A Sinner Like Me

Have you ever sinned? Sure you have and so have I. We all sin because we are sinners by nature. And yes, Christians can and do sin. John said, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we claim we have not sinned we make Him out to be a liar and His Word has no place in our lives” (1 Jn 1: 8, 10). John wrote this message to the church in Ephesus – his “dear children” (2:1). Believers, just like you and me.

So what do we do when we sin? If you’re like me, you beat yourself up about it. Maybe you are the one who tries to hide it. You might even deny what you did was wrong.  Or you may follow Adam and Eve’s example and try to shift the blame to someone else. The Old Testament prophet Micah had the right idea about how to handle sin.

Micah prophesied prior to Israel’s fall to Assyria and Jerusalem to the Babylonians. God’s people had abandoned Him and His Laws and were rebelling to His face. They were on the cusp of God’s righteous judgment and wrath. Micah wrote as if speaking for God’s people during their coming captivity.

He declared, “Though I have fallen, I will rise. Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light” (Mic 7:8). The enemy nations gloated over their downfall. But God would not forget His mercy and lovingkindness. Micah said, “Because I have sinned against Him, I will bear the Lord’s wrath . . .” Their well-deserved punishment would be severe, but not final. “. . . until He pleads my case and establishes my right. He will bring me into the light; I will see His righteousness” (v. 9). He would not abandon His people to the consequences of their sin. He would redeem and restore them.

Go back to the question I posed at the beginning: “Have you ever sinned?” John said, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 Jn 1:9). Micah said God pardons sin and forgives transgressions because He delights to show mercy (7:18). Beloved, you can’t save yourself from the darkness. But God can. Cry out to Him now from the pit of your sin. It will be His delight to rescue and redeem you.

I Have Sinned

James Moore wrote a book with an awesome title: “Yes Lord, I Have Sinned . . . But I Have Several Excellent Excuses.” I think it’s perfect for this generation. Truth is, it’s perfect for every generation. Trying to dodge our guilt is as old as mankind. Literally. Consider Adam and Eve’s words to God after they ate the forbidden fruit: “The serpent tempted me . . .” “The woman you put here with me . . .” (Gen. 3:12, 13). “Yes Lord, I ate the fruit, but . . .”

They say confession is good for the soul and if you’ve ever carried the weight of guilt around on your shoulders, you will know that it’s true.  1 John 1:9 says “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” When we come before God with reasons why we’re not at fault, we’re really not confessing. Confession is acknowledging our sinful actions and agreeing that we have broken God’s law. It’s not trying to throw the blame off of ourselves or making up excuses for our behavior. Real confession is taking personal responsibility for our actions, no matter who is involved or what the circumstances were.

The word confess also means to “tell plainly.” That means no spinning stories of how or why it happened. No trying to justify it or explain it away. As if we could. After David’s affair with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband to try to cover it up, the profit Nathan called the king out for his actions (see 2 Sam 11-12). David made no excuses but said, “I have sinned against the Lord”.  When he admitted his sin Nathan said, “The Lord has taken away your sin” (12:13). Psalm 51 is David’s prayer of confession and repentance.

Whatever your sin, God is ready and willing to forgive you and cleanse you with the blood of His Son. You don’t need to make excuses or shift the blame. Just tell Him the plain and simple truth: “God, I have sinned.” And remember that God forgives sin, not excuses.  Beloved, just tell the Lord what you’ve done. And He’ll tell you that you’re forgiven.

Do You Believe?

What does it mean to believe? And in what should we believe? Is it enough to believe that there is a God? A lot of people agree to the presence of some supreme being in the universe, and many will call him God. And many believe that a man named Jesus taught the ways of God and exemplified His heart of love, compassion, and grace. But what makes one’s belief right or wrong? John explained the difference: “Anyone who does not believe God has made Him out to be a liar because he has not believed the testimony God has given about His Son” (1 John 5:10).

The heart of the Christian faith is to believe what God has said about Jesus Christ. God declared, “This is my Son” (Matt 3:17: 17:5), and that gave divine weight to everything Jesus said and did. John said that when men reject Jesus and His words, they are saying that God is not truthful nor trustworthy. When I say I am a Christian, I am not making a statement about my assent to the truths of Christianity; I am making a statement about God’s trustworthiness through His Son.

When I was younger in my faith, I thought my salvation depended on how hard I believed. It finally dawned on me that it wasn’t my dogged determination to hang on that saved me. It was God’s faithfulness to do what He promised to do. God said that Jesus is His Son, that His death was sufficient to cover all my sins, and that His resurrection ensures my eternal destiny. I believe what God said. It is the foundation of my faith.

Beloved, if you believe what God has said about Jesus, you are blessed in every way; for this life and life eternal. You are blessed because you stand on the confidence of God’s testimony, not on the traditions of men. You are blessed because “you will see the glory of God” (John 11:40). Your faith will be made sight and your hope in Christ will be confirmed. In heaven’s chronicles, your name will be recorded among the great saints of human history, and you will be commended with those who pleased God by their faith. What a blessing it is to believe!

I Love You

When Joy visits with us, as she did this past Easter weekend, she sleeps with Nana and Poppy. She curls up on Poppy’s arm and the sweetest ritual begins. Pat, pat, pat. Pat, pat, pat. Pat, pat, pat. The pats go back to when my husband started having to sleep with a c-pap which makes it difficult to talk. So just before he drifts off to sleep, he reaches over and gives me three pats. When she started sleeping with us occasionally as a baby, Poppy also gave her a pat, pat, pat. When she asked him about it he told her that he was saying “I love you.” So she patted him back. Then she patted me. And I patted her back. And that is our nighttime/naptime routine. Love pats all around.

It started me thinking about how God expresses His love for us in ways that we may not recognize or understand.

I believe sunrises are one way God says, “I love you,” as He gives us a new day with new mercies (Lam 3:22-23). And sunsets, when He quiets us with His love and sings us to sleep (Zep 3:17). Children remind us that God has lavished His great love on us as His children (1 Jn 3:1), and when your grandchild runs to you and wraps their arms around your neck – well that still falls short of how much God loves you and me.

There are some very personal ways that God has shown me His love: a perfectly-timed song (especially if it mentions Joy). A text from a friend who is far away but senses my heavy spirit. A financial gift when we are struggling. A rainbow in my backyard. A little girl in my lap snuggled under a blanket watching 101 Dalmatians and dripping her ice cream all over us. A word from His Word that resonates in my heart. A forgotten chocolate kiss in the bottom of my purse.

But the greatest expression of God’s love happened on a wooden cross atop a hill. Paul said, “God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom 5:8). And John said, “This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins: (1 Jn 4:10). There is no higher love than that. Just in case you missed it Beloved, God so loved YOU that he gave His Son to save you. This is perfect love (1 Jn 4:18). It’s the only kind of love God knows.

Do You Know Who You Are?

There is a trend in Christianity, especially in Women’s Ministry, to focus on “who I am in Christ.” That is not a bad thing – in fact, the Father reminded Jesus that He was His Beloved Son just before he faced forty days in the wilderness and the temptations of the devil (Matt 3:17). But contemporary Christianity often puts the emphasis on the wrong end of that statement. Popular songs and best-selling studies (I can’t call them “Bible” studies) are heavy on “who I am” and very light on “in Christ.” Let’s be honest, self-focus sells.

The world alternately tells you that you are either entirely insignificant or the center of the universe. The culture wants you to find yourself in your appearance, popularity, stuff, or accomplishments. Pop psychology says you are whomever you tell yourself you are. If you’re like me, that’s up one day and down the next. For believers, it’s important to know the truth about ourselves from God’s perspective. The world cannot confuse us and the enemy cannot defeat us if we take God’s Word for who we are.

If you are in Christ, you are:

The salt of the earth and the light of the world (Mat 5:13-14).

His friend (John 15:15).

Justified (Rom 5:1), and reconciled to God (v. 10).

Dead to sin (Rom 6:2), and instruments of Righteousness (v. 13).

God’s children (Rom 8:15-16); set free from sin and enslaved to righteousness (v.18)

Members of Christ’s Body (Rom 12:5).

Enriched and equipped (1 Cor 1:5-7)

A new Creation (2 Cor 5:17) and Christ’s ambassadors (v. 20).

God’s workmanship (Eph 2:10).

Citizens of Heaven (Phil 3:20).

Alive (Col 2:13).

Made perfect (Heb 10:2) . . .forever! (v. 14), Cleansed, no longer guilty (v.2), made holy (v. 10), forgiven (v. 18).

A spiritual house and a holy priesthood (1 Pet 2:2).

And I could go on and on and on. The point of all these verses is not who I am, but what Christ has done. The heart of the Christian faith is the transforming power of Jesus’ blood. He didn’t die to make us the best versions of our human selves. He died to make us like Himself. He died to make dead men live. He died to set you and me free from the bondage of sin and the condemnation of eternal death. Because of one more thing that we are in Christ: Lavishly loved (1 Jn 3:1).

Beloved, do you know who you are? Do you know Whose you are?

God = Love = God

I am a follower of rules. I think it came from growing up as a military kid. There were rules living on base and everyone knew what was expected of them – even us kids. Even now I want to know my role and not have to wonder what I’m supposed to be doing. But even more, I want a way to know if I am measuring up. I want to be able to look at the list and say, I have done everything that is expected of me, therefore I am acceptable. I guess it goes back to my childhood. “Have you made your bed? Have you brushed your teeth? Have you done your homework? Have you finished your chores? Yes? Good job! No? Why are you so lazy? Why don’t you do what you’re supposed to do?” The unspoken words still ring loudly in my head: “You’re only good if you check off all the boxes.”

It’s taken me my whole life to realize that lists are great for work, but they are not the measure of my relationship with God.  Nor are they yours.  God doesn’t love you and me because we follow all the rules and check off all the boxes.  He loves us because He loves us.  Because that is His nature.  John made it very clear in his first letter: “Love comes from God” (1 John 4:7), “God is love” (v. 8, 16), “This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us . . .” (v. 10), “We know and rely on the love God has for us” (v. 16), “We love because He first loved us” (v. 19).

 Love originates from God. We would have no love within us if not for God’s love lavished on us (3:1). John added, “Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. In this way, [our]love is made complete . . .” (vs. 16-17). God’s love is perfect (4:18). It is steadfast (Psalm 118). It is eternal (Psalm 136). It is selfless (John 3:16).

And here’s what is so comforting: you can’t be good enough to make Him love you more and you can’t mess up enough to make Him love you less. He loves you because of who He is. Beloved (see what I called you), the next time you look at your life and wonder if you measure up remember this:  you don’t – but God loves you anyway.

The Truth is . . .

Has anyone ever lied to you? Ever listened to a politician? Ever asked a toddler, “What have you got in your mouth?” Or asked your teenager, “Do you have homework tonight?” Yep, you’ve been lied to. I know people have lied to me. Some were “white lies” and some were “indiscretions.” And there’s the occasional covering up a birthday surprise. Few things will draw my ire more than a bald-faced lie – when someone lies to my face and we both know it. If I’m truly honest, I’ve lied to people too – but not intentionally. Well, maybe sometimes intentionally. Like that time as a teenager when I . . . on second thought, I’d better not divulge that. Most of the time, the lies I told were when I said I would do something and failed to follow through. That usually comes when I over-promise. I have every intention of doing the thing, but for a variety of reasons, I just can’t pull it off. I’ve eaten a lot of humble pie in my life admitting I fell short of my promises.

Hebrews 6:18 tells us “it is impossible for God to lie.”  God is truth, and everything He says is true. You and I can take it to the proverbial bank. The Bible is God’s Word, thus, whatever the Bible says is the absolute truth.

When the Bible says, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen. 1:1), we can trust that is true.

In the Scripture, God said, “I will be with you, I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Jos 1:5). That’s a true and trustworthy promise.

When the Bible says that God is your shield (Ps 7:10), your strength, rock, fortress, deliverer, refuge, stronghold, and salvation (Ps 18:1-2), you can be assured that you are safe in His arms.

When the Bible says that God sees your trouble and grief and listens to your cries (Ps 101:14,17), you can rest your weary head on His shoulder and pour out your heart into His ears.

When the Bible says that God has good plans to give you a future and a hope (Jer 29:13) and that He will fulfill His purpose for you (Ps 27:2), you need not fear the days ahead.

And most of all, when the Bible says God loves you – that He lavishes His love on you (1 John 3:1) – you can know without a shadow of a doubt that it is the truth, no matter what your feelings or the devil, or the world may say. The Creator of the universe loves you. And that, Beloved, is no lie. It’s the truest thing you’ll ever hear.

Advent 2022: Hope and Love

While her husband loaded presents into the trunk, the woman hugged her friend and pressed some folded bills into her hand.  “I know this is a hard time, but God is going to come through for you. He has always come through for us.”  The woman thanked them both and sighed, “I hope so.  I don’t know how much longer we can go on like this.” “Keep that hope alive, sweetheart,” the man said as he closed the stuffed trunk. “The Bible says hope will never disappoint you.”

That’s good to know because hope is as essential to the spirit as oxygen is to the lungs.  When life is hard, hope seems more of a desperate gesture than a sure belief. Our hope fades, our spirit is weakened, we become disheartened, and our thoughts forlorn. That’s why the Bible always presents hope as a confident conviction, not a desperate, wishful longing.

The verse the man quoted was from Paul’s letter to the Romans: “Hope does not disappoint us because God has poured out his love into our hearts . . .” (5:5). You and I can have that kind of confident hope because we know God loves us. He proved His love at the manger. He proved it again on the cross. Then He sealed the deal at the empty tomb. Need more? John said the Father has lavished great love on us and called us His children (1 John 3:1). He said we can “know and rely on the love God has for us because He is love and His love is perfect (4:16, 18). His love is trustworthy and true. It is a firm foundation for hope.

Beloved, if hope is in short supply right now, I want to remind you that Christmas confirms the power of hope in the love of God. He will not – cannot – betray His love. It is His very essence. I also want to assure you that God does indeed always come through.  I was the woman hanging onto a thread of hope. And my hope was not disappointed.  God is faithful. God is love. Christmas is proof.

Stop Looking Back

I have a lot in common with Moses, the hero of God’s people. No, I’ve never parted a sea or made water come from a rock. I’ve never led a nation out of slavery nor floated down the river in a basket as a baby. What I have done that Moses also did was argue with God.

After Moses fled Egypt as a wanted man, he settled down and started working for his father-in-law as a shepherd. Then he saw a burning bush and heard God say, “I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt” (Ex 3:10). And he argues with God. Moses starts giving all the reasons why he can’t do what God has called him to do. “They won’t listen to me. They won’t believe me. I’m not an eloquent speaker. I stutter.” Finally, Moses says, “O, Lord, please send someone else to do it!” (Ex 4:1-13).

My version of Moses is: “I’m not good enough. “I’m not smart enough. And then the sure kicker: “I have an ugly, sinful past, God, I’ve done so many shameful things.” Then I pull out my carefully cataloged and categorized list of all my failures so that He can see why I am the absolute wrong person for the job. I was recently struck by what Bob Goff, lawyer, speaker, and New York Times best-selling author said, “We spend a lot of time memorizing failures that God spent a lot of love saying we could forget.”

He’s right. John said that the Father lavishes great love on us and calls us His children (1 John 3:1). Even before we called Him our Father. Paul said, “God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom 5:8). God loved you while you were doing the very things that sent His Son to the cross. When you accepted Christ, all your sins went under the blood of Jesus and left nothing but the Father’s love.

You are no longer a sinner in the eyes of God. You have been cleansed and reborn and filled with His Spirit so that you are enabled and empowered to do that thing for which He created you. Oh, Beloved, don’t look back when God calls you to move forward. He knows who you were – and who you are now. You are His child.

Jesus in Your Shoes

All across this nation, the anti-Christian machine is working to shut out every mention of God and deny the rights of Christians to express our beliefs. Nativity scenes are banned from the public square, or equal space must be given to anti-Christian displays. The Ten Commandments are being removed from government facilities, and students in school are forbidden to give reference to their faith. Lawmakers are pushing to ban all teaching of “religious doctrine.” God is unwelcome and unwanted in this country.

But don’t miss what John said, “The One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world” (1 John 4:4). Brothers and sisters, don’t forget that the Spirit of Christ dwells in you. Everywhere you go you take Jesus with you. So as believers, we take Jesus into the marketplace and the government sector. Students take Jesus into their school. Employees bring Jesus to work.

The Lord declared that His followers are ”the salt of the earth” and “the light of the world” (Matt 5:13, 14). Salt is our witness in the world. Light’s purpose is to shine in the darkness (John 1:5a). Salt is essential for life in general. It is one of the oldest and most universal food seasonings and methods of food preservation. Saltiness is one of the basic human tastes and it makes us thirsty. Here in the deep south, boiled peanuts are a favorite snack, but you’d better have a drink nearby because properly prepared boiled peanuts are very salty.  A salty Christian seasons the world with love, Joy, kindness, grace, compassion, and the good news of the gospel. They preserve the character of Christ in a tasteless culture and a properly prepared Christ-follower makes others thirsty for the Living Water.

From creation, light’s purpose is to shine in the darkness (John 1:5a). Light has power over darkness (John 1:5b) because darkness is nothing more than the absence of light. When light is introduced into the darkness, darkness no longer exists. That means you and I have power over darkness – not our own power, but Christ’s. The world is a very dark place. Evil is everywhere. But you and I have the His light to overcome evil and darkness. When we shine with His light, the darkness has no choice but to flee. And when we shine with His light every eye will be drawn – not to us – but to the Source of the Light.  

Sure, they can ban public displays of Christianity, but by your presence as a Christian, Beloved, Jesus still walks through this nation – in your shoes.