Cliched Post(End of 2012, Welcome 2013)

The year 2012 was a big year for me. It began with a "simple" trip to Ethiopia, Africa, that turned out to be far from simple. It changed my life. It changed my perspective on living, on money, on possessions, and on God and Church and my relationship to God. It's influenced my college plans, and even my life plans.

I've learned to be patient this year.
I've learned faith.
I've learned the deep, unending love of God.
I've learned the key to victory.
I've learned that it's OK not to have my future all laid out in front of me.
I've learned that a clean slate doesn't have to start with a new year, month, or even week. God's loving kindness is new every morning.
I've learned that it's the little things that leave some of the biggest imprints on my memories and nostalgia.
I've learned God to be true, faithful, and amazing.
I've learned that it's not all about service, but about being with Jesus, abiding in Him and His love.
I've learned (at the same time) missions trips are a tremendous thing to think about. It changes you.


Jehovah is truly phenomenal. He provides for my needs, He provides for my wants. He gives me every single thing--little or big--that I need to be the Christian He wants and expects me to be. He gives me ways to escape temptations. He gives me avenues to use the gifts He's given me. He never gives up on me. He never stops loving me. He never leaves me.

It's amazing to think that in a span of 12 months that God can reveal Himself so much. It's amazing to think that I had no idea what kind of impact simply following where Christ lead would leave on my soul.



So, with this year coming to and end, I think it is fit:

But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. -- Phil 3:13-15

Good things happened in 2012; bad things happened in 2013. But nothing can be changed by focusing on what was done in the past. I need to strain forward to what lies ahead. New things are before me--greater things are still to be done in my life by God. Deeper aspects of God will be revealed to me this year.

May 2013 carry with it the grace of God, remembrance of redemption, and power of the Gospel.

Hope was Born.

Darkness encroached on all people. A darkness darker than a moonless night. A darkness darker than pure ebony. It slithered out in thick wisps, choking out every ray of light. All creation drew rapid, shallow breaths as the darkness created in their presence a voiding pain. Without words or speech, the darkness offered the very thing it snatched from its victims: hope. Darkness had now reached every man, woman, and even small child. No one was untainted with the smothering grasp of it.
Songs faded. Happiness--true happiness--became a fabled idea of ancient times. Hope died with each birth. The rocks shuddered in sorrow from the theft of life upon their rugged bodies. Stars shone in vain attempt to direct avenues to hope. The sun refused to shine light of exhilaration--only a blanketing swelter.
Centuries this darkness thickened. Rarely did light burst through--but always did darkness fight back. The hosts of light followed the lead of the Source, sprouting rays of hope, despite the parrying attacks of darkness. The Source always tried new ways to  dissipate the darkness, but darkness never gave up. Ambition to cloak the world in its presence drove it to push back the Source at every move. Kings fell; nations crumbled; people failed. Death conquered; fear reigned; hate prospered.

Until.

Nature hushed their noise. Wind stopped her scurrying. Earth stood still.
The stars pulsated with direction of hope. One star expelled exceptionally radiant rays of hope, drowning out all other lights--even the moon paled in comparison.
The hosts of the angels of light were aghast, confused, unsure.
The Source drew a breath of human life.
Silently, Wind brushed over his soft face, assuring her wonder.
Nature uttered soft voices in form of cattle and sheep, uncertain how to respond.
The exuberant star thrummed her directive rays of hope.

The hosts of the angels broke the nervous silence. They shone their light, bursting forth through the darkness. Songs bubbled out of their hearts. Hope danced all around them. Happiness swayed with the livening breeze of Wind. "Glory to God in the highest! And peace, good will toward men!"

The carpenter holding this new human life knew little of all that was going on. The virgin gazing in her Son's eyes knew little of the hope that sparkled in them. They couldn't see yet the radiance throbbing in their Son. But Darkness felt the pangs with each pulsation of light. Heaven felt the hope with each heartbeat of the child. God's heart leaped inside Him; hope welling inside Him. Hope for redemption of Man. Hope for reconciliation. Hope for reciprocated love. Hope for hope.

A soft cry came from the child. Not of fear of new surroundings. Not of fear of those holding him. But of victory. Of triumph. It was soft to the ears of his earthly parents, but it was a roaring thunder to the ears of darkness--a battle cry to the heavenly hosts. Hope breathed life's first breath. Christ was born, radiating the light of pure happiness and hope.

Jesus--Isaiah 53

For [Jesus] grew up before him like a young plant, and a root out of a dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried out sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. --1-4

I memorized this passage as a child, and as often times when we memorize Scripture, we just learn the words, make sure they stick in our heads, and then continue on with our lives, bringing up the words when convenient.

I was on Youtube watching videos on grace, redemption, and Christ. I was watching how Christians ought to live versus the lives they're living. Then God reminded me of this passage through a video on grace. I went back and read the passage, and new things are sticking out to me. And the key part is verse four, where it talks about Christ having borne our griefs. What stuck out to me was the things going on subtly. There is a contrast here. Versus 1-3 describe Jesus and what has happened to Him socially. Verse 4 starts off testifying to the fact He experienced our griefs and sorrows...but it changes route quickly. It goes to say that we esteem(consider, think) Him to be stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.
So...Isaiah is saying we think greatly on how Christ died. But I think the main issue was the first three verses. Everything following agrees to what we have esteemed about God--so it's not wrong or incorrect to think about how God died for us...but surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.


>> For [Jesus] grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of a dry ground...
~Thus, to connect with us, Christ was a child and grew up. He was like a root growing in a dry ground, no spiritual water to be found around him. All dry, stuffy, and unsatisfying.

>>He had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him.
~ Jesus didn't have the regal figure; he wasn't ultra-handsome or gorgeous. He was an average Joe in appearance--or even perhaps uglier.

>>He was despised and rejected by men
~One doesn't have to be ugly or average to be despised and rejected by men. You can be popular, handsome, gorgeous, important--and yet despised and rejected.

>> A man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.
~Jesus didn't just have sorrows...he was a man of them. They characterized his life and plagued him. He was acquainted with grief--think of acquaintances in your life. Not your friends, but you see them enough to know a little about them, and see them semi-frequently. He wasn't a stranger to grief.

>>And as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised
~Just like when we have people avoid us, hide their faces from us, and ignore us Jesus experienced such similar rejection.

>>And we esteemed him not<<

Did you get that?

>>And we considered/reckoned him not<<

>>And we didn't even think about his problems<<

::Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.::

That's the image we have seared into our heads. The man who was struck, the man who was smitten by God, the man who was afflicted, the man who was pierced, the man who was crushed, the man who was wounded, the man who took the iniquity of us all.

None of that is false. Every bit of it is true. He was oppressed. He was afflicted. He was led to the slaughter.

But there is the side of Christ that we often neglect. Christ's death event lasted for several hours--maybe a day or two (from when he was arrested to the time he gave up the ghost). And that's what is necessary for our salvation--to realize He died to take away our sins.
Yet we so often ignore the 33 years of life he endured to bring him to the cross. He lived a life of grief, of sorrow, of pain, of suffering, of temptation, of rejection, of hatred. He knew people who wanted to kill him, he knew people who wanted him to leave forever, he knew people who betrayed him. He had scoffers and mockers. He saw pain, he saw ridicule, he saw sorrow. He endured slander and gossip; he endured misunderstandings of his past and the past of his family. He wasn't rich. He cried. He sat alone. He went hungry. He was exhausted. He felt the weight of doing something he knew was right, but didn't want to do it. He knew what it was like to ask for a different assignment, for a different way, a different plan. He knew what it was like to eat a final meal with his best friends and then be taken from them. He knew what it was like not to have anyone his age to play with, to grow with, to learn with.

For thirty-three years he knew this. He knew it well. He lived it daily. He endured pain and sorrow daily.

Yet we hardly ever think about it. We only think about His death. But...if he never lived for thirty-three years, He never would have died on the cross. If he quit on us because of the hardships in his early adult years, He never would have redeemed the souls of the world present and future.


Therefore, thank Christ for His death the sacrifice He made to redeem you. But also thank Him for his life, that he never gave up so that you could be redeemed. ::Surely he has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows.::

Consequences

Tonight I started thinking about the consequences of sin in particular. I knew, from experience, sin causes anguish and unsettling of heart; it brings shame and sorrow; it brings judgement. But I wanted to find, and share, specific verses that speak of God's judgement on sin. I recalled several things being mentioned in the book of Psalm, so that's where I went. I turned to chapter 1 and went on from there.

Please, read through them all. I only went to chapter 51, so it's not the entire book of Psalm.

• Driven away by the wind. ( "The wicked are not so,
      but are like chaff that the wind drives away." Ps. 1:4)
• Perishing. ("for the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
      but the way of the wicked will perish." Ps. 1:6)
• Loss of having God's delight. ("For you are not a God who delights in wickedness;
      evil may not dwell with you." Ps. 5:4)
• Destruction. ("You destroy those who speak lies;" Ps. 5:6)
• Will have God whet His sword, ready His bow[in judgement]. (If a man does not repent, God will whet his sword; he has bent and readied his bow;" Ps. 7:12)
• Sin comes back around. ("His mischief returns upon his own head," Ps. 7:16)
• Violence descends on the sinner. ("    and on his own skull his violence descends." Ps. 7:16)
• Judgement as severe as coals raining on the sinner; fire sulfur and a scorching wind. ("Let him rain coals on the wicked; fire and sulfur and a scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup." Ps. 11:6)
• Multiplied sorrows. ("The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply;" Ps. 16:4)
•  God seems tortuous. --Read the definitions!-- ("with the purified you show yourself pure;
      and with the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous." Ps. 18:26)
•  God will tear down the workers of evil, and will build them up no more. ("Because they do not regard the works of the Lord or the work of his hands, he will tear them down and build them up no more." Ps. 28:5)
• Strength fails. ("my strength fails because of my iniquity," Ps. 31:10)
• Bones waste away. (" and my bones waste away." Ps. 31:10. "For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long."  Ps. 32:3)
•  God's hand heavy on sinner. ("For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;" Ps. 32:4)
• Strength dried up. ("my strength was dried up^[b] as by the heat of summer. " Ps. 32:4)
• No soundness in flesh. ("There is no soundness in my flesh because of your indignation;" Ps. 38:3)
•    No health in bones. ("there is no health in my bones because of my sin." Ps. 38:3.)
•  Becomes too heavy. ("For my iniquities have gone over my head;
      like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me." Ps. 38:4)
• Wounds[of judgement] fester because of foolishness[presumably of not dealing with sin]. ("My wounds stink and fester because of my foolishness," Ps. 38:5)
•   Feeble, crushed, tumultuous heart. ("I am feeble and crushed;
      I groan because of the tumult of my heart." Ps. 38:8)
• Heart throbs. ("My heart throbs;" Ps. 38:10)
• Light of eyes gone. ("and the light of my eyes—it also has gone from me." Ps. 38:10)
• Friends stand aloof. ("My friends and companions stand aloof from my plague,
      and my nearest kin stand far off." Ps. 38:11)
• God consumes all that is dear. ("you consume like a moth what is dear to him;" Ps. 39:11)
• Heart fails. (my iniquities have overtaken me, and I cannot see; they are more than the hairs of my head; my heart fails me." Ps. 40:12)
• Loss of joy of salvation. ("Restore to me the joy of your salvation," Ps. 51:12)

When I anticipated doing this mini-study, I expected verse after verse to jump out at me screaming what sin does to you. I expected death here, sorrow there, and heartache all around. But something interesting happened instead. There were two majors themes that I took note of. And the ratio of the two were 2:1 or 3:1, if not more. (I'm not a math scholar and I didn't actually count it all out.)  Whenever God revealed in His word that there were consequences for sin, He usually surrounded and countered it with consequences for righteous living. 


Numerous times David, through God's inspiration, wrote of the righteous being saved, or God being a refuge for the righteous, or God being a help, comfort, strength, defender, shield. He spoke of the righteous being blessed, happy, loved, favored, directed, established, given things.


And that's what's interesting.  The end consequence of sin is death and destruction. There are a few "premature" judgements of temporal effects: heart pains, lack of strength, no joy, etc. Not too many varieties to "choose from." But they are severe none the less. (And the one judgement that stuck out to me the most was the one that stated God consumes all that is dear to us like a moth. )
But God is not a God of judgement. He judges, yes. He is the Judge, yes. But He doesn't seek to judge. He seeks to bless. He unrolls his tarp of optional rewards and consequences for His righteous children and smiles, wondering what blessing He should bestow next. Peace? Refuge? Power? Guidance? 
But it anguishes Him to punish us. He is in every way tormented by sin as we are in our judgement. After all, it was for our sins that Christ bore every blow, every taunt, every ounce of hatred.


So, let's briefly reflect on the severity of sin. It has consequences; and it ranges in variety to a degree. But the most troubling and tragic consequence of sin is making God sad. God: the creator of the universe, the sustainer of earth and man, the one who controls the weather, the one who exists eternally, the one who can stop the mouths of lions, prevent the scorching powers of fire, and knows every single star of billions and trillions by name. That God. The God who is completely and utterly indescribable. That God. He takes our sin so seriously, so personally that His heart breaks. He stares in disbelief and anguish when His children love sin more than Him. He grieves at the quenching of the Spirit. 
--Throw all other consequences in the garbage disposal and meditate on that. Forget everything you've ever heard about God and His response to sin. Let it wash over you with supreme newness. God--is--saddened--by--your--sin.


It's a sobering thought that I--a mere speck of dust, a mere single human in the line of billions of humans before me and after me--can make the God of the universe tear up because I sinned against Him.




Now. Take that thought and set it aflame and place it in the back of your mind so that it glows bright enough that you notice it at every moment, but not that it blinds you. Make sure it is not your focus.


Because here is the thing. Focusing on sin will not keep sin out of our lives. When we wake up in the morning and think to ourselves "I don't want to sin"; when we go through our days struggling with the decisions to sin or not; when we lay down at night thinking about the sins we've committed and resolve to live better the next day--when we do all that, we have put our focus on sin and earth and the flesh. But God tells us to set our minds on the things of heaven, to turn our eyes to Jesus, to not be carnally minded. We can't do that if we parrot to ourselves the phrase "be better; don't sin."

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. --Galatians 5:16

Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.  --Colossians 3:2

Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.  --Hebrews 12:2

So, let's do just that. Let's look at Jesus. We know that he was "in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin." (Heb. 4:15) We also know on three specific cases that we was tempted by Satan physically. He was tempted to fulfill the lusts of the flesh, the pride of life, and the lusts of the eyes. (Matt. 4:1-11; 1 John 2:16)  We know that in all of that, He didn't sin.

But let's consider what brought him to that point where he did not sin. Was he going through that day praying He wouldn't sin, resolving not to sin, focusing on Satan and his tempting ways? No. Luke explains that "Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness." (Luke 4:1) Both Matthew and Luke attest to the fact that Jesus was fasting.  In the brevity of research conducted, fasting wasn't used in the Bible as a "preventative" to sin. It was done in repentance of sin, or protection of harm or the like. But often fasting was associated with prayer in order to deepen one's walk with God.

So, Jesus was led by the Spirit to go to the wilderness. While there, he fasted and evidently prayed. His focus was on God and being closer to His Father. Sure temptation came, but he wasn't setting out not to sit. He set out to be close to God.


That's the crux. We need to set out to follow God, to keep our eyes on Him, to walk in the Spirit. Everything else will fall into place. If you don't want to sin, if you want to love God more, if you want to be the Christian God wants you to be, then focus on being closer to God. Walk in the Spirit.

Denying ourselves sin will not bring us indefinitely to God. But bringing ourselves closer to God by abiding in Him (John 15) will lead us to deny ourselves sin because we want to remain close to Him. (Gal. 5:16). Oh taste and see that the Lord is good!




Now that you have the burning knowledge of God's grievance when we sin against Him, allow that to shine the light on Jesus' face so we can focus on Him and follow Him wherever He leads.

Don't be so caught up in focusing on sin that it becomes your god, your idol, your goal not to achieve. Focus on God, determining to walk in the Spirit.


Give up your sin pursuits. Give up your devotion to Not Sinning. Turn your eyes on Jesus and devote yourselves to Him and His holiness, resolving to walk in the Spirit.




Walk in the Spirit and you will not gratify the things of the flesh.
It's as simple as that.


 

Don't be Foolish.

There are many ways to be foolish in life. We can run across a busy road without looking both ways; we can jiggle the lock on the cage of a bear; we can tramps about the nest of snakes; we can fling open our car door without checking for cars driving by.

But there are worse ways to be foolish. We can go to church every time the doors are open, but only hear the word; we can walk in the flesh and expect everything to go alright; we can live flippantly with God; we can walk without caution through life while the raging lion--the devil--seeks to tear you to pieces.

The last is going to be the main focal point of this entry. Though everything said is highly stressed.

We need to stop living as if we don't have an enemy. We need to stop living on cloud nine.

There are various things we can do to prevent attacks from Satan. And there are various things to do when attacked. But until we stop in our tracks, look around, and be vigilant we will constantly be a target for the devil.

If you found yourself in the zoo, hearing the nervous tone of the zoomaster over the intercom system announcing to everyone that the cage to the lion exhibit was broken and the lion had escaped, then you would drop that ice cream cone, forget about seeing the monkeys, and take off your sunglasses to peer around you. You will not be careless, you will not flail your arms in careless frivolousness as you walked to the snack bar.

So why do we do that in our spiritual lives? God has announced to us that there is a roaring lion walking about seeking whom he may devour. We may even have seen him prowling in the distance. But we turn our noses up into the air and go with out routine. How foolish!

We need God's presence, God's direction, God's protection. We need help from the Bible. We need help and wisdom from other Christians. We need our minds saturated with God. What are we reading, watching, listening to, being a part of? Is it God and His Kingdom and His desires? Or is it the devil's kingdom?
Even the purest of TV shows, music, or books can have adverse affects. Not because it is sin, but because it's not God.
A slice of apple pie isn't bad to eat. Having it every day, every meal, is bad. It's not poison, and it has some good elements to it, but it's not what sustains your life. When you eat your veggies and fruits, and when you drink you water and milk you will be far better that if you ate just apple pies.

Same with God. Just because you listen to classical music, watch 1960's TV shows, or read historical books(on man's first flight, for sake of illustration) doesn't mean you are living a right, victorious Christian life. It just means you're not drowning in poison.
But you're not getting the right stuff in your life. You're not saturating yourself with God. When you don't listen to His music, when you don't read about His love--or just Him--or when you don't watch how He is omnipotent, all-caring, or bearing victory...when you neglect God, then you are a sitting duck for Satan. You can't possibly expect to live a righteous, victorious life. You can't possibly expect to walk in the Spirit if you are walking in the flesh. You can expect to be pure if you are soaking up God's purity.


So pray. Read God's word. Learn His principles. Follow His word. Listen to His music. Know more about Him. Live as if you were in God's physical presence. Constantly push yourself to swim further in the ocean of God's love. It's one ocean you won't regret drowning in.


So, be sober. Be vigilant, because your adversary the devil is a roaring lion, walking about seeking whom he may devour.
Don't be foolish, but be wise. Walk circumspectly, with your head and eyes ever observant. Be a sponge and soak up God's love.