Genesis 22:1-4

“After these things God tested Abraham, and said to him, ‘Abraham!’ And he said, ‘Here am I.’ He said, ‘Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering upon one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.’ So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac; and he cut the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place afar off” (Genesis 22:1-4 NRSV).

Have you ever said “no” to God?

As many of you know, my husband and I are in the process of moving into a beautiful house given to us by the Lord. Moving in and unpacking a container we packed up two years ago, discovering things we’d forgotten that we had. It’s like meeting old friends again, finding the things we’d lived with for a long time and then suddenly didn’t have for two years. In many ways, a warm reunion, finding a place to put each thing.

In the process of unpacking I found a series of books that I’d had . . . and missed. I’m an avid science fiction fan and this series of books has been very enjoyable for me to read. I keep my books and read them over and over; the characters are, in a real sense, old friends with whom I become reacquainted each time I pick up a book. Yesterday, the Lord told me to clean out this particular series, to get rid of it. While there is no obvious sin within the books, there are moral threads that don’t exactly line up with scripture. Still, the main story line is moral (the good guys win) with strong characters.

The Lord said get rid of the books.

Can you believe I have fought with the Lord for an entire day? That I would either think I could convince Him to change His mind, that I could convince myself that I hadn’t heard from Him, or that I would have the temerity to say “no” to God? Finally this morning, I got up, surrendered (albeit still a bit rebelliously) and put the books in the thrift store stack in the garage. (And, no, I won’t be bringing them back into the house.) Sometimes our “loves” get between us and God. It doesn’t mean that I was in any sense in danger of losing my salvation, but I was willing, at least for a time, to trade God’s next blessing for the comfort of what I knew.

Not today.

It made me think of Abraham and the story of God demanding that Abraham sacrifice his son. The biblical account is very flat; it doesn’t give us the details of what Abraham was thinking, of how he had to have struggled during the night with what God asked of him, or how he continually prayed, pleaded, and begged God during the three day journey. But you have to know that he went through all of these things. Isaac was the child of his old age and the child of promise. How could God bring about what He had told Abraham without Isaac growing to maturity, marrying, and having children? You have to know that Abraham argued and bargained, demanded and pleaded during those hours prior to finally climbing the heights of Mt. Moriah. And yet, how much would Abraham have missed if he had refused to obey God?

I know that there are other things in my life—beside a set of paperback books—that stand between me and obeying God fully. If I want God’s best blessings, if I want to become the woman that He envisions me to be, I need to be willing to set it all aside in order to seek Him and Him alone.

© 2011 Robin L. O’Hare. All Rights Reserved. Permission granted for nonprofit and church groups to use this article in its entirety (including this notice). For other uses, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com.

Romans 6:16-18

“Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God that you, having once been slaves of sin, have become obedient from the heart to the form of teaching to which you were entrusted, and that you, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.” (NRSV)

The Lord has been talking to me a lot lately about how I make decisions. There has been instilled within me a strong Puritan work ethic: God only helps those who help themselves. And while I do believe that Christians are commanded to work and to work hard (and often), I think that my own worldview has been corrupted with the idea of American self-determination.

Romans is an interesting book. Of all the books, this is the one that is the least personal. All of Paul’s other epistles are letters written to churches with whom he had personal relationships, but the letter to the church at Rome was written to people he had never met. Thus, Paul takes the time to outline the doctrines of Christianity. In essence, this—even more than the other epistles—is a book of the Bible written to us for this time, a church which Paul never meets and a church which desperately needs the anchor of correct Christian thought and practice.

Prior to his conversion, Paul had been trained as a rabbi, but even more than that, as a Pharisee. To understand what this means, we need to understand the concept of rabbi and talmidim, the Jewish concept of teacher and student. It was very different than our concepts of teacher/student today. In fact, in America, that concept is in the process of changing with the introduction of the learning concept of constructivism. To understand the difference in how Paul thought and how we thought, we need to understand where we are now.

Constructivism is the idea that knowledge isn’t a static entity which can either be known or learned. It isn’t a concrete set of truths or ideas which the student must learn from the teacher. Rather, constructivism teaches that each student constructs their own reality—their own truths—from the environment around them. The teacher, then, rather than being a sage that communicates truth to the student becomes a facilitator, helping the student find the resources that she needs to learn what she deems to be important. This is a drastic change in worldview from our previous beliefs that teachers were deposits of knowledge from which the students needed to learn. It is also a drastic change from the idea that there is one Truth which can be learned.

It may be that constructivism is actually the result of the idea of American self-determination. America is, I believe (though I’m not a historian), the first country to believe that every person has the inalienable right to determine what he will be, where he will live, what he will do, and what he will decide. And while it’s unlikely that our founders believed that this concept would take our nation far away from God, unfortunately it has.

Paul didn’t believe in self-determination. As a talmidim to the Pharisees, he lived by a strict code of conduct governed by the Jewish religious laws. Every decision was pre-determined by those laws, with no room for personal choice. And even though it had been his personal choice which launched him into this life, once there, all choice was taken away. What he wore, what he ate, where he could travel, whom he could marry . . . everything was predetermined by the Jewish religious laws.

It was within this worldview that Paul wrote what he did in Romans 6. There he teaches that human beings have no ability to self-determine at all! He teaches that we are all slaves . . . all the time! We are slaves either to sin or we are slaves to righteousness. He gives no third option. Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? (6:16). The Lord Jesus Himself confirmed this truth:

“Jesus answered them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, every one who commits sin is a slave to sin’” (John 8:34 NRSV).

In America, we have become accustomed to there being moral neutrality, so much so that our churches even have often bought into it. I’ve had pastors tell me that there are songs that are morally neutral (neither good nor bad), even though those songs promote immoral lifestyles! Paul is clear: everything we do is either as a slave to sin or as a slave to righteousness. No other options are given.

How does this affect me as a believer? I believe that it clarifies whether or not my choices are sinful or righteous and it gives me actually no choice at all! Either my choices are determined by God or they are determined by me. If they are determined by me, then I am asserting my independence from God. And independence from God is rebellion. I am either God’s slave or I am not. When I am God’s slave, I wait upon Him to tell me what to do and I do it without question. If I am not God’s slave, then I am a slave to sin, doing what I want, asserting my independence from Him and becoming a rebel.

Paul writes to the Ephesians:

“Follow God’s example in everything you do, because you are his dear children. Live a life filled with love for others, following the example of Christ, who loved you and gave himself as a sacrifice to take away your sins. And God was pleased, because that sacrifice was like sweet perfume to him. Let there be no sexual immorality, impurity, or greed among you. Such sins have no place among God’s people. Obscene stories, foolish talk, and coarse jokes—these are not for you. Instead, let there be thankfulness to God. You can be sure that no immoral, impure, or greedy person will inherit the Kingdom of Christ and of God. For a greedy person is really an idolater who worships the things of this world. Don’t be fooled by those who try to excuse these sins, for the terrible anger of God comes upon all those who disobey him. Don’t participate in the things these people do. For though your hearts were once full of darkness, now you are full of light from the Lord, and your behavior should show it! For this light within you produces only what is good and right and true. Try to find out what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, rebuke and expose them. . . . So be careful how you live, not as fools but as those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity for doing good in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but try to understand what the Lord wants you to do. Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, let the Holy Spirit fill and control you. Then you will sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, making music to the Lord in your hearts. And you will always give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 5:1-11, 14-20 NLT).

This is an amazing passage and very convicting. I can see that there are still many areas in my life where I am rebellious, where I don’t want to give up my sin! Father God, please forgive me for my rebellion. Take hold of my hard heart and teach me to love You as I should, giving up what little I have in order to claim all that is Yours! I ask this in the name of the Lord Jesus, my Savior.

© 2011 Robin L. O’Hare. All Rights Reserved. Permission granted for nonprofit and church groups to use this article in its entirety (including this notice). For other uses, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com.

2 Thessalonians 1:3-8

We must always give thanks to God for you, brothers and sisters, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of everyone of you for one another is increasing. Therefore we ourselves boast of you among the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith during all your persecutions and the afflictions that you are enduring. This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, and is intended to make you worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering. For it is indeed just of God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to give relief to the afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. NRSV

It’s interesting that Paul doesn’t address the persecutions of the Thessalonians in the same way that we often address persecutions. If you think about it, most pastors tell us that our faith is exemplified when we take authority over Satan and believe that our trials will disappear based on God’s love. But Paul, rather than preaching that, says that faith is based on persevering through afflictions.

We need to ask ourselves what we believe.

I think that many American Christians live in a state of fear, in a state of doubt, because we have come to expect that Christians who have faith won’t have trials. To the contrary, there are at least three reasons why we do have trials, some of which we can avoid, some of which we can’t.

• We experience the trials that are the consequences of our bad choices.
• We experience the trials that are God’s discipline.
• We experience the trials that are a result of living in a sinful world.

We experience the trials that are the consequences of our bad choices.

When we sin—when we make unrighteous choices—we usually suffer because of it. Driving too fast in a car often brings a ticket. Demanding our own way at work can lead to getting fired. Spending too much money on our wants can results in our having too little for our needs. The problem with many believers today is that we have failed to understand that self-discipline is one of the foundations of the Christian faith. And this isn’t a self-discipline that is put on us, but rather a self-discipline that we embrace in order to bring glory to God Who has forgiven us all.

The apostle Peter encouraged believers not to bring suffering upon themselves that was a result of their own choices.

“Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that is taking place among you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. . . . But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, a criminal, or even as a mischief maker. Yet if any of you suffers as a Christian, do not consider it a disgrace, but glorify God because you bear this name” (1 Peter 4:12, 15-16 NRSV).

Suffering for our choices is suffering that is easily avoided by simply making better choices. Don’t overeat (or eat wrongly) and you won’t gain weight and will likely be more healthy. (You won’t suffer from bodily pains and illness). Don’t overspend (or spend wrongly) and you won’t suffer anxiety about not being able to pay for the necessities of life. Tend to the tasks of life set before you (rather than indulging in recreation) and you won’t be called to task when something important has been left undone. Live a life that always seeks to bring glory to God and we won’t have to suffer the consequences of bad choices.

We experience the trials that are God’s discipline.

David was king of all Israel. He could have any unmarried woman he wanted for a wife (and indeed had several already). But he took, instead, the wife of Uriah in an adulterous affair and got her pregnant. Then, to cover his sin, he had Uriah, a soldier, sent to the front lines of the battle where Uriah was killed. David thought that his problems were over, that his sins were hidden and thus gone. But Nathan the prophet exposed David’s sin to the entire Jewish royal court and then pronounced God’s judgment on him.

David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” Nathan said to David, “Now the Lord has put away your sin; you shall not die. Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the Lord, the child that is born to you shall die.” (2 Samuel 12:13-14 NRSV).

God doesn’t hold believers accountable for their sin in the sense that we don’t have to suffer His holy judgment for sin (which is death). In 2 Samuel, Nathan assures David that his sin won’t be held against him: The Lord has put away your sin. However, God’s discipline included the fact that the child born to Bathsheba and David would die.

“Endure trials for the sake of discipline. God is treating you as children; for what child is there whom a parent does not discipline? If you do not have that discipline in which all children share, then you are illegitimate and not his children. Moreover, we had human parents to discipline us, and we respected them. Should we not be even more willing to be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share his holiness. Now, discipline always seems painful rather than pleasant at the time, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it” (Hebrews 12:7-11 NRSV).

Father God disciplines us—His children—in order to teach us how to live in such a way that glorifies Him and avoids sin. As scripture teaches, discipline is painful, but it will yield the fruit of righteousness if we allow ourselves to be trained by it.

We experience the trials that are a result of living in a sinful world.

These trials are two-fold. Some are simply because we live here: physical death, the difficult interactions with each other, the toil of growing old, the loss of things. Sin is a destroyer; consequently, nothing here can be permanent due to the effect of sin upon it. Everything and everyone is in the process of decay. And as much as our society would like to ignore the death and dying process that surrounds it, sin has wrecked havoc on this world and will continue to do so. That is why God will destroy this world and replace it with a new heaven and a new earth (Revelation 21:1). Meanwhile, we live in a world where things (and people) wear out, break, and are destroyed. Even having the best, more careful habits, we can still get sick. We will (unless the Lord comes) still die. We often suffer consequences of the bad choices of those around us.

We live in a sinful, dying, hurting (and hurtful) world.

And so, what should be our response to the pain and suffering that we must bear? Scripture tells us that we should cast all of our cares on Him! (1 Peter 5:7). It is the Father’s responsibility to take care of us (Romans 8:28), to bring judgment and vengeance where He would and for us to simply continue to trust Him in the darkness. It pains the Lord Jesus when we are persecuted for His sake; He will bring judgment against those who deliberately harm us. And His judgment—and vengeance—is far greater (and more appropriate) than anything we could do. Meanwhile, it is our responsibility to forgive those who would hurt us and to trust Him to take care of us.

© 2011 Robin L. O’Hare. All Rights Reserved. Permission granted for nonprofit and church groups to use this article in its entirety (including this notice). For other uses, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com.

John 3:16-18

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him may not perish but may have eternal life. Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him. Those who believe in Him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” (NRSV)

Today is Christmas, the day traditionally that Christians celebrate the birth of our Lord. Surrounding this tradition are such things as nativities, Christmas pageants, Christmas carols, family celebrations, gift giving, and the like. But as a Christian, I believe that it’s very important that I not so focus on the Child in the manger that I fail to see either the Savior on the cross or the King returning in the clouds.

The Christmas story is one of amazement and wonder. Music and stories sometimes reduce to the story to actually less than it is (and was):

Away in a manger, no crib for a bed,
The little Lord Jesus laid down His sweet head:
The stars in the sky looked down where He lay;
The little Lord Jesus, asleep on the hay.

Yes, the Lord Jesus had no crib when He was born. Yes, His mother laid Him as a baby in the hay trough used to feed the animals. But it is so much more than that. Father God—the Creator and Master of the universe—sent His Son, the very essence of Himself, to earth to exist within the frail form of a human for the purpose of bringing us salvation, a salvation that couldn’t be secured in any other manner. God Himself, both judge and savior, understanding that mankind was lost beyond hope because of our own sins, provided a Hope by becoming that which He had condemned, a human. He condemned us by necessity and His holy judgment. He saved us from that condemnation through His own sacrifice and His overwhelming love.

The Christmas story isn’t a story that exists in isolation. We cannot tell the Christmas story, even the story of the Child given to rule (Isaiah 9:6) and stop there. The story of Christmas is only the beginning. And, in fact, even the story of Easter is still yet only the beginning. The 33 years that Christ lived on the earth was the beginning . . . the beginning of a marvelous relationship that God, in His infinite love, wants to offer each and every person who has ever been born, who has ever lived on this earth. For God so loved the world, not part of the world, but the entire world, and gave His Son as the only possible sacrifice to reinstate a lost relationship, a relationship lost because of our sin.

The story of the life of the Lord Jesus—the life lived here on earth—is such a small part of the story. For God Himself will write the end to the story of this earth through a great judgment:

“Then I saw a great white throne and the one who sat on it; the earth and the heaven fled from his presence, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Also another book was opened, the book of life. And the dead were judged according to their works, as recorded in the books. And the sea gave up the dead that were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and all were judged according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire; and anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:11-15 NRSV).

The One who sits on this throne is indeed the same One who came as a baby and lay in a manger. God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit will sit in judgment over each person who has lived. This is the Christmas story, the guarantee to those who have had their names written in the Lamb’s book of life that there will be no more punishment for sin, but instead full forgiveness and salvation! There will be no more death, but life for those of us who have fully thrown ourselves upon His mercy and grace. And this isn’t an exclusive club or society where only some may enter. Anyone who wishes to come to the cross and accept this gift may come. All are invited:

“The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come.’
And let everyone who hears say, ‘Come.’
And let everyone who is thirsty come.
Let anyone who wishes take the water of life as a gift” (Revelation 22:17 NRSV).

The KJV uses the phrase “whosoever will.” That whosoever will is God’s Christmas gift to the world. Any and all may come and accept the water of life as a gift. If you haven’t done so, today that gift is being offered to you. Will you accept it?

© 2011 Robin L. O’Hare. All Rights Reserved. Permission granted for nonprofit and church groups to use this article in its entirety (including this notice). For other uses, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com.

Philippians 4:19

“And my God will fully satisfy every need of yours according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” (NRSV)

We just moved. God opened a way for us to finally own our own home again, but as you can imagine, regardless of how much preparation we did prior to closing the sale, as we walked into the house to become acquainted with it, there have been surprises. (It doesn’t matter how much you inspect a home, there are things that you discover once you live in it, even for a short time.)

One of the “surprises” was that the microwave/stove hood fan was missing. The brackets are there, but the unit is gone. It doesn’t matter the legal or ethical particulars of the issue; what we now have—instead of a beautiful black microwave—is a gaping hole.

For the past two days, as I’ve walked past the hole, I’ve thought a lot about it. As a Christian, I have the choice of two responses. The first is that I can be angry with the previous owners for taking something that was clearly a fixture, an attached appliance. I can refuse to forgive and insist—however ugly a situation that might result—that it is our right to have the microwave restored. Or, I can forgive, try to see the situation through their eyes (they had to sell their house in a short sale) and see that gaping hole as a future blessing.

I am choosing to see it as future blessing.

God has promised to fully satisfy my every need and not only in the limited way that I deserve, but according to His riches in glory. This gaping hole is an obvious need. Not only is there an appliance we lack (the stove hood fan), but there is this ugly hole in the wall, brackets glaring. And my Father God has promised that He will supply this need.

My obligation? To forgive and to pray for the family who felt compelled to try to mitigate their loss and sorrow through fraud and deception. Having had to sell our own home two years ago through a short sale, I am fully aware of how painful it is. I understand that they are hurting and are trying to appease that hurt by making their new place as much like this house as possible. I simply can’t be angry with them, but I am praying that the Holy Spirit will touch their hearts and continue to pursue them.

Meanwhile, I’m joyfully waiting to see the miracle that my Father is going to do to fill the gaping hole in the kitchen.

© 2011 Robin L. O’Hare. All Rights Reserved. Permission granted for nonprofit and church groups to use this article in its entirety (including this notice). For other uses, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com.

Hebrews 5:11b-6:1a

“We have much to say that is hard to explain, since you have become dull in understanding. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic elements of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food; for everyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is unskilled in the word of righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, for those whose faculties have been trained by practice to distinguish good from evil. Therefore let us go on toward perfection, leaving behind the basic teaching about Christ, and not laying again the foundation.” (NRSV)

How much do I want to grow, to mature in the Lord?

In listening to the litanies of thankfulness this past month from friends—from both believers and non—I have not heard once that someone was thankful for their pastor. I have heard thanks for family and friends, for colleagues and students, for homes and children. But not once have I heard someone be thankful for their pastor.

Now part of that might be because many folks either only attend church irregularly and see their pastor as simply part of the environment of that social situation. Some of it might be that they attend such a large church that they really have no relationship with their pastor except as a Sunday morning speaker. For the vast majority (perhaps for all?), certainly our pastors are no longer our rabbis with us as talmid. These pastors are no longer the ones who personally disciple us, who check on our spiritual growth, who hold our feet to a certain standard of living, who challenge us to be better than we want to be. Many pastors have become spaghetti throwers, throwing some spiritual rhetoric at the wall and seeing if anything sticks, rather than being deliberate, strategic spiritual leaders who demand that we “grow up.” If they made such demands, if our pastors became those who were intimately involved in our lives, pushing us kicking and screaming to the next spiritual level, I think they would be high on the list of those for whom we are grateful.

The author of Hebrews writes: We have much to say that is hard to explain, since you have become dull in understanding. This word actually means more than uninteresting or stupid. It means lazy, languid, slothful (Strong’s G3576). Thus, it is not about ability, but rather about motivation, choice. There is a real sense of becoming dull through a lack of use or participation. The writer goes on to compare this state of dullness with those who are not dulled: those whose faculties have been trained by practice. “Trained by practice.” Spiritual maturity is about exercise, repetition, strategic and deliberate attempts to grow more mature in the Lord.

The other day, I was working on a short medley with one of my more advanced singing groups. These girls, who work with me for more than two hours a week, simply couldn’t get a very brisk part of the medley. Every time we sang it, the majority of them glossed over the words. It was both pathetic and scary as we were facing a major concert in two weeks. When I asked how many actually knew that part only about one third raised their hands. So, in an effort to teach the others, I had the girls who didn’t know the words to align themselves in small groups with a girl who did. Around the room were a number of small circular groups, two or three girls standing very close to one other girl. I then picked up my mic (so everyone could hear) and began to sing the selection a capella. At first I sang it slowly so that all of the girls could more easily follow along with the printed music. But as we repeated that portion of the song over and over, I increased the tempo. We must have sung that selection at least thirty times if not more. Every three or four times, I would stop and ask if any needed more practice. If a hand went up, we sang it again. At the end of about 15 minutes of practice, every girl had the song down.

What principles did I use to move these girls from unskilled to proficient?
● I encouraged them to find someone else who was already proficient and align themselves with that person.
● I provided structured practice at a pace that allowed for learning.
● I increased the pace until they had all reached the required tempo for performance.
● I made them check their own proficiency level, to self-monitor their own progress.
● I didn’t allow them to stop until they “got it.”

Why did these principles work?
● I set a goal and refused to be satisfied until every participant had achieved the goal.
● I required the community (of, in this case, singers) to become responsible for the growth of all members.
● I outlined the reason for the growth so that everyone had buy in to the process.

When we finished with this part of the rehearsal, I brought the girls back together as a larger group and said, “That is how you practice.” For most of them, their idea of practice was to do something once or twice and go onto something else. To really practice was new to many; it was a revelation.

As believers, we can take these same principles—which are alluded to in Hebrews—and use them in our own lives, in our families, and in our churches to push us on to greater maturity in the Lord. Why don’t we? I think that many pastors don’t push their churches because they truly believe that their congregations either aren’t ready for greater spiritual maturity or aren’t interested in growing. Few in their congregations—if any—encourage them as pastors to push ahead into the uncharted areas of the harder things of God, to encourage us as believers to become more sacrificial in our living, more dedicated to the things of God, more committed to reaching past ourselves to minister to a dying world. The writer of Hebrews writes: We have much to say. Therefore, let us go on toward perfection. I’m convinced that these words are not about the perfection that comes in death, in heaven, when we see the Lord face to face, but the perfection about which John Wesley writes:

“The one thus born again not only does not commit sin, while he thus keeps himself, he cannot sin. By sin I here understand outward sin, according to the plain, common acceptation of the word: an actual, voluntary transgression of the law of God—the revealed, written law of God. Sin is the breaking of any commandment of God acknowledged to be such at the time it is transgressed. So long as he believes in God through Christ, and loves Him, and is pouring out his heart before Him, he cannot voluntarily transgress any command of God. Yet if he does not ‘keep himself,’ he may commit all manner of sin with greediness.”

Wesley was convinced that it was possible for believers to so keep themselves in the love and presence of God as to be able to not choose sin. Unfortunately, I think we have so little practice of keeping ourselves in the presence of God—of loving Him as we ought—that we find ourselves full of sin that we don’t even want to admit or face. So we live “as best we can” and refuse to go on toward perfection. We refuse to practice distinguishing good from evil and continually allow our teachers and pastors to re-lay the basic foundations of the faith, being content to stay as little children. If we want to grow up, we need to not only begin to take responsibility for our own faith, we need to encourage our pastors to become challenging teachers who push us further than we thought we could go. We need to give our pastors permission to dig into our lives, to hold us accountable for our actions, to become the Pauls, Peters, and Timothys that we so desperately need to lead us from babyhood to adulthood for the glory of God.

© 2011 Robin L. O’Hare. All Rights Reserved. Permission granted for nonprofit and church groups to use this article in its entirety (including this notice). For other uses, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com.

Colossians 3:12-17

Colossians 3:12-17

“As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” (NRSV)

November, traditionally in America, is the month where we turn our thoughts toward being thankful. One of the things I’ve been enjoying on Facebook are the many who are daily listing the things for which they are thankful. In a cynical world, thankfulness silences the critics and raises one’s spirit.

Part of being thankful is being mindful of the blessings that God has given us. Sometimes, particularly in the midst of trials, that can be a very difficult task. But I’m coming to believe that thankfulness is the root of many other characteristics of believers, because when we become truly thankful it becomes easier to trust. And when it is easier to trust God, it becomes easier to allow His Holy Spirit to rule our hearts and minds.

We have the choice to focus on one of two things: we can focus on God and all that He has done and is doing for us, or we can focus on what we want (or think we want) and yet don’t have. James says:

“Those conflicts and disputes among you, where do they come from? Do they not come from your cravings that are at war within you? You want something and do not have it; so you commit murder. And you covet something and cannot obtain it; so you engage in disputes and conflicts. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, in order to spend what you get on your pleasures.” (4:1-4 NRSV).

• You want something and do not have it.
• You covet something and cannot obtain it.
• You do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend on your lusts (or pleasures)

That is the description of looking at life with the glass half empty. That is, in essence, refusing to be thankful (or mindful of blessings). We want, we covet, we ask and do not receive. We often get frustrated or disgruntled and, in essence, become angry with God for ignoring us! And yet, at every turn, He has been providing, giving us His best. At what point did His best become what we didn’t want?

In Colossians, Paul sums up this passage with the words: And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him (v. 17). Thankfulness should begin and end everything we do. And if we are thankful, what should our lives look like?

• We should be clothed (in essence, to put on, to sink into) with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.

Compassion: sympathy, pity, and mercy for others
Kindness: consideration and generosity toward others
Humility: thinking of others as better than ourselves, tending to their needs first
Meekness: being quiet, gentle, and submissive
Patience: tolerating trouble or suffering without becoming angry or upset

All of these characteristics are the opposite of anger and frustration. These characteristics also give no room for despair or withdrawal. When we are compassionate, kind, humble, meek, and patient, we must also be actively engaged in the lives of others, concerned about them and ministering to them. “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others” (Philippians 2:3-4 NRSV).

• We are to bear with one another and forgive each other.

The fact is, as people, we are often simply awful toward each other. We get tired, self-centered, or angry and we ignore, lash out, and make demands upon others. We want what we want when we want and we can feel that if we don’t demand that others submit to our wishes, we will suffer an irreparable loss. Father God knew that we would stumble and fall—often—which is why He commands us to forgive each other. Even as we are forgiven, we must forgive. And this is part of being thankful. If we are thankful for God’s forgiveness, we will willingly forgive others.

• We must put on and sink into love, a love which strives for harmony not only with God but with those around us.

Love in the Western world has become in a distortion of the kind of love to which God calls us. This distorted love demands that perpetrators are victims, that emotions guide decisions, that sin be ignored in favor of personal choice. The love to which we are called as believers is far different for it is defined by God’s character and evidenced only through the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

“Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (1 Corinthians 4-7 NRSV).

When we love through the power of the Spirit, we love first and foremost God. We give Him our desires, our passions, our dreams, our wishes, our expectations—laying them at the foot of the Throne—and insist that He reformat our hearts so that we are in unison with His desires, His will, His plans. The perfect harmony must come first between us and Him for without it no harmony exists at all. Then, because we love God, we turn and love those around us: other believers, our neighbors, and the unsaved throughout the earth. We see them as God sees them, through the lense of the Cross, understanding that if Father God was willing to give His only begotten Son for them, there is nothing too great that we also cannot sacrifice if it brings them to accept the gospel message. If the Lord Jesus was willing to be tortured and unjustly executed because of His love for us, then we should be willing to endure what Paul calls “light afflictions” (2 Corinthians 4:17) in order to minister to those around us.

Matthew Henry eloquently writes:

“[Love] can endure evil, injury, and provocation, without being filled with resentment, indignation, or revenge. It makes the mind firm, gives it power over the angry passions, and furnishes it with a persevering patience, that shall rather wait and wish for the reformation of a brother than fly out in resentment of his conduct. It will put up with many slights and neglects from the person it loves, and wait long to see the kindly effects of such patience on him” (Henry, M. 1996, c1991. Matthew Henry's commentary on the whole Bible : Complete and unabridged in one volume (1 Co 13:4). Hendrickson: Peabody).

• We are to allow the peace of Christ rule our hearts. We are called to this peace. It is our purpose in life.

Peace, to the Jew, had nothing to do with the absence of conflict, but was focused solely on the relationship between him and God. The peace of which Paul talks here is the same concept: it is the peace that comes between us and Father God when we accept salvation and understand that now nothing can take us from His hand.

“My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. What my Father has given me is greater than all else, and no one can snatch it out of the Father’s hand” (John 10:27-29 NRSV).

But the impact of that peace on our lives needs to go further than this. If we are kept forever in His hands and He is working all things for our good (Romans 8:28) then what is there to be angry or fearful or fretful about? Surrendering all of our daily worries, concerns, pains, and losses to Him, allowing Him to take care of us and sort it all out is what allowing the peace of Christ to rule our hearts is all about. Our heart attitudes—desires, passions, values, and expectations—determine how we face life. If those attitudes are ruled by the peace of Christ, then the Spirit is solely in control; our only responsibility is to minister to those around us through His leading. He will take care of everything else.

• We are to let God’s Word live in us in abundance so that we are able not only to live according to His will, but also to teach and admonish one another in His wisdom.

Unfortunately, most of us sin. John Wesley believed that it was possible for the believer to live and not sin. Sadly that kind of Christian living isn’t taught these days from our modern pulpits. Consequently, we sin. We expose our minds and thoughts to a myriad of sinful behaviors through television, movies, books, and the Internet. And those behaviors creep into (or are welcomed into) our lives. We are tempted and we succumb. And because we sin, rather than deal with our sin in a biblical manner, we tend to compare ourselves to each other, believing that because our sin isn’t the same in quantity or intensity as another’s, that we are somehow better or better off. The fact is, just as Daniel took responsibility for the sin of his nation (Daniel 9:3-5) and prayed for forgiveness, we need to begin to take responsibility for each other’s sin in the manner in which we are commanded by scripture:

“My friends, if anyone is detected in a transgression, you who have received the Spirit should restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness. Take care that you yourselves are not tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:1-2 NRSV).

Our responsibility isn’t to criticize, gossip about, or condemn, but rather to restore in a spirit of gentleness. If God’s word is living in us in abundance, we are equipped to teach and admonish and to restore in the manner in which the Lord Jesus Himself would. When the woman was brought to Him, found in an adulterous relationship, the Lord Jesus rescued her from stoning, but also admonished her to stop her sinning (John 8:11). Whether she was a lonely wife caught up in an adulterous affair or a single woman, trying to make a living through prostitution, the Lord Jesus was telling her that there was a better way, a life without sin by trusting Father God to care for her, physically and emotionally. As we begin to fill our minds and hearts with the Word of God (rather than the trash of this world), we will become equipped to reach out to the hurting sinners around us with the good news that God is willing to forgive them. We can learn how the Spirit wants us to minister so that we restore in gentleness and thus bear their burdens.

• Learning to live a life fully leaning on the Lord creates in us such a spirit of thanksgiving that we will sing constantly to and about Him. We will find ourselves focused solely on Him because in His light everything else fades to darkness.

There are two ways to live. One is to try to become firmly planted in this life. When one lives this way, the things of this life become all important, including success, rewards, comfort, recreation, and happiness. The other way to live is to understand that the only purpose of this life is to prepare us (and others) for eternity. When we live this way, we understand that to live is Christ and to die is gain, that it is better for others if we stay only because we are actively ministering to them to teach them about Christ.

“For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I shall choose I cannot tell. For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. Nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more needful for you” (Philippians 1:21-24 NKJV).

Do we truly desire to be in Heaven with our Savior? If so, then we will be willing to stay here only as long as He determines, to do His way and to be His ambassadors. We will understand that our relationship with Him is all that matters and be so thankful that He died in order to give us that relationship.

As we begin to think about being thankful, we have many, many blessings. But the blessing that is far above all other blessings is the gift of the Savior for without it all other blessings disappear. Without it we cannot even begin to understand what blessings are. Without it, we really have nothing to be thankful for.

© 2011 Robin L. O’Hare. All Rights Reserved. Permission granted for nonprofit and church groups to use this article in its entirety (including this notice). For other uses, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com.

Job 42:7

“After the Lord had spoken these words to Job, the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite: ‘My wrath is kindled against you and against your two friends; for you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.’” (NRSV)

Job was a righteous man, a man who loved and served God with all his heart and might. He was a man who had prospered in an earthly sense, owning many flocks and having twelve children. He also was a man blessed with good health. All of this God allowed Satan to take from Job. Job’s life went, in a matter of days, from being comfortable and happy to being alone and miserable.

There is a saying: Bad things happen to good people.

To be honest, I don’t like that saying because it implies that there are things we should try to avoid, things that happen to us outside of God’s plan for our lives. Romans 8:28 promises believers that all things work together for our good. So while not everything is good, it becomes good for us because God is working in it. I think rather than saying “Bad things happen to good people,” I would more accurately say, “Painful things happen to good people.” That is certainly true.

When painful things happen to those around us, we often react with advice. Our advice can even be clothed as condolences or sympathy that our friend is going through this trial, but it is still advice. And why do we do that? I think for two reasons: (1) we are trying to make sense of what seems to be senseless: suffering, pain, loss; and (2) we are scared that a similar situation could happen to us. We want to justify our own fear and anger that there is pain and suffering in the world, pain and suffering that might come into our own lives someday.

When a friend loses a loved one (a spouse or a child), we realize that our own family could be taken. When a friend is taken desperately ill, we realize that our own health is fragile. When a friend loses their home or job, we realize that we are one step away from poverty. All of those things scare us because it means that our lives as we know them, that we are capable of having to suffer pain and loss that we cannot control.

So when painful things happen to our friends, we sometimes react with advice. And if not advice for our friends, then advice for those around them.

Job, after suffering his loss, sat with three friends who—with all seeming good intentions—began to offer him advice about his situation. They were, in fact, trying themselves to make sense out of what seemed senseless, to explain away what they feared might happen in their own lives. Job had been an example of them of a godly man, but if he perhaps could be shown not to be quite so godly, then that might explain the tragedies in his life. And if the tragedies could be explain, then they might be avoided. All this advice in, I think, an effort to try to control and to possibly avoid such pain in their own lives.

Sometimes we would do better to pray and not talk than to talk without praying. And if we prayed, we would probably know better not to talk!

The Psalms open with two verses about advice:

“Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, . . . But they delight in doing everything the Lord wants; day and night they think about His law” (Psalm 1:1a, 2 NRSV).

Often when we are presented with pain and suffering (either our own or that of others), we are tempted to try to control, to try to avoid, rather than focusing solely and only on God. Our pain and confusion can crowd out all other thoughts, consuming us. The psalmist tells us to rather think day and night on God and His Word. Only with God can we find peace and comfort.

Even the Lord Jesus rejected advice that was given outside of God’s will.

“Then He began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. He said all this quite openly. And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. But turning and looking at His disciples, He rebuked Peter and said, ‘Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things’” (Mark 8:31-33 NRSV).

“From that time on, Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, ‘God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to You.’ But He turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things’” (Matthew 16:21-23 NRSV).

The Lord Jesus was clearly embracing the pain, rejection, and suffering that was ahead of Him. He understood that God works all things for good, even for Him as God’s Son. He willingly set His mind to embrace the seeming tragedy that was the cross, the tragedy that was actually victory. Peter responded as he thought was appropriate for a friend and disciple; he immediately came to the defense of his friend, stating that God couldn’t possibly want this for Jesus. But the Lord immediately rebukes him by saying you are setting your mind on human things, not on divine things.

When we give advice, we are often setting our mind on human rather than divine things. And we need to be so careful! S. D. Gordon once wrote: “You can do more than pray after you have prayed, but you cannot do more than pray before you have prayed.” If we are tempted to give advice, to respond, to control, to try to justify, we need to first pray and very likely pray long. Otherwise we may be like Job’s two friends and kindle God’s anger against us or be like Peter and be rebuked by the Lord for failing to think of things from God’s perspective. God loves us so much that He is willing to take the long view of our lives, working all things for our good! When the waters rise and the darkness falls, we need to trust Him to work everything out. We need to pray. And often, we may need to close our mouths so that we learn rather than try to control.

© 2011 Robin L. O’Hare. All Rights Reserved. Permission granted for nonprofit and church groups to use this article in its entirety (including this notice). For other uses, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com.

Psalm 86:11

dedicated to Pastor Keith Abolnik who has gone Home
November 6, 2011

“Teach me Your way, O Lord, that I may walk in Your truth; give me an undivided heart to revere Your name.” (NRSV)

What is the condition of my heart?

A dear friend of ours went Home to be with the Lord yesterday. He was younger than I and his illness was short and unexpectedness. The miracle of the Internet has allowed me to walk with his family and friends as he went (in July) from not feeling good to a diagnosis of cancer (in August) to going home (in November). It has been an interesting study of human nature as I have read the various reactions and actions of those surrounding him, reactions that varied from committing prayer to commanding friends to rise up in some kind of protest.

We all deal with the unexpected in different ways. The question is, should we? If we are truly born again, what does God’s truth say? And what does it mean to have an “undivided” heart?

When I read this verse yesterday, I read it in the NKJV. The version says, “Unite my heart to fear Your name.” But it doesn’t say unite with what. The NRSV is clearer: “give me an undivided heart.” The NAB says “single-hearted.”

James speaks about the double-minded in both chapters 1 and 4. In chapter 4, he writes:

“Those conflicts and disputes among you, where do they come from? Do they not come from your cravings that are at war within you? You want something and do not have it; so you commit murder. And you covet something and cannot obtain it; so you engage in disputes and conflicts. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, in order to spend what you get on your pleasures. Adulterers! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. Or do you suppose that it is for nothing that the scripture says, ‘God yearns jealously for the spirit that He has made to dwell in us’? But He gives all the more grace; therefore it says, ‘God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’ Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded” (v. 1-8 NRSV).

James equates double-mindedness—or having a divided heart—with being a friend of the world. What does it mean to be a friend? To be a friend means to have a commitment to, to be loyal to, to give time and resources to. The Lord Jesus clearly said that we are His friends if we do what He has commanded us to do (John 15:14). Thus, when James calls us double-minded, he is stating that we claim to be Christians, but fail to obey the Lord. We have one foot in the world, cemented there by our desires and passions, and hope that we have one foot in heaven. Our loyalties are divided.

One of the posters for my friend who is gone said that he was gone too soon. Really? He is gone in the Lord’s time. And if he truly is my friend, what better outcome would I wish for him then to be in the presence of our Savior? How can any of us go Home too soon? Paul was anxious to go Home to see the Lord Jesus. He writes in Philippians:

“For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I shall choose I cannot tell. For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. Nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more needful for you” (1:21-24 NKJV).

How many of us desire to be in heaven with Christ? I know that I do, but I also find myself caught up in the things of this world. I find myself being double-minded, being of a divided heart. How can I truly love the Lord if my heart is divided between those things which are at odds with Him and His commandments?

Lord, I ask You today to teach me Your way that I might walk in Your truth. I confess my divided heart and ask that You make my heart undivided so that I can reverence You, that my only desire would be to please You and to be with You. I ask this in the name of the Lord Jesus. Let it be so.

© 2011 Robin L. O’Hare. All Rights Reserved. Permission granted for nonprofit and church groups to use this article in its entirety (including this notice). For other uses, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com.

Psalm 119:74

“Those who fear You shall see me and rejoice, because I have hoped in Your word.” (NRSV)

I want people to like me. I mean, I really want people to like me. I think many of us do. It’s a natural thing, to want to be liked and accepted. But more than that, whether consciously or unconsciously, we all work at trying to create a culture around us that’s comfortable. We want our friends and associates to share our morals, values, and habits. And it becomes uncomfortable when we find ourselves planted within a group of people with whom we have little of value in common.

America, once more Christian in practice (though not necessarily in nature), has become increasingly secular over the past century. And where there were pockets of geography where the social culture mimicked Christian values, those pockets are becoming smaller or disappearing altogether. Anti-Christian attitudes are showing themselves (to the surprise of some Christians) and many in the Church seem to be floundering around, not really sure what to do about all of this. In fact, many Christians, in an effort to be accepted and feel more comfortable, have become more and more like the world in their thoughts, values, and practices.

A half century ago, I attended a small church in Southern California. It had about 300 members and no one even considered talking about drinking. The one or two (yes, that few) who smoked, did so secretly away from church property and gatherings. Dress, speech, and manner was moderate, conservative, well-behaved. (For example, my own parents never attended any kind of a movie except those that were G-rated.) Things have changed greatly since those days, at least here in Southern California. Nowadays, it’s very common to have openly practicing Christians talk about drinking alcohol, go to R-rated movies, use foul language, and have multiple marriages due to divorce.

We look exactly like our unsaved neighbors. I don’t believe that this has come about simply because we all decided to be bad. We simply wanted to be accepted, to be part of the society around us, to feel more comfortable.

Is that who we should be?

A. W. Tozer wrote (in the 1940's or 50's):

“The world hated Jesus without a cause. In spite of their fantastic charges against Him, Christ’s contemporaries found nothing in either His doctrine or His deeds to rouse in them such unreasonable anger as they constantly displayed toward Him. They hated Him, not for anything He said or did, but for what He was” (The Warfare of the Spirit).

The fact is, if I expect the unsaved around me to like and approve of me, I’m looking in the wrong place for approval. The psalmist wrote: Those who fear You shall see me and rejoice. Who are those who fear God? What does that mean?

A person who fears God turns away from evil. “The Lord said to Satan, ‘Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man who fears God and turns away from evil’” (Job 1:8 NRSV).

A person who fears God keeps His commandments. “The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God, and keep His commandments; for that is the whole duty of everyone. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil” (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 NRSV).

A person who fears God prays constantly and gives generously to others. “He was a devout man who feared God with all his household; he gave alms generously to the people and prayed constantly to God” (Acts 10:2 NRSV).

A person who fears God is trustworthy. “Men who fear God, are trustworthy, and hate dishonest gain” (Exodus 18:21 NRSV).

A person who fears God gives Him glory. “Fear God and give Him glory” (Revelation 14:7 NRSV).

This is the kind of person I want and need to become and these are kind of people with whom I need to fellowship. Father God didn’t call the Church to fellowship simply so we would be able to go to potlucks or have a great time at church on Sunday. We are called to fellowship together so that we have a family of believers upon whom we can depend for prayer, support, and like-mindedness. This family should be people who we know will pray for us, will challenge us to right living, and will be there when we fall to admonish us and teach us how to avoid that trap of sin the next time. It should be a family of believers who fear God. And among that family should be me, a person who also fears God and who hopes in His Word.

© 2011 Robin L. O’Hare. All Rights Reserved. Permission granted for nonprofit and church groups to use this article in its entirety (including this notice). For other uses, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com.

Psalm 119:73

Your hands have made and fashioned me; give me understanding that I may learn your commandments. (NRSV)

Where have I come from and where am I going?

America espouses self-determination. It is a part of who this nation is from its conception. From the Gale Encyclopedia of U. S. Foreign Policy: “the revolt of the British colonies in North America has been defined as the first assertion of the right of national and democratic self-determination in the history of the world” (http://www.answers.com/topic/self-determination#ixzz1bbl5hjsl). It is the fundamental assertion of the new “Occupy” movements: “We have principles of solidarity, and we are working together to make a better world - a world of inclusion, dignity, love and respect. #OWS has no space for racism, sexism, transphobia, anti-immigrant hatred, xenophobia, and hatred in general.” (http://occupywallst.org/)

In a nutshell, most people don’t want to be told . . . anything. Think about it. I often hear people say, “Well, I don’t learn from what others tell me. I learn from my own mistakes.” Or they might say, “I want to make my own way, do things the way I think is best.” And as a people living in a society that has fewer and fewer social constructs, those are choices we can make. We can choose to go our own way, to reject the morals or guidelines of our parents, to embrace new ideas. We can create our own society based on what we think is right.

The question is . . . should we? Should we take our lives into our own hands and experience it for ourselves, making our own mistakes, and making our own choices? Should we make our own determination about what is right and wrong?

As creatures with free will, we have always had that choice. The current governmental or social structure hasn’t created that for us. That ability to choose our own way has always been with us since the Garden of Eden. Because that spirit within us, that spirit that demands to create our own way, our own laws, our own purpose is the same spirit that whispered to Eve: “You will not surely die, but you will be like God knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:4). It is the spirit that says we are not creatures created in God’s image for the purpose of worshiping Him, but rather separate creatures, made through the process of evolution (or the Big Bang or whatever other theory you wish to espouse) with the right to believe what we want, convinced that our believing it will make it so.

In fact, that is what so often amazes me. That there are so many people in this world who refuse to believe God and His Word and are convinced—simply because they believe it—that their way is right. And then they find all sorts of “evidences” to prove their point . . . when all along they are headed down a dangerous path of rebellion and sin.

Unfortunately, often that creature headed into rebellion . . . is me! For while outwardly I can easily appear as a submissive believer, I spend so many hours wrestling with God, trying to tell Him how to do His job. Oh, the folly of it! For ultimately it comes back to this: I am His creation, made by His hand. He breathed life into me when I was a single cell in my mother’s womb. He gave me an eternal soul and He numbered my days. I can make all the plans I want, but in the end, God wins because He is Creator, Master, Ruler, and He is in control.

There is no other story. There are no other valid beliefs. There is no other possible ending.

He fashioned me and He controls the destiny of this world. My choice is whether or not to be obedient to Him.

While, at age seven, I choose to be obedient to Him, I have discovered that it is not just a life choice, but also a daily choice. And it isn’t a choice without wisdom or discernment. The Psalmist prays here: “Give me understanding that I may learn your commandments.” Why do I need understanding? I could learn the commandments by rote and simply do them blindly. But instead, the scripture tells us that we learn the commandments through understanding. Because I am a creature of free will, the Lord wisely knows that I will see both sides and will lean toward my own understanding. Thus, He is willing to teach me, to convince me that obeying His commandments is best! He isn’t a god who coerces—though He could for He is fully able. He isn’t a god who demands—though as Creator He has the right. Rather, He is a God who loves me, who sacrificed for me, and who teaches me that I might learn how to be obedient, how to set down my rebellion and cling to Him.

Even in my rebellion, in my sin, He works His love for me. Romans 8:28 tells us that “all things work together for good for those who love the Lord and are called according to His purpose.” The all things is so important because it means all things. Everything I do, everything I think, everything that happens to me. God loves me so much that is works all of that for my good! It is an amazing thing.

God is willing to teach me to obey Him. But I must first come to Him as a creation and as a student. I cannot stand unflinchingly and demand that He defend Himself. He won’t. Just as the Lord Jesus refused to defend Himself before Pilate, Father God refuses to defend Himself to a rebellious world. He won’t attend a debate. He won’t compare Himself with other choices as if life were a multiple choice test and He was one of the possible responses. But He will reveal Himself to the seeking heart.

• “The Lord is with you, while you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you” (2 Chronicles 15:2 NRSV).
• “I love those who love Me, and those who seek Me diligently find Me” (Proverbs 8:17 NRSV).
• “The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul that seeks Him” (Lamentations 3:25 NRSV).
• “The Lord searches every mind, and understands every plan and thought. If you seek Him, He will be found by you” (1 Chronicles 28:9 NRSV).
• “From there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you search after Him with all your heart and soul” (Deuteronomy 4:29 NRSV).

Today, I choose. I pray for understanding in order to obey His commandments. I seek after Him with all my heart and soul.

© 2011 Robin L. O’Hare. All Rights Reserved. Permission granted for nonprofit and church groups to use this article in its entirety (including this notice). For other uses, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com.

Acts 8

Acts 8:26-31, 35-39

“Then an angel of the Lord said to Philip, ‘Get up and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.’ (This is a wilderness road.) So he got up and went. Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of the Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, in charge of her entire treasury. He had come to Jerusalem to worship and was returning home; seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah. Then the Spirit said to Philip, ‘Go over to this chariot and join it.’ So Philip ran up to it and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah. He asked, ‘Do you understand what you are reading?’ He replied, ‘How can I, unless someone guides me?’ And he invited Philip to get in and sit beside him. . . . Then Philip began to speak, and starting with this scripture, he proclaimed to him the good news about Jesus. As they were going along the road, they came to some water; and the eunuch said, ‘Look, here is water! What is to prevent me from being baptized?’s He commanded the chariot to stop, and both of them, Philip and the eunuch, went down into the water, and Philipt baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing.” (NRSV)

Many of us have family members who are not saved. I know that I do—some who are very dear to me and for whom I pray daily. Day after day prayers . . . after awhile it is sometimes difficult to know what to pray. So the other day I began to pray for those Christians around my family members, that the Christians would have the courage the wisdom to speak boldly to those I love.

And suddenly it hit me! I am “those Christians” around someone else’s family members. You know, I take the offices of the Church very seriously. Ephesians 4 talks about the five offices (some churches believe in four offices): “The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ” (v. 11-12 NRSV). And I know that I am clearly not an evangelist (someone who tells others about the Lord). If I lean in any direction, it may be as a prophet or teacher. But I also know that all of us are commanded to be witnesses to the gospel. And now I need to take that admonition even more seriously.

Paul told us, in Ephesians to “bear one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ” (6:2 NRSV). I believe that when we go out of our way to minister to the unsaved around us, we are bearing the burdens of the Christians who are praying for those people. We all know that those closest to us usually don’t listen to us. I never cease to be amazed at my husband in this regard. I can talk to him about something over and over again and he often ignores it. But let someone else tell him, and he thinks it’s the greatest idea in the world! I think there is some of that in all of us. And if that is true, then we likely have the least amount of influence on those for whom we care the most! Of course, we can—and should—pray for those dear ones daily. But it may be that anything we say will fall on deaf eyes. But we can pray that God will send other believers in their path and we can become those “other believers” to the unsaved that cross our paths each day.

© 2011 Robin L. O’Hare. All Rights Reserved. Permission granted for nonprofit and church groups to use this article in its entirety (including this notice). For other uses, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com.

Isaiah 43:10-13

“But you are my witnesses, O Israel!” says the Lord. “And you are my servant. You have been chosen to know me, believe in me, and understand that I alone am God. There is no other God; there never has been and never will be. I am the Lord, and there is no other Savior. First I predicted your deliverance; I declared what I would do, and then I did it—I saved you. No foreign god has ever done this before. You are witnesses that I am the only God,” says the Lord. “From eternity to eternity I am God. No one can oppose what I do. No one can reverse my actions” (NLT).

I wish—I truly wish—that life were like a 60-minute TV show where the dramatic problem is presented, the villain is revealed, and all is wrapped up for the heroes to live happily ever after before the final commercial. But life isn’t like that. And the longer I live, the more I’m convinced that life is messy, sloppy, sometimes miserable, and usually unintelligible. There simply isn’t a way to make life neat because of sin. Every time I think I have every problem solved, every task organized, and every person content, a new set of difficulties emerge, sometimes more complicated than the first. And, of course, there are the problems that are simply out of our control.

I have a friend who is ill, very ill. It is an illness that was brought on suddenly and will likely have life-changing consequences for him and his family. Because of the instant interacting of people across long-distances through technology (like Facebook), I have been able to observe people’s reactions to his illness. One couple in particular have been interesting to observe. This couple (friends, not family) almost immediately set themselves up at experts on everything! They have done their best to control the doctors, the choice of hospital, how other friends respond . . . everyone! At first it was irritating until I realized that this was how they were trying to deal with their anger and grief. In an obviously uncontrollable situation, they are trying to bring about some order and control by trying to tell everyone what to do, what to say, and how to act. So while they are trying to present themselves as people who are hearing from God, the ones who are actually hearing from God may be the friends who are the most silent, spending their time in prayer.

I am the Lord, and there is no other Savior. From eternity to eternity I am God. No one can oppose what I do. No one can reverse my actions.

I can truly relate to that couple because I’m like that: I’m a controller. Oh, I’ve tried to tone down my interactions with others (I used to be so much worse), but I know that when I get stressed, when loss looms on the horizon, I want to control everyone and everything around me. The truth is, who I’m trying to control is God. I simply want my way and not His! Foolish woman that I am. I have to laugh. There is no other Savior, including me! How in the world do I think that I can control . . . anything? I suppose I control my own behavior and reactions, but that’s about the extent of it. Everything else is in His hands, including me. And any control—any self-discipline—that I have at all comes directly from and through His Holy Spirit.

So it comes down to this: Do I believe that God loves me and wants the best for me? Romans 8:28-30 (one of my favorite passages) tells me just that: “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them. For God knew His people in advance, and He chose them to become like his Son, so that His Son would be the firstborn, with many brothers and sisters. And having chosen them, He called them to come to Him. And He gave them right standing with Himself, and He promised them His glory” (NLT). This is similar to a phrase in the Isaiah passage: You have been chosen to know me, believe in me, and understand that I alone am God. God chose me. He chose me. We are “God’s very own children, adopted into His family—calling Him ‘Father, dear Father.’ For His Holy Spirit speaks to us deep in our hearts and tells us that we are God’s children” (Romans 8:15b-16 NLT). Knowing this, how can I doubt that God loves me or that He is providing the very best for me?

When I try to control, I may in fact be messing things up in such a way that His best will be hindered. Certainly I’m not my own savior; I can’t save anyone, including myself! And the sooner I learn to let go and let God, the sooner I can rest in Him, knowing that He is working all things for my good!

© 2011 Robin L. O’Hare. All Rights Reserved. Permission granted for nonprofit and church groups to use this article in its entirety (including this notice). For other uses, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com.

1 Corinthians 9:19-23

“For though I am free with respect to all, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I might win more of them. To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though I myself am not under the law) so that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law) so that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, so that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that I might by all means save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, so that I may share in its blessings” (NRSV)

Who am I? I grew up in the free love/free spirit days when one of the overwhelming questions of life (and priorities) was to define ourselves. The consensus of my generation was that society had placed demands on our parents with social context defining them and my generation wanted the freedom to define itself. In a sense, Paul was very much like those of my generation. He had lived under the strict regiment of Jewish law. In fact, he had submitted himself to the very strictest code of the Pharisees. And now, as a believer, he found himself freed from that code. He could eat what he wanted, travel as far as he liked, socialize with whomever came his way.

Paul’s freedom, at the time of his conversion, was even more than this. As a Pharisee, he had the right to rule over Jews. The only Jewish rulers, in fact, were the religious leaders. Civilly, Israel was ruled by Rome. So, Paul, as a trained Pharisee, had the right to tell others what to do. As a citizen of Rome, Paul also had immense rights, rights not granted to non-citizens (many of which were his fellow Jews). So, Paul had dual civil rights. This made him both unique and uniquely powerful because it gave him a freedom to travel, to speak in the synogogues, and to teach scripture without rebuff. But Paul understood that this freedom—which wasn’t a license to sin, but was rather a return to the obedience of the Spirit—had only one purpose. It’s purpose was to share the gospel with everyone in his path and nothing in his personal culture was going to be allowed to interfere with that purpose.

Paul defined himself in 2 Corinthians 11:

“But whatever anyone dares to boast of—I am speaking as a fool—I also dare to boast of that. Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they descendants of Abraham? So am I. Are they ministers of Christ? I am talking like a madman—I am a better one: with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless floggings, and often near death” (v. 21-23 NRSV).

He had the right to place himself in both spiritual and civil authority over many, and yet he chose to be a slave to all. Slavery, while still practiced in some parts of the world today, isn’t something we like to think about because it connotes the giving up of one’s identity and rights completely to another. When people become slaves to another (whether willingly or by being forced by another), they no longer have any rights to any part of their lives. They literally become property with the owner being legally allowed to do what he wills with them. This is the image that Paul gives, an image of complete submission in order to share the gospel. Paul had the right to become ruler over most of the early Church and yet he gave up that right in order to achieve a greater purpose, sharing the gospel.

What am I willing to give up to share the gospel? If I have positions of influence or power—even the Church or in my family—am I willing to humble myself and submit to the wishes and will of others? If I have an opportunity for a promotion, am I willing to step aside for the sake of the gospel? If I have the power that money brings, am I willing to use that money for the Lord’s purposes and not my own, even allowing others to determine those purposes? There is a real sense of both specific purpose and of submission in Paul’s words that I often fail to grasp.

Paul, in a real sense, gave up his right to be angry when he was inconvenienced or put upon in order to witness to the purpose who had offended him. Even when people wronged him, he put aside that wrong in order to witness. In Acts 16, scripture tells about an incident when Paul, and his traveling companion Silas, were wrongly imprisoned and beaten for releasing a slave girl from demon possession. In the middle of the night, a great earthquake released them from their chains. Paul, who as a Roman citizen had been imprisoned and beaten illegally, wasn’t concerned about his ability—and right—to confront the guilty jailer, but instead used the opportunity to lead the jailer and his family to the Lord.

Paul used every opportunity to witness. He saw every circumstance in life as that open opportunity and he saw every person as potential believers.

What am I willing to lay aside my rights in order to share the gospel? It is a question I should be asking myself every minute of every day.

© 2011 Robin L. O’Hare. All Rights Reserved. Permission granted for nonprofit and church groups to use this article in its entirety (including this notice). For other uses, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com.

James 1:17

“Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”

I’d like to say that I hate to waste time. I mean, I can sit in meetings and fume at how slow everything goes and what inane questions others ask. I can be just as impatient with Father God Who is—according to my way of thinking—working much too slowly and holding me back from my life’s ambitions.

The fact is, I hate to wait. But, if I am truly honest, it’s more that I want to control my time and my efforts. I want to lallygag and waste time when I want to do it and I want to get moving and get things done on my own terms. What I’m beginning to realize is that God often gives us “down time” as a gift, as a time for us to turn from the busyness of our own lives (and our own agendas) to, instead, focus on Him (which is what we should have been doing in the first place) or to prepare us for the unseen times ahead. In fact, what I see as hindrances to my plans (and to what I think are His plans) may actually be His working in my life to refocus me on His priorities and His will, rather than my own.

I know that God works everything for my good according to His own will and His infinite resources (Romans 8:28). I also know that everything He gives to me is perfect according to His holy character. But in those times when I seem to be thwarted in my own designs, it’s difficult to give up my dreams and plans in order to understand that He is working His will in my life.

In a nutshell, it’s often hard to wait.

Over the past years, American society has seen enormous financial changes. People who were firmly on career tracks are unemployed. Many who were happily settled in their homes are now renting elsewhere. Retirement plans are adrift. There are those who are wondering if God forgot us? Or if this some kind of punishment for social sins? And yet, what if it is neither? What if this seeming upheaval is simply His perfect gift of time and refocus so that we can again look to Him instead of ourselves for our riches? A. W. Tozer wrote: “Earthly riches cannot procure human happiness.” And while all of us would heartily agree, likely many of our errant thoughts run to the idea of somehow getting “just enough” money to live worry-free. A better job. Winning the lottery. Receiving an inheritance. Watching the stock market soar. When, in fact, happiness cannot—cannot—be tied to happiness because happiness only come with shalom—peace with God. And money cannot buy that.

Unfortunately, so much of our contemporary doctrine focuses upon having a “perfect” life here and now: good health, prosperity, the American dream (our own home and a chicken in the pot on Sunday afternoon). And we can become so centered on asking God for these things that we forget our entire purpose in life: to go into the world and preach the gospel. Our job isn’t to provide for us; that’s God’s job. Our job is to tell others of His marvelous grace, mercy, and love. Our job is to warn others of their future while God takes care of our present. The fact is, every encounter that we have in life should have only one purpose: to look for that opportunity to share the gospel. We often pray in church for God to bring in those who would come to hear the message. We’ve got it all backwards. We need to go out and share, invite, love, and witness. If we do that, God will very perfectly take care to give us every gift that we need for everything else.

© 2011 Robin L. O’Hare. All Rights Reserved. Permission granted for nonprofit and church groups to use this article in its entirety (including this notice). For other uses, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com.

Ezekiel 11:19-20

And I will give them one heart, and put a new spirit within them; I will take the stony heart out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in my statutes and keep my ordinances and obey them; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God. (RSV)

I think we often are unaware of how entrenched our worldview is and how it influences who we are, how we think, and what we do. Our worldview is, in essence, our heart attitudes, those values, beliefs, expectations, and desires that form our thoughts and decisions. It is how we interpret what happens to us, what others do and say to us. It determines how we respond.

The New Century Bible, in one phrase of this passage, says: “I will put inside them a new way of thinking.”

I think that, as Christians, we are often (blissfully?) unaware of how much our secular, sinful society affects our thinking. We don’t realize that how much of what we accept as normal actually taints our relationship with the Lord. However, in this passage there are hints for us. If we take the idea of “a way of thinking” from the NCB and substitute that idea wherever it says “heart,” we can see what God is talking about. A new way of thinking—a way of thinking that lines up with God’s will—causes us to walk in His statutes, keep His ordinances, and obey them. This is an interesting trio. At first glance, it seemed to me to be a redundancy, but I believe that God put all three things there to teach us something.

• To walk in something is more than simply to give intellectual assent. It is to fully engage ourselves in that thing. Walking in a very involved activity. It requires your eyes to map out where you should go, your legs to take you there, and your arms to keep you balanced. To walk in God’s statutes, we must fully engage our entire selves. It isn’t enough to simply say that we believe God’s way is best; we must live it out in our decisions and behavior.

• In keeping ordinances, there is both a positive and negative side. It means both to do God’s will and to refrain from sinning. I think we sometimes act like our relationship with God is some kind of give-and-take. “I’ll do this for you, God, but then I need to do this for me.” But serving God isn’t like that. We don’t have rights in our relationship with Him. He is Master; we are slaves. That concept is very uncomfortable for many Americans who have completely bought into the idea of self-determination. No one owns us! But, that isn’t true. The Lord Jesus owns us twice! He owns us by the right of creation and He bought us back from sin with the price of His blood. And the fact is, if we want to have new thoughts, we need to totally surrender to God, trusting Him to take care of us. It isn’t as if we serve a hateful Master who abuses us. We serve a loving God who only wants the best for us: “those who seek the Lord lack no good thing” (Psalm 34:10).

• Finally God says that we are to obey His ordinances. The KJV actually says to do them. It has the sense of the ordinances actually becoming who and what we are. They occupy our thoughts, our times, our energy. When someone looks at us, they virtually see God’s laws in us. And what are God’s laws? They are His Word, in essence, His Spirit. When we surrender totally to the Holy Spirit, we easily obey His laws because His laws are the description of His character.

What’s interesting about all this is that these three things will—guaranteed—change our worldview forever. If we want to change how we think, we need to fully embrace the Holy Spirit in our lives. We need to fully walk in God’s statutes, totally surrender to God, trusting Him to take care of us and allow His Word to fully occupy our thoughts and energy. We need to be completely taken over by His will and His ways. The question always remains: Are we willing to do this?

© 2011 Robin L. O’Hare. All Rights Reserved. Permission granted for nonprofit and church groups to use this article in its entirety (including this notice). For other uses, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com.

1 John 2:29-3:3

If you know that He is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who does right has been born of Him. See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him. Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when He is revealed, we will be like Him, for we will see Him as He is. And all who have this hope in Him purify themselves, just as He is pure. (NRSV)

It is well known that the epistle written by James is about what Christians should do. James writes: What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? (2:14 NRSV). But I rarely (if ever) hear that John also writes about what we should do, but rather more about who God is. But here, in the beginning of 1 John 3, John gives us a very strong admonition that we are to live pure lives: All who have this hope in Him purify themselves, just as He is pure.

Peter also writes about holy living when he talks about our hope in 1 Peter 1: Therefore prepare your minds for action; discipline yourselves; set all your hope on the grace that Jesus Christ will bring you when he is revealed. Like obedient children, do not be conformed to the desires that you formerly had in ignorance. Instead, as He who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct; for it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy” (v. 13-16 NRSV).

Thus, as Christians, there is a mandate between our behavior and who we are in Christ, not that we earn our salvation in any manner (for we know that we can’t), but rather that we must respond to our salvation in a specific manner. I go back to the example of a married couple. They get engaged, plan the wedding, attend the showers and parties, and show up at the church on the assigned day, she in her gown, he in his tux. They meet at the altar in front of many witnesses, say their vows, and then walk out of the church never to be together again. He goes back to his many girlfriends; she goes back to her many pursuits. They fail to consummate the relationship or in any other way to act “married.” Are they then actually married? In word only, but certainly not in deed.

It is the same with believers. We may walk down the aisle and say the “sinner’s prayer.” We may attend church and Bible studies, go to conferences and read books, sing songs and know the lingo. But if our behavior isn’t changed, if we continue to embrace those sinful behaviors that we know dishonor the Lord, are we truly saved? Are we truly a child of God?

Matthew Henry wrote:

“Those then who hope to live with him must study the utmost purity from the world, and flesh, and sin; they must grow in grace and holiness. Not only does their Lord command them to do so, but their new nature inclines them so to do; yea, their hope of heaven will dictate and constrain them so to do. They know that their high priest is holy, harmless, and undefiled. They know that their Go and Father is the high and holy one, that all the society is pure and holy, that their inheritance is an inheritance of saints in light. It is a contradiction to such hope to indulge sin and impurity. And therefore, as we are sanctified by faith, we must be sanctified by hope. That we may be saved by hope we must be purified by hope. It is the hope of hypocrites, and not of the sons of God, that makes an allowance for the gratification of impure desires and lusts” (emphasis mine).

Gratification is an important word in this process. Gratify has interesting connotations. It can mean to reward, to be the source or, to give satisfaction to, to indulge, and to satisfy. Paul talks about gratifying in Romans 13:

Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; let us live honorably as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy. Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires (v. 12-14 NRSV).

He contrasts living “honorably” with reveling, drunkenness, debauchery, licentiousness, quarreling, and jealousy. He also contrasts putting on the Lord Jesus with making provision for the flesh. He tells us to make no provision. Matthew Henry told us not to make any allowance for the gratification of impure desires and lusts. John wrote: If you know that He is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who does right has been born of Him. . . . And all who have this hope in Him purify themselves, just as He is pure (2:29, 3:3, NRSV). We know if we are His because we do right. We do right (purify ourselves) because of the hope we have in Him. There is a strong sense that, while we are not saved because of our behavior, our behavior must and will change if we are truly saved . . . and if our behavior doesn’t change, then we have need to ask ourselves if we are truly saved.

We also need to be careful that we are using this judgment against ourselves and not in angry or hatred against the sins or behavior of others. Jude writes:

Show mercy to those whose faith is wavering. Rescue others by snatching them from the flames of judgment. There are still others to whom you need to show mercy, but be careful that you aren’t contaminated by their sins (v. 22-23 NLT).

We are to be strong against our own sin, but to be merciful against the sins of others. If another Christian is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself (Galatians 6:1 NLT).

It is so easy to look at the sins of others; not so easy to look at my own sin. And yet, the Holy Spirit wants very much to reveal to me those areas where I am not pure, to purge those sins from my life, and to make me holy in His sight. When I sin, I have an Advocate in the Lord Jesus. But my goal should be not to sin, to be so in tune with the Lord that I’m aware before I sin that my choice may lead me astray. My prayer is that I will not sin today . . . in His power.

© 2011 Robin L. O’Hare. All Rights Reserved. Permission granted for nonprofit and church groups to use this article in its entirety (including this notice). For other uses, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com.