Category: Published

Luke 6:35-36 MSG  “I tell you, love your enemies. Help and give without expecting a return. You’ll never—I promise—regret it. Live out this God-created identity the way our Father lives toward us, generously and graciously, even when we’re at our worst. Our Father is kind; you be kind.”

Luke 23:33-34 MSG. “When they got to the place called Skull Hill, they crucified him, along with the criminals, one on his right, the other on his left. Jesus prayed, “Father, forgive them; they don’t know what they’re doing.”

Observation

Both of these passages are in red letters in my study Bible, which means that Jesus is speaking.  Those who heard these words had so many that might fall into the category of enemy – the conquering Romans who worshipped pagan gods and ruled with a cruel hand, Samaritans who were half-breeds that had distorted the Jewish faith, other foreigners/Gentiles/pagans whom they must avoid, as well as those enemies arising from personal or family squabbles, the untouchable lepers and others with diseases, and even the religious authorities who disdained the “common folk” and kept heaping on rules for them to break which kept them out of God’s favor.

Today as then, these words are hard to swallow without choking on them. We struggle with both wanting to forgive and how to forgive those who have opposed, offended, hurt or damaged us in a way that has caused us to call them an enemy. How could Jesus on the Cross ask for the Father to forgive the man who drove the nails into His hands, the man who wielded the whip that laid open His flesh, the crowd which yelled, “Crucify!”, the religious leaders who planned and orchestrated His suffering?  Because it was for them and all of us He died.

Impact on Me

Hebrews 12:1-3 NIV Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

How do I get to this place – scorning the shame, setting aside my pride, disregarding what others may think of me – the place where, while enduring opposition, I can keep my eyes fixed on the joy of seeing my enemies, my untouchables, my socially unacceptables forgiven and redeemed?  Only by surforrendering my pride, being willing to endure that shame, and allowing the Holy Spirit to expose and cleanse the ugly places in me that have harbored offense and labeled someone an enemy. 

I need to recognize that the only true enemy who cannot be redeemed is Satan himself. His entire existence is focused on driving wedges between God and His creation, God and His children. The joy set before Jesus that allowed Him to endure the Cross was knowing that He was providing a way to remove those wedges so we can restore relationship with God and each other.  Forgiveness dissolves those wedges. Satan has no defense against me when I am, like Jesus, set to forgive even the worst.

Prayer

Father, You are gracious, merciful, loving, forgiving and perfect in it all. I am far from perfect in all these.  I give the Holy Spirit permission to seek out and expose the places in me where offense is evident or hiding. I ask  Your courage and strength to confront my pride and any shame so I can give Him the freedom to deal with and clean up these areas.  I commit to fix my eyes on Jesus as I minister Your grace and love to those You bring my way. Make it so, in Jesus’ name.

John 3:15-16 PHILLIPS  The Son of Man must be lifted above the heads of men—as Moses lifted up that serpent in the desert—so that any man who believes in him may have eternal life. For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him shall not be lost, but should have eternal life.

Hebrews 12:1-3 PHILLIPS  Surrounded then as we are by these serried ranks of witnesses, let us strip off everything that hinders us, as well as the sin which dogs our feet, and let us run the race that we have to run with patience, our eyes fixed on Jesus the source and the goal of our faith. For He himself endured a cross and thought nothing of its shame because of the joy He knew would follow his suffering; and He is now seated at the right hand of God’s throne. Think constantly of Him enduring all that sinful men could say against Him and you will not lose your purpose or your courage. 

Observation & Impact on Me

As I look toward Good Friday, I consider the Cross – its excruciating torture, why it was made the price, how it impacted those who were there, the commitment of Christ to finish the requirements of the plan to redeem us.  So many questions! 

For example, a marketing question – why would God follow up all the miracles with the most shameful and degrading of public deaths?  Now, the disciples were asking Gentiles and Jews alike to believe in and commit to a crucified/disgraced Messiah.  It was a bad enough public image and hurdle to overcome for Jews that He was portrayed as a blasphemer by the religious leadership and for Gentiles that He was considered a criminal or insurrectionist by the Romans.  On top of this, His disciples were handed the Cross as the symbol of redemption, the door into relationship with God. “…the message of salvation through faith in a crucified Savior was deemed “foolishness” and a “stumbling-block” because “the cross was itself the embodiment and emblem of the most hideous of human obscenities. The cross was a symbol of reproach, degradation, humiliation, and disgust. It was aesthetically repugnant. In a word, the cross was obscene.”  (Bible Study Tools) Marketing teams would be playing down the Cross, not advertising it!

Another question – did He really mean everyone who believes?  Does His love and forgiveness really extend to include all?  If so, He died for Pontius Pilate and his soldiers, for the religious leaders who plotted and executed His murder, for the mockers who spit on Him, for the man who held the whip in his hands, for the man who drove the nails in His hands and for the thief who received mercy as well as the one who rejected it!  Does He mean to extend forgiveness today to the murderer, the abortionist, the child molester, the abusive spouse, the racist, the terrorist, or anyone else I find repugnant?  Was the redemption of such as these part of the joy He knew would follow His suffering on the Cross?  Can He really forgive and forget so completely? Honestly, was I any “cleaner” than the worst of these when I embraced His sacrifice?  I am certainly not yet that forgiving, but pray that I will grow in wisdom, knowledge and understanding so I can become so.

One more question to which I don’t have an answer (maybe I don’t like the answer?) – why was this determined as the price to redeem mankind?  Satan would want to inflict as much pain on God as possible; did he set the price thinking it was too high or too unreasonable for God to pay?  Did God set the price knowing that He was giving out of love for us His most precious & priceless, paying the highest price possible that there could never be any question after about “it is finished”?  I can sense Satan’s influence in using the most excruciating, shameful and public death to wound God’s heart, but I can also see God’s influence in the love, mercy and forgiveness Jesus extended throughout His crucifixion journey.  And then, the resurrection! 

Prayer

Lord, I pray that You will work Your love, mercy and grace in me so that I, too, can look past my current circumstances, my difficult times, my struggles, to be a faithful servant in them all because I see the same joy set before me.  Just as the Cross was changed into a symbol of love, redemption, hope, grace and victory, help me to allow faith, love and grace to convert my unforgiveness, fears, failures, shame and regret into gratitude, love, grace and boldness for seeing that redemptive work in every and all.  My desire is to “Think constantly of Him enduring all that sinful men could say against Him and you will not lose your purpose or your courage.”  Make it so in the name of Jesus.

Psalm 19:7-14 NLT – a psalm of David

⁷ The instructions of the Lord are perfect, reviving the soul.  The decrees of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple.  ⁸ The commandments of the Lord are right, bringing joy to the heart.  The commands of the Lord are clear, giving insight for living.  ⁹ Reverence for the Lord is pure, lasting forever.  The laws of the Lord are true; each one is fair.  ¹⁰ They are more desirable than gold, even the finest gold.  They are sweeter than honey, even honey dripping from the comb. 

¹¹ They are a warning to your servant, a great reward for those who obey them. ¹² How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart?  Cleanse me from these hidden faults.  ¹³ Keep your servant from deliberate sins!  Don’t let them control me.  Then I will be free of guilt and innocent of great sin.  ¹⁴ May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

Observation

Here David is extoling the beauty and worth of the Word of God – His instructions, decrees, commandments, commands and laws.  He tells us that this Word is a warning and reward, a place to find cleansing from even hidden faults as well as deliverance from those sins that seem to control us and be impossible to overcome.  David tells us that this Word will revive our souls, make wise the simple, bring joy to our hearts and give insight for living.  This Word is beyond price and sweeter than anything on earth.  This Word is the whole package, everything we need for life here and hereafter.  And yet, how often we set our Bibles aside to gather dust on the shelf, as if it was just another book, just another self-help resource. 

“Reverence for the Lord is pure, lasting forever.”  In the King James Version, “reverence” is translated as “fear of the Lord.”  This “fear” is awe which overwhelms, not a feeling which terrifies.  In the midst of all David has to say about the Word of God, he reminds us about Who God is and why His Word is so awesome, perfect and powerful when we allow His Word to live and work in us.  And, miracle of miracles, His Word is offered to us free of charge, ours for the taking.

Impact on Me

Do I read my Bible enough?  No.  There are times I beat myself up for not reading and memorizing more.  However, when I read this psalm, I am reminded that lives of obedience and repentance are much more important than being able to recite verses word for word.  I remember the Pharisees who lived so rigidly by their interpretation of the Word manifested in their man-made rules that they forgot justice and mercy, missing the Messiah walking in their midst.  I need a little bit of both – more diligence in reading and memorizing with always a dollop of “search me, O God.”

This Word is meant to become organic as we take it in, digest it and allow it to give us life.  I need to know what this Word says, but more importantly I need to walk in what it means to be in Christ, a child of God, living each moment in the fear of the Lord.   This Word is meant to be lived.

Prayer

O God, my Father, Savior, Teacher, Strength and Reward, do search me and cleanse me.  Teach me what I need to be what You have called me to be and do what You have called me to do.  “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.”  Make it so, in Jesus’ name.

Romans 8:22-30 PHILLIPS  It is plain to anyone with eyes to see that at the present time all created life groans in a sort of universal travail. And it is plain, too, that we who have a foretaste of the Spirit are in a state of painful tension, while we wait for that redemption of our bodies which will mean that at last we have realised our full sonship in him. We were saved by this hope, but in our moments of impatience let us remember that hope always means waiting for something that we haven’t yet got. But if we hope for something we cannot see, then we must settle down to wait for it in patience. The Spirit of God not only maintains this hope within us, but helps us in our present limitations. For example, we do not know how to pray worthily as sons of God, but his Spirit within us is actually praying for us in those agonising longings which never find words. And God who knows the heart’s secrets understands, of course, the Spirit’s intention as he prays for those who love God. Moreover we know that to those who love God, who are called according to his plan, everything that happens fits into a pattern for good. God, in his foreknowledge, chose them to bear the family likeness of his Son, that he might be the eldest of a family of many brothers. He chose them long ago; when the time came he called them, he made them righteous in his sight, and then lifted them to the splendour of life as his own sons.

Romans 8:29-30 MSG  ^29-30 God knew what he was doing from the very beginning. He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love him along the same lines as the life of his Son. The Son stands first in the line of humanity he restored. We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in him. After God made that decision of what his children should be like, he followed it up by calling people by name. After he called them by name, he set them on a solid basis with himself. And then, after getting them established, he stayed with them to the end, gloriously completing what he had begun.

Observation

 Romans 8 is a chapter about letting go of our past, patiently embracing all that being “in Christ” provides for us, and patiently putting our hope and faith in the future God has planned for us all (“in our moments of impatience let us remember that hope always means waiting for something that we haven’t yet got”).  Paul encourages us to be patient in our “state of painful tension” (in our impatience, anguish and urgency to see results/progress in ourselves and others). He tells us that the Holy Spirit is working God’s love, grace and truth in us and the world around us 24/7/365 (albeit most of the time imperceptibly to us) in powerful ways in hearts and other places inaccessible to us.

He asks us to trust in God’s original and only plan – even when we don’t understand how “everything that happens fits into a pattern for good.”  This is all fine and good when life is going smoothly, but becomes so difficult when we face urgent and heartbreaking circumstances that shake us to our foundation – prodigal children, chronic/fatal illness, death, divorce, and so on. How could God turn such events to bring about good, to accomplish His original and only plan?  How can He give us beauty for ashes and joy for mourning?  Only God, only God!

Impact on Me

Like Paul, I look back over my life to see persecution in times of spiritual and emotional imprisonment, shipwreck and beatings.  So can you. Wounds caused by dysfunctional families, abusive relationships, breakups and/or divorces, mental or physical illness, mistreatment, rejections, abandonment, betrayals, deaths, prodigals, church issues – to name a few – all create wounds that make us sensitive and condition our reaction to the world, situations and circumstances around us. Paul is asking you and me to let Jesus heal the wounds of the past so we can respond according to hope and faith rather than react according to the wounds of our past. 

Paul is asking me (and you) to be defined by God’s purpose to place me in Christ so I can become like Him – “We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in Him.”  Paul is asking me to focus on God’s future for me rather than my past experiences or what this world can offer. In Christ my past no longer can hurt or limit me – if I allow myself to release the guilt, shame and sensitivities of it. In Christ, I can freely forgive because I have been freely forgiven. In Christ, I am His beloved regardless of how the world judges my worth. In Christ, I can rejoice and trust always even when the world calls me foolish. It is my choice to live as in Christ or of the world.

 “In Christ alone, my hope is found. He is my life, my strength, my song. This cornerstone, this solid ground, firm through the fiercest drought and storm. What heights of love, what depths of peace, when fears are stilled and striving cease. My Comforter, my all-in-all; here in the love of Christ I’ll stand.”

Prayer

 My God, my God, You are all-in-all – Holy, loving, all-knowing, all-powerful, eternal, Creator, Redeemer, Restorer.  You have planned from beginning to end, start to finish, a perfect, majestic strategy to accomplish Your will and purpose. So much of the time I do not understand what is happening or how it can ever be turned around for good BUT I know You do. Forgive me for all the times I have failed and chosen to live as in the world rather than in Christ. Help me to set aside my need to understand or do something to fix it and instead pray, placing my hope and trust in You in those times, remembering “to those who love God, who are called according to his plan, everything that happens fits into a pattern for good.”  Help me to embrace, believe and live as in Christ as I walk through my life on this earth.  I know it is Your desire to see this accomplished in me. Make it so, Lord, in Jesus’ name I pray.

Psalm 139:1-6; 23-24  (MSG)  God, investigate my life; get all the facts firsthand.  I’m an open book to You; even from a distance, You know what I’m thinking.  You know when I leave and when I get back; I’m never out of Your sight.  You know everything I’m going to say before I start the first sentence.  I look behind me and You’re there, then up ahead and You’re there, too – Your reassuring presence, coming and going. This is too much, too wonderful – I can’t take it all in!…Investigate  my life,  O God,  find  out  everything  about  me; Cross- examine  and  test  me,  get  a  clear  picture  of what  I’m  about; See  for  Yourself  whether I’ve  done  anything  wrong – then guide me on the road to eternal  life.

Psalm 139:1-6; 23-24  (NKJV)  O Lord, You have searched me and known me. ² You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off.  ³ You comprehend my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways.  ⁴ For there is not a word on my tongue, but behold, O Lord, You know it altogether.  ⁵ You have hedged me behind and before, And laid Your hand upon me.  ⁶ Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is high, I cannot attain it…Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; 24  And see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

Observation

“Search me, O God…know my heart…know my anxieties.”  This is a cry for an incredibly deep and transparent intimacy, one that is willing to risk rejection for the possibility of the relationship that will hopefully develop.  This is the heart cry of true revival, the kind that is seeded into the heart of an individual who has allowed God full access, trusting in His love and mercy, confident in His grace to cover every failure, every “wicked way” and still remain faithful to lead him/her into “the way everlasting.” 

This is the God Who sent Jesus to the Cross to confirm that we can trust in His love and faithfulness even when our rebellious wicked ways, our faithless anxieties, our shameful failures are fully exposed.  This is the God Who made a way for us to confidently come to Him in our hopeless sin-stained state and, not only become clean, but become His very own children.  This is the God Who seeks us out in our darkest places to redeem and restore us when we don’t deserve any of it.  Why is it so hard to bare our hearts and souls to such a God as this?

Impact on Me

I find it hard sometimes to bare my soul to God and admit that I messed up again.  I don’t believe it is because I think God won’t receive and forgive me.  I am just plain embarrassed and shamed for my failure.  “I’m an open book to You; even from a distance, You know what I’m thinking.”  This psalm reminds me that He knows before I sin, when I sin and even the motive behind my sin – and still loves me.  My confession will not be news to Him, so why hesitate or be shamed to repent? 

The path of my life is littered with the squashed pride, sins and failures that have been submitted to, dealt with by the Holy Spirit, and left powerless on the road when I admit and repent for them.  I am just so amazed that I continue to find another pocket of pride, another judgmental thought/word, another graceless act that need to be dealt with as I  go forward.  However, I am assured that my fickle and rebellious humanity can still refuge in His mercy.  So, I expect I will continue to leave squashed bits along the way as He “guide(s) me on the road to eternal  life.”

Prayer

Merciful, Loving, All-Knowing Father, so glad You also are sooo patient and forgiving with me.  We have been on a journey this far, but I ask You now to search my heart again – let’s find it all, every wicked way – and deal with every thing we find by Your Holy Spirit working in and with me.  I want to move ever closer to You, emptying my fleshly pockets as I do.  I want people I meet to come to know You because they meet You in me.  Make it so, in Jesus’ name.