Before and After

Some time ago I ran across some old photos of myself. I laid them out in the progression of ages from about 3 to my high school years, watching myself grow taller, with a variety of hairstyles and some very strange fashion sense. I saw something else. Somewhere between 10 and 18, the girl in those photos took on a dark demeanor and I remembered my past – things that had been done to me, and things I did to myself. Glancing up into the mirror on my dresser, I thought about how much I physically looked like the girl in the pictures, but I no longer recognized those dark eyes. I heard a whisper in my heart, “That is because that’s not who you are anymore. Then you were a victim and a rebel. Now you are Mine.”
In Ephesians 5:8, Paul wrote, “You were once darkness . . .” Then he gives the contrast: “. . . but now you are light in the Lord.” He was using words to paint a before and after portrait.
One of Satan’s favorite ploys is to assault us with our past, to tell us that we will always be who we were and there is no point in trying to resist those old familiar sins. “You know deep down, you still want it. You haven’t changed. You are bound to your past. You are bound to your sin.” But if you belong to Jesus Christ, you are free from your past. You are a child of light, purified from all your sins (1 John 1: 7). Where you were once held captive to sin, you are now bound up in God’s love. You have the power to say no to sin.
In Philippians 3:13, Paul gave the secret to walking in our new identity: “One thing I do: forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on…” We can forget what is behind us because “as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. (Ps 103:12)”
Beloved, I want so much for you to understand that because Jesus Christ has completely removed all your transgressions; you are a new creation in Christ, no longer bound to a painful, sinful past or those dark desires. You have light in your eyes, and God’s love shines on your face. Because you are not who you once were. Now you are His.

The Holy Spirit at Work

When my son was first starting school, he was diagnosed with ADHD and after trying many alternatives, we finally relented and gave him prescribed medication. I opted to homeschool him in middle school and made a very interesting discovery one day. He took his morning meds and we sat down together to work on spelling and vocabulary. As he wrote out the words and definitions, I watched the medication take effect. The first several entries he wrote were sloppy and careless but gradually his writing improved noticeably. He took his time and his handwriting was much neater with no mistakes. It was a dramatic change.

There is something – or rather Someone – that makes a dramatic change in a person. When someone is saved through faith in Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, the third member of the Trinity comes to reside in the believer and begin the work of transformation. The changes the Spirit brings start on the inside and work their way out. He is the Spirit of Truth (Jn 16:13), teaching us truth from God’s Word and Truth in the person of Jesus. He is the Spirit of wisdom and revelation (Eph 1:17), taking that truth and making it real in our lives. He is the Spirit of life (Rom 8:10-11). He raised Jesus from the dead and is raising us who were spiritually dead, “giving life to our mortal bodies.” He leads us to “put to death the misdeeds of the body (8:13) and “testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children (8:16).

He is the Spirit of Holiness (Rom 1:4) working within us to transform our hearts and lives so that we will be “conformed to the likeness of [God’s] Son” (Rom 8:29). It is a far more dramatic change than a dose of medication. Paul wrote, “Those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires” and “the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace” (8:5,6).

Granted the transformation isn’t as quick as taking a pill; it is a lifelong process, but even in small steps the work of the Spirit is still evident. The corollary is clear, if there is no fruit of transformation, there is no Spirit, and no Christ (8:9). Beloved, how has the Spirit of Christ worked in you? Can you see the changes He has made in your heart, your habits, words, desires, attitude, reactions, and decisions? Let Him work in you and transform you into the image of Jesus.

Beautiful

The 19th-century fairytale “The Ugly Duckling” by Hans Christian Anderson tells of a little duckling who was – well – ugly. He looked nothing like his cute little fellow ducklings who were all fluffy and attractive. He was subjected to much teasing and abuse so he ran away from the flock and sought solace with other animals and even people. But no matter where he went he was treated as an outcast. But he was shocked one day when a flock of beautiful swans accepted and welcomed him – because he was one of them. He was never a duck – he had always been a swan. It just took a little time for him to mature into his real self.

I thought about that story when I came across Ecclesiastes 3:11: “He has made everything beautiful in its time.” That verse is not just a sweet fairytale, it is a promise. I’ve seen turn a drug addict into a loving mother with clear eyes and a heart filled with peace. He turned an alcoholic street-dweller into a preacher who still sat in the streets – only this time to hold a man’s trembling hand and pray him into the Kingdom. I’ve witnessed God turn a woman who chose abortion into a pro-life advocate who ministeres to broken women like herself. I’ve known those people personally. They were once ugly ducklings turned into beautiful swans by the power of God’s love and Jesus’ blood.

It’s not just people who benefit from His transforming power. He takes ugly situations, hard circumstances, dead ends, and disappointments and makes something beautiful from them. I know this personally, too. When we both lost our jobs and couldn’t keep up the rent, we felt like the bottom had fallen out from under us. But God was just taking us in a new direction on old familiar roads. We returned to our hometown, found a nice house, and I landed the best job I’ve ever had.  He turned chaos and confusion and disappointment into peace and hope and Joy. I’m counting on Him to do it again.

Beloved, I don’t know what feels ugly in your life right now, I don’t know what tastes bitter, I don’t know what has caused your pain. But I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that my God can turn it into something beautiful and sweet and full of Joy. And when He does “it will endure forever” (v. 14). He is in the transformation business – turning broken lives into a thing a beauty.

Cleaning Day

I hope you are a better housekeeper than I am. I need more than just a “cleaning day.” If you were to come visit it would take me a week or more to get my house in order for company. I would have to sweep, mop, dust, scrub, do laundry, and spend at least three days decluttering. I should probably mow the yard and paint too, so that’s at least another week.  You know what, I’ll just meet you at the coffee shop instead – my treat.

It makes me wonder about the condition of my “spiritual house.” Peter said that believers are “being built into a spiritual house” for the Lord (1 Pet 2:5). Not with walls that need painting and floors that need sweeping, but with a heart in which He dwells through His Holy Spirit (John 14:17).

What would Jesus think if He walked unannounced into our icky, cluttered, dirt-encrusted lives? What will he say about the dust on our Bible and the stack of clothes piled on the chair from which we said we’d pray every morning? Would we even let Him near our television, computer, or cell phone? How could we ever explain to Him the filth and the muck that has crept into our hearts? I hang my head in shame just thinking about all the junk and trash – and yes, clutter – He will have to walk over to sit at the table of my heart so we can eat together.

But here’s what I know about my Jesus – wherever He is allowed to enter, He brings His transforming power with Him. When His feet step over the welcome mat of our hearts, His robes sweep away the dirt of our sins and the dust of our guilt. He leads us to confession and repentance, casts out all the filth, and “purifies us from all unrighteous” (1 John 1:9). He brings with Him the cleansing we so desperately need. By His blood we are washed, and, to our astonishment, our hearts become fit for the presence of a King – King Jesus. I believe as He nears the table, which has suddenly been laden with the richest feast you could ever imagine, He pulls out a chair – for you – and bids you come and dine with Him. Oh, Beloved, Jesus has come to make you clean, to make you whole; to transform your heart and your life into a place of order and beauty. Are you ready for “cleaning day?”

In the Shadow of the Cross

My granddaughter loves crosses. She knows the cross has something to do with God and Jesus, and at almost three, that’s a good foundation. But in the first century, the cross was a symbol of shame. So why would the church adopt it as our standard? We get a clue from Peter who said, “[Jesus] bore our sins in His body on the tree [cross], so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness” (1 Peter 2:24, emphasis added). Pete packed a lot into that short sentence.

First, the cross is for sinners. It is for people who make mistakes, for the ones who are weak, for those of us who do foolish things, who fall into a pit of sin and walk in the wilderness of the consequences. The cross is the place where Jesus took on all our sin and shame, our profane mouths and promiscuous acts, our greed, and selfishness, our lies, our addictions, our lustful thoughts, our rebellion, and disobedience.  Jesus didn’t die for those who have it all together. He died for those of us who are falling apart in our own human sinfulness. The cross is for me.

Second, the cross helps us in our weaknesses. By holding fast to the cross of Jesus, we draw strength to enable us to overcome our un-Christ-like habits and attractions. When I look to the cross, I am reminded again of what Jesus did for me, and I find the strength to fight against the enemy and flee from temptation.   I’m not implying that the cross is some magic talisman; but it is a symbol of the transforming power of Christ – a power we are encouraged to call on every day and every moment. You and I can’t control the sinful desires of our flesh, but Christ can help us stand strong in godliness. Through the cross, Christ empowers us to live for righteousness.

Many criminals before and after Him died on a cross, but the cross of Jesus is the hope for all mankind. It is the place from which love dripped down Christ’s body and bought us our freedom. Paul said, “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18). Beloved, have you come to the cross of Jesus?

The New You

This morning I was reading in Romans 6 – the NIV titled this chapter as “Dead to Sin, Alive in Christ.” It struck me: for a man who had grabbed hold of the holy life of Christ Jesus, Paul sure talked a lot about sin. And that is a good thing. In fact, it’s something we hardly hear about in the church anymore. But we’re sure doing a lot of sinning, aren’t we?  It seems that the less we say about it, the more we participate in it. Almost like our silence is approval. Hmm.

But not our friend Paul. His mantra in this portion of his letter to the church in Rome was: “We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?” (6:2). He pressed this point over and over. He said that our old body of sin was crucified with Christ, that we are no longer slaves to sin, that we have been freed from sin. He insisted that we must consider ourselves dead to sin, that sin must not reign in our bodies, that we must not obey sin nor offer the parts of our body to sin. I love this: “sin shall not be your master” (v.14). And this: “You have been set free from sin” (v. 18 and 22). Paul said that we used to live for and serve sin, but – oh hear this loud and clear – that’s not who we are anymore. Let me say it again: If you are in Christ you are not who you were – you are dead to sin but alive in Him.

I know – you have a past that is riddled with sin. So do I.  But like those before and after weight loss ads – that is who you and I used to be, but this is who we are now. Redeemed. Righteous. Pure. Holy. Beloved, I want to encourage you to leave your sinful desires in the grave with the old dead you. You have been made new in Christ. Believe it. Receive it. And walk in it. Holiness looks so good on you.  

Okay, I’m Saved. Now What?

Yesterday I wrote about God’s grace, about how salvation is a work that God alone accomplishes on our behalf. It is truly an amazing thing. But what comes next? Now that we are a “new creation in Christ” (2 Cor 5:17) do we just wait around for heaven? No. Now a new work begins. It’s called sanctification and it’s not just behavior modification though your behavior will change. It involves a transformation on the inside that works its way to the outside.
Like salvation, sanctification is God’s work. But it is not His work alone. It is also our work. It is a combined, life-long partnership between us and the Holy Spirit. Paul explained it well saying, “It is God who works in you” (Philippians 2:13) as we “work out our salvation with fear and trembling” (v. 12). After His opus of salvation, God works in us through His Word and His Holy Spirit. We read the Word which “teaches, rebukes, corrects and trains us in righteousness” (2 Tim 3:16). The Spirit roots those truths in our hearts. He convicts us of sin, encourages us to persevere, and empowers us to obey and to walk in righteousness. That’s a lot! What’s left for us to do? Our part is studying His Word, praying, coming together with the Body (the church), and especially, responding in obedience to His commands and His promptings.
“Working out” what God is “working in” us is a daily discipline. And it’s hard work. There are no shortcuts to sanctification. It will require everything of you. Part of sanctification is pruning – removing from us those things that hinder our progress – habits, addictions, wrong thoughts, immorality, prejudices, pride, rebellion, selfishness, anger, laziness, lack of self-control. Oh, He has so much work to do in me. But then He begins the building work – filling us with “the fruit of the Spirit:” love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Gal. 5:22-23). That’s where we see the transformation on the inside working its way to the outside.
What’s the goal? That you and I might be “conformed to the likeness of the Son of God” (Rom. 8:29). That the world might see Jesus when they look at you. Beloved, will you join God in the good work of sanctification?

Guard Your Heart

“Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life” (Proverbs 4:23).

I grew up a military kid, and I remember well the guards posted at the base entrance.  Their sole job was to keep the base secure from people and things entering that posed a threat.  We had a sticker on our car that allowed us to pass right on through – we though it was so cool that the guard would salute my mom and a car full of kids when he saw that sticker.  But if a car approached without that authorization the guard stopped them to determine who they were and why they wanted to enter the base.  If the guard had any inclination that the person was up to no good, access was denied, and on occasion an arrest was made.  That is the same idea we see in this verse.  We have to post a guard and deny access to anything that poses a threat to our heart – to our spiritual and emotional wellspring.  But here’s what sticks out in my mind: the bases we lived on had multiple entrances, and every entrance had a guard.  Every possible route onto the base was secured.  Now let’s go back to our Proverbs passage.  Read a little further (vs. 24-27) and you will see that Solomon gives us four posts we need to secure: Guard your mouth, guard your eyes, guard your steps, and guard your direction.

Guard your mouth: “Put away perversity from your mouth; keep corrupt talk far from your lips” – Jesus warned, “What goes into a man’s mouth does not make him ‘unclean,’ but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him ‘unclean.’ (Matthew 15:11).  Our words – and our actions – spring from our heart. When our words are perverse and corrupt, it means our hearts are perverse and corrupt.  But our words also feed our heart.  It’s a cyclical effect – what comes out of my mouth comes from my heart and goes back into my heart again.   David said it this way, “He wore cursing as his garment; it entered his body like water, into his bones like oil” (Psalm 109:18).

Guard your eyes: “Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you” – watch what you’re looking at, listening to and absorbing into your heart.   And I don’t just mean avoid looking at inappropriate stuff like pornography – which should go without saying.  I’m also talking about looking at things that just dull our spirits.  Here’s my confession:  some days I come home physically and mentally wiped out.  All I want to do is veg out in front of the TV or scroll the internet on my phone for funny memes.  Now I’m not looking at anything bad, but I’m also not looking at anything godly.  I’m not feeding my heart – I’m dulling it. Computer programmers call it GIGO: Garbage In – Garbage Out.  I call it The Sponge Principle.

Guard your steps: “Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm” – watch your step.  One of the worst ankle injuries I ever incurred happened when I wasn’t watching where I was planting my foot and I stepped awkwardly off a curb and nearly broke my ankle.  The world is full of curbs and potholes and ditches that can easily trip us up and Satan is always planting landmines in our path.  We need to pay careful attention to where we set our feet – make sure the way is firm and free of danger.

Guard your direction: “Do not swerve to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil” – keep going in the right direction.  How do we know for sure what is the right way?  God has given us a road map – the Bible and a personal Guide – the Holy Spirit.   By storing up God’s Word in our hearts (Psalm 119:11), meditating on the Scriptures (Psalm 19:14), continually, intentionally seeking God with all our heart (Jeremiah 29:13), keeping in step with the Spirit (Romans 8:5), and staying in community with fellow believers (Hebrews 10:25), we can stay on the good way.

Base security is a vital part of our military operations and the well-being of our nation.  Heart security is no less important to our lives; our faith, witness and ministry are at stake.  You and I need to post our guards and secure every access to our hearts and protect the “wellspring of our lives.”  Guard your heart well Beloved.