This World is Not My Home

When we moved from Alabama to Florida, we had to adjust to being under Florida’s authority. We had to change driver’s licenses and car tags. We had to pay Florida taxes. We had to vote as Florida citizens.  We had to obey Florida laws. When we moved back to Alabama from Florida, we had to make the same transition as Alabama citizens once again. And even though we lived in Florida for almost 20 years, we always considered Alabama our home. I often said that Alabama red clay still ran through my veins. You know the saying: You can take the girl out of Alabama, but you can’t take Alabama out of the girl. My body may have been in Florida, but my heart was in Bama.

Our union with Christ makes us citizens of a new Kingdom, with a new Ruler. Our identity changes. Our allegiance changes. We are “a new creation” (2 Cor 5:17). The problem is that our old nature moves with us and continues the fight for control. The other problem is, our citizenship has changed, but our geographical location has not and we are still under the steady influence of sin.

In Romans 6, Paul reminds us that we who are in Christ are “dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus” (v. 11).  When we came to believe in Christ, we “died to sin” (v. 2), just as He died (v 3). But the grave couldn’t hold Jesus, and it cannot hold us. We have been raised with Him to “live a new life . . . to God” (vv. 4, 10). Somebody say “Hallelujah!”

Yes, a new life, yet still with the same old ingrained patterns of sin and the same old worldly influences. That causes quite a struggle for us as Paul noted in Romans 7. But here’s the good news: “Sin shall not be your master” because “you have been set free from sin” (vv. 14, 18, 22). That means you do not have to obey your sinful desires and the influence of the world anymore. Because “Christ is your life” you can “put to death whatever belongs to your earthly [sinful] nature” (Col.3:4-5).

Here’s the bottom line: before Christ, you and I had no choice but to sin, but now as a believer, if we sin it is because we chose to. It’s a choice that is completely in your hands – and your heart. Beloved, make the choice that says “I am a citizen of the Kingdom of God!”

Cheap Grace

I’ve just started reading the biography of Deitrich Bonhoeffer, a German theologian, writer, martyr, and sold-out Christ-follower during the rise of Nazism. He was also a fierce opponent of “cheap grace.”  He wrote the classic “The Cost of Discipleship” in which he stated, “Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline. Communion without confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.” Cheap grace has choked the life out of the modern church.

Cheap grace winks at sin. It accepts the sinful nature as “just who I am” and refuses to fight those ungodly passions. We are far too complacent with sin. I’m not talking about the church’s willingness to tolerate and celebrate sin. I am speaking of you and me and our individual pet sins. David said, “I know my transgressions and my sin is always before me” (Ps 51:3). Maybe it’s always before us because we are holding on to it.

How far are you willing to go to rid yourself of sin? Jesus said, “If your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. If your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away” (Mat 18:8, 9). Wow – that’s pretty extreme! And that’s how seriously we need to take our sins.  Could He have meant this literally? Maybe. But let’s take it down a notch just in case. What are you continually dabbling in that stirs up your sin nature? T.V. shows and movies? Books and magazines? Websites? Relationships? Alcohol? Recreational drugs? Gossip? Anger? Sexual immorality? Idolatry? Ad infinitum. What sin do you “cherish in your heart” (Ps 66:18). Are you willing to cut it off for the sake of Christ?

Jesus paid the highest price to set you free from sin and its power over you. You and I cheapen His sacrifice when we refuse to let sin go.  Jesus added, “It is better for you to enter [eternal] life maimed or crippled or without an eye than to enter hell with all your parts intact” (Mat 18:8,9 – very paraphrased). Which says that those who chose sin have rejected Jesus. The end result is hell.

Beloved, what are you willing to do to honor this costly gift of grace? Or said another way, which do you love more? Christ or your sin?

Called to Holiness

“The Lord spoke to me with His strong hand upon me, warning me not to follow the way of this people. He said, “The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, He is the one you are to fear, He is the one you are to dread, and He will be a sanctuary” (Isaiah 8:11, 13-14)

The Lord commanded Isaiah – as He commands us – to reject the way of the people and to fear Him alone and to stand firm against ungodliness and unrighteousness. He called His people to stand courageously when all around them bowed to the gods of this world. That same command has run through the history of Christianity since the resurrection of Christ. It is the heartbeat of the saints through the ages, and even today, who faced – and still face – public ridicule, beatings, prison, exile, stoning, lions, burnings, beheadings, and all manner of persecution for their faith. It has been and continues to be the rallying cry of the people of God.

But for Isaiah and the martyrs of the faith – and for you and me – this word is not a call to arms, it is not a call to protest and public rebuttal. It is a call to personal holiness. Notice that the prophet says “The Lord spoke to ME, with His strong hand upon ME, warning ME . . . the Lord Almighty is the one YOU are to regard as holy . . . the one YOU are to fear . . . the one YOU are to dread . . . This is first and foremost a command for the individual to stand firm in the faith in the solitary moments of our lives when no one else sees or hears. The person we present to the world is rarely who we are in our private moments. Which should give us pause before we speak. Before I call out the sins of the world, before I confront the ungodliness around me, I must call out the sin in my own life and confront the ungodliness within me.

Beloved, we have a command to shine the light of Christ wherever there is darkness, but we must first let it shine in the darkness of our own hearts. The message we carry is too valuable and too important to bury it under our own sin.

The Lord spoke to ME . . .

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.

The Way of Holiness

Hebrews 12:14 says “Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness, no one will see the Lord.”  That’s a mighty strong statement – one that should give us pause. I don’t know about you but I want to see the Lord. That doesn’t just mean I want to lay eyes on Him. The word the writer used there means “to be admitted into intimate and blessed fellowship with God in his future kingdom,” (blueletterbible.org/lexicon). That’s what I want.

If holiness is the condition for seeing God, how do I get holy? I don’t. I have to be made holy.  The writer of Hebrews said that Jesus came to do the will of God (Heb 10:9). But what is the will of God? To make us holy (v. 10), that is, to make us into the very likeness of His Son (Rom 8:29). Paul said that God’s purpose is that we might “be holy and blameless in His sight” (Eph 1:4). That is what the cross is all about. Jesus nailed our sins to His cross (Col 2:13-14) and shed His blood to give us His holiness.

Surely, though, God has some expectations of me. Indeed, He does. He expects me to carry myself according to who I am in Christ. He expects me to choose holiness. Paul (again) said, “God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life (1 Thes 4:7). This agrees perfectly with Jesus’ teaching in the Beatitudes: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God” (Mat 5:8). It’s the exact same “see” as we find in the Hebrews passage. Purity of heart brings holiness.

What does that look like in real life? “The grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, while we wait . . . for Jesus” (Titus 2:11-12). Saying “No” when the world and our flesh says “I want,” Looking for the way out of temptation (1 Cor 10:13). Submitting to the Holy Spirit (Rom 8:5-17). Turning away from every evil desire and pursuing “righteousness, faith, love, and peace along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” (2 Tim 2:22).

God has a highway, “called the Way of Holiness [and] it will only be for those who walk in that Way” (Is 35:8). No wonder Jesus said, “I am the Way . . .” (Jn 14:6). Beloved are you riding on the “Highway to Heaven?”

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.

Who Will Be Your Master?

One of the great scourges in U.S. history is slavery. It was a common way of life (and not limited to the South) but often a horrific way of life. We don’t like to think about slavery, but it was a reality that cannot be erased or knocked down. It is also a teaching point as it gives us a true vision of how sin treats men and women.

Paul addressed slavery in the context of our spiritual lives in Romans 6. He said we are either slaves to sin or slaves to righteousness. Slaves had no say in how they lived. They went where they were told, did what they were told, and operated at the discretion of their master. In the context of this passage, Paul said the same thing applied to either sin or righteousness. The difference in the life of a slave was in the master. Sin is a tyrannical, wicked master bent on inflicting as much abuse as possible on the slave before finally paying them their full wages: death (6:23).

But those who are in Christ Jesus are slaves to righteousness. Yes, still slaves, but to a much different master. A master that treats the slave with grace and kindness and cares for and about them. While the wages of sin is death, the gift of God to the righteous slave is eternal life (still v. 23). That in itself is enough cause for Joy, but look what else our Master gives us: the resurrection from the dead (v. 5), grace (vs. 14-15), holiness (vs. 19, 22), and strangely. freedom (vs. 7, 18, 22).

In verse14 Paul wrote: “Sin shall not be your master . . .” I’ve always understood that as a command: “Sin must not be your master” but taken in the full context I believe it is a word of assurance that sin will not be our master. The KJV renders the verse “Sin will no longer be your master.” Twice Paul said “You have been set free from sin” (vs. 18, 22). That’s good news for those of us who bear the scars of our former master.

Paul frequently tells us that we are not who we once were because we belong to a new Master now. You need to remind yourself of that every time your old slave driver comes calling. Beloved, you belong to righteousness now. Sin has no claim on you.

The Problem is Sin, The Answer is Jesus

My back hurts. Low and on the left side. I “googled” my symptoms and found out that I may have endometriosis, kidney stones, IBS, sciatica, muscle weakness, muscle imbalance, and muscle strain. These are due to how I sit, how I stand, how I sleep, how strenuously I work out (bwahahaha), and how I twist my back when I swing a golf club. No, I don’t play golf, but I’m looking for any excuse here because I know what’s really wrong with my back – it’s my front. It’s all the excess girth sitting in my tummy area. I’m trying to lose weight, but then Reese’s made Peanut Butter Cups with potato chips.

When you and I look at the world and the horrible things that human beings do to one another we want to ask “Why?” The news broke yesterday of another tragic shooting that left many families grieving.  Immorality is being celebrated and paraded. Babies are murdered in what should be the safest place on earth – their mother’s womb.  I shake my head and wonder, “Why?” Even in my own life, when I do things I know I should not do, I look in the mirror and ask myself the same question. I suspect you do too.

But I know why, and so do you. Sin. Sin opened the door wide for all these evil things to become part of the human story – part of me and part of you. Sin breeds hate and greed and selfishness and lust and every manner of evil. It is the curse of rebellion against God. When Adam and Eve bit the fruit, mankind was doomed to live in enmity with God, condemned by the sinful nature that has invaded every person for all time. Except one. In Romans 7, Paul lamented that sinful part of himself. He also asked a question – but it wasn’t “Why?” He knew why. “I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature” (v. 18). He asked instead, “Who will rescue me from this body of death?” (v. 24). And then he answered his own question: “Thanks be to God – through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (v. 25) Jesus Christ changes everything. He breaks the curse of sin and He transforms our hearts so that redemption – not sin – is our forever story.

Beloved, you were born a sinful creature, but God sent His one and only Son to set you free. You know what the problem is, and now you know the answer. Won’t you come to Jesus today?

Good and Evil

I came across several verses this morning that set up a theme.

“Hate what is evil; cling to what is good” (Rom 12:9)

“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (v. 21)

“Be wise about what is good and innocent about what is evil” (16:19)

“In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking be adults” (1 Cor 14:20).

“Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil” (1 Thess 5:21-22).

Verse 16 intrigues me. Innocent describes a person with a pure mind – unmixed with evil. That was Adam and Eve, the first humans and the last innocent people on earth. God told them not to take the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil because, at this point, they were pure.  In their innocence, they were free from the harmful effects of the knowledge of evil, a knowledge they—and we—are unable to bear.  The serpent led them to believe that if they ate from the tree, they could know what God knew. And he was right. To a point. He failed to tell them that they did not have the moral capacity to bear that knowledge without disastrous repercussions. 

When she plucked that piece of tainted fruit Eve got “knowledge” all right, but she also got much more than she bargained for.  When she and Adam were exposed to the knowledge of evil, evil overtook them and buried their innocence.  They had the “knowledge of evil,” but not the power to resist it.

But Paul said there is good news: good can overcome evil. That’s where Jesus comes in. He is the only pure, good, innocent human being to walk on earth. He took His good to the cross and to the grave and there overcome the evil that was destroying God’s good creation.

So how do you and I overcome evil? The same way the saints did: “They overcame [the evil one] by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony” (Rev 12:11). We overcome the evil nature within by faith in Jesus. We overcome evil in the world by proclaiming what God has done for us. And we overcome evil in our daily lives. We avoid it, hate it, and turn our minds away from it. We refuse to give it a foothold (Eph 4:27). You were not made for evil, Beloved. You were made good (Gen 1:31).

I AM: The Light of the World

Jesus was constantly claiming to be God. In subtle hints, in mighty works, and in bold statements. When He declared, “I am the light of the world” (Jn 8:12), it was an unmistakable claim. Every first-century Jew knew that the first creative act of God was to bring forth light. God spoke, into a formless, empty darkness: ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light” (Gen 1:2,3). That is why this I AM statement was so audacious.

John called Jesus “The light of men” (Jn 1:4) and “the true light that gives light to every man” (v. 9). Light so that men might find their way back to God. Darkness, by definition, is nothing more than the absence of light. Sin has filled the world like darkness fills a room with no illumination. I was in a cavern once and the guide turned off the electric lights in the space. I literally could not see my hand in front of my face. Then he lit a match, and the space was no longer filled with darkness. The light chased the darkness away.

John said, “The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not overcome it” (Jn 1:5). In other words, sin and evil will not overcome the light of God through Christ Jesus. Sin will not win. Ever. Wherever darkness resides, when Jesus comes in, He takes over. He fills the space with His light. That’s good news to those of us who have loved ones in darkness. Jesus can change the darkest human heart.

After his bold I AM statement, Jesus said, “Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” I used to think that was an imperative statement – like “you are not to walk in darkness” complete with wagging finger – but it really is a description. In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, “You are the light of the world” (Matt. 5:14). That’s you and me and every follower. We will never walk in darkness because we carry His light with us wherever we go.  And when we bring the light of Christ into a dark space – well I think you know the rest. Darkness cannot survive in the presence of Light.

The world needs the light of Jesus and you are His light-bearer. Go be light for your loved one, your friend, your classmates, co-workers, and yes, even your enemies. Light is irresistible in a dark place. Beloved, let’s go light up the world.