Tag: mercy

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Loving Enough

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Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. Proverbs 3:5

Hello Friends!  I haven’t written for the blog in over a year and have missed hearing from you with your comments and insights!  Many of you know that this year has been one of many highs and lows.  In April, I commenced being a full time caregiver to my father, diagnosed the July previous with advanced bladder cancer.  It was a blessing filled with trials, sadness and laughter.  In September, my eldest daughter and I sat by his bedside watching him take his last breath.

As many of you have experienced yourself, being a caregiver not only takes up your physical time but also your mental and emotional time.  The thought of researching and writing was a dim, distant light this year.  Recently, that light has burned brighter with each passing day.  My prayers have included this burning desire.  I just today began gathering materials for a possible study in Romans.  I don’t know where it will lead but I know being in His Word is always fruitful.

Holy Spirit Nudges

As always happens when I start pondering writing with more fervor, the Holy Spirit nudges me and reveals truths to me.  Today, in fact just a few moments ago, was no different.

In my Truth for Life devotional (Alistair Begg), I was challenged like King David, to repent and humble myself.  To stop covering lies and let God cover them for me.  I wrote that I don’t love God as I should, nearly enough.  It was a hard truth to write but one that has weighed on my mind for some time.

And because God loves a great illustration to bring His point home, as I was sitting indisposed in my bathroom, both my dogs came up to check on my progress.  I say “both” because my dad’s dog now lives with us.  A dog whose fur is the exact color of my now deceased mother’s hair.  A dog who has lived most of his life in an unhappy home, full of strife and anger.  

As both came to nuzzle against my knees, I begrudgingly petted Ben – my dad’s dog.  Yet when my dog Tucker put his cold, wet nose on my skin I leaned in to snuggle with the big lump.  Tucker wandered off and little Ben laid close to my feet.  And I felt that Holy Spirit nudge on my heart.

You see, my allergies have gotten terrible with a second dog.  And after just one day of my new carpet Ben peed on it in two places.  He’s kind of neurotic and yelps at the slightest movement.  He follows me around breathing heavily and anxiously wherever I go.  He wanders off when we are at the beach as though he’s forgotten what I look and sound like.  His bark is sharp and annoying.  He’s underfoot and over needy.  

And I don’t love him like I should.  Like he needs.

Loving At Arms-Length

Ben is cute as a button.  But I don’t want to love him.  I don’t want to give myself fully over to him.  He represents a terrible past that I just want left behind.

In that moment in the bathroom, I realized what it means that I don’t love God the way I should.  I stand at arms-length from Him.  Because if I were to truly love Him, I would have to give all of myself to Him.  I would have to accept the good things and the bad things that come my way through His hands.  I would have to give up my fears, my prejudices, my preferences.  I would have to go “all in.”

While God may not sneak over to a corner and pee on my new carpet, He might bring people (or dogs) into my life that will.  People who need mercy, forgiveness and love.  I know this because He put me, a broken, sinful person, into other believers’ lives.  And I pray for their mercy, love and forgiveness towards me.

More Jesus

Ben, sweet goofy Ben, needs a lot of love and patience.  I need a lot more Zyrtec.  More than that, I need a lot more Jesus.  I need to love Jesus a lot more than I do.  So, I prayed for forgiveness today that I don’t love enough the God who sacrificed His Son for me.  Who has forgiven my yelping and my anxiety.  For making a mess on beautiful things.  

While I know the coming year will be full of unbelievers doing terrible things, I also know that God will be at work.  He will be in the tears and the laughter.  His glory will be available for anyone to see.  And I want to be sure to see and love Him at all times, in all places and in all circumstances.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Ben and Tucker

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It’s Not You, It’s Him

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Philippians 1:6  “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

In a survey done a few years ago about what Christians believe, more than half (55%) agree that “everyone sins a little, but most people are good by nature.”  I have to assume that when people answer questions like this, they’re thinking specifically about themselves and people they love.  Because friend, if you believe this you haven’t poked your head outside in a while, like a long, long while.  You haven’t been to a kid’s sports event.  Apparently, you were asleep during the great toilet paper crisis of 2019.  That’s just the small stuff.  If you really want to know how good we humans are, read up on your national and international news.  War, rampant fraud, poverty, murders, rapes, greed – getting the true picture of all that goodness?

Christians who believe they are basically good then must erase the need for Jesus.  I suppose this error still works for that 55% since the survey also found that almost half (44%) say that Jesus was a great teacher, but he was not God.  Thus, we don’t need anyone to come and save us from our sins, right?  We don’t need anyone to clean us up, clothe us in majesty so we can stand righteously before the One True God.

That definitely wasn’t the prophet Isaiah when He was brought before God.  Isaiah 6:5 shows us his situation — “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.”

Isaiah, when brought before God, saw how unworthy he truly was when compared to our Holy and Majestic God.  My friends, it’s not until we realize we are just as unclean can the clean-up truly begin.

When we do, so many of us start working really, really hard at getting “cleaned up.”  We clean and we clean.  And like Lady Macbeth we cry out, ““Here’s yet a spot,” she cries, desperately rubbing. “Here’s the small drop of blood still.””  Her sin caused such guilt and shame she sleepwalks constantly washing her hands. 

Oh, we may fool ourselves into thinking how much better we are for having gone (or thought about going) to church a few times, or even regularly.  In fact, our piousness may ooze out of our pores.  We give to the right causes (just enough not to hurt) and are righteously offended by other’s not-so-godly behavior.  We volunteer (or at least we want to) and we wear our symbols of our faith.  But still that spot won’t come out.

“Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? .... But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” 1 Corinthians 6:9-11

If you recall my first post, “The Coat of the Holy Spirit” I wrote about three phases of sanctification:

  1. You were sanctified (Justification)
  2. You are being sanctified (Sanctification or Made Holy)
  3. You will be sanctified (Glorification)

Of these, which are you to keep scrubbing away to get those spots out?  This is, of course, a trick question. It’s all Him, not you. All He asks is for you to listen, trust and obey His Word.

So how have we been sanctified?  By the sacrificial blood of Jesus Christ.  He chose you before time began.  Only the blood of Christ satisfies the requirement God has to give the guilty mercy and grace.  Remember, we are ALL sinners.  We all deserve death and eternal separation from the Most Holy God.  The gift of Christ was given freely because “God so loved the world…” John 3:16.

“But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because God chose you as first fruits to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth.” 2 Thessalonians 2:13  

You are being sanctified right now, even by reading this post!  You are gaining wisdom (I hope), which was given by Christ to the disciples — to generations since, to me, pastors, teachers, fellow believers — imparted to you!  The Holy Spirit, imputed to you by Christ, is living inside you opening your heart, your mind, your eyes and ears to God’s Word and promises.  

“In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade.” 1 Peter 1:3

Lastly, you will be sanctified when we see Christ again and rise from the dead, fully healed, fully restored as God has planned since creation.  How beautiful is that?  A gift from our Creator to those who simply believe.

So, who is responsible for making us holy?  The short answer is always Jesus.  When we love Him, we desperately want to obey Him, to please Him with our love. 

Thank you, LORD, for doing the work for us.  For not having us make endless, pointless sacrifices to try and wash the spots off our souls.  For being the only True God who loves us so much that He died for us.  No other man-made gods have done the same.  That is love.  And for that we can be eternally grateful.  Amen

And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. 2 Corinthians 3:18

This week’s question: Do you struggle with the word “obedience?”  Why do you think God calls us to obedience to Him?

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Day 29 Good Day

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Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. James 1:1-5
“The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 the Lordturn his face toward you and give you peace.”’ Numbers 6:24-26

I’ve heard a famous Christian teacher tell audiences this profound truth: “It’s one thing to see a miserable sinner but a miserable Christian is a tragic thing.”  While we all, believers and non-believers, have heartbreaking or difficult events in our lives, we have to acknowledge that the majority of our lives run from fun and exciting to dull and average.  Yet throughout it all Jesus followers should emulate the apostle Paul and be always searching and living gratefully for God’s ever presence in our lives.

This truth really hit home for me when I read Corrie Ten Boom’s famous book, “The Hiding Place.”  Her sister Betsie could find joy in God’s provision even in the darkest moments of a Nazi concentration camp.  Corrie, more of a like-mind with me, would roll her eyes when her sister would make joyous declarations such as, “Give thanks in all circumstances.  It doesn’t say ‘in pleasant circumstances.’  Fleas are part of this place where God has put us.”

As lights of the Lord reflecting out God’s love and goodness to the world, we need to be especially mindful of our outward attitude and appearance when events go awry in our lives.  Showing the world who we trust and who is working for our good. And when events turn to joy we need to give it all up to God in His bountiful mercy and glory.

I first heard this song about having a good day when I was visiting and caring for my two-year old grandson.  My daughter had shared with me Owen’s Spotify playlist so we could listen to his pre-school songs in the car.  You know, fun stuff like “icky sticky bubble gum” and the “wheels on the bus” played on repeat.  When this bright and joyous song came on in the car he exclaimed, “Mommy’s song!”  We sang along with vigor.

I asked my daughter about it later that day.  She explained they play this song every morning on their way to work and daycare to set the tone for the day.  To remember that with God in our lives it can always be a good day.  Because while the Lord has blessed us with breath and we acknowledge that the creator of the universe knows our very name, we can have a great day in every single way.  

Friend, I once thought this view of life was blind to the realities of the world.  Until the scales were taken off my eyes and the truth was revealed.  Emmanuel, God with Us, shines His beautiful light on us in all circumstances.  So play it loud and sing it like ya mean it. Because today can and will be a good day.

Click here to listen to today’s song: Good Day 

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Day 20 Nothing Left To Prove

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Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. John 21: 25
The Lord is gracious and merciful,
    slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
9 The Lord is good to all,
    and his mercy is over all that he has made. Psalm 145: 8-9

If the New Testament verse sounds familiar today it’s because John 20 (yesterday) says something similar about the purpose of the Book of John – so people will believe.  Today’s verse is slightly different.  I love how the apostle John makes a point to say the number of miracles was so numerous the world couldn’t contain all the books written.  Imagine how many books there are in the world!  

Jesus kept proving over and over to the people He encountered and those that heard of Him that there was something different about this man.  As modern day believers we need to grasp that the books in the Bible are just a glimpse of the God of the Universe.  They are a taste to show us a few of the million reasons why we should believe and trust in Him.

The Bible is book about one being – God in three persons.  Over centuries, He had prophets, kings, and disciples write the biography of Him.  There is no other religion that follows a god who wants the people to know them like the God of Abraham, Moses and Isaac.  No other god who refuses to let us go.  Who sent, in effect, himself to be humbled and suffer and die for His people.

His mercy to all people is revealed as bountiful.  He is giving us plenty of time to turn to Him and acknowledge all the miracles He has performed in the past and even today.  So that we can live in love with Him for all eternity.  How many more reasons do you still need to trust in Him?

Click here to listen to today’s song: Nothing Left To Prove

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Day 6 All of My Days

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Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God.  Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered.  Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. Luke 12:6-7
Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground. Psalm 143:10

According to a University of California Irvine study, it takes an average of 23 minutes after having been distracted to get back to the task at hand.  Now imagine if that “task at hand” was to stay on the narrow path laid out by Jesus in His famous Sermon on the Mount – “For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life.”  Keeping our mind and body focused on the goodness and mercy of God.  On how much He loves us.  And responding to Him throughout our day in obedience and gratefulness.  

There’s never a moment, not ever, that the Lord of all creation has forgotten you.  He knows every single thing about you.  He has plans and blessings for you; not just for your earthly days but for all eternity.  

How often do we, however, forget about God?  We aren’t desperate for Him.  We don’t think to ask Him to help us.  Worse yet, we don’t think He will help us.  We get distracted by all the flashing billboards along that narrow path luring us to take the off ramps and spend a little time (or a lot) seeking pleasure or life that fits in so nicely with the rest of the world.  Every off ramp leading us further away from His loving arms.

Each time a friend, a pastor, a word here or there, or the Holy Spirit nudges us back to the path you have to wonder, how much time did we waste that could’ve been spent doing His will.  Serving someone He wanted us to bless?  Or even strengthening us for future trials?  

23 minutes each time we are distracted.  Add up all those times we chose not to go to church, not read our Bibles, not go to Bible study, not choose the narrow path.  I know for me that adds up to a lot of days.  Thank goodness for His free flowing mercy!  

I spent a lot of years being distracted by the world.  But I am forgiven.  I’ve joined up with the narrow path.  We need to keep our face lifted to the God who loves us all of the rest of our days.  Won’t you join me?

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Enjoying Life With Gladness

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At this point in your life, you’ve probably been asked one or both of these questions:

  1. If you were told you were to die tomorrow, what would you do?
  2. If the world were to end tomorrow, what would you do tonight?

They are two different scenarios.  The first sees life moving forward for the rest of the world without you in it.  The second is a complete destruction of all we know.  For me, however, the answers are both the same.  I would gather my family and others that I love.  We would spend time in prayer asking God to sustain us through the trial so that we would see His face at our end.  I would want us to gather in laughter, remembering all the wonderful times God has provided us throughout our time together.  We would eat a scrumptious meal, most likely prepared by my husband, enjoy good wine, and pray some more.

Here’s the thing, we should always assume these two questions are a distinct possibility.  That is, if we truly believe the message of the Bible.  First, we will all die, just as we have seen in earlier chapters of Ecclesiastes.  It’s not if but when.  For every single one of us.  Secondly, if it’s not the rapture coming upon us then we should be honest that the world is now filled with weapons that could easily kill us all.  Does this mean we live every day in fear of these two truths?  No, but truth can and should set us free to live in reality.

“All share a common destiny—the righteous and the wicked, the good and the bad, the clean and the unclean, those who offer sacrifices and those who do not.” Ecclesiastes 9:2

That “common destiny” is the evil we call death.  So, what do we do with this truth?  We live each day serving the one true God and live in gladness.

“Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart, for God has already approved what you do.8Always be clothed in white, and always anoint your head with oil.” Ecclesiastes 9:7-8

Gladness is not hedonism.  Gladness is not escapism.  Gladness isn’t folly.  You could easily imagine, in fact movies and books have taken the “if the end were tomorrow what would we do” topic and shown us the possibilities the unrighteous might take.  Some might go on drug, alcohol or sexual benders.  Getting blotto to ease their fears or pain.  The age-old “eat and drink because tomorrow we might die” path toward annihilation.  It’s a twisting of the message found throughout Ecclesiastes.  Other might go on a theft and destruction rampage.  That thinking shines the light on people who live without wisdom or God.

Why shouldn’t we think this way?  I mean your life is about to end, right?  Let’s remember the times when Moses and Abraham negotiated with God to save their people.   

“Then Abraham approached him and said: “Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it? Far be it from you to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?” The Lord said, “If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”  Genesis 18:23-26
“ But Moses implored the Lord his God and said, “O Lord, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? 12 Why should the Egyptians say, ‘With evil intent did he bring them out, to kill them in the mountains and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from your burning anger and relent from this disaster against your people.” Exodus 32:11-12

So here you are, you’ve committed every sin possible against man and God the night before you are to die and suddenly a righteous person pleads for mercy on the world’s behalf.  The ungodly will surely find themselves on the wrong side of that historical moment.  Or maybe that person is praying for your healing because you have been personally given that death sentence.  Will God abide or will He see justice done?  

That’s what the “fear of God” is about.  Knowing there is a presence higher than us who will one day serve justice to all.  Do we love God and therefore want to live our lives in service to Him?  Or do we grieve the Holy Spirit daily, hourly even, and turn our backs on Him?

“For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing; they have no further reward, and even their name is forgotten. 6Their love, their hate and their jealousy have long since vanished; never again will they have a part in anything that happens under the sun.” Ecclesiastes 9:5-6

Until the day we actually die we still have time.  Time to submit ourselves over to the Lord Most High.  Time to reconcile with loved ones.  Time to give out mercy and forgiveness in abundance.  Time to enjoy our lives with gladness.  Because once your time is up, the dead have no such chances.

Joy is the serious business of heaven.”  

C.S. Lewis, Letters to Malcom

Rejoicing our lives in gladness means we make the most of every moment.  We make as many everyday moments special.  Because they are special.  That moment right now, you will never have back.  The moments pass by so quickly in our short lives.  Do you want to live them in bitterness and anger?  In the fog of folly and hedonism?  Or in joyfulness and with endurance?  

I saw a great example of taking everyday moments and making them full of gladness.  Once a month a mom of four young children creates “Fancy Dinner Night.”  The children all dress in their finest clothing.  She makes picture menus of the meal she has planned.  There’s candles and cloth napkins and the fancy china.  She plays the role of waitress and hands out the menus as though she is serving clients at a 5 star Michelin restaurant.  Even the toddler has a picture menu from which to choose his meal.  She is training them not only to enjoy an everyday moment but how to act with character at mealtimes.  It was so sweet and beautiful!

Console yourself, dear Battos.  Things may be better tomorrow.  While there’s life, there’s hope.  Only the dead have none.”  

Greek Poet Theokritos

There is always hope for tomorrow; a tomorrow filled with gladness.  Why? Because we have the life and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  He suffered the most gruesome of deaths to take on our sins.  He sacrificed not only His human body but His heavenly one when he came to earth to live among us.  He showed us what the citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven will look like – ones who fully rely on God, they forgive and are forgiven, they put others ahead of themselves, they mourn over their sin.  And when He was resurrected, He proved that those Kingdom Citizens will also be raised from the dead and be given yet another new life.  What amazing hope we have for our eternal lives after this short time here on earth.

When we live in gladness and joy, we seek to serve others in His Holy Name.  We love others well in His name.  We take every moment, even in the trials and tribulations, and thank Him for providing for us, for healing us, and being our guiding light.  So why oh, why would we want to miss out on that hope?  Why would we not want to share that hope with those around us who choose daily leaning toward something less?

It’s not by searching for special things that we find joy, but by making the everyday things special.” 

Warren Wiersbe

Friends, our time here is truly short so consider well your answers to the first two questions I presented.  Because eternity is forever.  A forever spent in the presence of the glory of God or of the pain of hell.

"So I reflected on all this and concluded that the righteous and the wise and what they do are in God’s hands, but no one knows whether love or hate awaits them.” Ecclesiastes 9:1 

King Solomon eventually, in his study of the meaningless life, discovers that we do, in fact, know what awaits us.  If we take the narrow path set before us by Jesus we are greeted with unmeasurable love.  Our knowledge of that truth should give us the endurance to live each day in gladness.  And to spread that truth to so many others.

Are you the type that tells your family and friends that your best china is sitting locked away in some dusty cupboard?  “It’s for special times.”  And those times never seem to come?  Break out that china, the linen napkins, the candles, even if it’s just you enjoying it or grab a few neighbors you’ve always wanted to meet.  Make your everyday special in some way and rejoice with gladness!

You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.”

C.S. Lewis
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Enjoying the “Enough” Life Part Two

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Did you miss part one of Enjoying the Enough Life? Click here!

Enjoyment without God is merely entertainment.  

Warren Wiersbe

No one on this great blue planet is without sin.  Without sinful desires and thoughts.  Without sinful emotions.  So, if we seek contentment, or unconditional wholeness solely from within what do we find?  Our sinful selves just like I did when I embarked on my happiness journey a few years ago.  And we turn back to the unfulfilling emotion of fleeting happiness.

What guides a person to being truly joy-filled or content in every situation? How do we achieve that “unconditional wholeness” researcher Daniel Cordaro mentioned after visiting that Himalayan tribe?  It requires something outside us to guide us through the ups and downs, the trials and tribulations of life.  It’s easy to enjoy a new car.  But what about when it breaks down?  It takes no effort to enjoy the birthday party at the park you so expertly planned but what happens when it rains?  Does your happiness bucket completely empty and you turn into Attila the Hun, raging at others?  Or you weep and sulk feeling the cosmos hates you?

"Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. 12I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. 13I can do all things through him who strengthens me."  Philippians 4: 11-13

That strength to endure a peasant life that Tolstoy witnessed, a life of labor and toil, a life of disappointments and tragedy, and yes, even a life full of wealth comes only from God.  (Ecc 5:19 & 6:2) Through the Holy Spirit who comes to dwell in us when we say, “Yes!” to Jesus as our Lord and Savior.  It’s the fountain from which we draw on every single moment of every day to guide us and strengthen us.  Because my friends, you cannot find wholeness without Him.

Deep-seated in the American mind, for example, is the disastrous idea that we should pursue happiness. But what is happiness? And what are the realities through which one could achieve it? And how, practically speaking, does one pursue happiness? One might pursue happiness on the carpe diem principle. But that can be understood in many ways. It could endorse a sensuality of the present moment or endorse devoting the present moment to improvement of one’s character, to serving others, or to serving God. Usually in our times, however, it is some form of sensuality. Our choice between these options will have profound implications for our efforts to become a genuinely good person and to live harmoniously with reality, with how things really are.

Dallas Willard

My Bible study ladies are currently studying Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount by Jen Wilkins.  In the first week we read and discovered the messages behind the first 12 verses, also known as the Beatitudes.  Jesus’ goal in this sermon was to re-define for the disciples what not only the Kingdom of Heaven looks like but what its citizens look like.  The first four beatitudes describe the character of its citizens:

  1. We Are Poor in Spirit: accepting we are weak and sinful in need of a strength outside ourselves
  2. We Are Mourners: we recognize our sinfulness and weep over it daily.  Asking God for forgiveness for each time we act, speak or think (even feel) in opposition to God’s will for us.
  3. We Are Meek: in modeling Jesus’ submission to the Father in going to the cross for humanity’s sins and therefore suffering a terrible death, we too seek humility and submission to God. 
  4. We Are Hungry and Thirsty: not for earthly glory, praise and wealth but for our hearts and minds to be daily cleansed.  We constantly seek His will for our life so that we can glorify Him.  We cast off our old selves and thirst for the new bodies and New Eden to come.

These citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven?  They will be abundant with fruit and content in all situations.  The fruits of love, joy, peace, goodness, kindness, patience, self-control and faithfulness can be seen by all around them.  They spread that fruit and His Word throughout our families, communities and the world.  We achieve the ultimate peace in the face of persecution.  Peace with God.  Our friction between us is gone.  We are made whole because He breathes the Holy Spirit into us, making us one with Him.

"And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one… 22 The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, 23I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me." John 17: 11 & 22-23

One with the Creator of all things seen and unseen – Elohim, Jehovah.  What more could a tiny, sinful human want for all eternity?  All other pales in comparison!  No self-help book without God can help you achieve such gloriously contented status. King Solomon discovered that our sinful toil without God is usually for our own gain and our appetite is never satisfied on our own (Ecc 6:7).

"The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”
    They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds;
    there is none who does good." Psalm 14:1-2

I once saw an interaction with a non-believer and a street preacher.  The young, unbelieving woman stated, “How can you say I won’t go to heaven (which as a non-believer why would she care?) when I’m a good person.  I’m better than most Christians.  I don’t lie, cheat or steal.”  Yet, as Jesus reminds us further in the Sermon on the Mount if you even let your heart yearn to do any of those things you are guilty.  And I would bet all that I have she has, in fact, actually lied.  She has probably stolen something – maybe someone’s dignity by gossiping about them.  And cheating?  She might have thought that little deed or breaking some municipal law wasn’t that “big of a deal” but it’s still cheating.  She is at odds with God, broken and not whole.

It is only through the gift of reconciliation for our sins, no matter their size, of which Jesus Christ paid for, that we can come upright before the God of the Universe.  Where we receive mercy and forgiveness so we don’t have to live in shame and hurt, grasping for pleasures to dull our pain.  No, instead He brushes us off and clothes us in white garments.  He brings us into His family and calls us His sons and daughters.  He pours out His love and gives a piece of Him to live in us so we can have that “unconditional wholeness.” He gifts us with “enough” each day so that we may be satisfied.

"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."  James 1:2-4

We are made perfect and complete, meaning made whole, when we face life’s trials and rely on the God who gives us strength and hope.  We are honed and shaped into the image of the only being that walked this earth who was sinless and fully content — Jesus.

Friend, if you want to get off the roller coaster of seeking “happiness” and then being brought low by trials, look to our All Mighty God and His Son.  He is our provider, our protector, our armor, our joy, our hope.  He has never broken a promise and He never will.  He promises you a new life at the end of the rainbow – not a pot of gold.  And with that promise and hope we can live a contented, meaningful life of “enough” in a world of chaos.

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Enjoy Being Set Apart Part Two

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Missed part one? Go to emboldened.net/2024/03/25/enjoying-being-set-apart/

I recently was listening to a teaching on the Good Samaritan.  It’s such a popular and well-known parable that it’s become an axiom. In some cases, even the title of laws. In many states in the United States, “good samaritans” are protected from lawsuits if they’ve provided physical aid but an additional injury may have occurred as a result of that help (ie a person giving CPR fractures a person’s rib). For many believers and non-believers this story represents “being nice” or acting kindly to others. Jesus, however, throughout His time on earth spoke basically about only two things: God and His Kingdom.  So, it’s important, however familiar we may be with the parable, to know why the story was told.  It starts with this interaction:

"On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”“What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?” He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ "Luke 10:25-27

Now let’s look at what was happening.  This lawyer was testing Jesus.  Maybe he wanted Jesus to say, “Follow me.”  This would have been heretical for the Jew.  Instead, Jesus points him back to God’s Word.  Notice the man fully counts himself a wonderful, loving person in his own eyes.  He believes he uniquely and fully loves God with all his heart, mind and soul.  There’s apparently no chance he has failed at this overwhelming task. Instead, he wants to parse out the requirements by then asking Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?”  

 “‘Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly….“‘When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God." Leviticus 19: 17 & 33-34

The Old Testament religious Jewish leaders had come to define (erroneously) their “neighbors” as those in their own circle.  People exactly like them.  That allowed them to hate anyone else — other Jews who they deemed unworthy such as tax collectors and then gentiles. They turned “love your neighbor as yourself” into “love your neighbor and hate your enemies.”

Some might say they were justified. I mean God did call on them to eliminate entire groups of people. But biblical scholars will clarify those particular groups actively hated God and sinned in abominable ways against Him. Murderous cultures, child sacrifices, rampant sexual immorality, pillaging and raping innocent people year after year after year. God also had warned them for hundreds of years. They all knew of the God of Abraham and Jacob — as witnessed by the likes of Rahab from Jericho. (Joshua 2:9-13) So, when Israel was directed to take action it was God’s justice, not personal justice. Each man was directed throughout Deuteronomy and Leviticus to treat the foreigner as themselves. Personal vendettas were against the Law. And still the religious leaders contorted God’s Word.

Jesus upends their well-worn, twisted morality by exposing the lack of compassion by the “righteous” versus the godly love by an “outsider” or even enemy.  This parable wasn’t about acts of kindness, rather it highlights our sinful tendencies to divide and hate those on the other side of that divide.  That hatred and the distortion of God’s Word leads us in the opposite direction the Jewish lawyer wanted to go. It’s not heaven he will find with a dark heart. Jesus allows the lesson to sink in; the lesson of reminding believers that He sets us apart from the world to do something unthinkable and difficult.  To love others and show mercy as God loves us. 

“Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”  Luke 10:36-37

Friend, in God’s world, the world of eternal life, envy, hatred, greed, and jealousy, have no place.  It didn’t during King Solomon’s time seen in Ecclesiastes 4 and it doesn’t now. True justice for the oppressed and downtrodden is not equity or retroactive punishment or even self-flagellation.  It’s love.  It’s the kind of love that looks different than the world.  It says, “Let me help you out of sin.”  It gives all that it can and doesn’t hoard the blessings we’ve been given.  It looks hatred in the eye and says, “God loves you too.”  It stops and, without care for itself, gives compassion.  It protects the weak and helpless.  It overflows with mercy and forgiveness. It’s a love that hates only one thing — the hatred of God — yet still prays for that person. It helps us see we are all needy sinners who disobey the Lord regularly and we thank God He abounds in mercy.

 If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right.  But if you show favoritism,you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers.  For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it....Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom,  because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.  James 2: 8-13

We are all, no matter our worldly status, guilty of not loving enough.  Not forgiving enough.  Not being people of grace.  It’s not just to the faceless who we think have wrong us but to those in our church, in our home, in our neighborhood.  It is our constant striving for the one and only thing that makes life meaningful that will bring us eternal life – our joyful obedience to the God who loves us.

When we seek personal justice or vengeance let’s remember the Apostle Paul. Remember the evil that lived in him and the terrible acts he oversaw. Then look to your Bible and see not only God’s mercy but the mercy and forgiveness he was granted by his fellow Christian Jews and gentiles. There is always hope in God’s plan for someone (like us) to turn their meaningless, oppressive life into something oh so meaningful.

When I was researching Ecclesiastes 4, I was led to reflect on my experience with Tom. You remember him? The one who hated women.  The Holy Spirit convicted me.  I have long, quietly harbored ill-will toward him.  For making my life difficult during a stressful time.  For hating an entire “type” of people.  Suddenly I realized I was just as guilty.  I was not loving my enemy, my oppressor.  That realization brought me to tears of joy.  Knowing our good God is constantly working in our hearts to prune us in ways we didn’t realize needed work.  That act, alone, made that day so meaningful.

Ask Him today to reveal any hidden sins, especially of hatred, envy, oppression, vengeance, and jealousy.  Then thank Him for the revelation and mercy.  Enjoy the moment where you have been set free once again.

For more on Pastor John MacArthur’s sermon concerning the dangers and false teaching in our churches on social justice, go to https://www.gty.org/library/articles/45SJ

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Treasures of God

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"So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them." Genesis 1:27

Hello Friends! I’m currently working on my next series based on the book of Ecclesiastes. The idea was born of my word of the year, Enjoy. Enjoying every moment by seeking the Lord in every circumstance, whether good times or times of trial. 

In the meantime, I’ve joined a church Bible study group which will focus on the names of God. And as usual, the Lord is intertwining all my various times of study and prayer. The first name we looked at was Elohim, God the Creator of all things seen and unseen. In my longtime Bible study group we are digging deep into how our sins block spiritual revival. And lastly, in my devotional I’m learning how to grow in wisdom. Putting all these together I was struck with the concept that I need to remember who I belong to, who I was created by, and what my purpose is here on this earth. When I confess that I’m not in charge, God is, and when I remember that I was created in the image of God to do His will and give Him all glory, honor and power, it opens me up to spiritual revival.

Friend, you are a beloved son or daughter of God. You were created by Him through your earthly family. And even if that family has failed you we need to remember we are loved so immensely. None of us were created to go about our lives willy nilly placing our hopes and dreams in the idols of this world. When we realize that our sole purpose is to honor God the Creator, God the Sovereign Lord, we re-align our minds and hearts with the Holy Spirit.

I want to encourage you to sit in prayer during the next few days and ask God to reveal any roadblocks you have put up for receiving and surrendering to Him fully. Ask Him to help you remember who you belong to. Ask Him for a revival in your heart. Ask Him to make His will be done in your life. 

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened." Matthew 7:7-8

One of the women in my church study group is a poet. She shared her amazing poem yesterday about being His beloved children. She gave me permission to share it with all of you. Enjoy.

Treasures of God’s Heart

By Jill Becker



I know I’m Your child, Lord, but what does that mean?

What treasures await me that I have not seen?

Many You’ve shown me, so many I know,

Others I let slip from my thoughts long ago.

You tell me of great things that You want to do,

Yet at times I take paths that I’ve chosen, not You.



Lord, since I am but clay, and You’re the wise Potter,

How could it be that You made me Your daughter?

You could have formed me into what I deserve:

A warped and cracked pot not even worthy to serve.

But You set me before You, Your grace made me able,

To be part of Your family and feast at Your table.



You sent for me Jesus, my Savior and Brother,

Who demonstrated love for mankind like no other.

He gave us His life, all that was heavens to give,

Then He sent forth His Spirit, so within me He lives.

Great riches He left me, those fit for a Royal,

No longer a pauper left to struggle and toil.



Amazing to me is what You’ve given beyond measure,

And more awesome than all is that I bring You pleasure.

You tell me I’m precious, the love of Your life,

A jewel set in this dark world to sparkle with your Light.

Lord, I know all that’s needed is mine for the taking,

To care for this beloved child of your making.



So, I’ll open the treasure chest to see what’s inside,

It is filled with God’s Word so I’ll grow and abide.

There are gems of Your mercy, Your faithfulness and more,

My heart and my mind can’t contain what’s in store.

For when I asked what it means to be a Daughter of the King,

My Father answered in one word, “O child, EVERYTHING!”
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Your Sin Is Known

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Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper,
    but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy. Proverbs 28:13

Not too long ago I heard a pastor give this advice when praying, “Ask God to reveal your sins that may be hidden from you.”  Our sense of righteousness and pride can sometimes cloud over sins that only the Spirit can bring to full, bright light.  But then there are those other sins.  Those sins that we know we indulge.  We think we are keeping them secret.  The unforgiveness, or even hatred, we hold in our heart (because they deserve it!).  The hoarding of our treasures (because I need it!).  The partaking of bad behaviors (because I deserve it!).  

Charles Spurgeon once gave a powerful sermon on the folly of secret sins.  Here’s an excerpt:

“Pretender, thou art fair to look upon; thy conduct outwardly upright, amiable, liberal, generous and Christian; but thou dost indulge in some sin which the eye of man has not yet detected. Perhaps it is private drunkenness. Thou dost revile the drunkard when he staggers through the street; but thou canst thyself indulge in the same habit in private. It may be some other lust or vice; it is not for me just now to mention what it is. But, pretender, we say unto thee, thou art a fool to think of harbouring a secret sin; and thou art a fool for this one reason, that thy sin is not a secret sin; it is known, and shall one day be revealed; perhaps very soon. Thy sin is not a secret; the eye of God hath seen it;”

Friend, we fool ourselves if we think God doesn’t know what’s going on in your private life.  He doesn’t take days off or turn His face away even for a minute.  He knows your heart and your mind.  He knows if you’ve truly forgiven that person or not.  He sees what you are doing with your body, always.  He is like an x-ray into your heart.  To truly renounce that sin start with the help of the Spirit to give you strength to turn it over.  He will forgive you each time you struggle to rid yourself of the hold it has over you. 

Merciful God, shine a light on my sinful ways, both ones I know about and the ones that seem hidden from me.  I know you will love me with grace and mercy.  Amen