Adjusting Focus

Something I ate yesterday is not pleased with me, so I adjusted my plans for the day to accommodate the situation and came to my computer for a bit of encouragement. (And, because I can sit here and not feel like the whole day is being wasted because I don't have the energy to move around.)
Yesterday and today, Nancy Leigh DeMoss at Revive Our Hearts broadcast excerpts of a talk given by a young Canadian woman named Rachel Barkey. Rachel was a breast cancer survivor who has recently found that the cancer has returned with a vengeance. This time there is no cure.Her courage and candor are truly inspiring. Makes my tiny trial seem insignificant by comparison.

You can watch or listen to her complete talk here:
http://deathisnotdying.com/

Or read or listen to the excerpts here:

PART ONE:
http://www.reviveourhearts.com/radio/roh/today.php?pid=10243

PART TWO:
http://www.reviveourhearts.com/radio/roh/today.php?pid=10245


I promise it will be worth your time.

We Esteemed Him Not

"He is despised and rejected of men;

a man of sorrows,

and acquainted with grief:

and we hid as it were our faces from him;

he was despised,

and we esteemed him not."

Isaiah 53:3

I've been in this verse for 2 days now and that last line keeps playing through my mind today. "we esteemed Him not"

We, as a group and as individuals, did not value Him, the Son of God, who was born specifically to die as a payment for our (my) sins. Even after all that He went through- being despised and rejected, filled with sorrow (over my sins?), acquainted with grief- even after all of that, we hid our faces from Him, we turned away and did not value Him or hold Him in high regard.

Isaiah is speaking of a future time from the one in which he lives, to the time when Christ would actually walk on this earth and the reaction of the people of that time to Him. I find it interesting, though, that he is also describing perfectly the reaction of the people of our own day as well. As a society at large we still turn our faces away from Him and do not value Him or hold Him in high regard.

It is not too surprising that those who do not know the Lord would not value Him. The question is, do those who DO know Him, truly value Him? Do I? This is what has been haunting me today. Do I live in a way that demonstrates that I value Jesus and all that He has done for me? Do I really? How is this played out in my daily life? If I say that I am in relationship with Christ do my actions reflect that assertion?

I have a few close human relationships. In order to maintain them I must spend time with those people on a regualr basis. I must talk to them, sharing my experiences and my thoughts with them. I must also listen to them, sharing in their experiences and hearing their thoughts and opinions on things. I study them, learning the things that they like and don't like so that I can please them- giving them gifts that will bring them pleasure and steering clear of things that might hurt, offend, annoy or anger them. If I do something that wounds our relationship, I seek out their forgiveness and work to repair and restore the closeness that we had before. I think about them even when I am not with them and look forward to being with them again.

If I do these things with the humans in my life and if I value my relationship with Jesus, shouldn't I be doing these same kinds of things to build my relationship with Him?

Do I spend time with Him alone on a regular basis?

Do I talk to Him, sharing my life and my heart with Him?

Do I listen to Him?

Do I read His letters to me, learning more about Him and His likes and dislikes?

Do I strive to please Him?

Do I look for opportunities to give to Him?

Do I give regularly of my time, my talents and my resources?

Am I careful not to hurt, offend, annoy or anger Him?

If I do any of these things am I quick to seek His forgiveness and work to restore our closeness?

Do I think about Him even when I am not specifically spending time with Him?

Am I conscious of His presence with me every moment of every day?

Do I esteem Him, value Him and hold Him in high regard?

Religion

What is religion?

Dictionary.com defines religion as:

"a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe,

esp. when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies,

usually involving devotional and ritual observances,

and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs."

Most people in our society think of religion as a set of rules that are meant to destroy any joy, fun and happiness that life has to offer. They see God as a harsh, sometimes even cruel taskmaster whose mission is to make their lives miserable. And they see religion as the hard, sad and scary path to heaven.
Nothing could be further from the truth.

First of all, God is not just loving, He is love itself and all love comes from Him.

"Beloved, let us love one another:

for love is of God;

and every one that loves is born of God,

and knows God.

He that loves not knows not God;

for God is love."

I John 4:7-8

(emphasis mine)

Second, God defines religion in His Word:

"If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridles not his tongue,

but deceives his own heart, this man’s religion is vain.

Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this,

To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction,

and to keep himself unspotted from the world."

James 1:26-27

Our worship of God is to be more than mere words. To be sure, it is to include words, words of praise and thanks to our God and good, kind, encouraging words to and about our fellowman. But true worship must go far beyond words, it must include appropriate action. It must include action that would look to the needs of those who are in need of comfort, of wisdom, of care, of love. It must include restraining action that holds us back from doing or saying things that would not reflect the love and goodness of God. It must include restraining action that would keep us from doing or saying things that would bar us from the very presence of God.

Finally, religion was never intended to be a way to get to heaven. Jesus Himself told us the way to heaven, to everlasting life.

"Jesus saith unto him,

I am the way, the truth, and the life:

no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."

John 14:6

Notice that it does not say, one way, a way, or even one of many ways, but THE way. And then to emphasize the point He says there is no way around Him. No wiggle room there.

The practice of true religion can only be achieved by those who already have a home in heaven, who already have everlasting life. Because the practice of true religion can only be accomplished through the power of the Holy Spirit of God who lives in the hearts of all those who have accepted the sacrifice that Jesus made for them.

True religion is not about rules. It is about relationship. Our relationship with God the Father through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, His Son and our relationship with each other through the power of the Holy Spirit of God. It is within these relationships that we find the joy, happiness and even fun that we desire. But most of all we find peace and rest for our weary hearts. Because in these relationships we find home.

Hope

Psalm 71:14
But I will hope continually,
and will yet praise thee more and more.

Do we praise God more even as we are waiting because we know He will not let our hope be in vain OR do we wait until our hope has been fulfilled and then praise Him more and more? Not what SHOULD we do, but what do we actually do? Do we continue to hope even when there is no natural reason to do so? Does our hope continue day by day unabated or does our hope wax and wane with our feelings?
What is our hope based on in the first place? Our dreams? Our desires? God’s word? Something someone told us? What is our hope based on, what is its foundation? Is it worth the energy and time that we are investing in it?
Is it backed by scripture? Is it in agreement with scripture? When we look back with the long hindsight view of eternity, will it still be important then? Will what we are hoping for bring glory to God and please Him?

The Power of Love

"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
ROMANS 8:35-39

Who shall separate (like a divorce) us from the love (agape) of Christ?
(Who can remove us from the supernatural love of Christ? Who has the ability, power or authority to divide us, to rip us apart, to send us away from one another?)

shall tribulation, (intense pressure, oppression, anguish, trouble) [pressing down]
or distress, (extreme calamity, anguish) [squeezing on all sides]
or persecution, (suffering for Righteousness sake)
or famine, (intense hunger from prolonged lack of food) [pressing from within]
or nakedness, (lack of protective covering)
or peril, (danger- from all sources)
or sword? (specifically humanly applied danger, war)

As it is written,
For thy sake we are killed all the day long;
we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.

Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors (to gain a surpassing victory) through him that loved us.
(Our victory is not merely nominal, it is complete and overwhelming- and it is a gift from the One who loved us enough to give Himself for us.)

For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life,
(neither the life or death of the body or that of the soul and spirit- all death and all life is included in this)

nor angels,
(ALL angels, whether faithful servants of the Most High or whether disobedient fallen angels)

nor principalities,
(rulers of men, angels or demons, whether rulers or leaders of small groups or bands or
of large nations and armies.)

nor powers,
(power of individuals or nations, power of nature, power of self, power of wealth, power of armies, power of man-made inventions, super-natural power, group power)

nor things present, (things happening today, current events)
nor things to come, (future intentions or events, prophecies)

Nor height,
(whether natural, as a mountain, or man-made, as a tower or building, or beyond our reach, as the farthest area of outer space)

nor depth,
(as the depth of the sea, the deep thoughts of God or even the depth of poverty)

nor any other creature,
(ANYTHING that has been created by anyone, ever)

shall be able to separate us from the love of God,
(is capable, has sufficient power or resources, or authority)


which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
(Our safety rests completely in Jesus and the finished work of the cross. He alone has the power, the resources- His blood- and the authority to keep us connected to the Father for all eternity. It is not even our ability to hang on to Him, it is His ability to hang on to us.)

Savior vs Lord

Savior- one who saves another from danger or harm

Lord- One possessing great power and authority, owner


Is it enough to call Jesus my savior if I do not also call Him my Lord? If he has truly saved me from the horrible consequences of my sin, both in this life and the next, do I not owe Him my total allegiance? My sin condemned me to guilt and sorrow in this world and certain death in the world to come. He paid the price for my freedom in both. All He asks in return is my faithfulness and obedience. Is this really too high a price to pay?
But do I treat Him as Lord? Do I recognize that He truly has great power? Do my actions reveal that I believe this or do I worry that He won’t take care of my needs as He promised? Do I recognize His authority over my life? Do I obey Him immediately or do I argue and whine and put off doing what I know I should? Do I accept that He has purchased me with His own blood and that I belong to Him to do with as He pleases? Do I place His goals and plans for me ahead of my own desires? Do I trust Him to do what is best for me even when it doesn’t look like it to me?

When I stand before Him, will my actions have demonstrated that I have the right to call Him Lord?

Come out into the Deep

I find it very soothing to watch the ocean waves rush toward the shoreline and crash onto the sand. The swooshing sounds and the rythmic movement of the waves is both mesmerizing and relaxing. I've noticed that if you lift your eyes up beyond the shoreline, past the waves, that the water is smooth. The ocean is calm rather than roiling. All of the activity is near the beach. When whales or dolphins get too near the shore they become caught up in the wave action and end up on the beach as well. Sharks don't seem to have this problem. They can handle the turmoil without succombing to it.
People need to take a tip from the whales and dolphins. When we stay in the shallow, tumultuous waters of the shoreline of life we can get too caught up in the day to day difficulties and end up beached by the problems of life. When we take the plunge into the deeper waters of God's love and learn to trust Him with EVERY part of our lives, we dwell in a calm place that brings us peace.
The pull of the shore is great. It takes a mighty effort to break free of the forces that drive us to the shore and it takes continued effort to remain in the deep waters. It is in the deep waters that we learn to surrender our own will to the Lord. Where we learn that no matter how bad the situation, He is in control and will work all things out for good for His children. It is where we learn that when we are at the end of ourselves, when we have nothing else, when we have no one else, He is enough.
Come out into the deep waters.

Welcome

Welcome to Deep Waters. Don't forget to breathe.