Monday, January 21, 2008
There is no one like our God
I am just amazed that God still has an unending supply of grace and love for this wayward child.
Monday, December 10, 2007
Two Ends For Which Jesus Did Not Die
Hey friends,
Throughout this past 6-8 months, the Lord has been doing a number on my heart. He's clearly working to grow me up to be more like Christ. In the process, I've just realized how little I really know of his salvation, and subsequently realized that his grace is beyond what I can understand.
The other day I was thinking through some stuff that I he's been working out in me, and I thought it would bless you, so please read if you have the time.
Love you guys, Leah
"Two Ends For Which Jesus Did Not Die"
"For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, 'In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.'" Isaiah 30:15
1) Jesus did not die so that we could use him as our ticket into heaven, while continuing our love affair with the world.
This is the viewpoint that says, "I believed that Jesus died for my sins, so I am going to heaven and I can live however I want."
But Paul responds to this attitude, "How can we who died to sin still live in it?"
There is no actual "returning" or repentance taking place in this lifestyle (see Isaiah 30:15 above). In the heart, this attitude still loves the world more than God. Jesus did not die for this end. Christ died to bring you to God.
2) Jesus did not die so that we could know what we are supposed to do and not do it.
This is where I want to spend more time. Not because #1 isn't important, but because I think #2 is the category most of us are more likely to fall, and this is the place where God has been working in me.
The Bible is clear that believers will keep God's commandments. For example, 1 John 5:3-4 says, "For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world..." We often know what the Bible says we should be, and yet too often we are defeated by sin, or a lack of holiness.
Here is what the Lord has been teaching me in regards to this: "But I say walk by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh (Gal 5:16)."
The reason why the commands of God are not burdensome (1 John 5:4) is because the Spirit of God is the one working in us to will and work according to his good pleasure (Phil 2:13). So on the flip side, if we are having a really hard time being who we know a believer is supposed to be, it is because we are not letting the Spirit of God work through us; instead, we are trying to keep the commands of God in our flesh.
And from the bottom of my heart I want to say is that THIS IS A REALLY BIG DEAL. Jesus did not die so that we could try to keep the commands of God in our flesh and fail. Jesus died so that 'the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit (Rom 8:4)."
I think too often we underestimate the power of God in our lives in the name of struggling. I am not saying that we will not struggle, but I am saying that perhaps our struggle looks a little different than what we are used to seeing.
The struggle, Christian, is not to defeat sin. The struggle is to TRUST in the finished work of Christ which has already defeated sin and credited to you His righteousness. This reality is yours by faith. The rest of 1 John 5:4 says, "And this is the victory that has overcome the world- our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?"
The gateway that takes someone from knowing the good he ought to do and NOT doing it to knowing the good he ought to do and actually doing it is FAITH IN CHRIST. Galatians 2:20 doesn't get old. Paul says, "I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me. THE LIFE I NOW LIVE IN THE FLESH I LIVE BY FAITH IN THE SON OF GOD, WHO LOVED ME AND GAVE HIMSELF FOR ME."
So life in the Spirit happens by faith. This is the "rest" part of our salvation (See Isaiah 30:15 above). It is a beautiful thing when we realize that we can never do what God requires, but instead we trust in the powerful blood of Jesus to work out His righteousness in us.
Amen.
Throughout this past 6-8 months, the Lord has been doing a number on my heart. He's clearly working to grow me up to be more like Christ. In the process, I've just realized how little I really know of his salvation, and subsequently realized that his grace is beyond what I can understand.
The other day I was thinking through some stuff that I he's been working out in me, and I thought it would bless you, so please read if you have the time.
Love you guys, Leah
"Two Ends For Which Jesus Did Not Die"
"For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, 'In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.'" Isaiah 30:15
1) Jesus did not die so that we could use him as our ticket into heaven, while continuing our love affair with the world.
This is the viewpoint that says, "I believed that Jesus died for my sins, so I am going to heaven and I can live however I want."
But Paul responds to this attitude, "How can we who died to sin still live in it?"
There is no actual "returning" or repentance taking place in this lifestyle (see Isaiah 30:15 above). In the heart, this attitude still loves the world more than God. Jesus did not die for this end. Christ died to bring you to God.
2) Jesus did not die so that we could know what we are supposed to do and not do it.
This is where I want to spend more time. Not because #1 isn't important, but because I think #2 is the category most of us are more likely to fall, and this is the place where God has been working in me.
The Bible is clear that believers will keep God's commandments. For example, 1 John 5:3-4 says, "For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world..." We often know what the Bible says we should be, and yet too often we are defeated by sin, or a lack of holiness.
Here is what the Lord has been teaching me in regards to this: "But I say walk by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh (Gal 5:16)."
The reason why the commands of God are not burdensome (1 John 5:4) is because the Spirit of God is the one working in us to will and work according to his good pleasure (Phil 2:13). So on the flip side, if we are having a really hard time being who we know a believer is supposed to be, it is because we are not letting the Spirit of God work through us; instead, we are trying to keep the commands of God in our flesh.
And from the bottom of my heart I want to say is that THIS IS A REALLY BIG DEAL. Jesus did not die so that we could try to keep the commands of God in our flesh and fail. Jesus died so that 'the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit (Rom 8:4)."
I think too often we underestimate the power of God in our lives in the name of struggling. I am not saying that we will not struggle, but I am saying that perhaps our struggle looks a little different than what we are used to seeing.
The struggle, Christian, is not to defeat sin. The struggle is to TRUST in the finished work of Christ which has already defeated sin and credited to you His righteousness. This reality is yours by faith. The rest of 1 John 5:4 says, "And this is the victory that has overcome the world- our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?"
The gateway that takes someone from knowing the good he ought to do and NOT doing it to knowing the good he ought to do and actually doing it is FAITH IN CHRIST. Galatians 2:20 doesn't get old. Paul says, "I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me. THE LIFE I NOW LIVE IN THE FLESH I LIVE BY FAITH IN THE SON OF GOD, WHO LOVED ME AND GAVE HIMSELF FOR ME."
So life in the Spirit happens by faith. This is the "rest" part of our salvation (See Isaiah 30:15 above). It is a beautiful thing when we realize that we can never do what God requires, but instead we trust in the powerful blood of Jesus to work out His righteousness in us.
’Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just to take Him at His Word;
Just to rest upon His promise,
And to know, “Thus saith the Lord!”
Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him!
How I’ve proved Him o’er and o’er;
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus!
Oh, for grace to trust Him more!
Oh, how sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just to trust His cleansing blood;
And in simple faith to plunge me
’Neath the healing, cleansing flood!
Yes, ’tis sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just from sin and self to cease;
Just from Jesus simply taking
Life and rest, and joy and peace.
I’m so glad I learned to trust Thee,
Precious Jesus, Savior, Friend;
And I know that Thou art with me,
Wilt be with me to the end.
Amen.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
whoever fears has not been perfected in love - constructive criticism from my teaching lab
So after we taught our 7 minute lesson (see my previous post), we got 2-3 minutes of criticism. I knew what my criticism would be before I got it - no, not because I am a prophet or a telepathic - but because it is something that I deal with on a daily basis. I won't lie, I even tried to cover it up beforehand, but (Praise Jesus) they saw through me. People in my community group have given me similar criticism, too.
Basically when I teach, it is crystal clear to everyone that I lack confidence (not self-confidence), even though the words I speak are true and from the Lord. Essentially what they told me in my teaching lab was (1) that I need to let my personality shine through in my teaching, instead of just giving a speech, because my personality will be able to reach certain personalities in an audience that other personalities cannot reach. This is why God made us unique. (2) That I need to be confident with who I am in Christ and trust that if he has given me a word to speak that he will use it.
Here's the deal - this isn't something that I only deal with when I teach. It just comes to the surface when I teach. But I can also feel this insecurity in other situations - like when I am around certain people, etc. I believe that it is sin and that it is there because I have not fully trusted in Christ's love for me. 1 John 4:18 says, "There is no fear in love because perfect love casts out fear...whoever fears has not been perfected in love."
So on Sunday when I was trying to cover up this insecurity, what I actually got was rebuke #1, that my personality didn't really come out in my teaching. This is rooted in my rebuke #2, which is that I need to be confident in who Christ has made me... they figured me out.
Let me say this. For about a year at the end of high school and beginning of college, I can honestly say that I walked with my eyes steadfastly fixed on Jesus, in the fear of the Lord, in the comfort of the holy Spirit, trusting in his love. And then I think that God, wanting to increase my faith, sort of shook some of the false foundations that I was unconsciously trusting in - like my family and my good grades, among a lot of other things. I wish I could say that I continued to trust in Jesus' love alone when those things were shaken, but that wasn't exactly the case. Instead, new areas of my heart that need restoration and transformation and to just trust him were exposed.
And so that leads me to now, and to be honest, I've been sort of frustrated. Before I went to teach yesterday, I was preaching truth at myself, "God's word never returns empty, God wants to use me, This teaching belongs to God and is for his glory, not for me, etc, etc," but still it seems no matter how many times I have told myself, I still give way to fear. Here's what the Lord showed me as I took these things before him, He has to change me. Every time the Lord has worked mightily in my life is when I've said, "I can't do it; you are going to have to do it." I had to say that for my salvation, for my deliverance from some major strongholds, and now for deliverance from these fears. Lord, work, or I'm hopeless! That is why I continue to love these verses...
Isaiah 64:4 - From of old no one has heard or perceived by the ear, no eye has seen a God besides you, who acts for those who wait for him.
Isaiah 30:15 - This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says: "In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength..."
If you think about it would you pray for me about these things? God will surely do it.
Basically when I teach, it is crystal clear to everyone that I lack confidence (not self-confidence), even though the words I speak are true and from the Lord. Essentially what they told me in my teaching lab was (1) that I need to let my personality shine through in my teaching, instead of just giving a speech, because my personality will be able to reach certain personalities in an audience that other personalities cannot reach. This is why God made us unique. (2) That I need to be confident with who I am in Christ and trust that if he has given me a word to speak that he will use it.
Here's the deal - this isn't something that I only deal with when I teach. It just comes to the surface when I teach. But I can also feel this insecurity in other situations - like when I am around certain people, etc. I believe that it is sin and that it is there because I have not fully trusted in Christ's love for me. 1 John 4:18 says, "There is no fear in love because perfect love casts out fear...whoever fears has not been perfected in love."
So on Sunday when I was trying to cover up this insecurity, what I actually got was rebuke #1, that my personality didn't really come out in my teaching. This is rooted in my rebuke #2, which is that I need to be confident in who Christ has made me... they figured me out.
Let me say this. For about a year at the end of high school and beginning of college, I can honestly say that I walked with my eyes steadfastly fixed on Jesus, in the fear of the Lord, in the comfort of the holy Spirit, trusting in his love. And then I think that God, wanting to increase my faith, sort of shook some of the false foundations that I was unconsciously trusting in - like my family and my good grades, among a lot of other things. I wish I could say that I continued to trust in Jesus' love alone when those things were shaken, but that wasn't exactly the case. Instead, new areas of my heart that need restoration and transformation and to just trust him were exposed.
And so that leads me to now, and to be honest, I've been sort of frustrated. Before I went to teach yesterday, I was preaching truth at myself, "God's word never returns empty, God wants to use me, This teaching belongs to God and is for his glory, not for me, etc, etc," but still it seems no matter how many times I have told myself, I still give way to fear. Here's what the Lord showed me as I took these things before him, He has to change me. Every time the Lord has worked mightily in my life is when I've said, "I can't do it; you are going to have to do it." I had to say that for my salvation, for my deliverance from some major strongholds, and now for deliverance from these fears. Lord, work, or I'm hopeless! That is why I continue to love these verses...
Isaiah 64:4 - From of old no one has heard or perceived by the ear, no eye has seen a God besides you, who acts for those who wait for him.
Isaiah 30:15 - This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says: "In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength..."
If you think about it would you pray for me about these things? God will surely do it.
Sunday, February 18, 2007
One thing have I asked of the Lord...
"...that I will seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple." - Psalm 27:4
My God is so faithful to me. When my eyes have so frequently and easily wandered away from Him and looked to anything else, he has been faithful again and again to catch my gaze and show me the weight of his beauty and worth. This freedom that comes when we focus whole-heartedly on Christ is something that I hope everyone could experience.
Currently I can think about tons of secondary, peripheral demands or distractions that are contending for my attention. I'm sure you can all think of some, too. The ones in my life are pretty all-inclusive, ranging from, "What kind of car should we buy, or should we even buy one?" to "How in the world am I ever going to take the gospel to the ends of the earth?" to "I hope I can find some time to workout and get the flab off my arms before the summer." The list of demands goes on: serving at church, making time for friends and family and my husband, evangelism, finding time to just relax, working out more than once every 3 months, working 40 hours a week, cooking dinner and cleaning, having my quiet time every day, praying enough, keeping all of God's commands... demands, demands, demands. And can you really ever do enough?
The truth is that Lord only wants us to be concerned, enamored, focused, on ONE thing... Himself! (He, by the way, takes care of all the other things. Prov 3:5-6, Matt 6:33) It is so simple, but I think if we have never really experienced the freedom of gazing on the beauty of the Lord, it's hard to see how we'd really be able to do it ALL the time. But Psalm 145 says, "Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable." His greatness is unsearchable, his ways are complex, and he is more beautiful than diamonds. I think if we knew how awesome God really is, we'd have a really hard time looking at anything else. Instead we would be seeking to see more of Him and to know the intricate, inner-parts of his character... he is NEVER boring.
So the Lord has given me this desire... to be enamored with him alone. I want to see him and only him so that it is like I am constantly looking at a picture where HE is in focus and all the cares of the world and desires of the eyes are faded in the distant background. I want the Lord to be the center of all my thoughts... that every other part of my life may be in proper orbit around him, just as the planets are in proper orbit around the sun. "The one who calls you is faithful, and he will surely do it." 1 Thess 5:17
My heart is also for the church. We are 50 feet wide in "service" and 2 inches deep in the knowledge of God. I literally hope that the Lord will envelop his church ( you and me) with the overwhelming reality of who he is... and not that we'd just know, but that we would live in that joyful reality.
Finally, I love how the Lord is so good and that HE always gives us grace RIGHT NOW to do what he wants us to do. He is seeking worshipers, and he has given us the grace to worship him right now. He is a "very present help..." He always lives to intercede for us. I am guilty of sometimes looking to a point in the future to fully worship him, or for compartmentalizing my "Jesus time." Now is the time to do it. We aren't guaranteed tomorrow, and what's past is past. Right now is when you can most glorify the Lord. I more than anyone need to learn to worship in the present, no matter the circumstance.
I love the lyrics to the song we sang at church tonight...
"Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in his wonderful face. And the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace."
"Let us fix our eyes on Jesus." Heb 12:1-3
Love,
Leah
My God is so faithful to me. When my eyes have so frequently and easily wandered away from Him and looked to anything else, he has been faithful again and again to catch my gaze and show me the weight of his beauty and worth. This freedom that comes when we focus whole-heartedly on Christ is something that I hope everyone could experience.
Currently I can think about tons of secondary, peripheral demands or distractions that are contending for my attention. I'm sure you can all think of some, too. The ones in my life are pretty all-inclusive, ranging from, "What kind of car should we buy, or should we even buy one?" to "How in the world am I ever going to take the gospel to the ends of the earth?" to "I hope I can find some time to workout and get the flab off my arms before the summer." The list of demands goes on: serving at church, making time for friends and family and my husband, evangelism, finding time to just relax, working out more than once every 3 months, working 40 hours a week, cooking dinner and cleaning, having my quiet time every day, praying enough, keeping all of God's commands... demands, demands, demands. And can you really ever do enough?
The truth is that Lord only wants us to be concerned, enamored, focused, on ONE thing... Himself! (He, by the way, takes care of all the other things. Prov 3:5-6, Matt 6:33) It is so simple, but I think if we have never really experienced the freedom of gazing on the beauty of the Lord, it's hard to see how we'd really be able to do it ALL the time. But Psalm 145 says, "Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable." His greatness is unsearchable, his ways are complex, and he is more beautiful than diamonds. I think if we knew how awesome God really is, we'd have a really hard time looking at anything else. Instead we would be seeking to see more of Him and to know the intricate, inner-parts of his character... he is NEVER boring.
So the Lord has given me this desire... to be enamored with him alone. I want to see him and only him so that it is like I am constantly looking at a picture where HE is in focus and all the cares of the world and desires of the eyes are faded in the distant background. I want the Lord to be the center of all my thoughts... that every other part of my life may be in proper orbit around him, just as the planets are in proper orbit around the sun. "The one who calls you is faithful, and he will surely do it." 1 Thess 5:17
My heart is also for the church. We are 50 feet wide in "service" and 2 inches deep in the knowledge of God. I literally hope that the Lord will envelop his church ( you and me) with the overwhelming reality of who he is... and not that we'd just know, but that we would live in that joyful reality.
Finally, I love how the Lord is so good and that HE always gives us grace RIGHT NOW to do what he wants us to do. He is seeking worshipers, and he has given us the grace to worship him right now. He is a "very present help..." He always lives to intercede for us. I am guilty of sometimes looking to a point in the future to fully worship him, or for compartmentalizing my "Jesus time." Now is the time to do it. We aren't guaranteed tomorrow, and what's past is past. Right now is when you can most glorify the Lord. I more than anyone need to learn to worship in the present, no matter the circumstance.
I love the lyrics to the song we sang at church tonight...
"Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in his wonderful face. And the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace."
"Let us fix our eyes on Jesus." Heb 12:1-3
Love,
Leah
Tuesday, August 8, 2006
righteousness
it's always a test, if you will, of where my faith is (in Christ's righteousness or my own) when I have been "bad." (if you would allow me to use that terminology.) if understanding my sinfulness leads me down a self-centered tunnel of "try harder" and "i'm a horrible person," then i can be pretty positive that most of my confidence has been in my own ability to be good.
on the other hand, if recognizing sinfulness leads to praise that Christ lived righteously and blamelessly and gratefulness that his death was sufficient for the punishment i deserved, well then that is righteousness by faith.
yes!
on the other hand, if recognizing sinfulness leads to praise that Christ lived righteously and blamelessly and gratefulness that his death was sufficient for the punishment i deserved, well then that is righteousness by faith.
yes!
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