Pressing On In His Footsteps

1 John 4:17 (ESV). By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world.

1 John 4:17-21 (MSG) God is love. When we take up permanent residence in a life of love, we live in God and God lives in us. This way, love has the run of the house, becomes at home and mature in us, so that we’re free of worry on Judgment Day—our standing in the world is identical with Christ’s.

1 John 17-21 (Phillips) God is love, and the man whose life is lived in love does, in fact, live in God, and God does, in fact, live in him. So our love for Him grows more and more, filling us with complete confidence for the day when He shall judge all men—for we realise that our life in this world is actually His life lived in us.

Observation

I purposely read scriptures in more than one translation because it causes me to engage again with verses that have become so familiar that, for me, they have lost their salt, no longer impacting me with the depth of their grace, love, sacrifice and power.  This is so very human, like tiring of eating the same foods everyday. The food is no less nutritious for me (presuming it is healthy and balanced in the beginning) no matter how many times I eat it, but, just as the Hebrews in the wilderness became tired of the miraculously provided manna, our human nature wants variety, something new and different, regardless of the quality, utility and worth of what we already have.

Our Enemy understands our human nature and uses it against us both to cause discontent (always wanting something new) and complacency (loss of saltiness; devaluing the potential and power of what we have).  When any word of God becomes powerless and bland to us, we are missing it. Reading other translations helps me to see every verse from another perspective, finding flavors I have missed because I was gulping it down, hurrying over the familiar, rather than savoring each bite.

Impact on Me

So, above are 3 different translations of the same passages of Scripture.  I was blessed by all 3 but fully arrested by how the phrase “as he is so also are we in this world” from the ESV was translated into more modern common talk by Reverend Peterson – “our standing in the world is identical with Christ’s” – and Reverend Phillips – “for we realise that our life in this world is actually his life lived in us”.  The content of this “dish” has not changed, but my appreciation of its presentation and flavors has!  Of course, I know that I am in Christ and He is in me, but hearing it stated in different terms, from different perspectives, creating a different picture, makes it all the more real to me.

When God “looks down” on the earth and sees me, He no longer sees Liz the merely human creation but rather sees Liz in Christ and Christ in Liz.  I have the same welcome into His presence that Jesus does.  I have the same life flowing in me that energized Jesus’ life, ministry and resurrection.  This is a truly arresting thought!  What am I doing with all of this privilege, all this life?  Am I praying like I have this life in me, believing and expecting God to hear and the Holy Ghost to move, or am I praying only hoping against hope that He will?  These verses are telling me that, like David, I need to run toward my giants, knowing that God is with me, for me and empowering me to overcome them.

Prayer

Lord God of Hosts, Savior, Teacher, One Who gives me courage, strength and the wisdom to hear You and obey, I ask You to wake me up, shake me to my core, fill me up with the confidence that what You say You will do in and through me.  I want that boldness of David running toward Goliath with only a sling and 5 smooth stones because he knew You were going to fight the battle if he would only obey.  I ask it all in the name of Jesus.  Amen.

Psalm 23:1, 6 NIV  The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing…Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Psalm 23:6 NLT  Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever.

“Goodness Of God” (Bethel Music)                                                                                     
Songwriters: Jason Ingram, Ed Cash, Brian Mark Johnson, Jenn Louise Johnson, Ben David Fielding

Observation

I suspect that King David spent many hours, days, years wondering and even questioning God’s methods of working out His plans and purposes (“What was God thinking when He…?!!”).  David was a teenage shepherd when he was anointed as king by the prophet Samuel.  Although he may not have understood what it all meant, that day was when God began David’s training – facing Goliath, being banished and hunted by Saul, hiding in the desert, living on the run, being forced out of his country, and fighting many, many battles. It was nearly 15 years between the time that he was anointed and his actual taking of the throne. God prepared David to be a man after God’s own heart by taking David “through the fire” so that, no matter what triumph or dark night he faced, he could sing of the goodness of God.  He could have written this one.  It is like so many other of his psalms.

I have always thought of the “follow” in Psalm 23:6 as a gentle, passive, strolling behind. I don’t know how or why I got that picture in my mind. Perhaps it was pictures of shepherds peacefully strolling along with sheep. I looked up the Hebrew word used for this “follow” in Strong’s Concordance; it is “radaph” and means “to pursue ardently, chase, aim eagerly to secure, pursue”. It is used sometimes in the Old Testament to describe the relentless pursuit by enemies and other times to describe how men should pursue God and holiness.  Just as David defended his sheep against lions and bears, Jesus defends us against all fearful attacks when we embrace His shepherding, let His goodness overtake us and “aim eagerly to secure” holiness.

Impact on Me

This creates an entirely different perspective for me on Psalm 23!  This is not just a psalm/song about the tranquil pasture and peace we can experience in Christ; it is also a psalm/song about the passionate advocacy and protection provided by our Shepherd both in that tranquil pasture and in fearful times of attack, danger, fire, trouble and uncertainty.  I am reminded of Jesus asleep in the wildly rocking boat! We need to stay calm in every circumstance because Jesus is with us in them all.

I have a new picture of my Good Shepherd chasing off the bears and lions that come to attack my body, soul and spirit in my darkest nights, those valleys filled with fear, doubt or death in the shadows, those threats against those I love.  I know His goodness and pray that my grandchildren and great grandchildren will know it too through being overtaken in their lives by His goodness.  My song shall ever be: “With my life laid down, I’m surrendered now; I give You everything.  Your goodness is running after, it’s running after me.  All my life You have been faithful and all my life You have been so, so good. With every breath that I am able, I will sing of the goodness of God.”

Prayer

Lord, You are creator of all, in all and over all. You know all that is and will ever be. Knowing me as I do, I don’t really understand why You have taken me on, kept me as Your own, and embraced me in Your flock, but I rejoice in the fact You have and are faithful both to pursue me when I wander and watch over me when I rest in secure pasture. Help me to follow after You, surrendered to Your path and confident of Your presence and protection along the way. When my way seems insecure, help me to look to You rather than focus on the shadowy dangers in the current valley.  I pray my life will fulfill Your will and purpose for me. In Jesus’ name. Make it so

Ephesians 3:7-21 MSG  This is my life work: helping people understand and respond to this Message. It came as a sheer gift to me, a real surprise, God handling all the details. When it came to presenting the Message to people who had no background in God’s way, I was the least qualified of any of the available Christians. God saw to it that I was equipped, but you can be sure that it had nothing to do with my natural abilities.  And so here I am, preaching and writing about things that are way over my head, the inexhaustible riches and generosity of Christ. My task is to bring out in the open and make plain what God, who created all this in the first place, has been doing in secret and behind the scenes all along. Through followers of Jesus like yourselves gathered in churches, this extraordinary plan of God is becoming known and talked about even among the angels! All this is proceeding along lines planned all along by God and then executed in Christ Jesus. When we trust in him, we’re free to say whatever needs to be said, bold to go wherever we need to go. So don’t let my present trouble on your behalf get you down. Be proud! My response is to get down on my knees before the Father, this magnificent Father who parcels out all heaven and earth. I ask him to strengthen you by his Spirit—not a brute strength but a glorious inner strength—that Christ will live in you as you open the door and invite him in. And I ask him that with both feet planted firmly on love, you’ll be able to take in with all followers of Jesus the extravagant dimensions of Christ’s love. Reach out and experience the breadth! Test its length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights! Live full lives, full in the fullness of God. God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us. Glory to God in the church! Glory to God in the Messiah, in Jesus! Glory down all the generations! Glory through all millennia! Oh, yes!

Observation

Paul wrote this from prison where his freedom was restricted; he was on lockdown whether in house arrest or an actual jail cell.  I am always amazed at his response to every “negative” circumstance – “All this is proceeding along lines planned all along by God and then executed in Christ Jesus.”  Over and over in his writings, he expresses such humility about his part in this plan of God, whether seen or unseen – important but not indispensable, an oiler that keeps the various parts lubricated and working at their best, a coach who hones the abilities of the team to bring out the best in each one. He was not looking for credit/recognition for himself but always expressing his deep and abiding gratitude to be a servant/slave for the Lord.

He was fully soaked in “Love God, Love Others”. He encouraged others to invite Jesus in and embrace first the knowledge/understanding that “with both feet planted firmly on love, you’ll be able to take in with all followers of Jesus the extravagant dimensions of Christ’s love”. He knew that love is the answer, not only will it sustain and strengthen us, but also is the ultimate weapon to defeat all of the Enemy’s schemes, all of his deceptions. It was the Love that sent Jesus to the Cross, the Love which accomplished God’s plan to provide redemption for whosoever will come, and the Love, living in us, that consistently shares Jesus as the answer to everyone we meet.

Impact on Me

“Preach the Gospel. When necessary, use words.”  If Love is the basis of all I do and say and think, the Holy Spirit will flow through my prayer, acts of kindness, hospitality, listening, compassion/care, and every other tangible and intangible act I do.  I want to get to the place in my understanding and embrace of the “extravagant dimensions of Christ’s love” that I see where I am and what I am experiencing at any given moment as an opportunity – like Paul – to be used by God to accomplish His will and purpose. I want to live in Christ above rather than under the circumstances. 

“Live full lives, full in the fullness of God. God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.”  I believe this will require soaking in that Love until it dissolves fear, doubt, selfishness, unforgiveness, and every other bit of pride in me. That will be a mighty long soak but so worth it!  So, I set myself to more time in the Word, more contemplation, more prayer, more listening, more repentance, more submitting to examination by the Holy Spirit, more obedience, more journey toward a humble and contrite heart and anything else required by God.

Prayer

Lord, You are Love. As we embrace Love, we are embracing You. Work in me, in us, to bring us to the understanding that we lose nothing by submitting all to You. Freely and fully submitting to You is all gain – the wholeness of shalom – peace, joy, righteousness, eternity with You. May I see my current circumstances as part of Your plan and seek to serve You faithfully in each one. Go to the root of my self-interest and expose it for what it is – a stronghold separating me from “the extravagant dimensions of Christ’s love” – from plunging into the ocean of Your Love.  May I be so saturated, even dripping with Your Love, that others will come to know You because You are evident in my every act, every word, and even every thought or silent prayer.  I ask You to make it so, in Jesus’ name.

1 John 4:9-12 (NLT)  God showed how much He loved us by sending His one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through Him.  This is real love–not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.  Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other.  No one has ever seen God.  But if we love each other, God lives in us, and His love is brought to full expression in us.

Observation

Apparently, it is all about love – loving others more than ourselves, loving in the face of rejection, loving those who have not earned it, loving those who don’t understand the immensity and true cost of the sacrifice – in other words, the same love demonstrated by Jesus for us on the Cross.  This kind of love is not humanly possible because our emotions, survival instincts, egos, prejudices and self-interests get in the  way.  We count the cost to ourselves incorrectly – by human standards, not God’s, by selfish interests not selfless ones, by short term gains not eternal ones.  It is our nature UNTIL we surrender body and soul completely to the Holy Spirit, allowing Him to mold, shape and change us into that nature of Christ in us.

We can also forget that we did not deserve the grace that God’s Love made available to us.  We must be careful to remember that each soul is God’s creation and has value in His sight.  When we begin to judge whether another has value according to our standards (“good enough”) – has done no evil, is productive in our society. living within the rules, working hard, or progressing quickly enough along our timeline, our checklist, our standards of achievement – we have lost God’s perspective.  God so loved the world that He made grace, redemption, restoration, healing, and love FREELY available to all of us who did not deserve it – the just and the unjust, the kind and the cruel, the lovely and the unlovely, the able and the disabled.

Impact on Me

The culture in which I was raised makes this a paradigm shift for me – from performance-based to grace-based.  Fame, position, power and wealth are all considered evidence in this world of worth, being productive members of society.  However, Heaven judges differently.  Heaven measures me by how I love Him by loving others, by how fully I allow His love to be expressed in and through me, by what I am willing to sacrifice for the sake of another.  “No one has ever seen God.  But if we love each other, God lives in us, and His love is brought to full expression in us.”  Will I be held responsible for how I use the gifts He has given me to express His love in the world?  Certainly, but Jesus is the only judge of how well my gifts have been used.

“Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other.”  So, just how far does this go?  I am reminded that Jesus died for the man who drove the nails in His hands, the man who held the whip, those who yelled, “Crucify.”  I am reminded that The Shepherd left the 99 to go find the 1.  I am reminded that Jesus said we need to be like little children.  I am reminded that Jesus was born in a manger, worked as a carpenter and chose fishermen, a tax collector, a zealot – all common men – to walk with Him as disciples.  Am I truly willing to trust that obeying His command to love even my enemies will benefit His kingdom?  Am I willing to bear shame and sorrow for another’s sake?  Am I truly willing to put myself in God’s hands and let Him choose? 

Prayer

Father God, My Maker, My Savior, All-Wise God, I profess that I want to be more like Jesus, but do I draw lines that I will not cross, have prices I am not willing to pay?  I don’t want to do so! I want to place myself in Your hands as an instrument, on Your altar as a sacrifice, without restrictions.  I pray that You will lead, encourage and guide me to faithfully walk in those footsteps You have set out before me.  May I be like Jesus Who had no desire to set His own course but only follow Yours.  I seek only to please You.  Make it so, in Jesus’ name.

Numbers 24:3-9 (NLT) “This is the message of Balaam son of Beor,the message of the man whose eyes see clearly, ⁴ the message of one who hears the words of God, who sees a vision from the Almighty, who bows down with eyes wide open: ⁵ How beautiful are your tents, O Jacob; how lovely are your homes, O Israel!  ⁶ They spread before me like palm groves, like gardens by the riverside.  They are like tall trees planted by the Lord, like cedars beside the waters.  ⁷ Water will flow from their buckets;  their offspring have all they need.  Their king will be greater than Agag; their kingdom will be exalted.  ⁸ God brought them out of Egypt; for them he is as strong as a wild ox.  He devours all the nations that oppose him, breaking their bones in pieces, shooting them with arrows.  ⁹ Like a lion, Israel crouches and lies down;  like a lioness, who dares to arouse her?  Blessed is everyone who blesses you, O Israel, and cursed is everyone who curses you.”

OBSERVATION
These 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 returning love for love, trust for trust, grace for grace – giving everything 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.  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.  So, because His patient endurance and mercy far surpasses mine (or, be honest, yours) He made provisions for redemption, repentance, restoration, but 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 become barriers that we find it difficult or impossible to overcome on our own.  Still, He reaches His hand over the barriers and beckons 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 that 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 we ourselves constructed in order to draw us into His dream for us?  He is the One Who calls us His beloved, even though we stand soul-naked without excuse and our hands empty before Him.

I did not understand that a personal relationship with Jesus was possible until I was 32.  I had grown up in a church that taught me faithfulness, humility, reverence for God and spiritual authority, but God Himself was distant and stern.  I had tasted the world and its pain enough to recognize what a glorious gift salvation is and marveled at the new understanding of the kind of relationship God desired with me (us).  I have never looked back.  I want to be an instrument in bringing God’s dreams for me and others to reality – on earth as it is in Heaven. 

PRAYER

Holy God, Creator, Redeemer, Advocate, All-Powerful Lord, I want to enter into your dreams for me and help others to do the same.  By Your Holy Spirit, let me be one “whose eyes see clearly, …one who hears the words of God, who sees a vision from the Almighty, who bows down with eyes wide open” so I may walk only in Your ways, serve faithfully and continuously bring joy to Your heart.  Truly may we see it be on earth as it is in Heaven. In Jesus’ name, make it so.