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Archive for the ‘The Righteous’ Category

THE KINGDOM OF GOD ON EARTH

Posted in Heaven, The Holy Spirit, The Righteous, tagged , on August 31, 2024|

“for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.” Romans 14:17 HCSB

In the Lord’s Prayer we ask that the Kingdom of God come to earth as in heaven.  Both John the Baptist and Jesus called for repentance since the Kingdom of God was here.  Jesus also said that one could not see the Kingdom of God unless they were born again (John 3:3). So how do we advance the Kingdom of God on the earth?

We cannot do anything apart from the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit is here on earth with us.  We know that Jesus is at the right hand of the Father in heaven.  So to see the Kingdom of God advance the Holy Spirit must be at work in us.  When we pray that God’s Kingdom be established here on the earth we should keep in mind the Apostle Paul’s words – The Kingdom of God is not about eating and drinking, it is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.  For people to experience the Kingdom of God we must walk in Righteousness and walk by the Spirit so we can display the fruits of the Holy Spirit.  The Kingdom of God is not about the flesh.  Paul told us the Kingdom of God cannot be inherited by flesh and blood (1 Corinthians 15:50).  It is only through the Holy Spirit the Kingdom is revealed here on earth.  Only those born of the Spirit can see and inherit the Kingdom of God.

So when we pray that the Kingdom of God come then we must abide in Christ and be filled with the Holy Spirit.  This way people can experience the Kingdom of God by the fruits of the Spirit.

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Heal Our Land

Posted in Healing, Jesus, Knowing God, Peace, Prayer, Salvation, Sin, The Father, The Righteous, The Word, Unity on November 9, 2018|

Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord; Acts 3:19 NASB

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In my last blog, I discussed that when we see pestilence in the land, we are told what we are to do by God.  In 2 Chronicles 7:14 God asks us to do the following:

HUMBLE OURSELVES

As Christians we should not think so highly of ourselves.  We should not look down on others and think we are better than they are. We must remember the only thing that saved us is Jesus Christ.  Our salvation has nothing to do with any work we did.  We have been adopted as God’s children because we have accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior.  We are able to walk in holiness because of the Holy Spirit.  Salvation is a gift.

We should not put all the blame on the wicked.  We must be willing to have our own hearts examined by God to see if there is any wicked way in us, confess our sins, and received God’s forgiveness.  We must be willing to own up to our own sin and stop pointing the finger at others.

PRAY

We don’t pray the way we should.  We don’t pray corporately and we don’t pray for our nation.  We may throw a prayer up every now and then but we are not strategic in our prayers.  I remember years ago there was an event where men went to Washington DC, repented of their sins, prayed and asked God to help them be better fathers, husbands, sons and men of God.  Today when we see tragedy in our land we look to blame someone or something else.  Now we are beginning to accept these events as a way of life.  We are supposed to pray effective prayers and effective prayers involve us opening our hearts and minds to God’s will and purpose and being ready to obey His word. Often time we use “thoughts and prayers” as an excuse not to really seek the face of God in prayer.

SEEK GOD’S FACE

It takes time to seek God’s face.  In order to come before God we have to deal with our own hearts.  This is not an easy thing to do.  It takes humility and prayer.  We can’t seek God’s face with a spirit of pride or entitlement.  If our land is suffering we are seeking Him to help us and we have to be in a posture of humility and trust.  We don’t seek God’s face to just see if we like His plan, but we seek Him so that we will obey Him.  God knows our heart so if we are to truly seek Him then our heart must be right with God.

REPENT (Turn from Our Wicked Ways)

We are told to turn from our wicked ways.  This is the most profound request in 2 Chronicles 7:14.  We are God’s people and He is asking us to turn from our wicked ways.  Notice God did not say to confess our sins.  He is telling us to turn away from wickedness.  This is what repentance entails.  Repentance is not a feeling of that we are sorry for what we did.  Repentance is a willingness to turn away from the thing that separates us from God.  In this case God is asking us to turn away from wickedness and to turn to Him.  We surrender our will and agree to follow His will for our lives.  All Christians have given their life to Christ and called upon His name for salvation.  Not all Christians have surrendered their will for God’s will.  Many of us still want to live in both the world and be accepted into God’s kingdom.  We cannot serve two masters and to serve God may cause us to lose favor with men.  God promised in Isaiah 1:19 that if we are willing and obedient we will have the best of the land.  So we must turn our will toward Holiness and obey God’s word pertaining to our nation.  The ultimate commission we have been given is to love and to share the good news of the gospel.  If we do this we will see things change in our nation.  First we must repent of our own hatred, fear, the lies we tell and believe.

By meeting these conditions God has promised to heal our land.  We do not fight against people but we fight against the principalities of this world.  People are not our enemy, Satan is the enemy.  We must surrender ourselves to God’s hands to see our land healed.  We have to be the ones to cry out to God and repent of our wicked ways.  Then God will be attentive to our prayers made to Him.

and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land. Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to the prayer offered in this place. 2 Chronicles 7:14-15 NASB

Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

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FALLACY OF CHRISTIAN POLITICAL IDEOLOGY

Posted in Faith, government, Jesus, Law, Love, Peace, Salvation, Sin, The Body, The Father, The Righteous on April 7, 2018|

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“If someone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen.” 1 John 4: 20 NASB

For over two years the Media has defined what it means to be Christian by people’s political and religious beliefs.  Rarely, are we depicted as Disciples of Christ.  Instead many articles and debates question who are the real Christians?  Some have defined Christianity based on political and religious; if you are a true Christian you must ascribe to certain political and religious traditions.

I was struck this week by a question posed on a radio station on whether or not Christians who support President Trump are really Christians.  Can Christians be characterized by their support or criticism of a leader or political party in lieu of their faith?  There are many that argue they can because certain political and religious ideals are rooted in the teachings of Jesus Christ.  I found this interesting because our salvation and adoption as God’s children cannot be secured through the law or our adaption to world systems.

Those of us who identify ourselves as Christian believe in Jesus Christ, that He died for our sins, was raised from the dead, and is alive today at the right hand of God our Father.   We know “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.”  Romans 10: 9-10 (NASB)

Unfortunately, in the height of political debates and a politically charge environment we have succumb to defining Christianity through a political lens.  We have this delusion that the party we belong to or the leaders we show allegiance to has some impact on our entrance into the Kingdom of God; or defines us as a disciple of Christ.  This is just absurd, because you are trying to judge something that is spiritually rooted in God with something rooted in mankind.

Our salvation is not obtained by any work we do or what others have done.  We cannot stand before God and claim that because we ascribe to a set of political and religious ideologies we are proven to be the Children of God.  The only reason we can stand before God blameless, is because Jesus Christ died for our sins.  He took our sin and punishment.  We were graciously given Jesus’ righteousness in exchange and have been reconciled to the Father.  There is no work we have done to earn our salvation, so we have no right to boast in our political and religious beliefs.  The law cannot save us, so it is ridiculous to think adhering to certain religious and political beliefs and laws (defined by men) can save us.

The bible is clear that we can identify Christians (the Children of God) by the love that we have for one another.  Jesus even said we would know people by their fruit.  So if a person claims to love God but hates his brother he is a liar and Christ is not in him.  If one claims to follow Jesus but is full of hatred they are not Jesus’ disciple.  Whatever comes out of the mouth reveals what is in the heart.  Whether we are ruled by love or hate speaks more to our faith in Jesus Christ than anything else, including our political party affiliation or religious sect.

Politics and religion will always reveal hypocrisy in man.  Often time these belief systems run contrary to the person’s own behavior.  Also, it is mostly used to sit in judgment of others and think too highly of ourselves.  Boasting about our political and religious ideologies is rooted in pride and God hates pride.  We are taught in scripture to hold our brother in higher esteem than ourselves.

Christianity is defined by humility.  Jesus Christ, who is God, became man and walked amongst us.  He took our sin and became the perfect sacrifice and died so that we might live.  It is through Jesus’ resurrection that we have eternal life and power.  There is no other name in heaven or on the earth that is greater than Jesus.  Jesus is the only one who is deemed the Savior of mankind.

Our faith is not evident through our political and religious symbols and allegiance.  Jesus said the world would know we are His disciples by the love we have for one another.  We may disagree on the political and religious battlefield but even in our disagreement we are called to love.

 

For those that want to know how to spot a Christian, check their fruit (character).  Jesus said you will know us by our fruit.  If these things (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, see Galatians 5:22-23) are not evident in a person’s character,  then the Spirit of God is not in them and they are not known by Jesus.

21“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. 22Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ 23And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you who practice lawlessness.’ Matthew 7:21-23 NASB

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When Will We Meet Again?

Posted in Faith, God's Glory, Healing, Heaven, Jesus, Salvation, The Righteous on November 30, 2016|

“Do not let your heart be troubled; [a]believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. 3 If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.”  John 14:1-3

I grew up knowing death as long as I can remember.  I lost my mother when I was four years old.  I have vivid memories of my mother, including her illness that eventually took her life.  My childhood was impacted by my mother’s absence.  At a young age I had to come to terms with life and death.  As I grew up I lost several relatives, including my sister who was 17 at the time of her death.  I know death all too well.

As a pastor there are times I am called to comfort those that have lost a loved one, and it is not an easy thing to do.  It is especially difficult in those moments that you prayed, had faith and hope for a loved one’s healing, only to see them eventually lose their battle to death.  Death is never easy because it always seems a life ended too soon.  We are left with the question “Why God Why?”

As I pastor people in times of a loved one’s death that question comes up.  It is difficult to answer.  At times, there is no answer nor explanation given by God.  Just recently I learned of someone’s death that we believed would be healed of cancer.  We knew God would heal and it was His will to heal.  At one point we were celebrating the news that the cancer was gone, only to learn later that it had come back spreading throughout the body.  Still you hope in miracles and you know God is able and willing to heal.  However, when the healing does not come, it is easy to question our faith.  Did we believe hard enough?  Did we doubt God?  Was it God’s will to heal?  Why did this person die?

As I pondered these questions the Holy Spirit reminded me of our faith in Jesus Christ.  The foundation of our faith is that one day we will see Jesus face to face.  That faith in Jesus exceeds all other acts of faith.  Salvation is the greatest miracle because a person that is saved is someone who was once dead and now is alive in Christ for all eternity.  Those that have put their faith in Jesus Christ have eternal life.  Death cannot hold them; when they are absent from the body, they are present with the Lord.  That is our faith.  So when a loved one dies in the Lord, they are with Him.  They experience the evidence of their faith.

Jesus told the disciples that He was going away and would prepare a place for them, for all of us.  He promised to come again but His ultimate promise was that He would receive us and we would be where He is.

We cannot fully comprehend eternity because we live in such a temporal world and are governed by time and space.  We experience life, sickness, disease, tragedies, and eventually death in this world.  Yet in heaven there is none of this and they are not governed by time and space.  So we have to rejoice when a loved one in Christ dies because they get to be where He is and stay.  They have received the full promise of God.

Still this may not bring us great comfort since we will no longer see our loved one.  We wonder “when will we meet again?”  So we mourn for our loved ones, we mourn with those that are mourning.  Soon our mourning will turn to joy.  We will meet again.

If you are reading this and you are not sure if you are going to spend eternity with Jesus then you can ask Jesus to come into your heart.  The bible says that whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved (Romans 10:9).  Jesus died and rose again so that we could be reconciled with the Father and have eternal life.  It is available to all.  You don’t have to wonder where you will spend eternity once your life is surrendered to Jesus Christ.  He has gone and is preparing a place for us.  He will come again.  For those of us still left on this earth, let us continue to occupy until Jesus’ returns.  That is what our faith is all about, seeing Jesus face to face and living with Him for all of eternity.  In the meantime let us keep healing the sick, raising the dead, expanding the Kingdom of God on the earth – be SALT and LIGHT.

For this [s]perishable must put on [t]the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54 But when this [u]perishable will have put on [v]the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, “Death is swallowed up in victory. 55 O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; 57 but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15: 53-57

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“It Is What It Is”

Posted in Peace, The Father, The Righteous, The Word, Uncategorized, Wisdom on August 2, 2014|

How blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, Whose hope is in the Lord his God,

Psalms 146:5 (NASB)

People love to say “It is what it is.” Usually I hear people say it when they are referring to a situation they cannot change. It is their way of declaring their acceptance. For me I hate the statement. It has become too commonplace in our speech. It is a statement shrouded in helplessness. We are not helpless.

The bible teaches us that our words have power. We can speak life or death into any situation. What we speak comes from our hearts. We must be careful what we say. The tongue can be dangerous. The tongue can heal. We can change our situation by what we say.

“It is what it is,” speaks something. The phrase has power. I saw a picture of the phrase on Facebook, and the person who posted it said it was wisdom. It is not a wise statement. It can have various meaning such as “who cares” or “things won’t change so deal with it.” It leaves a person feeling helpless. Whenever I hear people say it I hear the defeat in their voice.

We must guard our mouths. When we feel helpless or we find ourselves in a situation we cannot change, we can cry out to The Lord. No situation is impossible for God. He makes all things work for our good. God cares about every detail in our lives. No problem is too small or too big. God can and will work it out.

No matter what life throws our way, God is still God. It is what it is.

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Are We Jonah?

Posted in government, Love, Salvation, The Body, The Righteous, The Word, tagged , , on November 8, 2012|

But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry. 2 He prayed to the Lord, “Isn’t this what I said, Lord, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. 3 Now, Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.”

4 But the Lord replied, “Is it right for you to be angry?” Jonah 4: 1-4 NIV

God told Jonah to preach to Nineveh about their wickedness and their coming destruction.  At first Jonah did not listen and he fled to Tarshish.  He was on a boat and a storm arose and he was tossed into the sea and swallowed by a giant fish.  Jonah finally obeyed God and went to Nineveh to tell them about their wickedness and their destruction.  But Nineveh decided to turn from their wickedness, and repent of their sins.  Even the King entered a decree that the people give up their evil ways and turn to God.  So when God saw what Nineveh did, He relented and decided not to bring judgment on Nineveh.  This angered Jonah and he went away with that anger still in him.

There are many Christians who are upset at the direction our nation is going and based on this week’s election results many have concluded that are nation is headed to destruction.  We have fasted and prayed yet God has said to us “go and make disciples.”  For decades we have said and done this.  When the nation took out bibles and prayer in schools we said destruction would come we prayed and God told us to disciple the nation.  But we just stayed in our pulpits and pews and pronounced the nation was headed in the wrong direction.  When sexual immorality became the norm in our society; we fasted and we prayed and God told us to disciple the nation but we returned to our churches grumbling and complaining.

As more and more officials were elected and brought more liberal ideas and policies, we griped and complained but we still didn’t heed the voice of God who told us to go and make disciples of this nation.  Instead we seem content to just tell the people because of their wickedness this nation is headed for destruction.

Are we like Jonah?  Do we fear that if we preach the Good news, disciple the people that God will relent and save this nation? Because deep down we know that God is slow to anger and abounding in love. When will we as Christians rise up and repent of our disobedience to the great commission given to us by Jesus to go and make disciples of all nations especially our own; baptizing them, healing them of all their diseases and loving them instead of condemning them to destruction.

Jonah was angry that God relented.  He thought the people of Nineveh deserved to be destroyed because they were so wicked.  He questioned in the bitterness of his soul – Why should they be given another chance for God’s mercy?  Jonah didn’t want to see Nineveh repent.  Are we like Jonah?

God’s response to Jonah was “And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left—and also many animals?” Jonah 4:11

God has great concern for the United States of America He wants to heal our land and change it for good.  He has directed His people to go and disciple the people of the nation.  When we do this they will turn to God and desire the things of God.  They will no longer seek those things out that are evil but call upon the Lord for salvation.  If the people change so will our government and their hearts will be turned to God.

The law cannot save.  We cannot expect our government to enact laws that will cause this nation to turn back to God.  Instead we have to humble ourselves and do what God has commissioned us to do.  We must remember that the Holy Spirit will convict men of their sin and turn them to Jesus.  We must be that light and proclaim the word of God in our towns and cities throughout this nation.  One man was able to speak a word from God and the entire city repented and turned to God.  How much more can the people of God do today under the power of the Holy Spirit?

So let’s not focus on the law or grumble about the state of our government.  Instead let’s save the people and heal their broken hearts.  They are longing for the truth and the light of God.  Everything we do we must do out of love and not judgment and pride.  We must deem them higher than we deem ourselves.

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Compassionate Conservative?

Posted in government, Love, Money, Prayer, The Body, The Father, The Righteous on October 9, 2012|

9 “This is what the Lord Almighty said: ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. 10 Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. Do not plot evil against each other.’ Zechariah 7:9-10 NIV

Compassionate conservatism is a political philosophy that stresses using traditionally conservative techniques and concepts in order to improve the general welfare of society (Wikipedia Encyclopedia).  It is a term that President George W. Bush identified with when he ran for office in 2000.  The idea was that conservatives were motivated by compassion.  This is what President George Bush said about himself.  Many republicans at that time were talking about the importance of compassionate conservatism.  However, I wonder where that compassion has gone.

I have been astounded by the rhetoric of anger, fear, and hatred that I have heard from those claiming to be conservative or republican in speaking about the direction this country is going and the current administration.  The Republican Party seems to have been hijacked by a small group of right wing individuals who promote hate and fear.   They have made the republicans look like the main thing that matters to them is money.  They are tired of paying for programs that benefit the less fortunate or cringe at the idea that somehow their wealth will be redistributed to the poor or minorities who are viewed as being lazy or dependent upon government handouts.

The Republican Party has stood against abortion and stood for traditional marriage which is what entices many Christians to the party.  We even use terms as the Christian Right who have been vocal critiques of the liberal policies that make abortion legal and desire to allow gays to marry.  Despite the Republicans’ stance on these issues the recent rhetoric for the past four years has given me great pause and I ask where is the compassion?

How is it that policies that have favored the poor, immigrants or minorities are the very policies that are driving our nation to the brink of destruction?  Why is it that when the first black President is elected there were those who questioned his birth right, and called him names including Hitler, a Marxist or whatever negative term that would bring about fear and loathing?  But I don’t expect that much from those that are motivated by money or are more concerned about their balance sheets and profit margins.  I do expect more from Christians.  Where is the love and compassion?

As much as the current administration has been criticized by the Christian right for their policies concerning abortion and marriage they have remained silent about those in the republican party spouting fear, hate and anger.  Some have even fed the rhetoric by repeating what they hear.  Things like our country is headed for destruction and God will judge us if we support the current administration or Democratic Party.  They have not criticized those within the party that are spouting all this negativity.  Where is the hope?  Why all the doom and gloom?  Compassion has been thrown out the window.

I have been truly baffled by all of this.  I have prayed for understanding but I keep going back to love and compassion.  Jesus said that the world would know His disciples by the love that they have for one another.  Instead fear has been the driving factor in this election season by the Republicans who claim that God on their platform unlike the Democrats who tried to remove God from their platform.  I guess we should at least give the Democrats credit for being honest instead of purporting to be followers of God but not displaying the characteristics of God.

Let’s leave politics to the politicians and corporations that support them.  The church is to be about the business of God.  If the government is not going to provide justice, compassion and mercy to the people it is the church’s responsibility.

We can’t just support making abortion illegal without offering a solution for women and those babies born to parents that can’t care for them or do not want to care for them.  We need to provide them with a safe place where they will find compassion and mercy, not judgment and hate.  If we do not want the government providing the poor or minorities with programs that benefit their education, finding work, health benefits, etc. then the church has to step up.

When these right wing conservatives are crying foul and speaking doom and gloom; the church needs to step up and provide hope and love to a lost and hurting people.  We should not be standing behind them rooting them on in hopes that their rhetoric will encourage people not to support the current administration or Democratic Party.  How often have we demonized the current administration and those that are part of the Democratic Party?  Since when did they become our enemy?

The direction of our nation is not dependent upon those who do not know God.  They are doing what they know to do.  We can’t expect them to walk in righteousness.  However, the direction of the nation is dependent upon the righteous.  If the nation is headed toward moral decay or destruction then we have to look to ourselves and judge ourselves before God.  Are we fulfilling the great commission that Jesus gave us?

If we would show the mercy and compassion toward others that God has shown to us then we will find favor and compassion with whatever party or person that occupies the white house.  The bible is full of examples of godly men and women that found favor with kings and governments that lived contrary to them.

We should be celebrating everything that is right in this country and provide light and hope in those dark places.  Fear, hate, and anger should never be part of our vocabulary or conversation because it was never with Jesus.  Our hearts should long for the salvation of every lost soul and compassion and mercy toward all.  We can hate sin but not the sinner.  We should be building up and not tearing down.

I hope one day Republicans will return to the idea of compassionate conservatism.  Remember the bible teaches us that if we seek first the Kingdom that all these things will be added to us.  If we give to the poor we will not have to worry about our riches.  What we do for others God will do for us.  The church knows this message and it is time we begin to teach it to the nation.  The lust and love of money is the root of all evil but love, compassion and mercy is the very DNA of our living God.

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Jesus Died for the Ungodly

Posted in Crucified, Grace, Jesus, Law, Love, Salvation, Sin, The Righteous on November 22, 2011| Leave a Comment »

6 For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. Romans 5:6-9

When man fell into sin we did what our evil hearts desired, we were enemies of God.  The Law showed us just how sinful and wicked we were.  Who would die for a wicked man?  When the wicked are punished and get what they deserve we rejoice.  We cry out for justice and rejoice when justice is served.  Yet Jesus came for the wicked, for us.  Jesus died for us sinners.  When we were still enemies of God, He sent His only begotten Son to die for our sins.  God chose to show mercy over judgment.

Jesus was sinless yet took on our sins and died.  God did this to demonstrate His love toward us.  We deserve to be judged for our sin, but God gave us His son.  He chose to show us mercy and grace through Jesus.

If you ever doubt God’s love for you take a look at Jesus and remember what He did for you.  He suffered for you.  He died for you, and He has called you to Himself.  Scarcely, will someone die for a righteous man, but Jesus died for the ungodly – us sinners.  Know that you are loved and God’s gift to you is His Son Jesus Christ.

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Identity Crisis

Posted in Jesus, Knowing God, Salvation, The Father, The Holy Spirit, The Righteous on October 11, 2011| Leave a Comment »

14 For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15 For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.  Romans 8:14-17

As a Christian I constantly struggle with my identity in Christ.  I grew up in a church that taught you had to be good to go to heaven.  I was told by some as a child that I would not amount to anything.  At one time I defined myself by my career.  Currently, I am a wife, mother, and pastor.  However, we are told in the bible we are sons of God; we have been adopted and are fellow heirs with Christ.  This is where, at times, I have confused my identity.

Sometimes I struggle to see myself the way God sees me.  I don’t always act like a child of God’s.  There are times I walk in accordance to my flesh and not by the spirit.  Many times I have walked by sight and not by faith.  In the times I have fallen or made mistakes I often ask myself “who am I?”  It’s very easy to fall into the old patterns of my thinking that I am not good enough or what I do is not good enough.  Honestly, I wish I could always see myself the way God sees me.

There are times I try to impress God with my “good” deeds.  I seek His acceptance instead of receiving His love.  I struggle with my faith when I don’t understand my identity.  Things are much more difficult when I look at my own weaknesses instead of keeping my eyes on Jesus.  When God looks at me He sees His child; not a slave nor a servant.  There are times I act like a slave full of fear and doubt lacking faith in God.

God created us in His image and in His likeness.  Jesus knew and understood His identity; He only did what He saw the Father doing.  Jesus didn’t struggle with sin; sin was not a part of Him because sin was not in the Father.  God hates sin; Jesus hates sin.  Jesus healed because the Father is a life giver.  Jesus raised the dead because death has no place in the Father.  What fellowship does light have with darkness? (2 Corinthians 6:14)  Jesus saved us so that we would be reconciled with the Father.  So through Jesus we are made righteous and are now considered the children of God.  Even the Holy Spirit testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 

Each day I have to make a conscious decision to know that I am a child of God’s.  I am no longer to walk according to my flesh or what others say that I am.  I should not hold the opinion of others or of myself above what God says about me – He is perfecting me in the image of Jesus.

So I will no longer live based on my past identity but I will press forward in understanding and knowing my true identity in Jesus.   Do you know your identity?

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Visionaries

Posted in The Righteous on October 5, 2011| Leave a Comment »

18 Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained…  Proverbs 29:18

Steve Jobs was a great visionary.  He transformed Apple Computer and changed how we use computers and electronics in our everyday lives.  Apple was the first computer I learned to do programming on.  It was an Apple II that we used in my computer math class and we used a program called “Hello”.  Then in college I remember the Macs we had.  Both my high school and college were behind in the times but I always loved Apple products. 

When Steve Jobs returned to Apple he brought us the iMac, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad.  When each one was launched many questioned Steve Jobs’ vision but we cannot deny how these products have changed Apple but even our lives.  Apple was driven by Steve Jobs’ vision and continued to innovate new products.

So many companies in this great recession have crashed and burned but Apple continues to grow.  It’s interesting that some of Apple’s major product launches happened when this country was in a financial downturn.  Still Apple was able to convince the average consumer to buy their products.  Apple was not driven by money but by vision.  I believe it is the reason Apple is so successful.

We so desperately need vision; without it we caste off all restraints.  Many failures can be attributed to lack of vision.  We are all called to be visionaries.  It’s part of our DNA because without vision we will actually perish.  Our brains thrive on creativity, imagination and vision.  We are at our best when we have a vision set before us.

However, visionaries can be very lonely people because often times others do not see or understand the vision.  Many visionaries were laughed at during their time but not until after they are long gone do we realize just how much of an impact they had. 

As Christians that is the kind of life we are to live as visionaries.  There are so many issues that the world has they are in need of great visionaries.  We are living in very critical times and we cannot live a life without vision the world needs us.  So as we reflect on the impact Jobs had on the computer world; imagine the impact we could have if take the vision of spreading the Kingdom of God to the whole world.

The world still needs visionaries; the world needs You.

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