It’s okay to not be perfect

I never considered myself a perfectionist until I started back to school. Suddenly every assignment and every course had to be an “A.” The first B I got felt like a total failure. I expected to be perfect.

I find it interesting that while the Bible uses the word “perfect” just forty-two times, the word “good” appears more than six hundred times. After completing each day’s creative work, God examined what He had done and “saw that it was good.” In the original Hebrew, this means that God found His work “pleasing, favorable, and satisfactory.” Think about it – if God, at the zenith of His creative work, was content with “good” shouldn’t “good” be good enough for us?

There’s more: He promised a good land to the Israelites when they escaped Egyptian bondage (Ex 3:8). Jesus said the Father gives “good gifts” (Mat 7:11), He proclaimed the soil with the greatest harvest good (Luke 8:8) and Paul tells us to “overcome evil with good” (Rom 12:21) – not perfection. Even the Gospel that saves us is called “the Good News” (Acts 5:42). Why then are we trying so hard to be perfect?

God didn’t saddle us with this obsession for perfection – it was the enemy who planted that impossible seed. But we have watered and nurtured it until it has become a weed of gigantic proportions and, as weeds so often do, it has choked the life out of us and the “good works” we were created to do (Ephesians 2:10). It’s his way of keeping us distracted, dissatisfied, frustrated – and fruitless. Perfectionism will drive us to the point of exhaustion as we push ourselves to reach for an unreachable standard. Or, on the flip side, it will leave us in a state of paralysis, fearful of even attempting anything because we know we’ll never measure up. I’ve been both – and it’s no way to live. You and I will never pull off perfection this side of heaven. And that’s okay.

Only God is perfect and making you perfect is His work alone, through the blood of Jesus and the power of the Spirit. But you won’t see the perfectly finished product until you stand before Him in heaven. So hang all your perfectionist tendencies on Him and be free from that burden you were never meant to carry. Beloved, being good is good enough.

Heaven

This morning, I was listening to a song about heaven – “No More Night” by the incredible David Phelps, and the Lord pricked my spirit and said, “Tell them what is to come.”
In heaven there is no more night and no more pain and no more sadness, grief, or shame (Rev. 21:4). There is no fear or anxiety. There is no cancer or heart disease or paralysis or diabetes. In heaven there is no abuse or war or anger or evil of any kind (v. 8, 27).
My knees will not hurt anymore and I won’t need glasses.
My husband will be able to breathe freely.
Joy will have two perfect hands.
In heaven no one will struggle with mental issues.
You will never be depressed.
Your child will no longer battle addiction.
There is always plenty to eat and no food is off-limits in heaven.
You will never be lonely.
You will never fall in heaven – except to your knees in worship.
You will never face temptation and you will not have the urge to sin.
No one will hurt you or criticize you.
You will live in a place prepared especially for you by the Master Carpenter (John 14:2). And no bank will ever foreclose on it.
My mom and Dad and big brother will greet me and we will never be separated again. Mom and I will explore the most amazing flower gardens.
Your child who left way too soon will be there.
We will be reunited with dear friends.
I will finally meet Dorcas, whose name I share, and Ezra who inspired me to ministry, and Deborah who is just the coolest lady in the Bible.
Oh, and Jesus will be there. JESUS WILL BE THERE! I will see Him face-to-face. I will run into His arms and thank Him a thousand times for saving a wretch like me. And I will know that I am home forever.
There is a throne in heaven and on it sits the Lord God Almighty, the Eternal One, the Creator of all things (Rev. 4:1-11). A sea of people will gather around that throne in worship “from every nation tribe, people, and language. And the angels will be there worshipping (Rev. 7:9-10). And so will we.
It will be a place of extraordinary, unfathomable beauty. All things will be new – including heaven and earth (Rev. 21:1). And me and you. Beloved, hold fast to Jesus in this journey of life; the best is yet to be.
And so we say, “Come, Lord Jesus” (Rev. 22:20).

Heaven

It was so foggy one recent morning, I could only see a few feet in front of my car as I drove to work. Pea soup fog, the old folks called it. I drove with extra caution, especially at every intersection. It was very scary. I knew if I couldn’t see approaching cars, they couldn’t see me either. I made the turns as I remembered them. I couldn’t even see the campus until I was almost upon it. If I hadn’t been there before I would question whether the school existed at all because the fog was so heavy it hid the buildings. I had no visual proof that it was there.
As the sun got brighter, the fog around my campus burned away and everything was clearly visible. I saw the buildings. I saw students walking into their classrooms. I saw cars in the parking lots. I saw the lake down the hill with ducks splashing away. And I saw the chapel, that place where worship and the Word meet to encourage and challenge the BUF family. It was there all along; it had just been hidden.
God has called us to a place we cannot yet see. A place we’ve heard about, but never witnessed with our own eyes. A place that seems like a far-off dream. The fog of this world has hidden heaven from us and we wonder sometimes, as we travel through this wicked realm, if it’s really there at all.
Let me assure you – it is. Heaven is more real than this earth that will one day pass away and cease to be. Jesus promised, “In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me” (Jn 14:2-3).
The Son of God is coming again, and when He appears in all His majesty and glory, He will burn away the fog of sin and death and we will behold our heavenly destination. We will see that everything the Lord said is true – has always been true – it was just hidden from our eyes.
Heaven is your forever dwelling place, Beloved. Don’t doubt God’s promise just because you can’t see it now. The fog will lift, the Son will shine, and you will be home.

On Earth as it is in Heaven

I’ve been in many worship services where “The Lord’s Prayer” is recited by the congregation. One part always makes me want to shout, “Wait! Do you understand what you’re saying? Is this really your heart’s desire?”
“Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Mtt 6:10).
Have you ever stopped to think about what that means and why Jesus included it in His model prayer?
I believe Jesus wanted us to recognize Him as King and His rule as sovereign. The king’s will is the law of the land he governs. God – Jesus – is Creator and King of the entire universe – He governs the heavens which includes the angels and the earth which includes human beings. In heaven, His will is the absolute priority of every celestial creature. When we repeat this prayer we are saying the same of ourselves, that His will is our absolute priority, that we have no other will except His.
The question of God’s will has been a constant theme for generations. We want to know God’s will for our lives, but this verse invites us to look for the bigger picture and how we fit into it. While God does have a will – a plan and purpose – for our individual lives, that will is encompassed by the greater will of God: to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under the sovereign authority of Christ (Eph

1:10). The ultimate purpose of all existence is the Lordship of Christ Jesus. God’s plan was firmly fixed from before time began. All of human history has been moving toward one result: the coronation of Jesus Christ as the King of kings with “authority, glory and sovereign power, everlasting dominion, and a kingdom that will never be destroyed” (Dan 7:13-14).
So when we pray “Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven, we are surrendering our will to the will of God and committing to being part of ushering in the Kingdom of God and Christ. Like the angels in heaven, we are swearing our total allegiance to the authority and rule of the only rightful Ruler of the universe. This is God’s will for your life. He created you to be part of His eternal kingdom. Beloved, as you consider the words of this prayer, ask yourself, “What would the world, my neighborhood, my home, church, and workplace look like if God’s will was done on earth as it is in heaven – in me?”

Advent 2023: God in Flesh

Genesis 1 says that when God created the heavens and the earth, He spoke them into existence. “Let there be . . .” light, sky, land, seas, and plants, sun, moon, and stars, fish and birds and animals. Everything except man was created by the power of His Word. John declared that the Speaker/Creator became “the Word made flesh” (Jn. 1: 14). Jesus, the Son of God. He proved Himself as God when the wind and waves obeyed Him (Mk 4:39). He proved His authority over the spiritual realm when He spoke and cast demons out of a tortured man (Mk 5:1-20). He spoke with such authority that a centurion’s servant was healed from a distance (Lk 7:1-10) and a dead man walked out of the tomb (Jn 11). He was – and still is – the all-powerful, all-mighty God of the Universe. Nature, spirits, sickness, and even death have no choice but to obey Him when He speaks.
Yet He came to His creation as a helpless babe in the arms of a peasant girl – the only one who responded to the sound of His voice. Still, I wonder . . . did the wind and waves begin to still at the sound of His cries? Did the demons tremble when they recognized Him cooing? Did the stars shine brighter when He protested the hunger in his belly? Despite his diminutive human state, He was still God. Still the Creator and Sustainer of all things. Still the Author of Life. Still the long-awaited King. Did creation recognize Him, even if His image-bearers did not?
Yes, He was a baby just like any other baby. He needed someone to feed and clothe Him, to carry Him from place to place, to wrap Him in swaddling clothes from the cool night air. But He was a baby unlike any other and I imagine all of heaven was in awe at the sight of God in tiny flesh, so helpless and frail. I believe the creation that obeyed Him “in the beginning” knew that these were no ordinary cries. There was always power and authority and sovereignty in the sound of His voice. It was just small and quiet on that holy night.

This is Love

Christmas and love go hand in hand.
Love sent the Divine to earth (Gal 4:4).
Love wrapped the Baby in swaddling clothes and laid Him in a manger (Lk 2:6).
Love sang to the shepherds (Lk 2:14).
Love appeared as a guiding star (Mt 2:10).
But love isn’t just for Christmas.
Love welcomed the Promise of Israel (Lk 2:25-38).
Love searched for the lost boy for three days in Jerusalem (Lk 2:46).
Love made a home for a son that wasn’t his own (Lk 2:51).
And when the boy grew into a man . . .
Love healed the sick and raised the dead and freed the demon-possessed (Matt; Mk; Lk).
Love refused to judge (Jn 8:10).
Love rejected to devil’s temptations (Mt 4:10)
Love preached the Kingdom of God (Mt 4:17).
Love taught the truth (Matt; Mk; Lk).
Love willingly touched the leper (Mt 8:3).
Love calmed the storm (Mk 4:39).
Love made the blind see and the mute speak (Matt; Mk Lk).
Love spoke in parables that the people could understand (Matt).
Love fed the hungry (Mt 15:29-39)
Love walked on water and rescued a drowning man (Mt 14:22-33).
Love came for lost sons and daughters (Lk 19:10).
Love blessed the little children (Mk 10:13-16).
Love rode a colt into the city (Mk 11:1-10).
Love cleansed the temple (Mk 11:12-17).
Love washed filthy feet (Jn 13: 1-17)
Love broke the bread and shared the wine (Mt 26:126-28).
Love prayed while His friends slept (Mt 26:36-46)
Love restored a wounded ear (Lk 49-51).
Love stood before those who would judge and condemn an innocent man (Jn 18:1-19:16).
Love willingly took the blows (Mk 15:16-20).
Love bore the burden of the cross and the crown of thorns (Mt27:27-31; Jn 19:17).
Love felt the nails (Mk 15:24).
Love covered over a multitude of sins (1 Pet 4:8)
Love made sure His mother was cared for (Jn 19:26-27).
Love said, “It is finished” and surrendered His Spirit (Jn 19:30; Lk 23:46).
Love lay silently in a borrowed tomb (Mt 27:57-60).
Love broke open the grave ((Mt 28:2-6).
Love walked through the garden (Jn 20: 10-18).
Love cooked breakfast on the beach (Jn 21:12).
Love sent the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1-4).
Love is coming again (Rev 22:20).
Do you know why I always call you “Beloved?” It’s because God loves you with an everlasting, never-failing, eternal, divine and holy love. Don’t believe me? He planted and nurtured the seed that would grow into the tree that would become the cross on which His Son would die. For you.

When Jesus Prays

When life hits hard and difficult things come up out of the blue, one of the most comforting things I cling to is that nothing surprises God. I’ve had some doozies this year that have sent me reeling, but I look to my Father and know that He knew about it long before it came. His Word declares I know “the end from the beginning” (Is 46:10). In other words, God sees the outcome before it comes out. He knows how He will use the thing to “bring about what [He has] planned” (v. 11). Yes planned. Nothing comes to us that does not work within His plan.

Here’s something else that brings me tremendous comfort in those difficult seasons. While God is preparing, Jesus is praying. Just before His crucifixion, Jesus warned Simon Peter that satan was going after them. “Simon, Simon, satan has asked to sift you as wheat” (Lk 22:31). The “you” is plural in this verse, but when Jesus used it again, it was with a singular focus. “But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail” (v. 32). The Lord had a plan for Simon Peter. He intended to use His disciple in mighty ways. But He needed to do some Kingdom work in him before He could do His Kingdom work through him. And He was going to use satan to do the sifting. (Did you know that even satan is under the Lord’s authority?)

Jesus could have sat Simon down and drilled him on how to overcome all that was coming. He could have given him seven powerful verses for standing firm in his faith. He could have preached a rousing sermon to inspire Peter. But He prayed. Because He knew what was coming and He knew what His friend needed.

I don’t know what hard thing you are facing today, or what you may face tomorrow or next week or next year, but I know Who does. I know your Father’s plan has already determined how it will be used in your life and in His purpose. He has planned the end from the beginning. And I know that Jesus is praying for you. Hebrews 7:25 says He is continually interceding for you.

Imagine if you could press your ear to heaven and eavesdrop on the throne room. Don’t be surprised when you hear your name. He knows exactly what you need for this day and this season. Be assured, Beloved, Jesus is praying for you.

Worthy of Worship – and Love

Every time I read Isaiah 6, when God commissioned Isaiah as His messenger and servant, I am struck by the scene in heaven. Isaiah saw the Lord, “seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of His robe filled the temple.” The seraphs flew above him – remarkable creatures – and called to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of His glory.”  As they spoke of the glory of the Lord the temple shook and filled with smoke. Isaiah was undone by the presence, holiness, and glory of the Lord God of heaven (vs. 1-5).

I am always grieved by the nonchalant way we regard God – if we regard Him at all. His name has become an exclamation of surprise, disgust, and disrespect. His character – holy – is tied to things that are most unholy. He is judged by His creation and deemed weak, archaic, or worse a joke. Even in the churches that claim the name of His Son, there is a casualness in our approach to worship and His Word is critiqued by men with finite minds and sinful natures. What has happened to our awe?

If all God ever did was exist, He would still be worthy of worship.

If all God did was call forth the heavens and the earth, He would still be worthy of praise.

If all He did was create mountains and trees and stars, He would always be worthy of honor.

If all God did was fashion man out of the dust of the earth, He would still be worthy of adoration.

God is forever worthy of our worship and praise and honor and adoration.

But there is more. God sent His Son to die on the cross to redeem us from our sins.

He raised Him from the dead to give us eternal life and an eternal home in heaven – with Him.

He is worthy of our love. And that is why you and I exist. To love God and enjoy Him forever. It is the most important thing we can ever do. This is what life is all about. And in loving and enjoying Him we cannot help but worship Him and praise Him and honor Him and adore Him. It is a beautiful, eternal circle. Don’t miss it, Beloved. Don’t miss Him. Love God and let Him fill your life with His glory.

There’s My King!

Confession: In the evenings, when my brain is as tired as my body, I enjoy playing card games on my iPad. I’m partial to Spider Solitaire where you line up sets of cards in order from king to ace. I was playing a couple of nights ago and had a set all together – except for the king. I started shifting cards around looking for the hidden monarch. He continued to elude me until I got to the very last row. I turned the card over and there he was. I whispered under my breath, “There’s my king!” And immediately it hit me – one day that will be the cry of my lips and my heart. One day I will see my King in all His beauty and glory. Oh, what a day that will be!

It may come after I have crossed over from death to life. When Jesus hung on the cross one of the thieves that was crucified beside him recognized Him for who He is. He said, “‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’ Jesus answered him, ‘I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:42-43). The moment my breath leaves my body, I will open my eyes in heaven and I will see the Lord – and I will shout “There’s my King!”

My eyes may see Him before death comes because the Bible ends with Jesus’ promise, “Yes, I am coming soon” (Rev. 22:20).  Paul described the glorious scene: “The Lord Himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God . . . [and] we who are still alive will be caught up . . . to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever” (1 Thess 4:16,17). No wonder Paul called these words of encouragement (v. 18). One day soon we may hear a heavenly commotion and look up to declare, “There’s my King!”

Whether in this life or the next, I look for the day that my eyes see what my heart longs for – Jesus – my Savior and Lord – my King. Beloved, I pray that Jesus is your Savior, Lord, and King. If He is not, I pray you will come to Him by faith today, because you do not know what tomorrow holds, or if tomorrow will come at all. How I pray that when that day comes, you’ll join me in shouting, “There’s my King!”

Perfection!

I never thought of myself as a perfectionist. I knew “perfect” was so far out of my league, I didn’t expect it. That is until I started back to school, and I became discouraged when I didn’t get an A on an assignment or missed even one question on a test. I wanted to be perfect – after all, isn’t that what God expects of me? Isn’t that what Jesus said? “Be perfect, therefore, as your Heavenly Father is perfect” (Mat 5:48).

We know that God is perfect, and we also know that we are not. We are flawed, we are weak, we have tempers and attitudes and prejudices; we are selfish and self-centered. We are human, with all that our humanness entails. And we are sinful. Jesus knows all this. So why, then does He tell us “Be perfect.”? Why throw out a command He knows we will never achieve?

The word “perfect” means “perfect,” but it also means “complete, mature, finished.” James used the same word when he said “Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything” (Jas 1:4). Modern translators have Jesus saying “perfect” and James saying “mature,” but the word in the Greek is exactly the same. This “perfection” is the life-long process of growing and becoming mature believers, and it doesn’t happen overnight. It is also the perfecting work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, as He leads and guides us on to this maturity. Knowing that I am “a work in progress” frees me from the burden of perfectionism.

The root word for both “perfect” and “mature” means “end result, outcome, goal”. This is the work of Christ that achieves the end result of perfection. The writer of Hebrews said, “By one sacrifice He (Christ) has made perfect forever those who are being made holy” (Heb 10:14). Christ has made us perfect now before the Father through His sacrifice on the cross, even while His Spirit works in us to make us holy. The final perfection comes when we get to heaven, the perfect place for perfect people!

Perfection is the aim, not as an unrealistic goal but as a present truth and a future promise. Beloved, always strive for perfection, keeping your eye on the ideal – on Jesus. Yes, you will stumble and you will fail. That’s why He sent you a Savior – a Savior who makes you perfect in every way.