1 John 1:7-8

The blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. (NRSV)

We don’t talk much about sin these days. You used to hear it from the pulpit (at least from courageous preachers who cared more about the Word of God than building large churches). But in the 1960's and 1970's, something happened to the Church in America. We began to buy into all of the psychological research about self-esteem and sin basically went out the window. With it went literally the gospel which also means “good news.” If we haven’t sinned, then we don’t need the good news that the Lord Jesus’ own blood has cleansed us from it.

The apostle John is very clear here: If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves. I contend that we often not only deceive others, but we more often deceive ourselves by filling ourselves with gobbledygook that sounds good but is, in fact, deception. Our society is filled with this kind of deception. There are many things that likely we take for granted as being true that are absolutely not true; we are deceived.

For example, do an Internet search on children and self-esteem. You will find site after site after site insisting that we need to increase our children’s self-esteem. “Healthy self-esteem is like a child's armor against the challenges of the world.” “Many observers believe that low self-esteem lies at the bottom of many of society's problems.” “Good self-esteem is an important factor in raising healthy children.”

However, Christian teacher Elizabeth Elliot insists (and I agree) that the Bible never concerns itself with self-esteem and, in fact, teaches against it:

“Jesus certainly didn’t die in order to build up our self-esteem. He didn’t die for us because we were lovable. He loved us because we were irremediable. There was no remedy without His shed blood on that cross. He wants us to live in company with Him. He is not interested in our building our self-esteem, but in our learning meekness, gentleness, patience, love, joy, peace, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, self-control.” (http://www.backtothebible.org/index.php/Gateway-to-Joy/Self-Esteem-And-Sin.html)

We are sinners. I am a sinner. And there’s nothing that I can do, think, say, or believe that is going to change that. I can deny it and it still is true. I can believe something else and it still is true. I can go to college, go to seminars, read books, search the Internet, discuss with friends, do anything I can think of. None of that will take away the fact that I’m a sinner, that I have sinned and unfortunately may sin again.

The good news is that the Lord Jesus’ own blood cleanses me from sin if I accept that cleansing. Without it, I die in my sins regardless of what I believe. With it, I am cleansed and will live with Him forever. That is truly good news!

© 2012 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.

Resurrection Day

1 Corinthians 15:12-19, 30, 51-53

“Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation has been in vain and your faith has been in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified of God that he raised Christ—whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised. If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have died in Christ have perished. If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. . . . And why are we putting ourselves in danger every hour? . . . Listen, I will tell you a mystery! We will not all die, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable body must put on imperishability, and this mortal body must put on immortality.” (NRSV)

My Redeemer Lives by Eugene Greco

My Redeemer lives and I will see His glory
As He works all things together for my good
Whatever things occur, of this I can be sure,
I know my Redeemer lives

Even though I walk through the valley
I will fear no evil, He is with me
And on the battlefield, although the pain is real
My struggles soon will fade as His glory is revealed

My Redeemer lives and I will see His glory
As He works all things together for my good
Whatever things occur, of this I can be sure,
I know my Redeemer lives

I wish a blessed resurrection day to everyone!

© 2012 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 5:20

“Ah, you who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!” (NRSV).

Over the years, I have learned to try to analyze my thoughts and actions, to discover why I think the way I do or act the way I choose. I say “try” because I’m not always successful at doing it. I am greatly influenced by the society around me, a society which isn’t trustworthy and which, if I were wise, I would ignore when it comes to making choices.

I look back over my life and see many places where I should have made different decisions, where I could have made better choices. I see so many times when I have been (and still am) self-indulgent rather than obedient to God’s will. Just this morning, I read a snippet written by a dear Christian sister. It said, “Will I cooperate [with God’s plan] despite emotional pain?” Will I take the hard road?

I think it’s very difficult to look at Isaiah 5:20 and realize that it is about the society in which I live. But it is! We are at the point where, at almost every turn, evil is called good and good is called evil; darkness is embraced and the light of God’s word is rejected; the bitterness of sin, death, and hell are desired and the sweetness of God’s love is thrown down. And this isn’t helped by the fact that many Christians are so confused about what it means to be a Christian! Pastors aren’t preaching hard messages anymore, either being content to preach wishy-washy words to keep the pews full or knowing that their congregations are so spiritually immature that they can only accept milk. And we as Christians haven’t demanded that our pastors step up to the plate; we have become content to listen to a 30 minute sermon, complete with one or two scriptures projected on a screen, and then released to go home for another week to whatever it is that satisfies the lusts of our flesh. “For the time is coming when people will not put up with sound doctrine, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own desires, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander away to myths” (2 Timothy 4:3-4 NRSV).

Are we willing to walk the hard road for the cause of Christ? Are we willing to listen to the teachings that will compel us to grow to more maturity in the Lord? To become a Christian whose moral center is founded upon scripture means two things. First, we have to learn to rely solely upon the Holy Spirit. His will, His plans, His way need to be all that we think about or long for. Second, we need to be immersed in the Word of God. What we think, what we dream about, what we speak must reflect that our thoughts are overwhelmed by God’s word. Do you know that everything recorded in the New Testament as Jesus’ words are from the Old Testament? He was and is truly the Word of God and He wants to be that in us. He knows what is right and wrong, what is sin and what is righteousness. He longs to put that knowledge within us! “My child, if you accept my words and treasure up my commandments within you, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. . . . For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding; He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk blamelessly” (Proverbs 2:1, 5-7 NRSV).

There is so much of life that we embrace because it is fun or cute or even “innocent” when really it is the beginning step to destruction. Only God holds the Truth and only God holds the secret to living a life of morality. Even when His words don’t make sense to us, we can trust them—and trust Him—to know what is best!

© 2012 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 11:1

“Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.” (NKJV)

“I appeal to you, then, be imitators of me” (1 Corinthians 4:16 NKJV).

I’ve had the opportunity of growing up in two different church cultures. The first is the culture that permeated in the 1950's (and has remained in some churches or some communities). In this culture, people dress their best for church, wash their cars before coming, remember to bring their Bibles, attend Sunday School before services, and hide their sins. If they smoked, it was far away from church property. If they had affairs, those affairs were carefully secreted away. If they cheated or lied or stole, those actions were carefully covered up.

The second is the culture that began in the 1960's and has continued in many churches and communities. In this culture, people have taken the understanding that “God accepts us as we are.” People dress casually for church (like they might going to a movie or the beach). They may or may not carry their Bibles to church. If they have habitual sins, they don’t worry about hiding them, but can be seen smoking in the church parking lots, going to the grocery stores to liquor after the service, bringing their live-in girlfriends or boyfriends to church with them.

Of course, these descriptions are characterizations that don’t describe all believers, but they describe many church attenders. I believe that both cultures are both right and wrong in their approaches. Often, people take the emphasis from the “wrong” part of the approach, rather than understanding the truth of scripture. There are others, of course, who God places in our lives that become the “Pauls” for us; they become those that we can imitate, to whom we can go for support and advice.

Yesterday, as Ken and I were driving home, I told him that I wished that Uncle Paul and Aunt Doris (two wonderful saints who went home a number of years ago) were still here with us. We are facing a monumental decision and I would love to have simply been able to talk it over with them, to get their advice. I began to think of my wonderful Aunt Doris, my mom, and my Aunt Audrey—three women who have greatly influenced my life. They were my best friends, at different times in my life, and I miss having their lives to watch and imitate. Immediately, God brought Paul’s words to mind: “Imitate me as I imitate Christ.” I said to Ken, “I wonder if Aunt Doris, knowing that so many of us younger women were watching her, was influenced by this scripture? Did this scripture encourage her, at times, to be better than she thought she could be because she knew we were watching her?”

If you knew that people were watching your life, were forming their own Christian walk by yours, were learning what decisions to make based on your decisions, would you live differently?

Recently Ken and I have been going through a huge issue in our lives. (It’s not over yet.) As a result we have become more “visible” in people’s lives. Not only are people around us more aware of the fact that we are simply there, but they are watching our reactions to what is happening. I have become aware that people are looking to see how I will respond, perhaps even thinking that they will imitate me in a similar situation.

Am I imitate-able? Could I say to someone, “Imitate my actions because I’m imitating Christ”?

I believe that when we think (or know) that others are watching us, we are challenged to become better, to become more Christ-like, to spiritually and morally rise higher. At least, that’s what we should be doing.

I believe that, as a Church, we have become very comfortable in the casual atmosphere that exists now in many churches. Our clothes reflect our actions; our actions reflect our current morals and beliefs. We are convinced that God will accept us as we are (He does!), but we have forgotten that after that, He has challenged us to die to ourselves and to allow His Holy Spirit to live in us. “We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin. . . So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus” (Romans 6:6, 11 NRSV). After we have come to Christ, we should refuse to give Him simply “whatever” and strive to give Him the best that we have . . . and more! To allow Him to make us better than we ever think we could be. And that comes through self-control (a fruit of the Spirit), through love, through kindness to others, through faith in His plan and purpose, through trust in what we cannot see, through reaching out . . . and through become the kind of people that others can imitate. My prayer today is that my actions will become those that others can imitate and, in doing so, become more obedient to Christ and His will for their lives.

© 2012 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.

Galatians 1:1

“Paul an apostle—sent neither by human commission nor from human authorities, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead—“ (NRSV)

Paul begins this letter with this powerful phrase: “God the Father, who raised Him from the dead.” What is more powerful and affecting in our lives than death and that circumstances that surround it? Nothing changes things more (either for the person who died or for her family and friends). Nothing has a greater final outcome.

Except with the Lord Jesus. Through His resurrection, He brought us the ultimate hope, the ultimate ending to life: more life! “Listen, I will tell you a mystery! We will not all die, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed” (1 Corinthians 15:51-52 NRSV). What seemed, prior to the Lord’s resurrection, to be eternal death, is now a temporary state because we are going to receive new bodies, bodies that are incorruptible! Bodies that cannot be sick, that cannot fail, that cannot sin. And Paul concludes this passage in Corinthians with this:

“Therefore, my beloved, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, because you know that in the Lord your labor is not in vain” (v. 58 NRSV).

In Galatians, Paul establishes his authority based on the fact that God the Father raised the Lord Jesus from the dead. In Corinthians, he establishes our authority based on the fact that God the Father is going to raise us from the dead (our labor cannot be in vain).

What does Paul mean in his description for us?

“Steadfast” is hedraios which means “moral fixity” (Vine’s G1476). The command is for us to be steadfast, to fix our morals upon the Word of God and to not waiver from that moral stand. Morality for the believer is far more than we think of morality. There are so many aspects to it, all of those being the fruit of the Spirit in our lives: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Galatians 5:22b-23 NRSV). Most of us know by now that the “fruit” of the Spirit is one thing, not many things. We are expected to be all of these things all the time, not sometimes one and then sometimes another. Father God’s character is all of these all of the times. When we allow His Spirit to live in and through us, He is all of these things in us.

The only way that we can do that is to stay in the Word and stay in prayer. It is impossible for us to be gentle or self-controlled, to be kind or patient, but it is always possible (not only possible, but predictable) for God because this is Who He is!

“Immovable” means being fully committed through hope and trust in God, never wavering. James talked about the wavering believer:

“for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind; for the doubter, being double-minded and unstable in every way, must not expect to receive anything from the Lord” (1:6-7 NRSV).

The word picture is so descriptive! My parents and I used to sail small boats along the Pacific shore. We never went far enough to lose sight of land and were often within swimming distance of the shore. But one of the things we never did was to go out when there were small craft warnings. Small craft warnings are times in the ocean when the waves and wind are so severe that there is a danger of the smaller boats capsizing. A few times we were caught in the ocean when the warning occurred and had to scurry for the safety of the harbor. But being out in the ocean during those times was not fun. Our little boat was hurled from one wave to another, bobbing back and forth, with water drenching everyone on board. I’ve seen the wind whip the water back and forth, even taking it against the current or normal flow pattern.

As believers, we have two choices. We can look at our circumstances and allow those circumstances to raise doubts within our hearts and minds, tossing us back and forth with anxiety and distress. Or, we can look to the Word, to the heart of God, and trust, regardless of what is happening around us, knowing that this is the God Who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead; there is nothing too hard for Him!

Paul tells us in Galatians to be immovable. This means that our faith in the Lord is rock-solid; we refuse to doubt His love or His plan for our lives. We may be in a dark place temporarily, but in the end, He will resurrect us from the dead that this is all that matters!

Finally, Paul tells us to be “always excelling in the work of the Lord.” It’s interesting that he doesn’t tell us to “always being doing the work of the Lord,” but rather admonishes us to excel. God the Father excelled for us in giving us His very best, His only begotten Son. God had many choices in the dilemma of sin and death. He could have destroyed us all and started over. He could have turned His head and let us all die in our sin. He didn’t! His love compelled Him to solve the sin and death dilemma with no less than His best! Why would we then be content to give Him less than our best? And that can mean something as small as providing the best hospitality that we have, be it a feast on china or a sandwich on a paper plate; providing the best friendship to others that we have, be it a long conversation or a snippet email; providing the best witness that we can, be it a sermon or simply living morally straight for others to see.

Paul was empowered by the fact that God the Father raised the Lord Jesus from the dead. He recognized that, after that miracle, there was nothing that God couldn’t or wouldn’t do for His people. We are the same as Paul—believers whom the Father loves. There is nothing that He can’t or won’t do for our good, to demonstrate His love for us.

© 2012 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 90:12

“So teach us to count our days that we may gain a wise heart” (NRSV).

I can remember when I was younger—much younger—a conversation that I had with my precious mother. She told me that once she was grown, it seemed like “inside” she hadn’t aged. Even though she knew her body was aging, her mind still felt like a young woman And she commented that the years had seemed to pass so quickly. Of course, then she seemed so much older than I and I really didn’t understand what she had said. But now as I’m approaching another birthday, I totally get it!

I remember also another conversation that I had with my aunt, a wonderful Christian minister who traveled all over the world and whose songs touch the hearts of literally millions. In her 80's I can remember her telling me that the older she got, the more she realized how much she still had to learn about being a Christian, how little she actually knew. I remember thinking that if she only knew a little about being a Christian, I didn’t know anything. But now, again as I’m getting older, I understand what she was saying and thinking . . . because there’s so much about being a Christian that I’m just now getting and so much I still have to learn.

One of the things I’m learning is how fleeting life is. Oh, I know that when we’re young, we think that time will never pass. We measure our lives by the things we haven’t yet done but still want to do:

When I get to Disneyland
When I graduate from high school
When I get my degree from college
When I get married
When I have a child
When I get that job
When I accomplish that (whatever)

The anticipation of wanting and waiting can make time seem like it passes so slowly and we think we will never “arrive.”

Other things in life make time weigh heavy on our hands: trials and tribulations, those things which weigh us down with the worry and anxiety. We become obsessed with the worries of life, focusing on the problems and how we think we might change them. I know that I often become so fixated that I forget to pray, that I forget that every part of my life—every moment—belongs to the Lord and I exhaust myself trying to solve that which is only possible for Him.

The fact is that we may never arrive at our goals and we may never solve the problems that press in around us.

“So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.”(Matthew 6:34 NRSV).

When my beloved mom went home to heaven, I had the task of cleaning out her work room. I found three dresses that she had been making for a trip. This was a trip that she greatly looked forward to, going to the Bay area and speaking on a friend’s Christian television show. One dress was almost done except for the hem. One dress was begun, with work still to do, and one dress was just the fabric cut out. As I packed up the dresses, I could imagine her working, even a bit frantically, enjoying the creative task of sewing, but knowing that she was under a time deadline to get them done. And then . . . she was gone! Home to heaven and the deadlines with her. She didn’t need the dresses anymore and didn’t care about them because she was with her Lord!

We are only promised today and the Father is only concerned with what we do on this day. He is only concerned with the lives we’ll touch, with the commandments we’ll obey, with the love we’ll show, with the offenses we’ll forgive, with His presence that we’ll enjoy. The wisdom of which the psalmist speaks, I believe, is the wisdom that comes in understanding what is important and what is not.

Yesterday, we finally got water to our home (after almost a week without it). The house, dishes, and clothes were amazingly dirty, piled up everywhere and I was, a bit frantically I must admit, starting the dishwasher and washing machine, grabbing rags and cleaner to tackle the kitchen, and looking a bit overwhelmed at all that needed to be done. In the midst came a call from some friends who needed to talk to us, who needed ministry and love. We could have said “no” and they would have understood, but that wouldn’t be wisely counting our days. The purpose of life isn’t to leave everything clean and finished. We will never do it! We can’t clean ourselves up and we will never finish the tasks demanded of us. Only the Lord Jesus can do that and He already did it when He announced, “It is finished,” from the cross. Aside from that, all the rest of this is just stuff!

I’m learning to grasp onto what is important and to leave the rest aside. And what is important? Grasping onto Him! Pleasing Him! Praying, studying the Word, being ready in and out of season to love on those around me.

Nothing else really matters.

“For our perishable earthly bodies must be transformed into heavenly bodies that will never die. . . . How we thank God, who gives us victory over sin and death through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (1 Corinthians 15:53, 57 NLT).

© 2012 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 4:15-16

“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (NRSV)

We know that Father God is spirit. God Himself is an entity whose like we cannot even begin to fathom. He has “appeared” in scripture as a burning bush, as a disembodied voice, as brilliant jewels. John described Him as thus:

“At once I was in the spirit, and there in heaven stood a throne, with one seated on the throne! And the one seated there looks like jasper and carnelian, and around the throne is a rainbow that looks like an emerald” (Revelation 4:2-3 NRSV).

Daniel described Him:

“As I watched, thrones were set in place, and an Ancient One took His throne, His clothing was white as snow, and the hair of His head like pure wool; His throne was fiery flames, and its wheels were burning fire. A stream of fire issued and flowed out from His presence” (Daniel 7:9-10 NRSV).

These are amazing descriptions, but they are beyond my understanding. This is a God Who is far beyond me, with whom I cannot begin to have a relationship because He is so far beyond and I am so small. But this very God, understanding the enormous limitations of the creations (humans) He had made, also became a man, the God-man Jesus. And He continues to exist as this God-man, as one who can fully relate to me, having been through life as I am living it and now sitting glorified in heaven, as one day I will also be glorified because of Him.

A. W. Tozer writes:

“Now, at this very moment, there is a Man in heaven appearing in the presence of God for us. He is as certainly a man as was Adam or Moses or Paul. He is a man glorified, but His glorification did not dehumanize Him. Today He is a real man, of the race of mankind, bearing our lineaments and dimensions, a visible and audible man whom any other man would recognize instantly as one of us” (The Warfare of the Spirit).

That God would love me enough to not only die for me, but to become what I am, to bridge the gap with His own nature, is amazing. Of course, it doesn’t mean that He sinned as I have sinned, but He experienced life as I have experienced it with all the temptations, pains, and tribulations. He was hungry, tired, stressed, and betrayed. He has experienced it all and fully understands what I am going through now. Not only that, but having experienced what I have experienced, He was able to persevere through without sin, thus providing me a role model. When He was persecuted, He forgave. When He was alone, He looked to the needs of others. When He was tired, He secluded Himself in prayer. His life alone is all that I need to learn how to live to please God. He is indeed my High Priest, my Friend, and my Savior.

© 2012 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.