Hi gals,
This morning in our reading I was struck by the verse in Isaiah 58 "If you do away with...the pointing finger...THEN your light will rise in the darkness" (vs 9,10). Then on the way to work, I heard Romans 2:1-4 "You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. 2Now we know that God's judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. 3So when you, a mere man, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God's judgment? 4Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads you toward repentance?" And it all came together.
As you all know, revival has been going on in our church for some time now. And I hope and pray that we have all been a part of it. However, I have to confess that I have fallen into the habit of "Quenching the Spirit"--even mentally it is a dangerous thing. There have been many people who have had radical change in their lives, and yet I find myself thinking, "This will never last. I know they will fall back into their old habits." Or worse, when they bring a good word or a good example, thinking "Who are they to tell me what to do or how to live? Just (insert amount of time) ago they were living a much worse life than me. What can they have to offer?"
Girls, I know that we all tend to fall into this mentality. Women are especially vindictive and judgmental. But what does God's word say..."you who pass judgment do the SAME things." Who are we to say whether or not someone has changed? Is it not possible that we are just jealous of the change in their life, and we feel upset that they are actually doing BETTER than we are spiritually? Rather than judging them, we should look and rejoice in what God is doing in their lives. I was thinking about the adulterous woman this morning. What worse sin can there be than to commit adultery...And yet, what did Jesus do? He told her, "neither do I condemn you." Who are we to cast that first stone? Are we guiltless? Have we lived such holy lives that we are able to spiritually discern whether others have come to know Christ for the first time or anew?
When I think about Isaiah I get an image in my mind...standing there and pointing..."saved, not saved, saved, not saved...true repentance, faking it." But for some reason, that finger is never pointed at me, examining and judging my OWN life. I pray that when it does, that I can say with confidence, "Saved!" But when I am so busy deciding about the salvation of others, I am too busy to look at my own life. When we have stopped "the pointing finger" and have looked at our own lives, have accepted God's gracious and MIGHTY work in our church, THEN, then and only then can we have our light shine powerfully in the darkness. God is not calling for us to judge others in this time of revival. Yes, we must be wise and we must be aware that Satan is actively at work. Yes, there are those whose revival is fake...But I know that I err on the side of being over-judgmental, of being to certain that everyone else has a fake revival. Yes, be on guard! Stand firm in the faith! Do not be naiive. But give people the benefit of the doubt. If they are wolves in sheep's clothing, it will become apparent. But you cannot learn how to be holy in your own life if you are shining the light of God's grace in everyone's life but your own.
I know that there is much more complexity to this whole situation than first appears. But, let's believe that God is a great God, that He can save and radically change those who were only a month or two ago living in great sin. He is God! He is mighty! He is great! And He is so far above us that we cannot doubt His work. Do not doubt His grace...or "show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience." Let's take MORE time to examine our own lives. I know that I don't want others pointing their fingers at me and saying "she will never last." I want encouragement and support and prayer that my life will continue to change so I can serve God more.
And one last thing ladies. Let us not think that we can pretend and cover this feeling. I know we ALL know when someone is covering up true feelings...if in our heart we are judgmental people, it WILL come across in our actions. And we will not escape God's judgment!
I hope that this is a reminder for us all. I know that some of you truly do have gracious hearts that are so faithful to build others up. And I praise God for you! I know that I personally need to work on having faith that God can change even the worst person! I hope this is an encouragement to live more faithfully before God. Praise Him!
Showing posts with label Isaiah. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Isaiah. Show all posts
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Peace, Peace
From our reading this morning in Isaiah 57...
:2 "Those who walk uprightly enter into peace; they find rest as they lie in death."
:10 "[But you wicked people], you were wearied by all your ways, but you would not say, 'It is hopeless.' You found renewal of your strength and so you did not faint."
:11 "Whom have you so dreaded and feared that you have been false to me...?"
:12 "I will expose your righteousness and your works, and they will not benefit you."
:17 "I was enraged by his sinful greed; I punished him, and hid my face in anger, yet he kept on in his willful ways."
If we are looking for true rest and peace, it will not be found in anything on earth. True peace comes from walking uprightly--and, even then, we may only find real rest in death! Life on earth is not promised to be perfect or smooth sailing. Things won't go perfectly our way, but God has His reasons--and, in the middle of it all, He promises rest.
I want to share with you the warning I found in verse 10 though...when we see our wicked ways, and we get tired of them, it is not enough. These wicked people found strength that they didn't know they had and continued on in their muck. God calls us to get out of the muck!! He calls us to live for Him. Have you confessed 80% of sin? Someone recently told me that they had confessed a sin in part, but thought that the elders got 'the general gist of it' and 'there's no need to go into all the specifics'. I pressed my friend as to whether or not they thought that was real confession--and then they told me that if they confessed every detail, it would hurt the other person involved. Girls, is that what we're doing when we confess? Making excuses, trying to make sin sound better, not wanting to let go of everything? That's why some confession is not enough! We will never get out of the muck if we only confess part of it! Comparing it to the analogy of when we are saved, our eyes are opened to a room full of manure--what if the lights were still dimmed? We might be able to shovel out most of the manure, but it is only with full light that we will be able to see all and, with the grace of God, clean the whole room! Do not fall into the trap of partial confession--Satan will renew your strength to sin more!
In verse 11, my train of thought continues. Who is it that we are so scared of that we do not turn to Christ? Who is it that causes us to be false to Him? Are you scared that if you confess to being deceitful, your parents won't trust you or let you do anything? Are you scared that if you confess to sexual immorality, you may lose your boyfriend? Are you scared that if you confess to cheating at school, your friends won't look at you as intelligent? Are you scared that if you confess to not truly being a Christian, your friends will look down on you? There are so many things I have been scared of in the past. So many people I knew I would disappoint and hurt if I confessed certain sins. Two things I have learned though--imperfect people love and forgive. God, who is perfect, loves even more and forgives any sin we truly confess and repent of. Isn't that amazing??
Speaking of being scared, verse 12 is a harsh warning. God promises to expose our 'righteousness' and 'works'--but when He does, it will not benefit us! Think about it, ladies--think about all the works we've done. Will they ultimately be for His glory? Think about our righteousness--how righteous are we? Are we striving toward holiness? If God came today, and saw our pretension and superficiality, would He be content with that as righteousness? Would He look at all our works that were done to get praise or the attention of that guy or to look better, and say, "Well done, my good and faithful servant"? His standards are sooo much higher than ours!
:17 Sinful greed...willful ways. What are we greedy for? More worldliness? Have we submitted or are we continuing to walk in our willful ways? He promises to punish and hide His face--trust me, we don't want either one!
:21 "There is no peace...for the wicked". If you have no peace, pray to God and seek His mercy!!
:2 "Those who walk uprightly enter into peace; they find rest as they lie in death."
:10 "[But you wicked people], you were wearied by all your ways, but you would not say, 'It is hopeless.' You found renewal of your strength and so you did not faint."
:11 "Whom have you so dreaded and feared that you have been false to me...?"
:12 "I will expose your righteousness and your works, and they will not benefit you."
:17 "I was enraged by his sinful greed; I punished him, and hid my face in anger, yet he kept on in his willful ways."
If we are looking for true rest and peace, it will not be found in anything on earth. True peace comes from walking uprightly--and, even then, we may only find real rest in death! Life on earth is not promised to be perfect or smooth sailing. Things won't go perfectly our way, but God has His reasons--and, in the middle of it all, He promises rest.
I want to share with you the warning I found in verse 10 though...when we see our wicked ways, and we get tired of them, it is not enough. These wicked people found strength that they didn't know they had and continued on in their muck. God calls us to get out of the muck!! He calls us to live for Him. Have you confessed 80% of sin? Someone recently told me that they had confessed a sin in part, but thought that the elders got 'the general gist of it' and 'there's no need to go into all the specifics'. I pressed my friend as to whether or not they thought that was real confession--and then they told me that if they confessed every detail, it would hurt the other person involved. Girls, is that what we're doing when we confess? Making excuses, trying to make sin sound better, not wanting to let go of everything? That's why some confession is not enough! We will never get out of the muck if we only confess part of it! Comparing it to the analogy of when we are saved, our eyes are opened to a room full of manure--what if the lights were still dimmed? We might be able to shovel out most of the manure, but it is only with full light that we will be able to see all and, with the grace of God, clean the whole room! Do not fall into the trap of partial confession--Satan will renew your strength to sin more!
In verse 11, my train of thought continues. Who is it that we are so scared of that we do not turn to Christ? Who is it that causes us to be false to Him? Are you scared that if you confess to being deceitful, your parents won't trust you or let you do anything? Are you scared that if you confess to sexual immorality, you may lose your boyfriend? Are you scared that if you confess to cheating at school, your friends won't look at you as intelligent? Are you scared that if you confess to not truly being a Christian, your friends will look down on you? There are so many things I have been scared of in the past. So many people I knew I would disappoint and hurt if I confessed certain sins. Two things I have learned though--imperfect people love and forgive. God, who is perfect, loves even more and forgives any sin we truly confess and repent of. Isn't that amazing??
Speaking of being scared, verse 12 is a harsh warning. God promises to expose our 'righteousness' and 'works'--but when He does, it will not benefit us! Think about it, ladies--think about all the works we've done. Will they ultimately be for His glory? Think about our righteousness--how righteous are we? Are we striving toward holiness? If God came today, and saw our pretension and superficiality, would He be content with that as righteousness? Would He look at all our works that were done to get praise or the attention of that guy or to look better, and say, "Well done, my good and faithful servant"? His standards are sooo much higher than ours!
:17 Sinful greed...willful ways. What are we greedy for? More worldliness? Have we submitted or are we continuing to walk in our willful ways? He promises to punish and hide His face--trust me, we don't want either one!
:21 "There is no peace...for the wicked". If you have no peace, pray to God and seek His mercy!!
Monday, August 17, 2009
From Our Reading...
This morning in Isaiah 45:9...
"Does the clay say to the potter, 'what are you making?'"
So right before this, there is a woe to those who quarrel with God. But I wanted to apply it to me. I realized there are several ways that I wrongly ask this question. It sometimes is in the form of an argument with God--"God, why are you making me like this? I wanted to be THIS. I wanted things to turn out this way." It would be as if the clay spoke to the potter saying, "A brown vase, really? I wanted to be a blue teacup. I think I would be much better suited for something delicate, pretty, and attention-grabbing. Brown vases are just functional and boring. No one looks at them or compliments them, and they don't have any fun. You're obviously doing this wrong!"
Or what if the clay is constantly questioning the potter? "What are you doing NOW? Are you done yet? What's next? What detail are you going to carve right there? Are you sure you wanted to make that cut?" Constant questioning of God's plan and God's will is mistrust in God. I need to be quiet and do what He commands and trust that He has a plan for me that He will work out for my good. Instead of always trying to see what is around the next corner, I need to focus on God's will for me now. Glorify God in the mundane!
My other thought on this is how the clay could be asking the potter about other pieces of pottery. "What about that lump? What are you making it into? I only see a lump of clay, I don't think it can be made into anything beautiful. Or that cup. It's starting to come together, but I don't see it ever changing anymore. I think it'll just have to stay undone." Do you ever question God's work in others? Especially during this revival, when we are hearing the encouragement to not quench the Spirit's fire. Don't stop someone else from being moldable for Him! Encourage them in their walk! Be excited at the change in someone else! This is really difficult for me, but we are called to trust Him, not people.
Is there a right way to question our Maker? I think so. We are to "work out (our) salvation with fear and trembling"(Philippians 2:12). We are to ask Him which way He wants us to go. God, how can I be more humble and moldable for Your purposes? Please give me that humility and help me to be totally bendable according to Your will. Show me Your purpose for me today, and help me to live in a way that pleases You. I don't know exactly what You have for me, but I am trusting You that You will fulfill your good plan in accordance with Your will."
And lastly, a verse we all know but a good friend shared with me at church yesterday:
" 'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'" (Jeremiah 29:11)
Let's start our week out trusting God!!
"Does the clay say to the potter, 'what are you making?'"
So right before this, there is a woe to those who quarrel with God. But I wanted to apply it to me. I realized there are several ways that I wrongly ask this question. It sometimes is in the form of an argument with God--"God, why are you making me like this? I wanted to be THIS. I wanted things to turn out this way." It would be as if the clay spoke to the potter saying, "A brown vase, really? I wanted to be a blue teacup. I think I would be much better suited for something delicate, pretty, and attention-grabbing. Brown vases are just functional and boring. No one looks at them or compliments them, and they don't have any fun. You're obviously doing this wrong!"
Or what if the clay is constantly questioning the potter? "What are you doing NOW? Are you done yet? What's next? What detail are you going to carve right there? Are you sure you wanted to make that cut?" Constant questioning of God's plan and God's will is mistrust in God. I need to be quiet and do what He commands and trust that He has a plan for me that He will work out for my good. Instead of always trying to see what is around the next corner, I need to focus on God's will for me now. Glorify God in the mundane!
My other thought on this is how the clay could be asking the potter about other pieces of pottery. "What about that lump? What are you making it into? I only see a lump of clay, I don't think it can be made into anything beautiful. Or that cup. It's starting to come together, but I don't see it ever changing anymore. I think it'll just have to stay undone." Do you ever question God's work in others? Especially during this revival, when we are hearing the encouragement to not quench the Spirit's fire. Don't stop someone else from being moldable for Him! Encourage them in their walk! Be excited at the change in someone else! This is really difficult for me, but we are called to trust Him, not people.
Is there a right way to question our Maker? I think so. We are to "work out (our) salvation with fear and trembling"(Philippians 2:12). We are to ask Him which way He wants us to go. God, how can I be more humble and moldable for Your purposes? Please give me that humility and help me to be totally bendable according to Your will. Show me Your purpose for me today, and help me to live in a way that pleases You. I don't know exactly what You have for me, but I am trusting You that You will fulfill your good plan in accordance with Your will."
And lastly, a verse we all know but a good friend shared with me at church yesterday:
" 'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'" (Jeremiah 29:11)
Let's start our week out trusting God!!
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