Tag: Real Change

On Disreputable Characters

Matthew 9:9-13 MSG Passing along, Jesus saw a man at his work collecting taxes. His name was Matthew. Jesus said, “Come along with me.” Matthew stood up and followed him.

10-11 Later when Jesus was eating supper at Matthew’s house with his close followers, a lot of disreputable characters came and joined them. When the Pharisees saw him keeping this kind of company, they had a fit, and lit into Jesus’ followers. “What kind of example is this from your Teacher, acting cozy with crooks and misfits?”

12-13 Jesus, overhearing, shot back, “Who needs a doctor: the healthy or the sick? Go figure out what this Scripture means: ‘I’m after mercy, not religion.’ I’m here to invite outsiders, not coddle insiders.”

Matthew 23:13-14 Phillips “But alas for you, you scribes and Pharisees, play-actors that you are! You lock the door of the kingdom of Heaven in men’s faces; you will not go in yourselves neither will you allow those at the door to go inside.

Observation

Tax collectors, especially Jewish ones, were anathema and traitors to the Jews because they served the Romans by agreeing to extract (and profit from) exorbitant taxes imposed on their fellows.  Anyone who associated with a tax collector would be a “disreputable character” in the sight of both Pharisees and fishermen.  Jesus regularly engaged in this kind of shock therapy with His disciples to break down their strongholds of prejudice and judgment created by tradition and teaching of the religious leaders.

Jesus also purposely challenged the man-made rules of the Pharisees, but never broke Mosaic Law.  Jesus accused the Pharisees of being so obsessed with duty and form that they missed the heart of God – grace, mercy and redemption.  He accused them of misinterpreting God’s intended relationship with His creation.  In Matthew 23 Jesus called the Pharisees hypocrites who played the role of true spiritual men but were really only playacting rather than serving God with a pure heart.  Above He accused them of foolishly and jealously (and unnecessarily) guarding the door of Heaven to keep out disreputable characters and missing the blessing of entering in themselves. Jesus came to throw the doors open wide.

Impact on Me

So, I have to ask myself – who do I consider disreputable characters, traitors, unworthy of heaven?   Who do I mark as unredeemable, untouchable, crooks and misfits?  Where am I playing the role of a spiritual woman to look good when my actions don’t represent what is in my heart?  Where are the places in me that I don’t want Jesus to challenge and the Holy Spirit to touch?  Hard questions that must be answered if I want to avoid playing a role and start living a holy life.

When I was first saved, my husband and I had a charter sportfishing boat.  We spent many hours a day at the docks.  The docks harbor many people who lead a rough and raw life – most of us would label them disreputable characters.  On our way home one day I was thinking about (and judging negatively) a man on the docks who was coarse, hedonistic and disrespectful to women.  In that Pharisee moment, I saw him as filthy and unredeemable.  The Holy Spirit in His grace and mercy hit me with the baseball bat of His insight and I heard, “Yes, that is what your soul looked like before you received Jesus.”  I wept because I realized that I had so easily forgotten the undeserved and overwhelming grace and mercy I received from the God Who gave His only Son for me and for Whom all is possible.  This is why I need to ask myself again and again the questions above, allowing Jesus to examine my heart and the Holy Spirit to change me for the better.

Prayer

O Lord, God of the Impossible, Father of Mercy and Grace, how quickly I tend to judge other’s worth when I need to be judging my response to the grace and mercy I have received.  I want to be a Pharisee in diligence, in studying Your Word, but keep me from falling into the trap of thinking that You are performance-based and give more worth by my achievements.  Keep my heart soft toward the disreputable characters, the crooks and misfits that I might be an instrument of redemption in Your Hand.  May I be one hugging and welcoming those who enter Your gates.  Make it so, in Jesus’ name.

On Location, Location, Location

Ephesians 1:3-8 NIV All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. 4 Even before He made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in His eyes. 5 God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to Himself through Jesus Christ. This is what He wanted to do, and it gave Him great pleasure. 6 So we praise God for the glorious grace He has poured out on us who belong to His dear Son.  7 He is so rich in kindness and grace that He purchased our freedom with the blood of His Son and forgave our sins. 8 He has showered His kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.

Observation

Many of my relatives worked in real estate.  They always said it was better to buy a fixer upper in a good location than to buy a beautifully remodeled house in a rundown or troubled area.  The location ultimately controlled the value, not the quality, size or appearance of the house.  Money, skill and time invested wisely in the fixer upper in a good neighborhood would bring a good return.  However, those same things spent on the home in the undesirable area were probably not going to generate the desired return.

I can see the same principle at work in the verses above.  The premium location is in Christ, where we, as the fixer upper, gain value as we allow the Holy Spirit to remodel us to God’s standards.  We are made whole and holy by His love from foundation to roof top.  We are made free from fault and, as we allow, fully restored in Him by the Holy Spirit.

No matter what we invest in self-improvement, no matter what we accomplish, no matter how much wealth we gather to ourselves, outside of Christ we reside in a location that on its own merits will generate no positive eternal return on investment.  While we may look beautiful on the outside, the cracks in the foundation and all the other hidden faults remain.  However, when we are relocated into Jesus’ neighborhood and give Him freedom to fix us, He can find and repair all those hidden faults (false religion, deceptions, sins, habits) until we are completely new – “God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in His eyes.”

Impact on Me

When I came to Christ, I was a definite fixer upper.  I accepted that there was a God and went to church but did not understand that He wanted to be personally involved in my life.  I was probably considered a good person, but I, like us all, had many hidden faults and a few cracks in my foundation that needed fixing.  In the beginning, I confess that I was ashamed for Him to see some of my hidden faults but came to understand that He was not ashamed of me or anything He found in me.  He was there to set me right, to make me whole and holy in His love.  I learned through trial and error that He would do all that I allowed Him the freedom to do – evidence that His grace also came with increasing “wisdom and understanding.”

“God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to Himself through Jesus Christ. This is what He wanted to do, and it gave Him great pleasure.”  This is an astounding realization!  Not only did He begin to remodel me from bottom to top, but also to lift me up and move me into His own household, one I could never afford on my own.  I love these verses because they so reflect my joy and gratitude for the richness of His grace toward me in making me family, in giving His son so I could be His. 

“So we praise God for the glorious grace He has poured out on us who belong to His dear Son.  He is so rich in kindness and grace that He purchased our freedom with the blood of His Son and forgave our sins.  He has showered His kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.”

Prayer

Lord God, You are unbelievably gracious and merciful, loving and forgiving.  I do joyfully and gratefully praise and worship You, so rich in kindness and grace that You paid the price I could never pay so that I might be free, so that I might be redeemed and transformed through life in Christ.  You planned it all long before I was born and patiently drew me for 30 years before I repented for my sin and accepted all the grace and redemption You were offering.  Help me to give You freedom to remodel me so, in all I say or do, others will praise Your handiwork and give glory to You for all You have done.  May I be a home for all the family and even strangers to experience Your hospitality as You express it through me.  Make it so, in Jesus’ name.

On Handicaps

2 Corinthians 12:7-10 (MSG) Because of the extravagance of those revelations, and so I wouldn’t get a big head, I was given the gift of a handicap to keep me in constant touch with my limitations. Satan’s angel did his best to get me down; what he in fact did was push me to my knees. No danger then of walking around high and mighty! At first I didn’t think of it as a gift, and begged God to remove it. Three times I did that, and then he told me, “My grace is enough; it’s all you need.  My strength comes into its own in your weakness.”  Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ’s strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size—abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become.

Observation

Paul considers his “thorn in the flesh” to be a gift because it reminds him that no healing or miracle is done in his own strength.  He is reminding us all that no matter what we bring to God’s work (talent, ability, education or ??) or accomplish in His name, we need to humbly give all the praise to Him, recognizing that it all arises from what we allow Him to do and be in and through us.  Paul knows that God can give any power, authority, talent, wisdom, strength, ability, words and any other resource to any one at any time to accomplish His will and purpose.  We should not consider ourselves special because He chose to give us a few that impress people.  Look at the artisans who constructed the Temple – no one is humanly talented enough to beat that elaborate candlestick out of one lump of gold.  God must have had His hand in it. 

We see God in Scripture reminding us of Who He is (“the Lord High and Mighty) and who we are if we remain meek and humble, allowing Him to be our strength.  One of my go-to stories is always Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego thrown into the fiery furnace and coming out alive without smelling like smoke!   When I feel completely overwhelmed and insufficient, I am reminded the four lepers of 1 Kings 7, considered worthless by the city and yet the ones who brought salvation from desperate famine.   And then there is Jesus, Who drove sickness, disease and demons out with a word or a touch.

Paul is saying that his “gift of a handicap” rescues him from becoming prideful and accepting praise for God’s works.  Paul’s handicap is a constant reminder that when he allows God to be strong in his weakness, God comes in like a flood and accomplishes all He has planned.

Impact on Me

I am a person who does not like to be the center of attention.  Please don’t hand me the microphone!  This does not mean that I do not struggle at times with being unrecognized (which pride translates as unappreciated).   I have to burn calories to change the devil’s recording – “That was really bad!  No one thinks you are doing a good job!  You said what!?   You are hopeless!”  and so on.  I have to replace that recording with what Jesus says about me – “You are a child of God and a temple of the Holy Spirit.  I am with you and will never leave you.  I love and appreciate you and that will never change.  I have called you and will give you all you need to accomplish My will and purpose.”  

“I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ’s strength moving in on my weakness.”  Pride always exposes weaknesses to condemn and accuse, but Paul is telling me (and you) that God exposes weaknesses so, when I surrender, I can flow in His strength.  This is a new perspective for me.   I am being asked to ignore the judgment, criticism and culture of my world to accept and see my life, my thoughts, my doings from God’s perspective.   As with Paul, my handicaps are meant to expose those hidden pockets of pride, my weaknesses, my “high and mighty” thoughts so I can take my limitations in stride and let Jesus take over.

Prayer

Lord, I want to take my limitations in stride and with good cheer, as Paul did.  I want to be surrounded by others who understand and accept limitations as opportunities for You to be strong and mighty.  I want to trust You enough to wait until You are ready to do a thing, even if I am getting really nervous or anxious from what I see as urgent.  Give me the gift of always being aware of my limitations and how they can be an opportunity for You to be strong.  I want to live a life surrendered to You, dependent upon You, listening to You, guided by You, awash in You.  Draw me into the garden with You more and more.  I love You, Lord.  In Jesus’ Name, make it so.

On the Neighborhood Where God Lives

Leviticus 26:3a,11-13 MSG“If you live by my decrees and obediently keep my commandments, … 11-13 “I’ll set up my residence in your neighborhood; I won’t avoid or shun you; I’ll stroll through your streets. I’ll be your God; you’ll be my people. I am God, your personal God who rescued you from Egypt so that you would no longer be slaves to the Egyptians. I ripped off the harness of your slavery so that you can move about freely.

John 1:14 MSG  The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood.  We saw the glory with our own eyes, the one-of-a-kind glory, like Father, like Son, Generous inside and out, true from start to finish.

Revelation 21:3-5 MSG  I heard a voice thunder from the Throne: “Look! Look! God has moved into the neighborhood, making His home with men and women! They’re His people, He’s their God. He’ll wipe every tear from their eyes. Death is gone for good—tears gone, crying gone, pain gone—all the first order of things gone.” The Enthroned continued, “Look! I’m making everything new. Write it all down—each word dependable and accurate.”

Observation

It has been God’s intention from the beginning to dwell with His humans.  He intended to have a close personal relationship with us from the beginning.  He created the Garden of Eden as His perfect neighborhood to share with His creation.  He made one rule for Adam and Eve – allow God alone to determine what is good and what is evil.  But temptation came along and they bit.  There goes the neighborhood!

God did not give up.  He tried again to find a way to walk among us by making a covenant with His people.  Just obey me and I will pour out my blessings upon you, including dwelling among you.  Despite the miraculous deliverance from Egypt and walking on dry land through the Red Sea, His people kept taking back the right to determine good and evil – “doing what seemed right in their own eyes” over and over again.

Still God did not give up.  He sent Jesus, the Word made flesh, God Himself, to establish a new covenant.  This one would be unbreakable because it would be between God and the Man Jesus Christ (essentially, Himself).  This allows us to become a home in the neighborhood in which God dwells when we choose to accept the sacrifice of the Cross and dwell in Christ.  God is redeeming His original neighborhood one home, one person at a time. 

Impact on Me

I often wonder why God made us human and risked His relationship with us by giving us this free will.  He could have made us anything and surely something with a greater tendency to submission and obedience.  However, He made the choice to give us choices so that, when we did choose Him, when we did trust Him with determining good and evil, it would mean so much more. 

So, to become a completely remodeled, redeemed home in God’s neighborhood, I need to submit my rights, my choices, my obedience, to Him.  I need to put my life up as an offering, a sacrifice, embracing what He asks me to do as what is best for me, so He can do what will fulfill His will and purpose, what will benefit His plan for all humankind.  All He is asking me to do is allow my life, my culture, my choices on earth to be as His are in Heaven rather than adopting the culture native to this earth.   Just pass by the tree, Liz, and trust Me, trust Me.

“So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. (Romans 12:1-2 MSG)”

Prayer

Lord God, Creator of Heaven and Earth, Redeemer, Lover of my soul, give me wisdom, knowledge, understanding and the strength to choose well and grow in the culture of Heaven.  I pray that You by Your Holy Spirit will grab my hand when I reach out to betray You by doing what seems right in my own eyes rather than walking in the truth of what You say is good or evil.  May I be changed from the inside out to become a place of refuge and peace for those You are bringing out of darkness into Your marvelous light.  Make it so, in Jesus’ name.

On God’s Pattern for Good

Genesis 50:20 MSG  Don’t you see, you planned evil against me but God used those same plans for my good, as you see all around you right now—life for many people. 

Romans 8:26-28 Phillips 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.  28-30 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. 

Observation

God’s pattern for good is often a mystery for us.  I am sure that Joseph wasn’t feeling the goodness while he was being sold into slavery, then unjustly accused by Potiphar’s wife, and ending up in jail.  But, in hindsight, he could see why he was where he was and what God was doing in the not so good times of his life. He was handpicked and specifically placed for God’s purposes.

Paul is another who was specifically chosen by God and then molded and shaped to fulfill His will and purpose – in and out of jail, shipwrecked, beaten, hungry, homeless and more. His life could be the basis for a “sick, sober and sorry, broke, disgusted and sad” country song!  Paul endured it all for the sake of the Gospel, seeing each circumstance as an opportunity to share Jesus in a new place with a new group of people.

These two trusted and rested in wherever our good God would lead them and accepted whatever they must endure knowing that the ultimate destination was “life for many people.”  I wonder what I would have done in their stead – bemoan my circumstances or look around to see where Jesus was leading?

Impact on Me

I have found in my Christian walk that God is the best, the perfect Father, because He is more interested in:

  • building my character than providing my comfort,
  • becoming my hope and Comforter in unbearable or unspeakable times,
  • strengthening my endurance in faith rather than making my life easy,
  • walking alongside me at my pace to build a relationship that will withstand every flaming arrow the enemy may shoot,
  • patiently teaching me (again and again) how to trust His plan and timing rather than bustling about trying to bring about my own “perfect” plans to rectify or solve the issues I face.

In other words, He loves me enough to work for my good regardless of how I may view the process or the circumstances I must endure.  Faith becomes stronger when it is exercised and I tend to exercise it more when I know I don’t have the answer or have no control over changing my circumstances or just have no strength to go on or rise above them. 

I have to admit that most of the deep holes I have found myself in where of my own making – running ahead of God, pursuing my own solutions, or heading in a different direction that He was leading.  One thing I have always found is that He holds no grudge, never shames me with “I told you so!” or turns a deaf ear.  He goes with me into the morass, the darkness, the fire and, when I repent for my rebellion, arrogance, or other human failing, and call out to Him, He leads me out.  I find that He has been close by waiting for my call, praying for me to see and call out to Him. “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.”  What did I do to deserve such a Savior?

Prayer

Father, You are the perfect parent, One Who knows my heart and my intentions.  You respond with grace and forgiveness when I repent, never shaming me but always encouraging, comforting, and building me up when I turn to find You again.   Give me the wisdom to trust You, regardless of where You lead me and where You place me, so that I may give You joy in Your heart by responding according to Your Word and grace.   I want to be all that You dream for me to be, using all the talents, abilities, and wisdom that You have gifted to me in the ways You desire.  I ask it all in Jesus’ name.  Make it so.