Category: Bible promises

The Art of Offending God

SinfulInside1

“Oh, how often they rebelled against him in the wilderness
    and grieved his heart in that dry wasteland.”

Psalm 78:40, NLT

“For forty years I was angry with them, and I said,
‘They are a people whose hearts turn away from me.
    They refuse to do what I tell them.’”

Psalm 95:10, NLT

“And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God [do not offend or vex or sadden Him], by Whom you were sealed (marked, branded as God’s own, secured) for the day of redemption (of final deliverance through Christ from evil and the consequences of sin).”

Ephesians 4:30, AMP

I must say, we instinctively know how to offend God.  No one has to teach us how it’s done, we just know how to do it. We have the amazing ability to sadden God. Our sins, and our rebellion causes God to tremble and weep. Disobedience, in any form affects the very essence of God’s well-being.

As a believer in Jesus, I know that sin is never permanent. It is not like getting a spiritual tattoo on our hearts. Our faith prevents sin from completely attaching itself to our hearts. But my sorrow or grief over my sin, must drill itself directly into my heart. I should come to the point where I can not sin against Him who loves me hysterically.

To turn back to Him involves “contrition.” To be contrite is to imply a very simple acknowledgment of our sin– and the rebellion that is often seen within. Somehow this is possible. I do not understand the mechanics of it all. But I am very glad it is there. God loves a heart that is contrite.

God is very offended by our sin. But somehow we do not grasp this. More or less this is a bit intangible. In our mind, we go don’t ever stop sinning against Him. We feel that we are getting away of something, which isn’t true at all.

As a closet-Lutheran, I propose the Lutheran Church which also has its own act  of contrition, which is said during Holy Absolution. The following version, taken from the Lutheran Service Book (2006), says:

    O Almighty God, merciful Father, I a poor, miserable sinner, confess to you all my sins and iniquities, with which I have ever offended you and justly deserved your punishment now and forever. But I am heartily sorry for them and sincerely repent of them, and I pray you of your boundless mercy, and for the sake of the holy, innocent through many bitter sufferings and death of your beloved son, Jesus Christ, to be gracious and merciful to me, a poor sinful being.

I can say nothing more than this. I will simply rest in this kindness that isn’t me at all. He loves each of us, as if we were the only ones. Thank you Father.

Y

ybic, Bryan

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A Declared Trust

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I once scorned ev’ry fearful thought of death.
When it was but the end of pulse and breath,
But now my eyes have seen that past the pain
There is a world that’s waiting to be claimed.
Earthmaker, Holy, let me now, depart,
For living’s such a temporary art.
And dying is but getting dressed for God.

Our graves are merely doorways cut in sod.

— Calvin Miller

The Prize is Waiting Just For You

 2008 Ryder Cup Previews - Day 3

 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 3:14

 Paul’s wish was a heavenly one.  He understood that this world had absolutely nothing to give him.  Simply put,  his faith was the bulldozer type.  He pressed forward, and he would not compromise or vacillate.  He would have all that Jesus promised.

“If you are a Christian, you are not a citizen of this world trying to get to heaven; you are a citizen of heaven making your way through this world.”

 Vance Havner

Paul ‘presses’ and his goal is very close.  He is God’s ‘pit bull,’ and once he latches on, everything changes.  He wants the prize.  We can only look and wonder.  What Paul has faced should empower us, and give us a sense of what is real.  Life is just a little bit away.  If we turn we will never see it.

There is a life that is far beyond what we think is possible.  Our only real option is to press into what has been pledged.  We must cling to all these ‘possible promises.’  But we must let Him decide what is true.  He has promised us life, and we cannot turn from this.  He is not some ‘shyster or a liar.’  We must push forward and then proclaim Him as ‘Lord of the Guarantee.’

He alone is worthy of such concentrated focus.  We must admit that there is no one who can compare.  Jesus Christ has an intensity and a radical commitment to what is really real and really true.  We must turn to Him and beseech Him to become Lord and King.  No one can compare.

Paul has a deep conviction.  We must follow him, and duplicate his focus.  We must concentrate on his aspirations, and follow him into what is true.  Real Brokenbelievers have very few directions to go.  Paul’s focus and direction should direct and motivate us into a very different direction than what this world system offers us.

“Press on”, or reach for a fresh understanding of Grace and goodness.  Simply put, you really have few options.  Captivity is very degrading and we lose our way very quickly.  We really are much more than this.

Please consider all the good that has been given to you.  The presence of Jesus is not to be trifled with.  He gives all that He is, to bring you to Himself.  But we must commit, and turn His heart to us.  His love is amazing, and all those who turn to Him are brought into safety.

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kyrie eleison, Bryan

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Extraordinary Bread

“Give us this day our daily bread.”

Matthew 6:11, ESV

“Don’t bargain with God. Be direct. Ask for what you need. This isn’t a cat-and-mouse, hide-and-seek game we’re in. If your child asks for bread, do you trick him with sawdust? You’re at least decent to your own children. So don’t you think the God who conceived you in love will be even better?”

Matthew 7:9, 11, Message

His miracles for us often require some responsiveness on our part.  He truly supplies what we need–but from day-to-day.  He doesn’t just deliver a “pallet” of bread every 2 months.  He simply provides what we need, day by day, contingent on us asking.  If we don’t ask, he won’t provide.  But his ear is very attentive to our cry for provision.

The bread provided is a gift.  We are of the impression that we earn our bread, we work for it.  This verse simply and profoundly says that he gives it.  Bread is an issue of his grace and kindness.  It is something that is given.  You might say that our bread is grace in wheat form.

We must learn to trust him at this basic need.  We need food on a daily level.  We really should be aware of this essential need.  Your supper tonight is infused with His goodness.  He was the provider.  Someone else may have taken certain ingredients and enhanced your dining experience, but he made the provision to your table.

The definitive issue is the “day-by-day” factor.  We must learn that this is the way our Father operates.  We are compelled into His daily care.  Grace comes to us with a day-by-day submission.  That is not a bad thing.  We simply surrender our wills to our Lord.  We must keep coming to him, and asking.

A day’s portion, arriving a day at a time.  It is a profound deception if we believe we can move beyond this.  We accrue wealth and anticipate “protection” from the vagaries of a deity we can’t see.  We want safety and security that is definite and solid.  We feel that if we have worked long enough, and sweated enough, then we will eat well.  It is our privilege.

And we have gone the extra mile, and have developed a “doctrine” that fits our decision-making process.  Theology is important to us, and we try to develop something that will cover us and soothe us, and provide a maximum amount of coverage. However being his disciple is not like buying good car insurance.  But we can’t shake a deep conviction that we have “adjusted” what is real and lasting.

The Father intends that we are to be reliant on him, exclusively.  But that, to be perfectly honest, frightens us. (That maybe why it is done so rarely.)

Being a believer is something quite radical.  It should affect us at the deepest of levels.  We must insist on a way of thinking that propels us into the place of a simple faith.  Our faith in our Father will always be day-to-day.  We can’t think otherwise.  If we try to make it otherwise, we end up in a deep confusion.  The Father has insisted that we depend on Him.

Exodus 16 is the Manna Chapter. To always rely on God daily was for many to be an issue.  When they attempted to get ahead, that extra would become rotten.  If I remember right, the surplus manna produced maggots.

We come to Him hungry.  That is the way he insists.  Our stomachs may growl, but He will always provide all that we need.  Always–our hunger for a day’s provision should move us into a place of grace.  You could say we have a substantial need for His grace.  He will always provide for his children.  And we really do trust Him. (Or do we?)

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ybic, Bryan