Author: LizG

Wife, mom, grandma & great grandma.

On Being in the Victory Parade

2 Corinthians 2:14b-16 MSG In the Messiah, in Christ, God leads us from place to place in one perpetual victory parade. Through us, he brings knowledge of Christ. Everywhere we go, people breathe in the exquisite fragrance. Because of Christ, we give off a sweet scent rising to God, which is recognized by those on the way of salvation—an aroma redolent with life. But those on the way to destruction treat us more like the stench from a rotting corpse. 

1 John 4:4-6 MSG  My dear children, you come from God and belong to God. You have already won a big victory over those false teachers, for the Spirit in you is far stronger than anything in the world. These people belong to the Christ-denying world. They talk the world’s language and the world eats it up. But we come from God and belong to God. Anyone who knows God understands us and listens. The person who has nothing to do with God will, of course, not listen to us. This is another test for telling the Spirit of Truth from the spirit of deception.

Observation

2 Corinthians is written by the Apostle Paul to the church he founded in Corinth.  A faction arose in the church which disputed Paul’s authority and teaching.  Paul had to confront this faction not to preserve any status or position of power on his part, but, rather, to assure that the people were not deceived and derailed by false teaching.  It is the truth that sets people free. 

This is not the only time of conflict or persecution that Paul faced during his Christian life and ministry.  He relates to us that ministry has joy, hope, sorrow, rejection, pain, and fulfillment.  He asks us to remember that one person’s victory is another’s defeat.  Satan is not a good loser and he will do his best to convince us that we are really the losers by trying to discourage us with difficult circumstances, struggles and rejection.  Paul is telling us here that, regardless of our circumstances and the struggles we may face, we always have victory when we are in Christ and working to bring others in.  “In the Messiah, in Christ, God leads us from place to place in one perpetual victory parade.”

Should we be shocked or taken aback when we experience conflict or rejection in ministry?  Should we lose hope when circumstances make it seem like we are on the losing end of the victory parade?  I don’t think so!  Jesus is the incarnate God, the ultimate teacher, full of the Holy Spirit, power and wisdom.  Yet, the crowds that sat under His ministry had varied reactions – some were forever changed, some thought it was a good message and left unchanged, some were offended and wanted to kill Him.  Jesus was overturning sacred cows (traditions held to be above criticism) and this made Him very unpopular with, and even dangerous to, those in authority.  Paul is telling us that we should expect no less when the power of God comes against man made power structures.  Jesus hanging on the Cross did not look very victorious, but it actuality it was the most victorious day in all history.

Impact on Me

There are plenty of times I have felt like I was on the losing side in ministry and watching Satan’s victory parade.  It is usually when things don’t go the way I have planned or get the result I expected within my timeframe and in the way I decided demonstrated success.  Through introspection and seeking God on what I classed as my failures (or, Lord forgive me, when I blamed Him), there are several replies by the Holy Spirit in return.  “Did you consult me on the plan and my desired result?”  “There seems to be a lot of ‘I’ in the planning and not much ‘us’.”   It is then I realize that I was setting the expectations rather than letting God be in control.  I wanted Him to bless my plan rather than listen to His.  I wanted to set the standards for success rather than trust that His plan from the foundation of the world was no longer sufficient.  Have I joined the ranks of those who looked upon Jesus on the Cross and despaired because it didn’t fit my definition of Messiah? 

It is that exact moment, when I look on the Cross and see the blood running down, that I repent for my pride and foolishness, asking forgiveness for doubting God’s plans and the method He chooses to execute them.  While His ways may seem to me like an oddball way to total victory, I resubmit myself to be obedient whether I understand or not.  There will always be people who “belong to the Christ-denying world.”  Sometimes, it will seem like they are victorious over the Gospel.  However, we always have victory over them because “the Spirit in you is far stronger than anything in the world.”  We cannot let circumstances, struggles and trials make us forget that in Christ we are in the victory parade, not just watching one pass us by! 

Prayer

Lord of Heaven and Earth, Messiah, Redeemer, All-Wise God, I pray that You will teach me Your ways and give me insight into how I can serve You best.  When difficulties, trials and struggles come, remind me that You are working all things together for good whether I understand or not.  I set myself to do justly, love mercy and walk humbly – following Your instructions.  I recommit to giving You control over the cost-benefit analysis, like Jesus, trusting that whatever the cost to me, it is worth the benefit to You.  May I always be that aroma redolent with the life of Christ so others might be drawn to the knowledge of Him.  I ask it all in Jesus’ name.  Make it so!

On Living a New Life in Christ

Colossians 1:11-14  PHILLIPS As you live this new life, we pray that you will be strengthened from God’s boundless resources, so that you will find yourselves able to pass through any experience and endure it with courage. You will even be able to thank God in the midst of pain and distress because you are privileged to share the lot of those who are living in the light. For we must never forget that he rescued us from the power of darkness and re-established us in the kingdom of his beloved Son, that is, in the kingdom of light. For it is by his Son alone that we have been redeemed and have had our sins forgiven.

“He has not been anything like long enough with the Enemy to have any real humility yet. What he says, even on his knees, about his own sinfulness is all parrot talk. At bottom, he still believes he has run up a very favourable credit-balance in the Enemy’s ledger by allowing himself to be converted, and thinks that he is showing great humility and condescension in going to church with these ‘smug’, commonplace neighbours at all. Keep him in that state of mind as long as you can.”  (The Screwtape Letters, CS Lewis; https://www.biblegateway.com/devotionals/).  FYI – This book was written to give insight into demon strategy to disrupt the growth in Christ of a new believer.  Therefore, the Enemy in this context is God.

Observation

Our culture has conditioned us to rate a person’s value by his/her accomplishment, status, possessions, appearance, physical prowess, performance – the visible fruit of our own efforts.  This is only a problem when we begin to believe that any of these visible fruits make us more valuable in God’s sight. No matter what talent, ability, possessions, or other human accomplishment we brought with us when we entered into Christ, He got no bargain, no bonus, and owed us no credit for what we contributed to the cause.  “For we must never forget that he rescued us from the power of darkness, and re-established us in the kingdom of his beloved Son, that is, in the kingdom of light. For it is by his Son alone that we have been redeemed and have had our sins forgiven.” 

We paid no price to be born again – just as we contributed nothing to our physical birth except to show up at the finale. It is what we do with our lives that matters. We need to remember that we have been RESCUED from the power of darkness, an inescapable prison, by the only One Who could pay the price, and He values every soul irrespective of Godly giftings or visible fruit.  Everything we are or do or can be is a gift from God that He wants us – in gratitude for our rescue – to choose to gift back and submit to Him so that He can make the best of us – our talents, abilities, skills and possessions – and fulfill His will and purpose to bring more souls into His Kingdom.  

Impact on Me

So, I find the second half of today’s passage easier to do than the first half. Salvation was free; I like free and have always remained grateful for the gift only Jesus could provide. However, sanctification (“living this new life”) is much more challenging as it apparently has a cost to me that requires strength and courage and may require me to endure pain and distress, all the while thanking God for the opportunity to do so. “As you live this new life, we pray that you will be strengthened from God’s boundless resources, so that you will find yourselves able to pass through any experience and endure it with courage. You will even be able to thank God in the midst of pain and distress because you are privileged to share the lot of those who are living in the light.” 

If I am truly grateful for the free gift, can I really refuse to trust and obey the Giver, regardless of what it might cost me, so that others might receive the free gift of salvation and begin to live this new life?  Have I grasped that I am now part of God’s Kingdom and have a share of both the cost and benefit of “those living in the light”?  Isn’t any cost to me just returning what has been supplied by Him and His resources?  Can I really believe that I bring something to the table that is completely my own?  What is my rescue worth to me?  What price will I be willing to pay so others might be rescued? 

I always come back to consider the price Jesus paid for me – that was equally paid for every soul, that was my only hope, that is a rescue for whosoever will come. When I consider these things, I strive to let the cost of my obedience be in God’s hands and to remember to be thankful that no matter where I find myself or the circumstances surrounding me, God is with me and has a plan to redeem, restore, and rescue.  While I am not at the place where I say, “Thank you, God, for bringing on the pain and distress!”, I am getting better at asking Him what He would have me do and be in the middle of it.  I hope that is a visible fruit of living the new life in Christ.

Prayer

I stand in awe of the path You walked and the price You paid to provide my redemption, my rescue.  And then You offer salvation free to me for the taking.  I pray that You remind me always that everything I have, am and do, I have because You have first given Your all on my behalf.  Remind me that regardless of the circumstances You go with me and will provide all I need.  I want to keep my perspective in line with Yours as I humbly and gratefully walk this Christian life.  I ask this all in Jesus’ name.

On God’s Dreams For Us

Deuteronomy 28:11-14 (MSG) 11-14 “God will lavish you with good things: children from your womb, offspring from your animals, and crops from your land, the land that God promised your ancestors that he would give you. God will throw open the doors of his sky vaults and pour rain on your land on schedule and bless the work you take in hand. You will lend to many nations but you yourself won’t have to take out a loan. God will make you the head, not the tail; you’ll always be the top dog, never the underdog, as you obediently listen to and diligently keep the commands of God, your God, that I am commanding you today. Don’t swerve an inch to the right or left from the words that I command you today by going off following and worshiping other gods.”

Matthew 5:17-18 MSG “Don’t suppose for a minute that I have come to demolish the Scriptures—either God’s Law or the Prophets. I’m not here to demolish but to complete. I am going to put it all together, pull it all together in a vast panorama. God’s Law is more real and lasting than the stars in the sky and the ground at your feet. Long after stars burn out and earth wears out, God’s Law will be alive and working.

Observation

Deuteronomy 28 is a list of the covenant promises from God – blessings for obedience and cursings for disobedience.  The blessings are God’s dreams, what He desires to do, for His people.  He wants to lavish prosperity, peace and grace upon them – blessing upon blessing on His beloved.  I can imagine God closing His eyes and envisioning all of His dreams coming to pass – His people resting in His faithfulness, returning love for love, trust for trust, grace for grace – giving everything, all their hearts, in return for the all He provides – embracing Him as Father, Protector, Redeemer, Beloved.  How His heart must yearn for this!  Sadly, what He dreams for us is rarely what we allow Him to deliver.  

Because He is just, He must also keep His promises for disobedience.  Keeping those promises must be heartbreaking for Him.  He asks us to trust Him absolutely, but His people (we) are inconsistent in our response, sometimes obedient, trusting, listening, wanting only to please Him and sometimes wandering hearts, easily distracted, making our own rules, choosing our own ways, gratifying our own pleasures at the expense of wounding Him.  Knowing that He is slow to anger and full of mercy, we play the odds as we gamble with the temptations that become transgressions that then become barriers which we find difficult or impossible to overcome on our own. 

Because we humans are so inconsistent, fallible and distracted by the shiny baubles of the world, He made a new covenant with the only innocent, unfailingly faithful human who would never break it – Jesus Christ – allowing us to be the beneficiaries of Jesus’ unfailing obedience.  Because His patient endurance and mercy far surpasses mine (or, be honest, all of us) He made provisions for redemption, repentance, and restoration in and through Jesus’ sacrifice.  He did this so He could reach His hand over the barriers we ourselves construct and beckon us to let Him rescue, restore and fulfill His dream for us – because He is not willing to let His dreams die.

Impact on Me

Who is this God Who has such vast oceans of love, loving kindness as a flood, grace and peace like mighty rivers, Who would give His own Son so that He can reach over the barriers I myself constructed to draw me into His dream for me?  Who is this God Who remains merciful in the face of the rebellion and offense that humankind throws in His face? Why would He pursue this lost soul, broken and recalcitrant, with patient endurance and undeserved grace to bring me to repentance? I am so grateful that He created repentance, redemption and restoration because I need it all. Why does He insist on making me His partner in revealing His heart and His message of redemption? Surely He could do it more efficiently and effectively without my clumsy efforts.

Why? Because He is the One Who calls us His beloved, His creation, His child, even as we come before Him soul-naked without excuse and our hands empty. I do not deserve His love, His grace, His forgiveness but I am going to embrace it. I will never take for granted the price paid. Obedience seems a small price to pay on my part for living God’s dream for me.

Prayer

I come before My God, My Creator, My Father, My Redeemer, the only true God, to worship You and thank You for rescuing me.  Oh, Lord, I want to enter into your dreams for me.  I am human, fallible, inconsistent and weak.  Give me the courage, wisdom and strength to be faithful and wise in my choices. Let me be one who will always “obediently listen to and diligently keep the commands of God,” so I may walk only in Your ways and continuously bring joy to Your heart.  Make it so, in Jesus’ name.

On Judging My Performance

Micah 6:6-8 NLT 6 What can we bring to the Lord? Should we bring him burnt offerings? Should we bow before God Most High with offerings of yearling calves? 7 Should we offer him thousands of rams and ten thousand rivers of olive oil? Should we sacrifice our firstborn children to pay for our sins? 8 No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you:
to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.

Matthew 22:35-40 NLT 35 One of them [a Pharisee], an expert in religious law, tried to trap him with this question: 36 “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?” 37 Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”

Observation

We are a people who love metrics, the objective ways we measure achievement, commitment, success, winning.   These metrics are beneficial when an activity or performance has truly objective measures of success and achievement. Winners in many sports can be measured in these ways – the number of shots in golf, the number of missed balls in tennis, the number of players across home base in baseball, and so on.  The “even playing field” (consistent rules and method of scoring) also provides a relative method of comparison to all those who have competed in the sport in the past. This is why competitors are not only focused on finishing first but also doing it in record time or by beating a record score.  Controversy begins to increase as we apply metrics to more subjective activities that rely on a judge’s opinion using a grading system (e.g., gymnastics, diving, skating).

However, the real breakdown for us occurs when we try to create metrics for more subjective activities or performance, such as honoring the Lord. When we attempt to create rules and regulations that measure our success, achievement, or commitment by visible results or actions, we find ourselves among the Pharisees who became so focused on enforcing the rules that they lost the joy and meaning of the goal. It is as if they stopped running the race midway to stand on the course and inspect all the other competitors to find reasons to disqualify them! (Matthew 23:13 Woe to you, you teachers of the law and Pharisees. There is such a gulf between what you say and what you do. You will stand before a crowd and lock the door of the kingdom of heaven right in front of everyone; you won’t enter the Kingdom yourselves, and you prevent others from doing so.).

Impact on Me

The two passages I chose today do not lend themselves to human metrics.  There is no way to keep score or objectively compare my performance to another. While there should be visible evidence of my efforts to obey, only God can truly judge my motives and effectiveness in these areas – whether and why I am faithful “to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.” Only He can judge how well I “love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ … [and] ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.” 

Our God is Love and all He is and does is motivated by that Love.  He is not looking for me to be motivated simply by a dutiful response to His authority.   Rather, He wants me to love Him enough to trust Him and be as generous with my love for Him and others as He has been to me.  I am not in competition with anyone one else to win His love or His favor; He has more than enough for me and has provided me with more than enough to give away to others. That is simply what He asks me to do to honor Him, to show my gratitude, to love Him in return.

Why do I want to make serving Him more physically demanding, more difficult, more challenging, more painful (no pain, no gain)?   Here is where the ” walk humbly with your God” comes in. Perhaps I am so bound to human metrics and what people think that I find it hard to simply let go and let God alone make the rules and be my judge.

Prayer

Lord, I pray that I will allow You to work Your love, grace, peace, mercy in me so that I can be meek and humble, walking this earth as Jesus did, secure in Your love, overflowing with your grace and truth, allowing Your power and anointing to flow so that You are revealed in and through my life, so that others will come to know You because they meet You in me.  Help me to be simply and constantly motivated by gratitude borne of love so that I will be faithful to say “yes” whenever You ask. In Jesus’ name I pray. Make it so.

On Remembering

Deuteronomy 24:18-22 (MSG)   18 Don’t ever forget that you were once slaves in Egypt and God, your God, got you out of there. I command you: Do what I’m telling you. 19-22 When you harvest your grain and forget a sheaf back in the field, don’t go back and get it; leave it for the foreigner, the orphan, and the widow so that God, your God, will bless you in all your work. When you shake the olives off your trees, don’t go back over the branches and strip them bare—what’s left is for the foreigner, the orphan, and the widow. And when you cut the grapes in your vineyard, don’t take every last grape—leave a few for the foreigner, the orphan, and the widow. Don’t ever forget that you were a slave in Egypt. I command you: Do what I’m telling you.

Observation

“Don’t ever forget that you were once slaves in Egypt and God, your God, got you out of there.”  In Scripture, Egypt is representative of the life of sin.  The Promised Land is meant to be like our life in Christ.  God is commanding His people to remember when they have plenty that they were delivered from slavery and bondage so they will have grace and mercy on those who are not yet free or have suffered loss.  He wants the foreigner, the widow and the orphan to be blessed by the generosity of His people so that they will find rest, sustenance and, hopefully, belonging.  

Their is a tendency for us to forget what our lives were like before embracing Christ.  We like to think that we weren’t that bad, just a little lost, slightly wandering, but basically good people.  Lost is lost regardless of whether we are a rule follower or a rule breaker.  We were all born in Egypt.  We were all foreigners, fatherless and orphaned.  Some choose to live all their lives in slavery and bondage, chasing after the wind of knowledge, pleasure or accomplishment.  Then there are those who brave the wilderness to find the Promised Land, finding grace, redemption, healing, peace and blessing – because “God got you out of there.”    He wants them to remember t what was freely received should be freely given.  

Impact on Me

I overheard a conversation by two young men while I was sitting in a public place.  They were talking about the best bars for partying. What was of so much interest to them was completely foreign to me.  I realized that these young men were culturally different from me in so many ways, like foreigners in my land.   I then thought about those who are aware that God exists and are willing to talk with me about Him, but have really surrendered nothing into His care; to me, these, too, are foreigners in my land, sojourners just traveling through, leaving nothing, taking nothing.

I have a Father God and, as a member of His body, am the bride of Christ. To me, the fatherless and widows of this passage are those who travel through or live in my land, but have not yet understood and fully embraced the riches available to them in Christ. They are those who need love, support and comfort, those overwhelmed by circumstances, symptoms or loss.  Now that I have come into the land promised to me and been blessed, adopted and married to the Lord, I am commanded to remember to be generous to all of these because I was once a slave in Egypt (sin) and came to my land as a foreigner or sojourner, fatherless, a widow and orphan.  I survived because of the generous grace extended to me. Should I not do the same for these others?

Jesus commands me to remember that His body was broken and His blood shed so that I could possess the land promised to me, an inheritance so rich that I can never spend it all. He reminds me that I should not hoard those riches or greedily gather them, not judge who is worthy to glean after my harvest, not count the cost or fence my fields; rather, He commands me to leave behind – be willing to share from my abundance – enough for those who may not be much like me now, but so like me before this became my land of promise – the strangers, sojourners, fatherless, widows and orphans who do not yet understand or embrace the One Who desires to bless them in the same way as He has blessed me.  If I truly love Him, truly trust Him, truly remember where I was before He brought me into this land, truly live like He is my source, my provider, my redeemer, I will leave a more generous portion behind so that they can eat their fill and know that the Lord is good.

Prayer

Father God, the One Who delivers and redeems us because You love us so, I want to be ever grateful for my freedom from my Egypt and careful to share Your goodness and grace with others who may not yet be free or are not yet experiencing the fullness of Your grace, mercy and peace.  Break my heart with what breaks Yours!  Give me compassion and grace for those who are so unlike me now but so like me before I knew Jesus and embraced Him.  I ask this all in Jesus’ name.  Make it so.