© 2008 Deidre Campbell-Jones
May Theme: Mothers
1st Mothers: Titus 2:4
2n Mothers: 1 Corinthians 13
It is May! Happy May Day! I do not know what “May Day” is, but it’s good to have a reason to wish you a happy day. The month of May however does not make me think of May Day, nor is my first thought about Mother’s Day. No, when spring is ushered in by the first day of May, my first thought is the little rhyme: “April showers bring May flowers.” And something about saying the words “may flowers” makes me think not of the birds and the beauty of God’s colorful splendor – but crazy enough, I think of the Mayflower – you know, one of the first ships Columbus sailed across the ocean blue to “discover” America…
Well even more odd is that, this morning, knowing I was going to begin a study on Mothers I still went through my little rhyme with thoughts that led to the Mayflower, and then those thoughts led me to the thought of it being one of the first ships to America and somehow I thought of first mothers and second mothers. Titus 2:1-4 says, “But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine: That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience. The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things; That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children,”
No mother wants to be called “aged” especially not around mother’s day! So, 1st Mothers – you all have a big responsibility in teaching us 2nd Mothers and I know it’s huge because technically, in this day and age, I too am a 1st Mother when it comes to all the younger women I meet who have children my son’s age. You see, I am in a very unique position of being more of a “Middle Mother”. I am new enough into motherhood to still need to be taught, and I am mature enough in age that I have a responsibility to teach.
But the most significant thing about these verses in Titus is what we are mandated to teach!
The men are told to teach the younger ones to be sober, grave, temperate, in sound faith, charity and patience. Then it seams the women get a much harsher list that includes holiness, drunkedness, lying, loving our husbands and loving our kids. First let me say, that we are told “likewise” – meaning not only, but also. First Mothers are also supposed to teach Second Mothers how to be sober, grave, temperate, sound in our faith, in charity and in patience. And let me tell you, it is important that we do so! I am 43 and have found myself teaching to, ministering to and even being frustrated by the need in other women to be taught this information! The unfortunate part is that the women I’ve had the opportunity to speak to, and the women I’ve really, really wanted to speak to, were not all necessarily women who were younger than me! Why is that? It is because their First Mothers no longer have this as their own personal doctrine. They were not taught and so they cannot teach.
It has been disturbing to me to feel compelled to give a word to women older than I am or with children much older than mine about their standards for raising their children, their behavior and examples as women of God and even how they love their husbands. I can only surmise that this is because I have had a far better example than they have had. Thanks, Mom!
So let’s start with being sober – men, listen up, these first all are for you too. Not only have you been given (and given first, I might add) the mandate to also be all these things, but whereas the woman must be taught to love her husband and love her children; they are your children too and you are or might be that husband.
Serious, solemn, or sedate; not bright, garish or flashy; quiet or plain, exaggerated or distorted as in “the sober truth.” This is also characterized by sanity, being sensible or reasonable, having self-control and emotional balance. These are the definitions of “sober”. Let’s also consider “grave” at the same time, because I assumed they were same, however they are indeed only similar: important, weighty, not light or trifling or trivial in consequence; grievous and seriously contrary to what is right; evil enough to cause spiritual death.
To be temperate is to be mindful of ones temper; moderate and not self-indulgent; moderate in actions and speech; self-restrained or restrained. And then of course we are told to be sound in our faith, in charity and in patience. Faith, charity and patience we think we know – but as a reminder: Faith is not "belief" it is the ACTION based upon our belief; Charity is not just love it is the ACTION of giving out of love and Patience is not just tolerance it is the ACTION that results from tolerance. Think of this way – you can’t just act patiently, you have to BE patient. Now then, can any of us actually remember having been taught patience? If so, we are taught by example.
So then, think for a moment of the examples of faith, charity and patience your mother showed you. Add also to that list her examples of gravity and sobriety as I have described them above. Most of our mothers have passed on these examples of instruction affectively.
But now as I write this lesson, I realize there is a gap somewhere. Suddenly I can remember so many times I may have kept a younger woman from jumping all over a waitress prematurely, or gently corrected a woman about her views on race and ethnicity, and especially all the casual conversations that turned into me teaching a one-on-one mini-sermon about God’s word on faith! Not all mothers were able to teach these principles to their daughters and not all fathers were able to show these examples to their sons.
Most frustrating to me have been the times where I have been compelled to instruct a mother on how to raise her child – younger, same age or even older than mine! What seems like common sense to me has not even been thought of by so many women. The things I would never expose my child to are common place and even encouraged as “cute” in other homes. And the very things I’m trying to discipline my child for, his peers are not only getting away with but are being allowed to set the standard. I want to take those parents and shake them, lecture them, spank them and give them a big time out – 1 minute for every year of their age!
But that’s only my frustration about raising children. Then there is the mandate about loving our husbands. Granted I am in my second marriage, so obviously things were terribly wrong with the first, but still – it seems things that were common sense not to do even in that first marriage are common place in everyone else’s marriages.
Here is what is missing: love. I was blown away when I really paid attention to Titus 2:4. Younger women are meant to learn how to love their husbands and learn how to love their children. Learning how to love a husband makes perfect sense – especially if you have to learn to love a husband who is unlovable and doesn’t even love himself or others. I happen to think it is far easier to love a husband who is doing right and treating you right, but apparently that is not the case for most people. The only reason I can see must come from Titus – because women have not been taught how to love a husband.
But do we really need to be taught how to love our children? Don’t mothers automatically love and know how to love their children? How can we really when we aren't really taught just exactly what love is in the first place?
In February I did a bible study on love that covered more than just the standard list in 1 Corinthians 13. It covered the 7 principles of God – our God who is love. Those aspects of God are the aspects of love: faith; trust; giving; forgiving; truth; goodness and fruitfulness. If we have been loved with faith in who we are and that God created us to be who we are; and loved with trust and forgiveness; if we were loved by good and giving parents, and if that love bore the fruit of more love in our lives, then indeed – we were taught a loving and Godly example of how to love our own children. It is this example that we must continue to live whether we are a 1st Mother, 2nd Mother, Middle Mother; no mother at all, or even a father…
And so in this month that leads up to Mother’s Day, let’s begin to honor our mothers by honoring them for the examples of love they did provide. Sure, it may not always have been all aspects at all times – and of course, we as children probably instigated that! But God gave us our mothers for that purpose – no matter how long or how short we may have had them.
In honor of the true love they have shown us, let’s make the effort to be that love for others as well.
Power, love & peace -
~Min. Dez
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Friday, May 1, 2009
LIVIN’ THE LIFE!
© 2008 Deidre Campbell-Jones
April Theme: Life
My Life: Romans 3:23
His Life: 2 Corinthians 5:17
Religious excuses, spiritual excuses, church excuses, Jesus excuses – they are all the different types of excuses given for rejecting the Gospel of Christ.
Now, I’m not talking about science excuses, probability excuses, evolution excuses or dinosaur excuses that discount the existence of God. I’m talking about people who will concede there is a higher power, who will admit there is a creative being that created the heavens and the Earth and probably all that is in it. I’m talking about people who will allow for the “Big Man in charge”, the “Man up there,” the “Big Guy” or a kind-of sentient “Universe” that gives power to the words we “put out there.”
These are the people I’ve been discussing who are “spiritual,” who are not “religious,” who will even say they believe in God, but… and that “but” is generally followed with a religious-based excuse or a spiritually-based excuse, a Jesus-based excuse and most popular, the church-based excuse.
At my 2nd church home, here in LA, years ago – the Pastor made a statement that I have plagiarized and used time and time again. “If you’re looking for the perfect church and you find it, once you get there it won’t be perfect any more.”
All too often – and I mean that literally – people blame the reason they don’t want to get to know Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, on the people who go to church. They say they are hypocrites – guess what, so does the bible – so did Jesus! They say they are fake, unloving, judgmental and condemning – and so does the bible! The definition of “Christian” is not some perfect individual who is like Christ in every way. Instead a Christian should be trying to be a perfect individual who is like Christ in every way. But the bible says ALL (except Christ) have sinned and come short of the glory of the Lord – Romans 3:23
We as Christians are not perfect and cannot be perfect although we are told to strive for perfection. We are called the sick, the lost, the brokenhearted and we are to gather together for healing, to find one another and to fellowship in love – the Love of Christ. It is when we who are called out according to the love of Christ, are gathered together in fellowship – that is when we become the ecclesia – the called out body of believers.
You see, when Paul began establishing churches he was establishing churches in various cities, but he didn’t go with a million dollar building fund and meet with Architects to draw up designs for an even bigger cathedral style building than the one built in the last city over.
No, instead Paul taught the Word of God. And as the people came together to listen and to learn, they began to fellowship with one another, and help one another and be healed of their physical, emotional and spiritual brokenheartedness together. And when people are sick, they need a physician. If you are spiritually sick or emotionally sick, you need a professional in those areas too. The early churches were believers who healed and helped one another as professionals in spiritual and emotional illnesses. The church is still supposed to be that very same thing.
If you go to a “church” building and everyone is healthy emotionally and spiritually then either that church is a really good church and you should stay and get some more of that, or there is no need for that church any longer. Those church members should disband and go out and join other churches where there are still emotional and spiritually sick believers and unbelievers and do the miraculous work there that they did at their old church.
You see, the church is not a building filled with hypocrites and judgmental spiritual bullies… well it’s not supposed to be. The church is not a building at all – it is not the huge, welcoming front door, the stained glass windows, the seats no one is supposed to sit in except the church leaders, or the untouchable altar. If you want those things, go to Temple – that is where God ordained them to be. The church was ordained to be people. I am the church. I am livin’ The Life!
I am a Christian – I am of Christ. I am a disciple of Christ – I am a follower of His ways. I am the church – I have been called out by my belief in Christ to fellowship with and help other believers in Christ. So, when you talk about the church you are right, but you are not right about every church. It is exactly the same as talking about a race of people or a group of people – you may be right, but you won’t be right about everyone.
And so, it is my job as a Christian not to be one that you would be right about. I want to carry my big, impressive welcome door around in my smile. I want my beautiful stained glass windows to show in my eyes. I want every seat to be reserved especially for you whenever I have a conversation with you – I invite you to the altar of my heart and listen to the sermon of my life.
I believe in Jesus. I didn’t always. I wasn’t even sure I believed in God, but just in case He did exist, I wouldn’t entirely deny Him completely. I thought religion was a crutch for people who needed a way to handle their problems. I didn’t consider it a bad way – just their way. But I was also lonely – I didn’t have a lot of friends – close trusting friends – no matter how much anyone said I was funny, fun, friendly or any other thing.
And I was searching for myself – I was sure I had some kind of a purpose and didn’t understand why I couldn’t accomplish it no matter how much anyone said I was talented, gifted or capable of doing anything. My life didn’t match what people said about me, and it didn’t match what I felt inside.
Then one day there was some serious mess going down in my life. I was backed into a corner and I was desperate for some kind of crutch that would help me handle my problem. And before the problem was over, the knucklehead who was ‘causing me this problem asked me “Do you believe in Jesus?” Through the midst of my tears, I said “yes”. “Do you believe he was born of a virgin?” I said “yes” again.” Do you believe He died on the cross for your sins?” I cried even harder and answered “yes” again. “Do you believe He rose again on the third day so that you can have everlasting life?” I sobbed – yes – yes, I really did. I hung up on that boy and I got on my knees by my bed and I prayed for the first time really.
And I told God I didn’t understand what was happening to me. But that if He would get me out of that mess, I promised that I would find out what had just happened to me and I would never turn away from Him and flake out like I seemed to do in every other thing in my life.
And God seemed to like that deal and He accepted my bargain, He accepted me and He sent His Spirit to live within me. I could feel it – I can still feel it. The Holy Spirit is a living, spiritual being and He lives in me. I am a new creation. “If any man be in Christ he is a new creation; all things are passed away, behold all is become brand new” 2 Corinthians 5:17. I am brand new. I am the church of the living Lord. I am living the Life!
Sometimes I don’t always pay the light bill in my church, but it is my job to let my light shine. Sometimes my church is in need of a paint job, but it is my job to let men see my good works. Sometimes I don’t always welcome my visitors, but it is my job to love my neighbor as I love myself. Sometimes I am harsh and judgmental of my fellow believers and non-believers, but it is my job to comfort with the same comfort I have been comforted with. And sometimes newcomers can’t feel the Holy Spirit at my church, but it is still my job to love the Lord my God with all my heart, and all my soul and all my might – Deuteronomy 6:5
I am the church and it is my mandate to “go ye therefore into all the world” preaching, teaching, making disciples and baptizing in the name of Jesus Christ.
I am the church and I welcome you to fellowship with me. Here is my church doctrine: Jesus IS the only begotten Son of God. He was born of a virgin and died on the cross for the remission of our sins. He rose from the dead on the 3rd day so that we could have life everlasting. He has gone to prepare a place for us because for those of us who believe, this is not our home. And one day the Lord Jesus will return and He will catch up those who believe and carry us away to the place in which He has prepared – on that day we will be in Paradise with the Lord.
I hope and pray to see you there.
Power, love & peace -
~Min. Dez
April Theme: Life
My Life: Romans 3:23
His Life: 2 Corinthians 5:17
Religious excuses, spiritual excuses, church excuses, Jesus excuses – they are all the different types of excuses given for rejecting the Gospel of Christ.
Now, I’m not talking about science excuses, probability excuses, evolution excuses or dinosaur excuses that discount the existence of God. I’m talking about people who will concede there is a higher power, who will admit there is a creative being that created the heavens and the Earth and probably all that is in it. I’m talking about people who will allow for the “Big Man in charge”, the “Man up there,” the “Big Guy” or a kind-of sentient “Universe” that gives power to the words we “put out there.”
These are the people I’ve been discussing who are “spiritual,” who are not “religious,” who will even say they believe in God, but… and that “but” is generally followed with a religious-based excuse or a spiritually-based excuse, a Jesus-based excuse and most popular, the church-based excuse.
At my 2nd church home, here in LA, years ago – the Pastor made a statement that I have plagiarized and used time and time again. “If you’re looking for the perfect church and you find it, once you get there it won’t be perfect any more.”
All too often – and I mean that literally – people blame the reason they don’t want to get to know Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, on the people who go to church. They say they are hypocrites – guess what, so does the bible – so did Jesus! They say they are fake, unloving, judgmental and condemning – and so does the bible! The definition of “Christian” is not some perfect individual who is like Christ in every way. Instead a Christian should be trying to be a perfect individual who is like Christ in every way. But the bible says ALL (except Christ) have sinned and come short of the glory of the Lord – Romans 3:23
We as Christians are not perfect and cannot be perfect although we are told to strive for perfection. We are called the sick, the lost, the brokenhearted and we are to gather together for healing, to find one another and to fellowship in love – the Love of Christ. It is when we who are called out according to the love of Christ, are gathered together in fellowship – that is when we become the ecclesia – the called out body of believers.
You see, when Paul began establishing churches he was establishing churches in various cities, but he didn’t go with a million dollar building fund and meet with Architects to draw up designs for an even bigger cathedral style building than the one built in the last city over.
No, instead Paul taught the Word of God. And as the people came together to listen and to learn, they began to fellowship with one another, and help one another and be healed of their physical, emotional and spiritual brokenheartedness together. And when people are sick, they need a physician. If you are spiritually sick or emotionally sick, you need a professional in those areas too. The early churches were believers who healed and helped one another as professionals in spiritual and emotional illnesses. The church is still supposed to be that very same thing.
If you go to a “church” building and everyone is healthy emotionally and spiritually then either that church is a really good church and you should stay and get some more of that, or there is no need for that church any longer. Those church members should disband and go out and join other churches where there are still emotional and spiritually sick believers and unbelievers and do the miraculous work there that they did at their old church.
You see, the church is not a building filled with hypocrites and judgmental spiritual bullies… well it’s not supposed to be. The church is not a building at all – it is not the huge, welcoming front door, the stained glass windows, the seats no one is supposed to sit in except the church leaders, or the untouchable altar. If you want those things, go to Temple – that is where God ordained them to be. The church was ordained to be people. I am the church. I am livin’ The Life!
I am a Christian – I am of Christ. I am a disciple of Christ – I am a follower of His ways. I am the church – I have been called out by my belief in Christ to fellowship with and help other believers in Christ. So, when you talk about the church you are right, but you are not right about every church. It is exactly the same as talking about a race of people or a group of people – you may be right, but you won’t be right about everyone.
And so, it is my job as a Christian not to be one that you would be right about. I want to carry my big, impressive welcome door around in my smile. I want my beautiful stained glass windows to show in my eyes. I want every seat to be reserved especially for you whenever I have a conversation with you – I invite you to the altar of my heart and listen to the sermon of my life.
I believe in Jesus. I didn’t always. I wasn’t even sure I believed in God, but just in case He did exist, I wouldn’t entirely deny Him completely. I thought religion was a crutch for people who needed a way to handle their problems. I didn’t consider it a bad way – just their way. But I was also lonely – I didn’t have a lot of friends – close trusting friends – no matter how much anyone said I was funny, fun, friendly or any other thing.
And I was searching for myself – I was sure I had some kind of a purpose and didn’t understand why I couldn’t accomplish it no matter how much anyone said I was talented, gifted or capable of doing anything. My life didn’t match what people said about me, and it didn’t match what I felt inside.
Then one day there was some serious mess going down in my life. I was backed into a corner and I was desperate for some kind of crutch that would help me handle my problem. And before the problem was over, the knucklehead who was ‘causing me this problem asked me “Do you believe in Jesus?” Through the midst of my tears, I said “yes”. “Do you believe he was born of a virgin?” I said “yes” again.” Do you believe He died on the cross for your sins?” I cried even harder and answered “yes” again. “Do you believe He rose again on the third day so that you can have everlasting life?” I sobbed – yes – yes, I really did. I hung up on that boy and I got on my knees by my bed and I prayed for the first time really.
And I told God I didn’t understand what was happening to me. But that if He would get me out of that mess, I promised that I would find out what had just happened to me and I would never turn away from Him and flake out like I seemed to do in every other thing in my life.
And God seemed to like that deal and He accepted my bargain, He accepted me and He sent His Spirit to live within me. I could feel it – I can still feel it. The Holy Spirit is a living, spiritual being and He lives in me. I am a new creation. “If any man be in Christ he is a new creation; all things are passed away, behold all is become brand new” 2 Corinthians 5:17. I am brand new. I am the church of the living Lord. I am living the Life!
Sometimes I don’t always pay the light bill in my church, but it is my job to let my light shine. Sometimes my church is in need of a paint job, but it is my job to let men see my good works. Sometimes I don’t always welcome my visitors, but it is my job to love my neighbor as I love myself. Sometimes I am harsh and judgmental of my fellow believers and non-believers, but it is my job to comfort with the same comfort I have been comforted with. And sometimes newcomers can’t feel the Holy Spirit at my church, but it is still my job to love the Lord my God with all my heart, and all my soul and all my might – Deuteronomy 6:5
I am the church and it is my mandate to “go ye therefore into all the world” preaching, teaching, making disciples and baptizing in the name of Jesus Christ.
I am the church and I welcome you to fellowship with me. Here is my church doctrine: Jesus IS the only begotten Son of God. He was born of a virgin and died on the cross for the remission of our sins. He rose from the dead on the 3rd day so that we could have life everlasting. He has gone to prepare a place for us because for those of us who believe, this is not our home. And one day the Lord Jesus will return and He will catch up those who believe and carry us away to the place in which He has prepared – on that day we will be in Paradise with the Lord.
I hope and pray to see you there.
Power, love & peace -
~Min. Dez
Sunday, April 19, 2009
THIS IS THE LIFE!
© 2008 by Deidre Campbell-Jones
April Theme: Life
Old Life: Romans 7:15 & 19
New Life: 2 Corinthians 5:17
So, tell me about your life? What kind of life are you living? I’ll tell you about my life – the life I’m living on the inside of me, is different from the life I’m living on the outside of me, is different from the life that everyone else can see. Make sense?
On the inside, I’m living a wonderfully righteous, God-led, God-filled life. On the outside, I’m desperately trying to live a live that matches the one on the inside – it's a constant battle. And the life that everyone sees, I fear is largely like the one they used to see all the time in me – either it’s not much different, or they’re waiting to see when this phase will pass and the old me prevail. Sometimes I wonder myself.
There is a war going on within me and on the inside I’ve already won, but on the outside I periodically lose a few battles. The inside only sees (or wants to see) the battles I’ve won because those bring the outside me one step closer to the complete me on the inside. But I feel the eyes of scrutiny from those on the outside of me as if the battles I’m losing are the only ones they see and they are waiting for this war to be over so I can go back to the way I used to be.
The Apostle Paul describes it like this in Romans 7:15 & 19 “That which I do, I allow not: but what I hate, that do I. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.” Paul is talking about the war between his spirit and his flesh – his inward man and outward man – the old Paul and the new Paul.
Remember last week's lesson on life and death? At the end of his tirade on "self", Paul goes on to say this: Romans 7:24: “O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.”
This past Monday I attended the funeral for a classmate of mine and I went back home for the services. The week prior there had been a flurry of emails – a daily trail of decisions, commiseration, speculation and reliving old memories. It was so interesting to me how each of us handled the tragedy differently and those various aspects of my friends’ personalities was very evident. On the inside I reacted with compassion and understanding. And on the outside, I felt I had won one small battle by not capitulating to the tension that was slowly brewing in the undertones of the emails.
Then at the services I had the opportunity to meet with a few classmates and have a soda for a little while. Of the five of us, there was only one other friend present who had been on that flurry of emails. The atmosphere was pleasant, the visit was really good, and it was really good to spend some time with that group – a mix of individuals that never would have hung out together like that (and enjoyed it!) during high school.
So why then, did the old me crop up? I felt ornery, loud, and a little bossy like I was hogging the conversation. And it’s like the inner me recognized it and said a prayer for the outer me – that was promptly ignored the moment I opened my mouth again.
I don’t think my friends noticed. I’m sure I wasn’t obnoxious (at least I hope not!) and perhaps they may have even thought – wow, Deidre hasn’t changed a bit. Well, if they didn’t say it, I sure did!
When I came to Christ in 1985 I came to Christ in the midst of my sin – “smack-dab” in the middle of it – by the very person who was in sin with me. The one scripture that made a life changing difference to me each day of my new life was: 2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore if any man be in Christ he is a new creation; behold old things are passed away and all is become new.”
It was such a comfort to me to know that all my old crap, the old me and my old life would just pass away and everything about me would become new again! And when I realized it hadn’t really worked out exactly like that, I found Romans 12:2 to comfort me and encourage me to continue trying to be new again: “And be not conformed to the ways of the world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God.”
Well, when I got back from my trip, and jumped back into the last trailing flurry of emails that I’d so lovingly participated in before going home, I suddenly could no longer prove what was that good, and acceptable and perfect will of God. I acted straight out of my flesh, acknowledged it and honestly didn’t care. That was the old me, my old life cropping up again.
You see, God knows us and loves us just the way we are. He knows we are going to struggle. He sent His only begotten Son to die on the cross to help us with that struggle. Christ died on the cross for you and me whether you or I ever believe that He did or not. Christ died on the cross while we were still dead in our sins and dead in sin because He loves us in spite of our sins. Our sin, the sins in our life, the things we do or do not do, the bad we have done and even the good we try to do have no baring on how much God loves us or on whether or not we can be forgiven of our sin and our sins and live a new life through Christ. That forgiveness is freely and wholly given to us – it’s already been given. We are already forgiven, even if we are still classified as a “sinner”, or an unbeliever, or a “backslider” or just a really “two-faced” Christian. I was forgiven for my behavior on Tuesday back when Christ died on the cross, and I was forgiven of my sin and all my sins – not in 1985, but 2000 years ago, when God sent his Son to die on the cross for the world that He loved so much. You were forgiven on that very same day as well. We are – 2000 years later - a part of that world Christ died for. You have already been forgiven. It’s just a matter of whether or not you believe it and accept it.
Ok so, I believe it and I accept it – I’m even trying to live it – so what’s the deal with this struggle between some “old me” and this so-called “new me?” It seems like such a bother and a burden, why didn’t I just stay the way I was – happy and ignorant in my sin and sinful behavior? It is because Christ came so that we could have life and have it more abundantly.
John 3:16 again: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son so that whosoever should believe would not perish but have everlasting life.” Christ’s death gives us life. But we have the choice whether or not to accept it and live it.
Before accepting Christ’s death on the cross for me, I lived a life that was loving and compassionate, fired up and feisty. I was searching for purpose and meaning and would try nearly anything once. I also cursed and drank and partied at the clubs dancing all night. I was a fighter, loud and obnoxious and didn’t give a flip what anyone thought. I would tell it like it “T-I-is!” My sins: lying, drunkenness and fornication. Not a pretty list. My sin: I was separated from God – just like everyone else out there living it up with me in my sins.
Now that I have accepted Christ’s death on the cross for me, I live a life that is loving and compassionate, fired up and feisty. I am following my purpose, understanding its meaning and I’m still trying and learning new things - within reason. I no longer curse or drink excessively, but sometimes I party in the church all night and still enjoy a good dance. I am still a fighter, I still get loud, I still get obnoxious and yet not only do I care what others think of me – more importantly, I care what God thinks of me. And yes, I still can and sometimes do, tell it like it “T-I-is!” My sins: forgiven and tossed into the sea of forgetfulness! My sin: has been saved by Grace – which is God’s time. He gave me the time I needed to come out of my separation, to come to Him and to turn around and tell everyone else who was out there living it up with me in my sins about the new life I have with Christ.
So what’s the difference? How do I reconcile the old me that still looks (and acts) a whole lot like the “new me?” The difference is that all those things – the good and the bad of my old life only worked towards death. I had one place to go through it all and one place to get to at the end of it all: death. I was living a flat, empty, lost and searching life of death. And without Christ I would have died in that life and stayed dead: eternally dead and separated from God. I was living a life that was often times just straight hell and it is a wonder I didn’t actually die and go straight to hell. If I had died in the midst of my sin that is exactly where I would have ended up – and it would have been my own choice because it was my choice to live that life and it was my choice to accept Christ or not to. You only get condemned to hell (not by God but by your own choice) when you are presented with the choice of Christ and choose not to believe.
I praise God I chose to believe! Because now, even though I may still sometimes seem like the old me on the outside – all the things about me – the good and the bad of it, all work toward life! God can take the very same behaviors I am not proud of and instead of me adding them unto my death, He counts them all for joy! How does that work? “All things work towards the greater good for they that love the Lord.” That word “all” includes the good and the bad.
You see, just like Christ’s death offered me forgiveness even when I was deep in sin, so has His resurrection offered me the blessing of a new life in Him. I am already blessed! I was blessed while I was still a sinner – and you were too. You were blessed the same day I was blessed - the day Christ rose from the dead.
Our blessings are stored up in Heaven – waiting for us to unlock them so that God can open the floodgates of heaven and poor them out upon us. God wants us to receive our blessings! I am standing under the shower of my blessings.
What this means is, when I live through the tragedy of a friend’s death – I receive a blessing from it. When I step outside of my inward me with some behavior I am not proud of, I am blessed when I learn a lesson on compassion, tolerance and forgiveness. When I tell it like it “T-I-is” in Christ I am blessed immeasurably when friends and family see me – the new me, the inside me - and recognize I am walking in my purpose.
I am blessed with life when I open my eyes in the morning and I will be blessed when I close my eyes to sleep in eternal life with Christ. All things are working for my greater good because I love the Lord. And all He asked of me in exchange for these blessings, and for a blessed and abundant life, and for everlasting and eternal life, is just to believe in Him.
Your life begins with belief. There are no list of rights and wrongs – just simple belief. Do you believe that Jesus is the only begotten son of God? Do you believe that He was born of a virgin? Do you believe that He died on the cross for the transgression of our sins? Do you believe that He was raised again on the third day so that we could have life everlasting? Do you believe in Life?
p.s. Do you want to know why Jesus is called the “only begotten son of God” if He was God? Email me and ask… I’ll tell you why.
April Theme: Life
Old Life: Romans 7:15 & 19
New Life: 2 Corinthians 5:17
So, tell me about your life? What kind of life are you living? I’ll tell you about my life – the life I’m living on the inside of me, is different from the life I’m living on the outside of me, is different from the life that everyone else can see. Make sense?
On the inside, I’m living a wonderfully righteous, God-led, God-filled life. On the outside, I’m desperately trying to live a live that matches the one on the inside – it's a constant battle. And the life that everyone sees, I fear is largely like the one they used to see all the time in me – either it’s not much different, or they’re waiting to see when this phase will pass and the old me prevail. Sometimes I wonder myself.
There is a war going on within me and on the inside I’ve already won, but on the outside I periodically lose a few battles. The inside only sees (or wants to see) the battles I’ve won because those bring the outside me one step closer to the complete me on the inside. But I feel the eyes of scrutiny from those on the outside of me as if the battles I’m losing are the only ones they see and they are waiting for this war to be over so I can go back to the way I used to be.
The Apostle Paul describes it like this in Romans 7:15 & 19 “That which I do, I allow not: but what I hate, that do I. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.” Paul is talking about the war between his spirit and his flesh – his inward man and outward man – the old Paul and the new Paul.
Remember last week's lesson on life and death? At the end of his tirade on "self", Paul goes on to say this: Romans 7:24: “O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.”
This past Monday I attended the funeral for a classmate of mine and I went back home for the services. The week prior there had been a flurry of emails – a daily trail of decisions, commiseration, speculation and reliving old memories. It was so interesting to me how each of us handled the tragedy differently and those various aspects of my friends’ personalities was very evident. On the inside I reacted with compassion and understanding. And on the outside, I felt I had won one small battle by not capitulating to the tension that was slowly brewing in the undertones of the emails.
Then at the services I had the opportunity to meet with a few classmates and have a soda for a little while. Of the five of us, there was only one other friend present who had been on that flurry of emails. The atmosphere was pleasant, the visit was really good, and it was really good to spend some time with that group – a mix of individuals that never would have hung out together like that (and enjoyed it!) during high school.
So why then, did the old me crop up? I felt ornery, loud, and a little bossy like I was hogging the conversation. And it’s like the inner me recognized it and said a prayer for the outer me – that was promptly ignored the moment I opened my mouth again.
I don’t think my friends noticed. I’m sure I wasn’t obnoxious (at least I hope not!) and perhaps they may have even thought – wow, Deidre hasn’t changed a bit. Well, if they didn’t say it, I sure did!
When I came to Christ in 1985 I came to Christ in the midst of my sin – “smack-dab” in the middle of it – by the very person who was in sin with me. The one scripture that made a life changing difference to me each day of my new life was: 2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore if any man be in Christ he is a new creation; behold old things are passed away and all is become new.”
It was such a comfort to me to know that all my old crap, the old me and my old life would just pass away and everything about me would become new again! And when I realized it hadn’t really worked out exactly like that, I found Romans 12:2 to comfort me and encourage me to continue trying to be new again: “And be not conformed to the ways of the world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God.”
Well, when I got back from my trip, and jumped back into the last trailing flurry of emails that I’d so lovingly participated in before going home, I suddenly could no longer prove what was that good, and acceptable and perfect will of God. I acted straight out of my flesh, acknowledged it and honestly didn’t care. That was the old me, my old life cropping up again.
You see, God knows us and loves us just the way we are. He knows we are going to struggle. He sent His only begotten Son to die on the cross to help us with that struggle. Christ died on the cross for you and me whether you or I ever believe that He did or not. Christ died on the cross while we were still dead in our sins and dead in sin because He loves us in spite of our sins. Our sin, the sins in our life, the things we do or do not do, the bad we have done and even the good we try to do have no baring on how much God loves us or on whether or not we can be forgiven of our sin and our sins and live a new life through Christ. That forgiveness is freely and wholly given to us – it’s already been given. We are already forgiven, even if we are still classified as a “sinner”, or an unbeliever, or a “backslider” or just a really “two-faced” Christian. I was forgiven for my behavior on Tuesday back when Christ died on the cross, and I was forgiven of my sin and all my sins – not in 1985, but 2000 years ago, when God sent his Son to die on the cross for the world that He loved so much. You were forgiven on that very same day as well. We are – 2000 years later - a part of that world Christ died for. You have already been forgiven. It’s just a matter of whether or not you believe it and accept it.
Ok so, I believe it and I accept it – I’m even trying to live it – so what’s the deal with this struggle between some “old me” and this so-called “new me?” It seems like such a bother and a burden, why didn’t I just stay the way I was – happy and ignorant in my sin and sinful behavior? It is because Christ came so that we could have life and have it more abundantly.
John 3:16 again: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son so that whosoever should believe would not perish but have everlasting life.” Christ’s death gives us life. But we have the choice whether or not to accept it and live it.
Before accepting Christ’s death on the cross for me, I lived a life that was loving and compassionate, fired up and feisty. I was searching for purpose and meaning and would try nearly anything once. I also cursed and drank and partied at the clubs dancing all night. I was a fighter, loud and obnoxious and didn’t give a flip what anyone thought. I would tell it like it “T-I-is!” My sins: lying, drunkenness and fornication. Not a pretty list. My sin: I was separated from God – just like everyone else out there living it up with me in my sins.
Now that I have accepted Christ’s death on the cross for me, I live a life that is loving and compassionate, fired up and feisty. I am following my purpose, understanding its meaning and I’m still trying and learning new things - within reason. I no longer curse or drink excessively, but sometimes I party in the church all night and still enjoy a good dance. I am still a fighter, I still get loud, I still get obnoxious and yet not only do I care what others think of me – more importantly, I care what God thinks of me. And yes, I still can and sometimes do, tell it like it “T-I-is!” My sins: forgiven and tossed into the sea of forgetfulness! My sin: has been saved by Grace – which is God’s time. He gave me the time I needed to come out of my separation, to come to Him and to turn around and tell everyone else who was out there living it up with me in my sins about the new life I have with Christ.
So what’s the difference? How do I reconcile the old me that still looks (and acts) a whole lot like the “new me?” The difference is that all those things – the good and the bad of my old life only worked towards death. I had one place to go through it all and one place to get to at the end of it all: death. I was living a flat, empty, lost and searching life of death. And without Christ I would have died in that life and stayed dead: eternally dead and separated from God. I was living a life that was often times just straight hell and it is a wonder I didn’t actually die and go straight to hell. If I had died in the midst of my sin that is exactly where I would have ended up – and it would have been my own choice because it was my choice to live that life and it was my choice to accept Christ or not to. You only get condemned to hell (not by God but by your own choice) when you are presented with the choice of Christ and choose not to believe.
I praise God I chose to believe! Because now, even though I may still sometimes seem like the old me on the outside – all the things about me – the good and the bad of it, all work toward life! God can take the very same behaviors I am not proud of and instead of me adding them unto my death, He counts them all for joy! How does that work? “All things work towards the greater good for they that love the Lord.” That word “all” includes the good and the bad.
You see, just like Christ’s death offered me forgiveness even when I was deep in sin, so has His resurrection offered me the blessing of a new life in Him. I am already blessed! I was blessed while I was still a sinner – and you were too. You were blessed the same day I was blessed - the day Christ rose from the dead.
Our blessings are stored up in Heaven – waiting for us to unlock them so that God can open the floodgates of heaven and poor them out upon us. God wants us to receive our blessings! I am standing under the shower of my blessings.
What this means is, when I live through the tragedy of a friend’s death – I receive a blessing from it. When I step outside of my inward me with some behavior I am not proud of, I am blessed when I learn a lesson on compassion, tolerance and forgiveness. When I tell it like it “T-I-is” in Christ I am blessed immeasurably when friends and family see me – the new me, the inside me - and recognize I am walking in my purpose.
I am blessed with life when I open my eyes in the morning and I will be blessed when I close my eyes to sleep in eternal life with Christ. All things are working for my greater good because I love the Lord. And all He asked of me in exchange for these blessings, and for a blessed and abundant life, and for everlasting and eternal life, is just to believe in Him.
Your life begins with belief. There are no list of rights and wrongs – just simple belief. Do you believe that Jesus is the only begotten son of God? Do you believe that He was born of a virgin? Do you believe that He died on the cross for the transgression of our sins? Do you believe that He was raised again on the third day so that we could have life everlasting? Do you believe in Life?
p.s. Do you want to know why Jesus is called the “only begotten son of God” if He was God? Email me and ask… I’ll tell you why.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
A MATTER OF LIFE & DEATH
© 2008 by Deidre Campbell-Jones
April Theme: Life
Life: Romans 6:23
Death: Romans 6:23
I wrote this on Good Friday. For most that meant they got holiday during the week before Easter. You know, sometimes there’s a holiday that always falls on a weekend, and so you get a day off in the work week to commemorate it. But commemorating or celebrating Good Friday rarely means more than a chance to sleep in and perhaps catch up on some things you can’t ordinarily do during the week.
Today - Sunday is "Easter". The Easter bunny comes and brings brightly colored eggs, chocolate and jelly beans. And a lot of people, who don’t ordinarily go to church, will dress up in pretty pastel clothes and sit through an Easter program, then, have an Easter egg hunt and a wonderful dinner. Now that is the life! Truly, it is a wonderful life for anyone to live. But of course, it is not the only life we are meant to live.
One Friday morning, Jesus told two of his disciples to go to a certain place of which he would tell them. There they would find a young donkey colt – one that had never been ridden before. He told them to untie the colt and bring it to him. And if the owners asked why they were untying it – to tell them, their master had need of it.
Now on that particular Friday when he rode that donkey into town, the people all cheered for him. This was the Lord who had done so many miracles amongst them – he had brought healing, forgiveness and new life. He had fed them physically and spiritually and had raised some from the dead – both physically and spiritually as well.
The following Thursday evening at sundown was the feast of Passover Seder – Jesus had been sharing Passover with the disciples. Mind you, they were most all Jewish and they celebrated the Jewish feasts together. Well, Judas excused himself and Jesus told him, “what you must do, do quickly.” Judas went to speak with the Chief Priests and the Captains to determine how he should betray Jesus. While he was gone, Jesus took three of His disciples to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray with Him for what He knew was about to take place. Jesus knew it was nearly time for Him to die. This is what He had been born to do. This was His only and one true test of obedience and Jesus did not want to do it. He did not go eagerly into death. He even asked our Father, His Father – Abba – take this cup from me, but nevertheless, not my will, but yours.
Death before Christ died was a very different matter than we know it today. There was a pain to death – a sting; the bible calls it, during the separation of life from the body. Death was definitely a thing to be avoided, a thing to be feared. And, this is my own personal speculation, but I also believe that before Christ’s death on the cross there was a living death of the soul that all mankind experienced everyday and with no relief from the time of the fall of man and the entering of sin in the Garden of Eden, until just after the prayers of Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane when He was crucified for the sins of all mankind. It wasn’t until after Christ’s death that life became significant. That is because, Jesus did not stay dead and buried in that tomb! He went down to hell, snatched the keys of death from satan and rose up again on the third day! The enemy of life had controlled death and he thought he had won for all eternity by crucifying Christ. But what satan meant for evil, God meant for good – our eternal good.
Christ’s resurrection from death unto life, is the very reason why we too, can die to our sin and be resurrected into new life through Christ. "Easter" Sunday is for the Easter bunny, but this Sunday is Resurrection Sunday – the day we as believers celebrate the resurrected life of Christ and all that means for us.
You see before I became “born again” in 1985 and accepted Christ into my life as my Lord and Savior, I lived a flat, angst-ridden, confused, death of a life. I had no connection to life. I felt like an alien on this planet searching for something familiar, something to call my own, someone to love, someone to be and something to do. I was searching for me. I was empty inside and I tried all kinds of different things to fill it. And I searched for all kinds of different people to fill it. Inherently it seems, I knew that emptiness was supposed to be filled through a loving, intimate relationship, and I just couldn’t find the person to fill that void. I was basically dead to the world but I didn’t know it.
It wasn’t until I became “saved” that I experienced this new life and realized the difference between my old life. There was life inside me – living and breathing and experiencing the life outside me. There was life within my soul that I never knew wasn’t there in the first place. Now mind you, I know this separation from God was a death to my soul because there were times after having accepted Christ into my life that I pulled away and experienced that death again.
There was the time during my first marriage when it had gotten so bad and I was so depressed that there was no joy, no life and no Christ within me. I had backslidden in my depression because I blamed God for the state of that marriage. I pulled away from God in my anger and the void was palpable. They noticed it on my job; friends noticed it and I described it as a black hole in space sucking in my very soul into nothingness. I was a walking zombie – the living dead.
Later, when I got divorced, I experienced this soul death again, out of guilt for leaving that marriage. Christians don’t divorce, the believer is not supposed to leave and so surely I was outside of God’s will and I separated myself from Him out of guilt. Once again, I became the same un-dead, living that flat, listless, search-filled, meaningless, struggling life I had even before accepting Christ. There was one other time I died to Christ and that was after going on disability and being let go from AT&T. The depression that time was so deep – not out of anger, and not out of guilt but out of pure un-worthiness. I felt inept, incapable, unworthy and hopeless. My separation was long, ugly and daily I wished I could just be put in the ground and saved from the misery. I am sure this death-filled kind of life was a matter of everyday existence for all mankind before Christ came.
Jesus said "I have come so that you would have live, and have it more abundantly." Oh, death – where is thy sting?
You see, Christ’s death was for all of us. His death on the cross was not just for those who would one day believe. His death was so that all mankind would have life and have a death with no sting. It is the acceptance of Christ’s death and the belief in Him that gives us life. And it is through living that life with Him and in Him that we experience that life more abundantly each day that we become closer to Him.
Christ’s death is significant even for those who do not believe. Non-believers reap the rewards of Christ’s death and God’s love just the same as believers do. For God so loved the world… not just those who would believe. Christ’s death on the cross was His gift to ALL mankind. The life we choose to live after being presented with the truth of that death is what determines how abundantly we will live within God’s gift.
In the Old Testament it says that we walk between the valleys of life and death. Choose life. You see, before Christ died for us – we had no choice but to die – we were already dead. We lived in death, we died a painful death and death was eternal. The wages of sin is death. Then Jesus came and he told the Pharisees that they were white-washed sepulchers. They were the ones who were supposed to be knowledgeable about God and the laws of man. They were the High Priests but they were dead inside like a tomb that was made to look good on the outside. That is how we live as non-believers. We try to clean it all up on the outside, be kind, don’t lie, don’t steal don’t cheat, and maybe we even came close to following the 10 Commandments. Those were the laws God gave man, because they had no Life on the inside. And without Christ, we still have no life on the inside.
"I am the way, the truth and the life, no man comes to the Father accept by me” For many it is a hard scripture to hear – they feel condemned, separated, excluded and left out. They rebel and deny that the only way to experience God is through Christ. But that is because they do not know that they don’t have life. Yes, the first part of Romans 6:23 says “the wages of sin is death.” But the second part says, “but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus, our Lord.”
Just this past Tuesday, the Bishop of my church reminded us that a person can have life and not be alive. A patient in the hospital that is on life-support has a heart that beats, and lungs that breath all with assistance – but there is no life in that body that is alive. God’s grace to us while we are unbelievers is His life-support system. We are alive with no live, we are walking comas, zombies of the heart searching for a way to live. Christ is the way, and that’s the truth.
Sin means “separation from God.” The sins we commit are the actions of life that keep us separated from God. When God separated a part of Himself as flesh, that flesh became sin. That flesh is Jesus and Jesus became sin for us – He knew no sin, He committed no sins – He became sin: the perfect sacrifice.
And when He made that sacrifice of death, He did it for all of us, whether we would believe in Him or not. Christ died for us while we were yet sinners - while we were still separated from Him - and He still died for us even if we remain sinners even unto our deaths.
Once I wrote a song that said, “Life is a gift, not a choice – yet many a choice has been made, to take that life away.” It was a song pertaining to the pro-choice, pro-life debate. It was written shortly after I first came to Christ and I feel, in one regard, it is inaccurate according to the truths I now know about life.
The conception of life in the physical is a gift. The life we receive through Christ’s death and resurrection is also a gift. “For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten son, so that whosoever should believe shall not perish but would have everlasting life.” John 3:16. But accepting that gift and accepting that life is a choice. We can choose everlasting life or we can choose to stay dead in our sin.
Making that choice begins with belief. There are no list of rights and wrongs – just simple belief. Do you believe that Jesus is the only begotten son of God? Do you believe that He was born of a virgin? Do you believe that He died on the cross for the transgression of our sins? Do you believe that He was raised again on the third day so that we could have life everlasting? Do you believe in Life?
p.s. Do you want to know why Jesus is called the “only begotten son of God” if He was God? Email me and ask… I’ll tell you why.
April Theme: Life
Life: Romans 6:23
Death: Romans 6:23
I wrote this on Good Friday. For most that meant they got holiday during the week before Easter. You know, sometimes there’s a holiday that always falls on a weekend, and so you get a day off in the work week to commemorate it. But commemorating or celebrating Good Friday rarely means more than a chance to sleep in and perhaps catch up on some things you can’t ordinarily do during the week.
Today - Sunday is "Easter". The Easter bunny comes and brings brightly colored eggs, chocolate and jelly beans. And a lot of people, who don’t ordinarily go to church, will dress up in pretty pastel clothes and sit through an Easter program, then, have an Easter egg hunt and a wonderful dinner. Now that is the life! Truly, it is a wonderful life for anyone to live. But of course, it is not the only life we are meant to live.
One Friday morning, Jesus told two of his disciples to go to a certain place of which he would tell them. There they would find a young donkey colt – one that had never been ridden before. He told them to untie the colt and bring it to him. And if the owners asked why they were untying it – to tell them, their master had need of it.
Now on that particular Friday when he rode that donkey into town, the people all cheered for him. This was the Lord who had done so many miracles amongst them – he had brought healing, forgiveness and new life. He had fed them physically and spiritually and had raised some from the dead – both physically and spiritually as well.
The following Thursday evening at sundown was the feast of Passover Seder – Jesus had been sharing Passover with the disciples. Mind you, they were most all Jewish and they celebrated the Jewish feasts together. Well, Judas excused himself and Jesus told him, “what you must do, do quickly.” Judas went to speak with the Chief Priests and the Captains to determine how he should betray Jesus. While he was gone, Jesus took three of His disciples to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray with Him for what He knew was about to take place. Jesus knew it was nearly time for Him to die. This is what He had been born to do. This was His only and one true test of obedience and Jesus did not want to do it. He did not go eagerly into death. He even asked our Father, His Father – Abba – take this cup from me, but nevertheless, not my will, but yours.
Death before Christ died was a very different matter than we know it today. There was a pain to death – a sting; the bible calls it, during the separation of life from the body. Death was definitely a thing to be avoided, a thing to be feared. And, this is my own personal speculation, but I also believe that before Christ’s death on the cross there was a living death of the soul that all mankind experienced everyday and with no relief from the time of the fall of man and the entering of sin in the Garden of Eden, until just after the prayers of Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane when He was crucified for the sins of all mankind. It wasn’t until after Christ’s death that life became significant. That is because, Jesus did not stay dead and buried in that tomb! He went down to hell, snatched the keys of death from satan and rose up again on the third day! The enemy of life had controlled death and he thought he had won for all eternity by crucifying Christ. But what satan meant for evil, God meant for good – our eternal good.
Christ’s resurrection from death unto life, is the very reason why we too, can die to our sin and be resurrected into new life through Christ. "Easter" Sunday is for the Easter bunny, but this Sunday is Resurrection Sunday – the day we as believers celebrate the resurrected life of Christ and all that means for us.
You see before I became “born again” in 1985 and accepted Christ into my life as my Lord and Savior, I lived a flat, angst-ridden, confused, death of a life. I had no connection to life. I felt like an alien on this planet searching for something familiar, something to call my own, someone to love, someone to be and something to do. I was searching for me. I was empty inside and I tried all kinds of different things to fill it. And I searched for all kinds of different people to fill it. Inherently it seems, I knew that emptiness was supposed to be filled through a loving, intimate relationship, and I just couldn’t find the person to fill that void. I was basically dead to the world but I didn’t know it.
It wasn’t until I became “saved” that I experienced this new life and realized the difference between my old life. There was life inside me – living and breathing and experiencing the life outside me. There was life within my soul that I never knew wasn’t there in the first place. Now mind you, I know this separation from God was a death to my soul because there were times after having accepted Christ into my life that I pulled away and experienced that death again.
There was the time during my first marriage when it had gotten so bad and I was so depressed that there was no joy, no life and no Christ within me. I had backslidden in my depression because I blamed God for the state of that marriage. I pulled away from God in my anger and the void was palpable. They noticed it on my job; friends noticed it and I described it as a black hole in space sucking in my very soul into nothingness. I was a walking zombie – the living dead.
Later, when I got divorced, I experienced this soul death again, out of guilt for leaving that marriage. Christians don’t divorce, the believer is not supposed to leave and so surely I was outside of God’s will and I separated myself from Him out of guilt. Once again, I became the same un-dead, living that flat, listless, search-filled, meaningless, struggling life I had even before accepting Christ. There was one other time I died to Christ and that was after going on disability and being let go from AT&T. The depression that time was so deep – not out of anger, and not out of guilt but out of pure un-worthiness. I felt inept, incapable, unworthy and hopeless. My separation was long, ugly and daily I wished I could just be put in the ground and saved from the misery. I am sure this death-filled kind of life was a matter of everyday existence for all mankind before Christ came.
Jesus said "I have come so that you would have live, and have it more abundantly." Oh, death – where is thy sting?
You see, Christ’s death was for all of us. His death on the cross was not just for those who would one day believe. His death was so that all mankind would have life and have a death with no sting. It is the acceptance of Christ’s death and the belief in Him that gives us life. And it is through living that life with Him and in Him that we experience that life more abundantly each day that we become closer to Him.
Christ’s death is significant even for those who do not believe. Non-believers reap the rewards of Christ’s death and God’s love just the same as believers do. For God so loved the world… not just those who would believe. Christ’s death on the cross was His gift to ALL mankind. The life we choose to live after being presented with the truth of that death is what determines how abundantly we will live within God’s gift.
In the Old Testament it says that we walk between the valleys of life and death. Choose life. You see, before Christ died for us – we had no choice but to die – we were already dead. We lived in death, we died a painful death and death was eternal. The wages of sin is death. Then Jesus came and he told the Pharisees that they were white-washed sepulchers. They were the ones who were supposed to be knowledgeable about God and the laws of man. They were the High Priests but they were dead inside like a tomb that was made to look good on the outside. That is how we live as non-believers. We try to clean it all up on the outside, be kind, don’t lie, don’t steal don’t cheat, and maybe we even came close to following the 10 Commandments. Those were the laws God gave man, because they had no Life on the inside. And without Christ, we still have no life on the inside.
"I am the way, the truth and the life, no man comes to the Father accept by me” For many it is a hard scripture to hear – they feel condemned, separated, excluded and left out. They rebel and deny that the only way to experience God is through Christ. But that is because they do not know that they don’t have life. Yes, the first part of Romans 6:23 says “the wages of sin is death.” But the second part says, “but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus, our Lord.”
Just this past Tuesday, the Bishop of my church reminded us that a person can have life and not be alive. A patient in the hospital that is on life-support has a heart that beats, and lungs that breath all with assistance – but there is no life in that body that is alive. God’s grace to us while we are unbelievers is His life-support system. We are alive with no live, we are walking comas, zombies of the heart searching for a way to live. Christ is the way, and that’s the truth.
Sin means “separation from God.” The sins we commit are the actions of life that keep us separated from God. When God separated a part of Himself as flesh, that flesh became sin. That flesh is Jesus and Jesus became sin for us – He knew no sin, He committed no sins – He became sin: the perfect sacrifice.
And when He made that sacrifice of death, He did it for all of us, whether we would believe in Him or not. Christ died for us while we were yet sinners - while we were still separated from Him - and He still died for us even if we remain sinners even unto our deaths.
Once I wrote a song that said, “Life is a gift, not a choice – yet many a choice has been made, to take that life away.” It was a song pertaining to the pro-choice, pro-life debate. It was written shortly after I first came to Christ and I feel, in one regard, it is inaccurate according to the truths I now know about life.
The conception of life in the physical is a gift. The life we receive through Christ’s death and resurrection is also a gift. “For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten son, so that whosoever should believe shall not perish but would have everlasting life.” John 3:16. But accepting that gift and accepting that life is a choice. We can choose everlasting life or we can choose to stay dead in our sin.
Making that choice begins with belief. There are no list of rights and wrongs – just simple belief. Do you believe that Jesus is the only begotten son of God? Do you believe that He was born of a virgin? Do you believe that He died on the cross for the transgression of our sins? Do you believe that He was raised again on the third day so that we could have life everlasting? Do you believe in Life?
p.s. Do you want to know why Jesus is called the “only begotten son of God” if He was God? Email me and ask… I’ll tell you why.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
LIFE EXISTANCE
© 2008 by Deidre Campbell-Jones
April Theme: Life
Life: John 1:1-4
No Life: John 3:16
In this Easter month of April, I want to do something a little differently and go back to the basics for our Bible Study. The topic this month is “life” and we’ll cover discussions such as new life, the resurrected life and what Christ means when He says, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” (John 14:6). These next studies will be a perfect opportunity for you to ask questions and make suggestions.
On a plane ride last weekend, coming home from Florida, I had the opportunity to strike up a conversation with a woman who was a self-reported “New Ager” and supported the Unity church. Unity churches are interdenominational – they “accept all denominations, not just Christian,” she told me. And that struck me as odd. First of all, how can all denominations worship together? You would have to strip away all the things that separate them as denominations in the first place, and only teach those few left over things that are similar. And secondly, being “Christian” is not a denomination. It is a label that professes a state of belief and the lifestyle associated with that belief. To be a “Christian” is to be a “follower of Christ.”
So if indeed you have an interdenominational church where all “religions” – not just Christianity - worship together, then you must strip away Christ from that service because that is the only thing separating Christianity from any religion. And since Christ is the only basis of Christianity, there really isn’t anything left for the true Christian to worship at a worship service – the very nature of worship is that there is an object or individual to be worshipped – and if you strip away Jesus as that source for worship – what are you actually left to worship at that service?
I would also like to interject at this particular juncture just exactly what I feel about “religion”. I suppose that Catholicism is a religion. Baptists and Methodists, Lutherans and Pentecostals all practice a religion – as do Buddhists, Muslims and Jews. Christianity in and of itself is not a religion. In fact, most people who profess a belief in a Godly being, but not in Christ Jesus as God’s only begotten son, will often say they are “spiritual” and do not practice any “religion”. I think that’s backwards. I think more “non-believers” are religious. Fans religiously follow their teams and celebrities. Doctors and Lawyers religiously practice their trade – there are so many aspects of life that we are “religious” about. But to me, God is a Spirit – He has created spiritual beings. God is in 3 persons – Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. In my understanding of God, He does not exist without Jesus and the Holy Ghost and that makes believing the very essence of “Spirituality” for me.
The crux of the matter is that you cannot have Christianity without Christ. Jesus is the key factor that causes so much derision and strife and separation between religions such as Atheism, Agnosticism, Paganism, Buddhism and many others that don’t end in “ism”.
It is the truth and subject of Jesus that starts arguments, breeds contention, frustration, starts wars and separates family and friends. And it is this subject I want to discuss a little further.
Recently, Terrance and I had the opportunity to “witness” to a non-believer who is Jewish by heritage, not by practice and professes to be “spiritual”. He believes there is a God and/or a higher power. He believes God (probably more accurately “god”) is present in all things – an ethereal creative force that is the source of all thing beings in existence. He does not rule out the possibility that a man named Jesus existed and that He historically sacrificed himself for mankind, but he sees it as the ultimate act of god-like behavior and does not actually attribute the event to anything personal regarding his own life, nor even anything connected to God or a part of God. That is because Jesus is not God to him – nor is He to most of the world. He did however, ask, “How can Jesus, a man who walked this Earth also be God?” Here’s what I had the opportunity to share with him:
When I taught the primary kids in Sunday school years and years ago, I explained the trinity and our “triune” God this way: we as human beings are beings in three parts – we have our physical body, our minds – which is our heart, our emotions our thoughts and we have our soul, which is the core or our being, personality and life-force within us. We are body, spirit and soul. The bible describes it as body (sometimes might), spirit and soul as well. Deuteronomy 6:5
God created us in His own image. Genesis 1:26a: “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness:” Notice God says, “let US make man in OUR image…” And so, He created us in the likeness of His three facets of self: Soul (God the Father), Body (Jesus the Son, in the flesh), and Holy Spirit (the breath and movement of life). Think of God in terms of water. The very nature of water is H2O. But water has three forms: liquid, ice (solid) and gas (steam). No matter what its form, it is still water - H2O.
Once again: John 1: 1-4 explains a multitude of things. “In the beginning was God. And the Word was with God and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men.”
In these scriptures, the word “Word” is capitalized. The word of God here is a pronoun. Verse 14 describes why the Word is a pronoun. “The Word became flesh and dwelt amongst men.” Jesus is the Word, and the Word is God’s voice. Words are a tangible substance – our words hold weight and they exist in this physical world. God spoke his word into flesh and became a man. God himself became man.
Genesis 1:1 says “in the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” Now remember, John 1 says in the beginning the Word was with God and the Word was God. And the Word was with God. Jesus was with God, and Jesus was God and Jesus was a part of God in the beginning. And it was through His Word [Jesus] that God created all things. Genesis 1:3 says, “And God said let there be light.” And John 1:3 says “All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.” That includes us who were made in His image. Remember? God said let us make man in our own image… It was through Jesus that we were created and through the Holy Spirit life was breathed into us.
This is why Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth and the life.” The second half of that scripture says “no man comes to the Father except through me.” Herein lays the point of contention for so many. “Why is it that there is only one way to come to God?” Non-believers of Christ Jesus are sure that there are many ways to come to God because they inherently sense that there are many ways to experience God.
God’s presence is everywhere, and God is speaking to us at all times – He wants us to recognize Him and to hear his voice so that He can give us life! John 1:4 continues by saying, “In him was life; and the life was the light of men.” Further down in verse 9 it says, “That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.” God’s light shines upon every man that comes into this world whether they recognize Him or not. Everyone – believer or not – can bask in the same sunshine that was created by God. They smell the same flowers, hear the same birds and feel the same presence of God in all things He created. And, they feel the goodness in them and desire that goodness even without desiring to know the source of that good.
John 1:10 explains it this way, “He [Jesus] was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.” For me it is as if a person believes that steam exists but refuses to believe in ice or the liquid form of water. Our “non-Jewish” Jewish friend, said – if he was dying of thirst and his life saving water evaporated into steam, then of course he’d want to know why. But to me, his analogy holds no water. Jesus is the living water that gives us life. With out him we are dying of thirst – not just spiritually, but physically as well. John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever would believe on him, should not perish but have everlasting life.”
Without Him – we perish. With Him we have life. There are no list of rights and wrongs – just simple belief. Do you believe that Jesus is the only begotten son of God? Do you believe that He was born of a virgin? Do you believe that He died on the cross for the transgression of our sins? Do you believe that He was raised again on the third day so that we could have life everlasting? Do you believe in Life?
eHomework: Compare the light in Genesis 1:3-4 to the Light in John 1:4-5
p.s. Do you want to know why Jesus is called the “only begotten son of God” if He was God? Email me and ask… I’ll tell you why.
April Theme: Life
Life: John 1:1-4
No Life: John 3:16
In this Easter month of April, I want to do something a little differently and go back to the basics for our Bible Study. The topic this month is “life” and we’ll cover discussions such as new life, the resurrected life and what Christ means when He says, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” (John 14:6). These next studies will be a perfect opportunity for you to ask questions and make suggestions.
On a plane ride last weekend, coming home from Florida, I had the opportunity to strike up a conversation with a woman who was a self-reported “New Ager” and supported the Unity church. Unity churches are interdenominational – they “accept all denominations, not just Christian,” she told me. And that struck me as odd. First of all, how can all denominations worship together? You would have to strip away all the things that separate them as denominations in the first place, and only teach those few left over things that are similar. And secondly, being “Christian” is not a denomination. It is a label that professes a state of belief and the lifestyle associated with that belief. To be a “Christian” is to be a “follower of Christ.”
So if indeed you have an interdenominational church where all “religions” – not just Christianity - worship together, then you must strip away Christ from that service because that is the only thing separating Christianity from any religion. And since Christ is the only basis of Christianity, there really isn’t anything left for the true Christian to worship at a worship service – the very nature of worship is that there is an object or individual to be worshipped – and if you strip away Jesus as that source for worship – what are you actually left to worship at that service?
I would also like to interject at this particular juncture just exactly what I feel about “religion”. I suppose that Catholicism is a religion. Baptists and Methodists, Lutherans and Pentecostals all practice a religion – as do Buddhists, Muslims and Jews. Christianity in and of itself is not a religion. In fact, most people who profess a belief in a Godly being, but not in Christ Jesus as God’s only begotten son, will often say they are “spiritual” and do not practice any “religion”. I think that’s backwards. I think more “non-believers” are religious. Fans religiously follow their teams and celebrities. Doctors and Lawyers religiously practice their trade – there are so many aspects of life that we are “religious” about. But to me, God is a Spirit – He has created spiritual beings. God is in 3 persons – Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. In my understanding of God, He does not exist without Jesus and the Holy Ghost and that makes believing the very essence of “Spirituality” for me.
The crux of the matter is that you cannot have Christianity without Christ. Jesus is the key factor that causes so much derision and strife and separation between religions such as Atheism, Agnosticism, Paganism, Buddhism and many others that don’t end in “ism”.
It is the truth and subject of Jesus that starts arguments, breeds contention, frustration, starts wars and separates family and friends. And it is this subject I want to discuss a little further.
Recently, Terrance and I had the opportunity to “witness” to a non-believer who is Jewish by heritage, not by practice and professes to be “spiritual”. He believes there is a God and/or a higher power. He believes God (probably more accurately “god”) is present in all things – an ethereal creative force that is the source of all thing beings in existence. He does not rule out the possibility that a man named Jesus existed and that He historically sacrificed himself for mankind, but he sees it as the ultimate act of god-like behavior and does not actually attribute the event to anything personal regarding his own life, nor even anything connected to God or a part of God. That is because Jesus is not God to him – nor is He to most of the world. He did however, ask, “How can Jesus, a man who walked this Earth also be God?” Here’s what I had the opportunity to share with him:
When I taught the primary kids in Sunday school years and years ago, I explained the trinity and our “triune” God this way: we as human beings are beings in three parts – we have our physical body, our minds – which is our heart, our emotions our thoughts and we have our soul, which is the core or our being, personality and life-force within us. We are body, spirit and soul. The bible describes it as body (sometimes might), spirit and soul as well. Deuteronomy 6:5
God created us in His own image. Genesis 1:26a: “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness:” Notice God says, “let US make man in OUR image…” And so, He created us in the likeness of His three facets of self: Soul (God the Father), Body (Jesus the Son, in the flesh), and Holy Spirit (the breath and movement of life). Think of God in terms of water. The very nature of water is H2O. But water has three forms: liquid, ice (solid) and gas (steam). No matter what its form, it is still water - H2O.
Once again: John 1: 1-4 explains a multitude of things. “In the beginning was God. And the Word was with God and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men.”
In these scriptures, the word “Word” is capitalized. The word of God here is a pronoun. Verse 14 describes why the Word is a pronoun. “The Word became flesh and dwelt amongst men.” Jesus is the Word, and the Word is God’s voice. Words are a tangible substance – our words hold weight and they exist in this physical world. God spoke his word into flesh and became a man. God himself became man.
Genesis 1:1 says “in the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” Now remember, John 1 says in the beginning the Word was with God and the Word was God. And the Word was with God. Jesus was with God, and Jesus was God and Jesus was a part of God in the beginning. And it was through His Word [Jesus] that God created all things. Genesis 1:3 says, “And God said let there be light.” And John 1:3 says “All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.” That includes us who were made in His image. Remember? God said let us make man in our own image… It was through Jesus that we were created and through the Holy Spirit life was breathed into us.
This is why Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth and the life.” The second half of that scripture says “no man comes to the Father except through me.” Herein lays the point of contention for so many. “Why is it that there is only one way to come to God?” Non-believers of Christ Jesus are sure that there are many ways to come to God because they inherently sense that there are many ways to experience God.
God’s presence is everywhere, and God is speaking to us at all times – He wants us to recognize Him and to hear his voice so that He can give us life! John 1:4 continues by saying, “In him was life; and the life was the light of men.” Further down in verse 9 it says, “That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.” God’s light shines upon every man that comes into this world whether they recognize Him or not. Everyone – believer or not – can bask in the same sunshine that was created by God. They smell the same flowers, hear the same birds and feel the same presence of God in all things He created. And, they feel the goodness in them and desire that goodness even without desiring to know the source of that good.
John 1:10 explains it this way, “He [Jesus] was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.” For me it is as if a person believes that steam exists but refuses to believe in ice or the liquid form of water. Our “non-Jewish” Jewish friend, said – if he was dying of thirst and his life saving water evaporated into steam, then of course he’d want to know why. But to me, his analogy holds no water. Jesus is the living water that gives us life. With out him we are dying of thirst – not just spiritually, but physically as well. John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever would believe on him, should not perish but have everlasting life.”
Without Him – we perish. With Him we have life. There are no list of rights and wrongs – just simple belief. Do you believe that Jesus is the only begotten son of God? Do you believe that He was born of a virgin? Do you believe that He died on the cross for the transgression of our sins? Do you believe that He was raised again on the third day so that we could have life everlasting? Do you believe in Life?
eHomework: Compare the light in Genesis 1:3-4 to the Light in John 1:4-5
p.s. Do you want to know why Jesus is called the “only begotten son of God” if He was God? Email me and ask… I’ll tell you why.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
LOVELY LADY LUCK
© 2008 by Deidre Campbell-Jones
March Theme: Luck
Luck: Proverbs 7:10-12; Proverbs 7:25-27
Faith: Proverbs 8:1,4,6; Proverbs 8:17-18,21
I thought of the title for this weekend’s bible study long before I knew I would be spending the weekend with two lovely ladies who would frequently expound upon “the Herman luck.” They are sisters and we are in Florida for the wedding of the younger sister. They are lots of fun, profess a belief in God and somehow were born into a family that frequently suffers from “Anything that can go wrong, will.”
Somehow the Bride’s specialized bouquet with peacock feathers was delivered to the hotel in Florida two months in advance. No one called the Bride and therefore there has been now bouquet for the actual ceremony. This has been ascribed to “The Herman Luck.” I think “Lady Luck” is alive and well.
There are many things the world will give a female reference to – ships, cars –and so on. But there are few abstract, emotional concepts of the mind that are spoken of as a female entity.
You would think that “Lady Luck” would be some odd, human manifestation and it would be the total opposite to anything God would condone. And, in fact, since ‘luck” is a concept not found in the bible, you would think there would be no reference to her in the bible at all.
However, Proverbs describes two kinds of women: one is sought after and will bring nothing but ruin; the other is to be desired, but is often ignored – she will bring riches and glory. From a non-biblical standpoint either sounds like she could be our friend the lady of luck. The first woman in Proverbs is described so literally that we are sure of whom we think God is speaking of. Proverbs 7:10-12 reads, “10: And, behold, there met him a woman with the attire of an harlot, and subtil of heart. (She is loud and stubborn; her feet abide not in her house: Now is she without, now in the streets, and lieth in wait at every corner.)”
How many of us skip over these passages about the harlot in Proverbs? Women skip over her because we know we won’t be lured into the streets by hookers. Happily married men ignore her; men, who have never had a desire to pay for desire, may give her a passing thought and young men who feel susceptible may read about her warily and hope they don’t get caught. But “Lady Luck” seems the perfect name for her. By giving her that name, we can easily see her luring unsuspecting men and women out to the brightly lit streets of Vegas and the casinos all dressed up like harlots, luring with an enticing finger all that would come inside and take their chances. But Proverbs 7:25-27 says “Let not thine heart decline to her ways, go not astray in her paths. For she hath cast down many wounded: yea, many strong men have been slain by her. Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death.” If we’re still talking about the casinos then we are talking in extremes and many of us still “pass by the harlot scriptures” in the scenario, because we are confident we will not go down like this. And we’re right many of us – especially those of us reading this bible study will never get caught up in gambling or prostitution at either at all (for the latter) or at any extreme (for the former).
Honestly however, this lady luck is not only working the streets of Vegas or Atlantic City. And she’s no longer a hooker or even a “call girl” – she is an escort, benignly waiting to escort you away from God’s simple truths of life. She’s walking the streets outside your job. She’s walking the streets at the grocery store, the gas station and the bank. She’s even walking the streets outside your house. And, I hate to even say it, but I’m sure she’s working outside many churches as well.
Lady Luck is a lure that looks good and enticing. She’s craftily and subtly whispering unsuspecting people away from what they know is good and right. She is anything that you hope for or depend on or pray for or get involved with that holds more weight, truth, opportunity or possibility than the promises of God. She is fools gold. She is opportunistic in stead of a good opportunity. She is good fortune without being godly. She is the here and now. She is not Mr. Right but Mr. Right Now. She’s another fish in the sea. She’s putting on a good front, a good show and she even appears to be walking the good life. Lady Luck is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Pull that away and underneath, Lady Luck is not all that lovely.
But there is one God describes and I see her as having a simple, pure beauty that is easily overlooked. She is not loud and stubborn; she is not in the streets crying out to anyone walking by. But she is crying, like the forgotten sister, always sitting in the shadows – forgotten and unappreciated. I say she is also underestimated.
Proverbs 8:1, 4 & 6 describes her this way; “Doth not wisdom cry? and understanding put forth her voice? Unto you, O men, I [wisdom] call; and my voice is to the sons of man. Hear; for I will speak of excellent things; and the opening of my lips shall be right things.” She is not down in the streets of the city, she is crying at the gates, on the outskirts and at the entrance because no one will let her in. They don’t even want to hear what she has to say – even though she promises excellence and righteousness. She is Wisdom and many of us think we know her, but we are really walking with Lady Luck instead.
The bible describes Wisdom as being better than rubies. It says those who make witty inventions know her, as do Kings and noble men. But she is crying out to all of us. She may hang with elite of the elite in society – but she’d also like to hang out with you and me – at our jobs, the gas station and the bank; the grocery stores, inside our houses and especially at our churches. You see, though she may dwell with kings and noblemen, Wisdom is no respecter of persons. Proverbs 8:17 says “I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me.” Wisdom is still speaking in the first person – she is speaking of herself.
If we look for Wisdom instead of seeking out that other chick – the one who is loud, flashy and bright, slick and alluring; we might indeed find all that we are hoping to find, but do not, when we are lured by lady luck. Wisdom promises so much more than what Lady Luck has to offer. In Proverbs 18-19 she says, “Riches and honour are with me; yea, durable riches and righteousness. My fruit is better than gold, yea, than fine gold; and my revenue than choice silver.”
A pastor once described to me that Wisdom is God’s feminine side. And I believe that. The promises of God always exist for those who would seek Him – Matthew 6:33 “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and all else will be added unto you.” Well, God’s behavior as feminine Wisdom is no different. God wants us to seek Wisdom. She says this again in Proverbs 8:21 – “[Seek me] that I may cause those that love me to inherit substance; and I will fill their treasures.” Well, that sounds like better odds than anything you’ll get at the casino, or through the lottery, or any chance with Lady Luck.
Besides, Wisdom promises nothing but good – but as we see with the Herman sisters, Lady Luck is catch as you can: find Lady Luck and you aren’t necessarily guaranteed to find good luck.
When the bride’s bouquet was possibly missing it was “the Herman Luck” but when it was delivered on time for the wedding the next day, from the right florist, and looking absolutely beautiful, only Goodness was thanked. Well now who is she!?
Just like luck has its bad luck and its good luck so does lady luck. And she’ll lure you with the good she offers so innocently and sweetly that you don’t realize how she drags you down. She’ll step into the picture as bad luck and intercept a bridal bouquet, then deliver it on time as good luck, so you’ll say “thank goodness” instead of “thank God.” Good luck will make a cashier hand you $10 in change instead of $1 in change and bad luck will make you put it in your pocket instead of handing it back.
But wisdom cries out to be recognized and understood. For when we act with wisdom instead of on hunches and immediate good fortune, we build for ourselves a life of wealth and riches that supercedes even just our finances but permeates every aspect of our lives – physically, spiritually and emotionally.
Lady luck may have her altar ego “bad luck” but Wisdom’s twin is Faith. Have faith that God wants the very best for you and it is by His orchestration that it comes to you – when you seek out Wisdom - instead of hoping it will fall in your lap, or you will stumble upon it, or sit next to the lovely lady luck. I say if lady luck is considered to be lovely, then her beauty is only skin deep. It pales in comparison to the depth of beauty we would find when we seek wisdom.
eHome Bible Study homework: Read Proverbs 2 – clarify both Wisdom and Miss Lady Luck in the passages.
Power, love & Peace
(2 Timothy 1:7)
~Min. Dez
March Theme: Luck
Luck: Proverbs 7:10-12; Proverbs 7:25-27
Faith: Proverbs 8:1,4,6; Proverbs 8:17-18,21
I thought of the title for this weekend’s bible study long before I knew I would be spending the weekend with two lovely ladies who would frequently expound upon “the Herman luck.” They are sisters and we are in Florida for the wedding of the younger sister. They are lots of fun, profess a belief in God and somehow were born into a family that frequently suffers from “Anything that can go wrong, will.”
Somehow the Bride’s specialized bouquet with peacock feathers was delivered to the hotel in Florida two months in advance. No one called the Bride and therefore there has been now bouquet for the actual ceremony. This has been ascribed to “The Herman Luck.” I think “Lady Luck” is alive and well.
There are many things the world will give a female reference to – ships, cars –and so on. But there are few abstract, emotional concepts of the mind that are spoken of as a female entity.
You would think that “Lady Luck” would be some odd, human manifestation and it would be the total opposite to anything God would condone. And, in fact, since ‘luck” is a concept not found in the bible, you would think there would be no reference to her in the bible at all.
However, Proverbs describes two kinds of women: one is sought after and will bring nothing but ruin; the other is to be desired, but is often ignored – she will bring riches and glory. From a non-biblical standpoint either sounds like she could be our friend the lady of luck. The first woman in Proverbs is described so literally that we are sure of whom we think God is speaking of. Proverbs 7:10-12 reads, “10: And, behold, there met him a woman with the attire of an harlot, and subtil of heart. (She is loud and stubborn; her feet abide not in her house: Now is she without, now in the streets, and lieth in wait at every corner.)”
How many of us skip over these passages about the harlot in Proverbs? Women skip over her because we know we won’t be lured into the streets by hookers. Happily married men ignore her; men, who have never had a desire to pay for desire, may give her a passing thought and young men who feel susceptible may read about her warily and hope they don’t get caught. But “Lady Luck” seems the perfect name for her. By giving her that name, we can easily see her luring unsuspecting men and women out to the brightly lit streets of Vegas and the casinos all dressed up like harlots, luring with an enticing finger all that would come inside and take their chances. But Proverbs 7:25-27 says “Let not thine heart decline to her ways, go not astray in her paths. For she hath cast down many wounded: yea, many strong men have been slain by her. Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death.” If we’re still talking about the casinos then we are talking in extremes and many of us still “pass by the harlot scriptures” in the scenario, because we are confident we will not go down like this. And we’re right many of us – especially those of us reading this bible study will never get caught up in gambling or prostitution at either at all (for the latter) or at any extreme (for the former).
Honestly however, this lady luck is not only working the streets of Vegas or Atlantic City. And she’s no longer a hooker or even a “call girl” – she is an escort, benignly waiting to escort you away from God’s simple truths of life. She’s walking the streets outside your job. She’s walking the streets at the grocery store, the gas station and the bank. She’s even walking the streets outside your house. And, I hate to even say it, but I’m sure she’s working outside many churches as well.
Lady Luck is a lure that looks good and enticing. She’s craftily and subtly whispering unsuspecting people away from what they know is good and right. She is anything that you hope for or depend on or pray for or get involved with that holds more weight, truth, opportunity or possibility than the promises of God. She is fools gold. She is opportunistic in stead of a good opportunity. She is good fortune without being godly. She is the here and now. She is not Mr. Right but Mr. Right Now. She’s another fish in the sea. She’s putting on a good front, a good show and she even appears to be walking the good life. Lady Luck is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Pull that away and underneath, Lady Luck is not all that lovely.
But there is one God describes and I see her as having a simple, pure beauty that is easily overlooked. She is not loud and stubborn; she is not in the streets crying out to anyone walking by. But she is crying, like the forgotten sister, always sitting in the shadows – forgotten and unappreciated. I say she is also underestimated.
Proverbs 8:1, 4 & 6 describes her this way; “Doth not wisdom cry? and understanding put forth her voice? Unto you, O men, I [wisdom] call; and my voice is to the sons of man. Hear; for I will speak of excellent things; and the opening of my lips shall be right things.” She is not down in the streets of the city, she is crying at the gates, on the outskirts and at the entrance because no one will let her in. They don’t even want to hear what she has to say – even though she promises excellence and righteousness. She is Wisdom and many of us think we know her, but we are really walking with Lady Luck instead.
The bible describes Wisdom as being better than rubies. It says those who make witty inventions know her, as do Kings and noble men. But she is crying out to all of us. She may hang with elite of the elite in society – but she’d also like to hang out with you and me – at our jobs, the gas station and the bank; the grocery stores, inside our houses and especially at our churches. You see, though she may dwell with kings and noblemen, Wisdom is no respecter of persons. Proverbs 8:17 says “I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me.” Wisdom is still speaking in the first person – she is speaking of herself.
If we look for Wisdom instead of seeking out that other chick – the one who is loud, flashy and bright, slick and alluring; we might indeed find all that we are hoping to find, but do not, when we are lured by lady luck. Wisdom promises so much more than what Lady Luck has to offer. In Proverbs 18-19 she says, “Riches and honour are with me; yea, durable riches and righteousness. My fruit is better than gold, yea, than fine gold; and my revenue than choice silver.”
A pastor once described to me that Wisdom is God’s feminine side. And I believe that. The promises of God always exist for those who would seek Him – Matthew 6:33 “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and all else will be added unto you.” Well, God’s behavior as feminine Wisdom is no different. God wants us to seek Wisdom. She says this again in Proverbs 8:21 – “[Seek me] that I may cause those that love me to inherit substance; and I will fill their treasures.” Well, that sounds like better odds than anything you’ll get at the casino, or through the lottery, or any chance with Lady Luck.
Besides, Wisdom promises nothing but good – but as we see with the Herman sisters, Lady Luck is catch as you can: find Lady Luck and you aren’t necessarily guaranteed to find good luck.
When the bride’s bouquet was possibly missing it was “the Herman Luck” but when it was delivered on time for the wedding the next day, from the right florist, and looking absolutely beautiful, only Goodness was thanked. Well now who is she!?
Just like luck has its bad luck and its good luck so does lady luck. And she’ll lure you with the good she offers so innocently and sweetly that you don’t realize how she drags you down. She’ll step into the picture as bad luck and intercept a bridal bouquet, then deliver it on time as good luck, so you’ll say “thank goodness” instead of “thank God.” Good luck will make a cashier hand you $10 in change instead of $1 in change and bad luck will make you put it in your pocket instead of handing it back.
But wisdom cries out to be recognized and understood. For when we act with wisdom instead of on hunches and immediate good fortune, we build for ourselves a life of wealth and riches that supercedes even just our finances but permeates every aspect of our lives – physically, spiritually and emotionally.
Lady luck may have her altar ego “bad luck” but Wisdom’s twin is Faith. Have faith that God wants the very best for you and it is by His orchestration that it comes to you – when you seek out Wisdom - instead of hoping it will fall in your lap, or you will stumble upon it, or sit next to the lovely lady luck. I say if lady luck is considered to be lovely, then her beauty is only skin deep. It pales in comparison to the depth of beauty we would find when we seek wisdom.
eHome Bible Study homework: Read Proverbs 2 – clarify both Wisdom and Miss Lady Luck in the passages.
Power, love & Peace
(2 Timothy 1:7)
~Min. Dez
Sunday, March 22, 2009
LUCK OF THE DRAW
© 2008 by Deidre Campbell-Jones
March Theme: Luck
Luck: Job 3:26
Faith: Psalms 86:7
“Why me, Lord? Why me?” Have you asked that question? Have you asked it when times seemed insurmountably bad, inexplicably difficult, and amazingly horrific? Sometimes it seems trouble just blasts you out of nowhere with such force and even devastation that you find yourself feeling like, “What the heck!? What did I do to deserve that?” Divorce, death, abandonment, abuse… “Why me?”
Sometimes it is not even something hugely tragic, but maybe just mildly difficult – but if the circumstance seems surprising and unwarranted, it is still easy to ask, “why me? What happened?” Friends up and leave you seemingly for no reason, bank accounts get hugely overdrawn and all jacked up from a minor mistake, and errors of all sorts seem so magnified or unleash a domino effect of trouble and even if you don’t say it out loud or even to yourself, the feeling inside is still, “Why is this happening to me?”
Here’s my answer – “Just lucky, I guess!” Trouble surrounds us on every side. Trials and tribulations are promised to us. John 16:33 says, “…in the world, you will have tribulation.” It is not a promise given because God is a sadistic God, zapping people with problems for his own amusement. But instead the very world itself, in fact, all of creation as well as the very nature of mankind has been affected by sin. And where there is sin, there is trouble, bottom line.
In the third chapter and 36th verse of Job, he states it this way, “I was not in safety, neither had I rest, neither was I quiet; yet trouble came.” It doesn’t matter what any of us do – or even to not do – trouble comes. It’s just the luck of the draw when it comes to you and how. Eventually we all get lucky and experience trouble – sometimes it’s nothing but little trouble, while others seem to be followed by nothing but big trouble – but either way, every one gets a shot at experiencing it. And even Job and his friends wondered, “Why?”
It seems to make sense to ask, “Why me” in times of trouble, right? But what about in times of great joy and excitement, thrill and blessings? Do we ever think to ask, “Why me” when good things happen? It’s still the luck of the same draw – why not you? We are no more deserving of the good things than we think we are of the bad things!
I have heard great people in society who have experienced a multitude of favor, or the most extreme blessings of life have also asked, “Why me?” I in fact have received a vision and calling for my own life that has seriously caused me to ask, “Me, Lord – are you sure?” And of course the Lord answers, “Why not you? Who else but you if this vision and call has come to you?”
You see, even though Peter says in Acts 10:34 that God is no respecter of persons, we also seem to subconsciously assume he’s not thinking of us or concerned about our daily lives, trials, tribulations, wants, desires and joys. We live in a country that values the “American Dream”. We live in a society that encourages pulling yourself up by your bootstraps. We tell our young people to keep their heads low, treat others the way you want to be treated, be fair, be honest, do good and be good. And while all of these may be good rules to live by, they come with the unspoken implication that if you do these things it’s the best way to avoid trouble. But trouble is coming no matter what and we as a people seem to spend less time (if no time at all) teaching our young people how to survive and deal with trouble when it comes. Oh yeah, and then we complain when we have to bail them out – but that’s a different bible study!
Also just as nonsensical is the fact that we push the ideals that if we work hard we’ll get the good reward, that if we do the right things, good things will happen. Be kind, don’t do drugs, stay in school, get a good job and all else will be added to you. No, it says, seek ye first the Kingdom of God and all else will be added to you. Why then would we be promised “a good life” filled with no anxiety over our needs and blessed with the desires of our hearts if God is not a respecter of persons? It’s just the luck of the draw!
You see, it all boils down to: thoughts. Our God is thinking of us and He wants us the think of Him.
When times are good; when we can’t believe the unbelievable good fortune of our lives; when we discover a purpose and find our path; or when God blesses us in good measure, pressed down and shaken under we are to know that God is ever thinking of us. Psalms 139:17 “How precious are your thoughts towards me! How great is the sum of them!” The psalmist was asking, “Why me, Lord? Why would you think so highly of me?” And the Lord gives His answer to us all in Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” God has an expected end for all of us and it is of peace – not of evil! So what of all the evil in this world that will surround us at every turn? God’s answer goes on and on…
Psalms 32:7: “Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. Selah.” Psalms 37:39: “But the salvation of the righteous is of the LORD: he is their strength in the time of trouble.” Psalms 46:1: “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” Psalms 50:15: “And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.”
When we are in trouble He wants us to think of Him and when we are blessed He wants us to know He thinks of us. He is always thinking of us – in good times and in bad. Yes, we are going to have trouble – and in some cases, our own sin, poor judgment and influence are the cause. But mostly we’re just in the right place at the right time to get the luck of that draw – that’s what we’ve very nearly been promised. And when trouble comes, Palms 86:7 has another promise for us: “In the day of my trouble I will call upon thee: for thou wilt answer me.” God will be there to deliver us from our trouble!
His thoughts are not our thoughts – we think that trouble is our punishment, we think it’s our karma, we think it is bad luck. His thoughts are not our thoughts – when our lives are blessed with purpose, joy, good fortune and good tidings, we think of it as good luck. But His thoughts for us are of peace, not evil for the Lord has an expected end for us – it is a destiny filled with abundance, purpose, blessings and joy – if we would but call on Him, remember Him and seek Him first.
Case and point – instead of looking for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow that’s being guarded by some lucky little leprechaun, look to the rainbow as the true covenant sign that God created it to be – God loves you and wants only His best life for you – and like I’ve said before, that’s the best luck in the world!
Power, love & peace -
~Min. Dez
March Theme: Luck
Luck: Job 3:26
Faith: Psalms 86:7
“Why me, Lord? Why me?” Have you asked that question? Have you asked it when times seemed insurmountably bad, inexplicably difficult, and amazingly horrific? Sometimes it seems trouble just blasts you out of nowhere with such force and even devastation that you find yourself feeling like, “What the heck!? What did I do to deserve that?” Divorce, death, abandonment, abuse… “Why me?”
Sometimes it is not even something hugely tragic, but maybe just mildly difficult – but if the circumstance seems surprising and unwarranted, it is still easy to ask, “why me? What happened?” Friends up and leave you seemingly for no reason, bank accounts get hugely overdrawn and all jacked up from a minor mistake, and errors of all sorts seem so magnified or unleash a domino effect of trouble and even if you don’t say it out loud or even to yourself, the feeling inside is still, “Why is this happening to me?”
Here’s my answer – “Just lucky, I guess!” Trouble surrounds us on every side. Trials and tribulations are promised to us. John 16:33 says, “…in the world, you will have tribulation.” It is not a promise given because God is a sadistic God, zapping people with problems for his own amusement. But instead the very world itself, in fact, all of creation as well as the very nature of mankind has been affected by sin. And where there is sin, there is trouble, bottom line.
In the third chapter and 36th verse of Job, he states it this way, “I was not in safety, neither had I rest, neither was I quiet; yet trouble came.” It doesn’t matter what any of us do – or even to not do – trouble comes. It’s just the luck of the draw when it comes to you and how. Eventually we all get lucky and experience trouble – sometimes it’s nothing but little trouble, while others seem to be followed by nothing but big trouble – but either way, every one gets a shot at experiencing it. And even Job and his friends wondered, “Why?”
It seems to make sense to ask, “Why me” in times of trouble, right? But what about in times of great joy and excitement, thrill and blessings? Do we ever think to ask, “Why me” when good things happen? It’s still the luck of the same draw – why not you? We are no more deserving of the good things than we think we are of the bad things!
I have heard great people in society who have experienced a multitude of favor, or the most extreme blessings of life have also asked, “Why me?” I in fact have received a vision and calling for my own life that has seriously caused me to ask, “Me, Lord – are you sure?” And of course the Lord answers, “Why not you? Who else but you if this vision and call has come to you?”
You see, even though Peter says in Acts 10:34 that God is no respecter of persons, we also seem to subconsciously assume he’s not thinking of us or concerned about our daily lives, trials, tribulations, wants, desires and joys. We live in a country that values the “American Dream”. We live in a society that encourages pulling yourself up by your bootstraps. We tell our young people to keep their heads low, treat others the way you want to be treated, be fair, be honest, do good and be good. And while all of these may be good rules to live by, they come with the unspoken implication that if you do these things it’s the best way to avoid trouble. But trouble is coming no matter what and we as a people seem to spend less time (if no time at all) teaching our young people how to survive and deal with trouble when it comes. Oh yeah, and then we complain when we have to bail them out – but that’s a different bible study!
Also just as nonsensical is the fact that we push the ideals that if we work hard we’ll get the good reward, that if we do the right things, good things will happen. Be kind, don’t do drugs, stay in school, get a good job and all else will be added to you. No, it says, seek ye first the Kingdom of God and all else will be added to you. Why then would we be promised “a good life” filled with no anxiety over our needs and blessed with the desires of our hearts if God is not a respecter of persons? It’s just the luck of the draw!
You see, it all boils down to: thoughts. Our God is thinking of us and He wants us the think of Him.
When times are good; when we can’t believe the unbelievable good fortune of our lives; when we discover a purpose and find our path; or when God blesses us in good measure, pressed down and shaken under we are to know that God is ever thinking of us. Psalms 139:17 “How precious are your thoughts towards me! How great is the sum of them!” The psalmist was asking, “Why me, Lord? Why would you think so highly of me?” And the Lord gives His answer to us all in Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” God has an expected end for all of us and it is of peace – not of evil! So what of all the evil in this world that will surround us at every turn? God’s answer goes on and on…
Psalms 32:7: “Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. Selah.” Psalms 37:39: “But the salvation of the righteous is of the LORD: he is their strength in the time of trouble.” Psalms 46:1: “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” Psalms 50:15: “And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.”
When we are in trouble He wants us to think of Him and when we are blessed He wants us to know He thinks of us. He is always thinking of us – in good times and in bad. Yes, we are going to have trouble – and in some cases, our own sin, poor judgment and influence are the cause. But mostly we’re just in the right place at the right time to get the luck of that draw – that’s what we’ve very nearly been promised. And when trouble comes, Palms 86:7 has another promise for us: “In the day of my trouble I will call upon thee: for thou wilt answer me.” God will be there to deliver us from our trouble!
His thoughts are not our thoughts – we think that trouble is our punishment, we think it’s our karma, we think it is bad luck. His thoughts are not our thoughts – when our lives are blessed with purpose, joy, good fortune and good tidings, we think of it as good luck. But His thoughts for us are of peace, not evil for the Lord has an expected end for us – it is a destiny filled with abundance, purpose, blessings and joy – if we would but call on Him, remember Him and seek Him first.
Case and point – instead of looking for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow that’s being guarded by some lucky little leprechaun, look to the rainbow as the true covenant sign that God created it to be – God loves you and wants only His best life for you – and like I’ve said before, that’s the best luck in the world!
Power, love & peace -
~Min. Dez
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