Shift Happens

Righteousness. Holiness. Justification. I've been thinking about these words in the last few days. I recently learned that when God declares me righteous it is not because of anything I do. God says that there is no one who is righteous. He then declares that because of our faith in Christ and because of what Christ did for us at the cross that he can consider us righteous. The reason? Because when he looks at us, he sees the superimposed image of Christ on the cross on our behalf!

What I am now coming to see is that I often think I control how well I'm loved or viewed by God. As if somehow my obedience affects the amount of love he has for me or affects how righteous God considers that I am. But this is not true. God loves for me does not change. Does this give me freedom to sin because I know that I cannot be taken from him because of his grace? As Paul emphatically states, 'Of course not!'. However, now I can experience a different freedom. A freedom to be who God made me to be. Because now I am not tied down to the rules that I created. Because now I'm not living to improve myself, but rather just living in response to what God is doing in my heart. I am now obeying him out of love. Spending time with him out of love. Reaching out to others because of his love. None are motivated by my selfish desire to be more righteous or more holy in hopes that God will view me better.

This is where I want to live every day. But this is difficult, because the other perspective is so subtle and starts out so innocuously. I want to be like Christ. I want to more holy. (Shift happens). I start to read me Bible more but now my motive is because of me. I want to be more holy. I want to be more righteous. I want God to consider me better than I was. It really becomes a selfish desire and ultimately leads to a legalistic and wrong way of thinking. Soon, I am feeling guilty that I haven't spent time with him. Have you been there? Can you relate?

But, it doesn't have to be this way! This is exactly what God does not desire. He doesn't want a bunch of drones who feel they have to pray or read his Word. He created us to be in relationship with him. To spend time with him. To learn and share his heart. That is who he is. Would you want your son or daughter to do the same? To only spend time with you because they felt they must or they would be loved more by obeying you? Of course not! But why then do we suppose and expect that God would do this with us? Do we really think so poorly of God that we can't imagine that he can love us wholeheartedly, without reservation? God's love is not conditional. Our righteousness is not conditional. So, let's start living a life that reflects this belief. Let's spend time with our creator out of pure love. Let's laugh, and cry, and run, and be freed from the box that we've used to limit God. His love for us is so incredible. Let's experience it for the first time!

The truth is...

Again the question is before us. Where are you? Take it as you want, however, the question begs to be answered and answered honestly. Truth is one of the weapons God gives us. It's true that it has two edges. And I feel that edge quite often when I am wielding it.

The answer to the question finds itself billowing around in the winds of change lately. For me and those of you who are comitted to our task. Answering that question for me has been the core of my warrior spirit. Instead of a selfless warrior fighting for the cause of God I find myself being a self serving mercenary who has alterior motives contrary to the will of our Champion. No, I am not saying that I work against him directly. I am just saying that I seem to take his battle orders and bend them to my own will. Interpreting his direct command into a form that benefits me and turning a deaf ear to the commands I can't bend by any other means.

I have three sins that I continually turn to in all times. In fact the attempt at turning away from these sins have cause me great pains in every attempt. These sins have caused me to warp or change the commands of the Father. Looking for excuses to continue them. Looking for justification in their existance. But they are all lies. Masturbation, Overeating, Addiction to Chew. These are the crutches I have built to help me limp through life. I built them instead of turning to the truth. I built them because my nature as man to be unholy. I built them because the Enemy told me to. I built them and they are lies.. but they have become the fabric on how I deal with life. Sad.

Where am I? I can tell you this. I can tell you that God is showing me how I can turn away from masturbation. Oh, It's not easy. But it's not impossible now. I no longer see them as crutches. I no longer see them as essential to my walk through life. I no longer focus on my handicap and how it brings me down. I can turn away from them now. Why? It's not that I have focused on the sins, but because I focused on my relationship with God. But specificaly it is because I took my own selfish, and self serving nature out from blocking the Light that God was shining on me. I am not the only one who's heart was changed this week.

The Drive Back... Thursday April 24th

Pain

I am confronted with a thought this week as I listen to the men talk about where they are right now. I understand one underlying conceptual notion that ties all 4 testimonies together. Pain. Suffering. Whatever you want to call it. It's the one base factor in every story. It's the one unifying element. Pain of loss of new life. Pain of confronting your past. Pain of aggravation and frustration. Pain of loss of confidence. Four stories, four journeys, four different baskets of fruit. That is poetic beauty, That is God's beauty.

In one basket a question about the will of God turns into a stronger bond with God, a stronger relationship. That relationship found fruit in the bond between husband and wife. That relationship prepared the way for a battle hardened man to inquire the will of God in pain and suffering to a woman who was in the midst of experiencing the depth of that will. That relationship prepared her to recognize that there is fruit to be had for God and this would not have been possible without pain.

In another basket a man wages a battle against his anger and frustration and falls. He becomes a conduit of pain and is pain itself. Turning to God he finds a certain peace about the anger and it's source. He stands tall with the grace of God and through that grace bears fruit in himself and someone close to him.

Pain, the past, our scars are ours to bear. And though we may initially deal with them by turning away from God and finding our own salve to cover the wounds we will never heal them without God. Those things that have hurt us deep that we have buried deep in ourselves. Those wounds we hide from God and fail to acknowledge how they effect our relationship with God. The courage it takes to drag ourselves to those wounds and thereby experiencing the pain all over again with fresh lashings is a rare courage. And yet a man faced these wounds of his past and was forced to confront the very poison he has made himself drink most of his life. "I will not let them hurt me". Alas, the false self comes forth. Why this pain? Through this pain myself and every man at that table was changed, touched, and moved. Bearing fruit? Oh yes, I am that fruit.

And then a man questions prayer. He finds he has given up on prayer. Such a fine man with a heart for God. A man who is far more Christ like than most who call themselves christian. What pain led to his doubts? I can't answer that but I know they exist. This man brings me closer to God every time I am with him. He speaks and I listen because God speaks to me through him. The fruit was born in him through this. That he knows there is power in prayer. That knowledge came from his own experience in growing fruit from his own family. A testament that doubt does not find the chink in the armor, but that doubt IS the chink in the armor.

I have not found any story, example, parable, book, chapter, verse that says that fruit will be bourne through comfort. I HAVE seen that every where fruit is borne in the bible it is bourne through pain and suffering. The absolute greatest of all was the sacrifice of Jesus for our sins. God did not give his son a life of comfort from which to bear fruit. He gave his son a life of adversity from which to bear fruit.

A man has to face his pain. A man should not have to do it alone. He does it turning to God, The Holy Spirit, The Word, and those God has provided for wise council. The result of pain is fruit. The result of fruit is Glory To Him. God bless the man strong enough, courageous enough, brave enough to face that pain. May God grant him the wisdom to turn to Him when he does.

Isaiah 53

Last week Kevin challenged us to learn Isaiah 53. So we are breaking it into sections and are currently working on v.1-3. Here is the NIV version from biblegateway.org

Isaiah 53

1 Who has believed our message
and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?

2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.

3 He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.
Like one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

4 Surely he took up our infirmities
and carried our sorrows,
yet we considered him stricken by God,
smitten by him, and afflicted.

5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
and by his wounds we are healed.

6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.

7 He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before her shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.

8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away.
And who can speak of his descendants?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
for the transgression of my people he was stricken.

9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence,
nor was any deceit in his mouth.

10 Yet it was the LORD's will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
and though the LORD makes ^[c] his life a guilt offering,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand.

11 After the suffering of his soul,
he will see the light of life and be satisfied ;
by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,
and he will bear their iniquities.

12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,
and he will divide the spoils with the strong,
because he poured out his life unto death,
and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors.

Romans 12 : A prefix

Hey guys. This week we will be Romans Chapter 12 as the back drop. However, we will be three brothers short. Mike Smith will be showing his wife that he does have some sentiments. Ryan Sinks will be closing a financial bargain and Don Wildfang will be on a mini mission to Hawaii. No, he won't be converting, but rather a bit if spiritual reconditioning.

With that in mind I and knowing that we will talk about what's on our hearts, I would press upon you to read Romans 12 this week. Romans 12 was one of the many parts of scripture used to support the teaching that Craig Smith gave us this Saturday in Mosaic.

It's not enough to just read Romans 12. I am going to start challenging myself and you all to not only read Scripture, but to find exact passages of scripture that support the ideas that form when you read and are inspired by scripture.

I pray for blessings upon you all and your families.

Impressions

OK young men, you are taking me to cyber places I am not familiar with. However, as a life-long-learner I will do my best to remain green and growing. We all know the consequences of other options.

As I thought about you all today it occurred to me that we have heard several great topics to explore on Thursdays in addition to the ones we have already touched on. Why don't we begin to list some of those and see where it goes. Perhaps we can begin to go in depth on the ones we choose after Romans??

Don

Options: maybe we could go through chain references or research verses.

1. Sanctification; set apart as holy.
2. Parenting
3. Being a better husband
4. Listening to God: what are ways you have discerned God's will for you? How to you hear His voice?

Others

Thank you all again for trusting in our fellowship!

Don