the Bible more or trusted me more.' With expectations like this, it is no surprise that we lack confidence when approaching God.

But God offers us an invitation we long to hear. He invites us to approach. And, God invites us to come with confidence. God will pay attention. God will hear us. God will be interested in our well-being. God will respond with mercy, grace and help.

I don't have much confidence, Lord.
I don't trust other people very much .
I don't trust you very much.
I don't expect mercy and grace
from anybody, especially in times when I'm this needy.
I expect criticism, abandonment, and rejection.

Thank you for inviting me to come to you.
Thank you for providing good reasons to have confidence in you.
You are full of mercy and grace.

This is a time of need for me, Lord.
Give me confidence to approach you today.
I need your mercy and grace.


Amen.

Copyright Dale and Juanita Ryan

National Association for Christian Recovery

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A Shameful Identity

2/6/2013

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My therapist told me that shame -- while a proper emotion when I've committed a shameful act -- carries the potential to confuse me into thinking that there is something wrong with me as a human being. For many people, guilt means "I've done something wrong." But shame means "I am something wrong." If shame is not properly assessed, it can potentially hold me captive, and hinder my progress both spiritually and socially.

In a different therapy session I learned about cognitive distortions. Alcoholics Anonymous grants the same concept a different name: stinkin' thinkin'. Cognitive distortions are thoughts that have been corrupted, distorted, or skewed in such a way as to produce error of reality.

An example of a cognitive distortion would be thinking that someone did not like me because when the person saw me in a public context he or she did not interact with me. The reality of the situation, however, could have had various potentials, none of which had anything to do with how the person feltabout me as a human being.

The danger with cognitive distortions is that they can manifest in a manner in which affects my feelings or emotions. In the above situation, I may have felt rejected because the person did not acknowledge me. This, in turn, could have led me to a desperate need for affection, whereby I looked for intimate and immediate gratification, either sexual or non-sexual, whether with another person or even through pornography. If acted upon, shame is but one result.

Such could have been avoided, though, by considering other options as to why the individual did not acknowledge me. For example, perhaps the person did not see me. Perhaps the person did not recognize me from a distance. Perhaps the person was distracted, being in a hurry, or preoccupied with thoughts of his or her own. But by allowing distorted, presumptuous thoughts to consume my mind, I allowed them to affect my emotions, which then led to wrong behavior, producing feelings of shame.  

Shame can act as a cognitive distortion when it is perceived as though something is wrong with me as a human being. Even in my context, when I sinned against my roommate last year, there was nothing wrong me as a human being. What was wrong within me were cognitive distortions. My corrupt thoughts regarding my roommate affected my feelings toward him, which, in turn, led me to behave in such a way that was sinful and disrespectful of him as both a human being and as a brother in Christ.

The public humiliation of my exposed sin only compounded my shame. I remember, however, a Southern Baptist pastor coming to me in private and encouraging me to find a way past the shame. He shared with me a time in his own life when he had to force himself to move past his own shame for a sin he had committed. He told me that I would be no use for the kingdom until I found a way past the shame.

From therapy I learned that the shame I felt was due to genuine contrition and repentance. I was able, upon months of reflection, to honestly and objectively view my actions as shameful without thinking of myself -- my very existence -- as shameful. I realized that my actions were triggered by my feelings, which were triggered by my cognitive distortions. Had I been thinking properly, or not entertaining distorted thoughts, I, and so many others, could avoided that nightmare I created.

From Scripture I learned that Jesus took the shameful behavior I committed against my roommate upon Himself, though He despised and scorned that shame, and then sat down next to His Father in glory (Heb. 12:2). My sinful, shameful behavior has been cleansed by the blood of Jesus, and I will never be held accountable for it by God. He accounts me as righteous (Rom. 3:21, 22), justified (Rom. 5:1), sanctified (Acts 26:18), and glorified (Rom. 8:30) in Christ, though I have sinned.  

By God's grace and mercy to me in Christ, I am forbidden to accept shame as my identity. I am allowed to feel ashamed of my sinful behavior; but in Christ, having received His forgiveness, I am not permitted to view my existence as one of utter, hopeless shame. Only the gospel of grace grants such overwhelming accomplishment over failure, grief, and shame. I hope that you, in and through union with Christ by the grace of God, will internalize these truths for yourself.   

This honest post was written by William W Birch.  For the original post with comments, go to:  http://www.classicalarminian.com/2013/02/saturday-devotion-shame-and-identity.html

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BE A MAN.

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I'll take $3 worth of God

1/29/2013

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In one of my classes at Hillsdale Free Will Baptist College we were assigned to read a book by Chuck Swindoll called, Improving Your Serve. Overall this was a pretty good book, but there was one quote that was absolutely phenomenal. It was something that stood out to me then and one that I still think about years later. More than any other quote I’ve seen this sums up what many people in our day want from God. It goes like this,

“I would like to buy $3 worth of God, please, not enough to explode my soul or disturb my sleep, but just enough to equal a warm cup of milk, or a snooze in the sunshine. I don’t want enough of Him to make me love a black man or pick beets with a migrant. I want ecstasy, not transformation; I want the warmth of the womb, not a new birth. I want a pound of the Eternal in a paper sack. I would like to buy $3 worth of God, please”

Chuck Swindoll goes on to say about this, “That’s it. Our inner ‘self’ doesn’t want to dump God entirely, just keep Him at a comfortable distance. Three dollars of Him is sufficient. A sack full, nothing more. Just enough to keep my guilt level below the threshold of pain, just enough to guarantee escape from eternal flames. But certainly not enough to make me nervous…to start pushing around my prejudices or nit-picking at my lifestyle. Enough is enough!”

As preposterous as that sounds, I believe it accurately reflects what many people in the church today feel that grace is.  Grace is enough of God to keep us from being punished for our sins but not enough to turn us into fanatics.  Grace is for those who aren’t into the whole deny yourself, take up your cross and follow Jesus thing.  Grace means my sins are forgiven and I’m free to live however I want.

I’m sure most would affirm that grace doesn’t free us to live grossly immoral lives. Yet many would probably say that as long as we don’t live grossly immoral lives we are free to do whatever else we want. We are free to live for ourselves while making nominal gestures of service and devotion to God.

This is why teaching about being righteous, doing righteous, being pure in heart, faith without works being dead and taking up our cross to follow Jesus is often so hard for people to swallow. In their minds these teachings are opposed to grace. But are they really? Or is this idea of grace flawed?

Many times when we speak of grace we mean something different than the Bible does. Many times when we speak of grace we are talking about a quality of something that is beautiful or joyful. Sometimes when we speak of grace we are talking about a favor that one might extend to a friend without expecting anything in return. However when the early Christians looked at what God had done for mankind and then spoke of God’s grace they meant something far different.

“For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men,” Titus 2:11 (NKJV)

The grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. This doesn’t mean that all men, or all people, have been saved through the grace of God. Instead it means that because of the grace of God all people can be saved. God’s grace has provided an opportunity for every person that has ever lived to receive the salvation that He offers. I’m sure we are all familiar with this, but what we need to be reminded of is what it means that God’s grace made salvation possible for all people.

What it means is that through grace God will save the person who is living in rebellion against Him. Through grace God will save the person who curses Him. Through grace God will save the person who actively opposes Him. Through grace God will save the person who willingly sins against Him. Through grace God will save the lonely, the empty, the ungodly and those drifting through life without purpose or meaning.

To fully appreciate the kind of people that God will save through grace we have to remember how the Bible describes us before we were saved by Gods grace. In Romans 5:6 we are told that we were ungodly people without the strength to save ourselves. In Romans 5:8 we are described as sinners, meaning in part that we were actively rebelling against God.  Then in Romans 5:10 we are given a description of ourselves that makes God’s grace toward us most amazing. In Romans 5:10 we are called God’s enemies. In all of these verses are also reminded that Jesus died for us as ungodly sinners, enemies of God who were unable to do anything to change this situation on their own.

It is at this point that we recognize how amazing God’s grace really is. This is what sets God’s grace apart from man’s grace. While we may at times do favors for our friends, God has done the unimaginable. He has willingly sacrificed His own Son to die for His enemies that He might save them and bring them into a life changing relationship with Him.

This post was written by Rev Stacy J. Ross.  For the original post with comments, go to:  http://stacyjross.wordpress.com/2013/01/21/3-worth-of-god/

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BE A MAN.

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