I Did It My Way

God has given each person free will, even as He is not willing that any person should use that gift for his or her own destruction.  Yet, to some extent, we all do.  Whether you are a Christian or not, rebellion is part of your DNA.  One one extreme is the atheist who rejects God, or worse, the person who is merely indifferent.  On the other extreme is that petty sin that tempts you do choose it when God has something better.  Proverbs 14:12 speaks to this.  So does Proverbs 16:25.  The principle is so important it appears virtually verbatim in two separate scriptures.

There is a way that seems right to a person...

But its end is the way that leads to death.

Proverbs 14:12 (NET)

The prophet Isaiah said basically the same thing to the Hebrews as Jerusalem was about to be overtaken by the Babylonians.  The reason God was allowing such a hostile takeover was because the nation as a whole had turned its back on God, with most folks "doing it my way".  

You were secure in your wickedness;

you said, "No one sees me."

Your wisdom and knowledge led you astray.

You said toyourself, "I exist and there is no one else."

But, 

Disaster will happen to you; you will not know how to avert it.

And it will fall on you, but you will be unable to ward it off.

Devastation will happen to you suddenly and unexpectedly.

Isaiah 46:10-11

As I read these verses, particularly verse 10, I think about so many people today who say this same thing.  It breaks my heart, because some of those I love believe this.  This godless, worldly philosophy is of the Devil and is the essence of atheism.

This philosophy is prevalent in our public schools and universities.  And, it is one explanation for why so many of our young people go astray in their later teens and 20s.  This is an outworking of the phrase, "Your wisdom and knowledge led you astray."  This happened even to King Solomon, who was judged to be the wisest man of his day!  We need to pray diligently for our young ones, as they are under tremendous pressure to abandon their faith.  The message pervades our world; they hear it everywhere.

People who believe this satanic philosophy do so for a variety of reasons, but one reason is central:  they want to hold on to their sin.  They love their sinful lifestyle, at the core of which is "self-determination", the ability to determine one's own path.  The anthem of this belief system is a "golden-oldie" from the mid-20th century crooner, Frank Sinatra - - "I Did It MY Way!" 

Rebellion is foundational to this movement.  It began with the first being to rebel against God, Satan, and has continued down through the centuries as he has continued his campaign to draw people away from the one, true Source of Life.

'I exist, and there is no one else."  Such self-centeredness!  Of course, if others "do not exist", we do not have to care for them, true?  We don't have to be considerate of their needs.  If GOD does not exist, then we can happily continue in our sins, true?  How very convenient...

For the Christian, our theology turns this belief system on its head.  There is no self-determination in Christianity, no "self-actualization", as Abraham Maslow called it.  There is only "God-actualization" and "God-determination".  A brother quoted Proverbs 3:5-6 yesterday, and it is so applicable here. 

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart.

Don't depend on your own ability to understand.

In all your ways, give Him your allegiance, 

And HE will direct your paths."

Our faith is counterintuitive to our culture in present-day America.  It runs "against the grain."  To many whose eyes are clouded and ears clogged, it makes no logical sense.  It is offensive.  Many call it "ignorant".  Listen to what God says, through the apostle Paul about true wisdom: {The Message}

"Don't fool yourself.

Don't think that you can be "wise" merely by being up-to-date with the times.

Be God's fool - - - that's the path to true wisdom.

What the world calls "smart", God calls stupid.

It is written in Scripture, 

'He exposes the chicanery of the chic.

The Master sees through the smoke screens of the know-it-alls.'  "

1 Cor. 3:18-20

God has made it abundantly clear in Isaiah 44 and 45 (and elsewhere throughout the Old and New Testaments) that HE is in control, that our "self-determination" will lead us to disaster.  He gives us the free will to either follow Him or not.  

Let's choose wisely.

Ah Father!  My heart breaks.  I beg You not to forsake those who wander from the Truth.  Please continue to woo them by Your Holy Spirit.  I am so grateful for Your promise to fling Your arms open wide and receive us, yes, even run out to meet us in our repentance, as the father of the prodigal son did in Luke 15.  Oh dear God!  Let today be the day.  In Jesus' name, amen.

Pushin' My Buttons!

Why is it that no one on earth has the peculiar power to "push our buttons" more than our family members?  Can I "get a witness"?  Particularly, this is often true with children and parents.  I think that one reason is ... we are often so much like our parents or children.  We sometimes don't want to admit that, unless we are talking about their favorable qualities.  I sometimes have referred to "YOUR son", when talking with my husband about one of our sons who has done something boneheaded.  Then, later, when he does something wonderful he is "MY son", lol!

If you believe that God is sovereign, however, you recognize (whether you want to or not), that He has given to you the parents and (if you have any) the children He absolutely wanted you to have.  I was blessed with wonderful, godly parents, and with two precious sons, all of whom I love dearly. Unfortunately, though, this has not been the case for all of you, my dear brothers and sisters and non-believer readers.  Some of you have had "terrible parents" and/or "heartbreaking children".

Because God gave to humankind free will, some of our parents and/or children have made disastrous choices, which severely impacted our lives in a negative way.  Some of these negative impacts have been long-lasting, over a course of years!

The truth is:  our closest family members have the greatest potential to both enrich our lives and to destroy our lives.

Today's text focuses on family relationships and the mutual love and respect which make them healthy.  I've written about the relationship between husbands and wives, in my devotional meanderings through other of Paul's writings. You can explore those at these links below:

Here's the complete text, but we will be focusing on verses 20-21:

18Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. 19Husbands, love your wives and do not be embittered against them.20Children, obey your parents in everything, for this is pleasing in the Lord. 21Fathers, do not provoke your children, so they will not become disheartened.

Colossians 3:18-21

If you grew up in a Christian church, you probably had verse 20 quoted to you repeatedly.   (I have always been sort of ... intense ... so, it was quoted to me a lot!) Children can be quite provocative....that is to say, rebellious and disobedient.  Believe me, mine have provoked me plenty! The thing is, though, that verse 20 really goes hand-in-hand with verse 21, as verses 18 and 19 go together.

The only other thing to give us pause in verse 20 is that, obviously, we should not obey our parents in ungodliness.  Let's say your father is a philanderer and urges you to follow his example.  No, just (obviously) NO.  That is not what is meant by this verse, which assumes that the parents are walking in righteousness before their children, and leading them accordingly.  Parents are never going to be perfect; so, to expect them to be is an impossible standard.

Have you ever known or witnessed a parent, though, who deliberately provoked his or her children? I have.  What some would cause "playful teasing" is viewed by some as provocation.  I have a child like that.  He absolutely does NOT like to be teased.  But, that is not what is meant here.  Let's look at two action words from this verse, in various translations.

First, the word translated in the NET version as "provoke".  Here are synonyms from other versions:
embitter, aggravate, exasperate, "fret and harass", vex, "make angry".  You can see that these go beyond simple, playful teasing.  Nor do they mean the godly correction that parents are commanded to give their children, although the children will often find such godly correction less-than-pleasant.

When, as parents, we correct our children with an attitude of "lording it over them", and/or using our God-given authority as a mace or a club or a battering ram, then we will often get the response the Bible refers to in the NET as "disheartened" children.

What, then, are some words other translations use for "disheartened"?  Discouraged, "lose heart", "become morose".

There are so many applications of this verse in every day life, but when I read it, I think of the meme I put at the top of today's blog post.  There are times when we need to correct our children, and even give constructive criticism about their choices, particularly when our children are young and living at home.  As they mature and become young adults, we must be very judicious about our "advice".  I am learning that lesson, with two "twenty-somethings" whom I love.

The very worst outcome of our training of our children would not be that they come to doubt our love for them, although that would be awful.  No, the worst outcome would be if they start to doubt God's love for them.  Fortunately or unfortunately, our children begin to derive their concept of God according to how we love them (or not) in our homes.

When you look at our good, good Father, He does not "push our buttons".  He does not provoke us to anger or ungodliness, but instead gently "restores my soul" and "leads us in paths of righteousness for His name's sake" (Psalm 23:3). May we, parents or children, follow His example in endeavoring to do the same for each other.

Father, teach me to deal with my dearest loved ones in gentleness and kindness, as well as in holiness. It is an area of weakness for me, this gentle holiness, and a lesson I need to learn over and over. In Jesus' name, amen. 

Source:

http://www.picturequotes.com/if-a-child-lives-with-criticism-he-learns-to-condemn-if-a-child-lives-with-fear-he-learns-to-be-quote-228313

Frankensteinian Spirituality

You may be familiar with a fictional novel, Frankenstein, written in the early 1800s, by a young Englishwoman, Mary Shelley.  It was a short work of gothic horror and science fiction, one of the earliest, and has become an American classic1.  The story is of a young scientist, who is able to create a "living" man from the various parts of other dead humans - - - a brain here, a torso there, you get the picture.  Grotesque, isn't it?

The modern day parallel is the immensely popular television series, The Walking Dead.  Man has for centuries been fascinated with bringing the dead to life again, and has tried many different approaches to make this happen.  I'll spare you the gory historical and deeply-buried (if you'll pardon the heinous pun) details.

Since death is our enemy, we try to slay it in our own power.  And, especially in the realm of the spiritual, again, the results of such misguided attempts are grotesque.

1And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, 2in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. 3Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.

Ephesians 2:1-3 (NET)

Here, Paul describes what it is like to be spiritually dead, by using the analogy of physical death, something every human comes to understand, sooner or later.  Let's decompose it (sorry...my macabre humor is out of control).

• First of all, what killed the spirit of man?  Answer: trespasses and sins.  "Trespasses" or "transgressions" in some passages, means to "wander off the path" or "fall off the wagon". "Sins" is a word Paul uses in the general sense to mean "falling short of God's standard" or "missing the mark" (Benson)2  We are told in Romans 6:23 that the consequences of sin is spiritual death.
• Second, what does spiritual death mean?  It means that the human, although physically alive, is living under the control and rule of the evil one and/or his minions/demons.  Now, I predict that, at this point, some of you are going to "bow up", raise your hackles, and disagree with that last statement.  The Bible is plain, however.  Each person alive today is either serving and following Satan, OR he/she is serving and following Father God, Jesus Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit.  There's no other option given or allowed.  Serving the former leads to eternal spiritual death, the experiencing of God's wrath; serving the latter leads to an eternity of life and joy.
• Third, what does this "walking in death" look like?  It is demonstrated by a life disobedient to the ways of God, habitually, as one's custom, indulging the desires of the body and a dead, corrupted mind.  It is evidenced by rebellion, going one's own way, by a careless disregard or disdain for "the Way, the Truth, the Life", Jesus Christ.  Look how The Message version described that old, stagnant life-walk of spiritual death.  "You filled your lungs with polluted unbelief, and then exhaled disobedience.  We all did it, all of us doing what we felt like doing, whenever we felt like doing it, all of us in the same boat." 

Pretty damning, isn't it?

So damning that most people will not accept this truth, even though acknowledging it is a foundational prerequisite for becoming spiritually alive.  How can one be made alive, if he or she will not even accept that he or she is dead?!  It is impossible, just as impossible as it is for a person to make him or herself spiritually alive.

Oh, but we try.  We make our spirits Frankensteinian!  (I'm told that adjective is not a word; but, I'm ignoring....)  We put on masks to hide the depths of our sin and despair.  We use techniques like "self-improvement" or "social justice" or "charity" or "service leagues" - - - and we make of ourselves spiritually-dead zombies.  None of the "good works" mentioned are bad things, unless they are used in attempts to "raise the dead" soul. Properly used, these things are OUTWORKINGS from an alive spirit; they flow out of the abundance of the transformed, Christ-follower!  Look....

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away.  Behold!  All things have become new!"

2 Cor. 5:17 (NKJV)

In the original King James version, the word "creation" is "creature" - - a beautiful, new, alive creature, not a cobbled-together horror show.  Only the true, living Savior, Jesus Christ, can bring the dead spirit to life.  Only He can make this transformation. (John 14:6)

Lay down your bone saw and scalpels, Dr. Frankenstein, and open your arms to the Living One, the only One who gives eternal life!

Dear Father, I was bemused to see when I googled the word "Therefore", the first word in 2 Cor. 5:17, that verse immediately popped up.  Probably, it is the most important "therefore" in the entire Bible.  I praise You, the only One who can raise the dead, the only One who can give life eternal.  I thank You for giving it to me, and I pray for those reading this who may have seen themselves in a Frankensteinian state and who long to be re-born, made new, re-created, made alive by Your almighty hand.  I pray that they will put their hand in your outstretched hand today, Lord.  In Jesus' name, amen.

Sources:

1  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankenstein

2  http://biblehub.com/commentaries/ephesians/2-1.htm

A Painful Truth

 If you were to ask me which passage of Scripture is the most divisive in today's American culture, I would have to say that it is Romans 1:26-32.  I knew that this passage was in the "Romans line-up", ever since making the decision to exegete this book; and, I've been dreading it. The Bible as a whole is unpopular in today's culture.  However, this passage is extremely inflammatory to many people.

Such was not the case when I was young.  50 years ago, there was near-universal acceptance in this country of this passage of Scripture.  Yet, the Bible has not changed.  "Modern society" has.

If you remember from yesterday, Paul has been describing people who reject God - - who reject His authority over their lives, His plan of salvation, His rules for righteous living.  These people choose badly, exchanging God's truth for the lie, which says "I am my own god."  They follow the example of Satan, who walked down this path away from worshipping the one, true God long, long ago.  We also touched on, yesterday, how God "gave them over" to their depravity, in the wake of their making such a horrible exchange.  In other words, He let them go, so that they could practice their godless ways unrestrained.

26 For this reason God gave them over to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged the natural sexual relations for unnatural ones, 27 and likewise the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed in their passions for one another. Men committed shameless acts with men and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.

28 And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what should not be done. 29 They are filled with every kind of unrighteousness, wickedness, covetousness, malice. They are rife with envy, murder, strife, deceit, hostility. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, contrivers of all sorts of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 senseless, covenant-breakers, heartless, ruthless. 32 Although they fully know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but also approve of those who practice them.

Romans 1:26-32 (NET)

Let's begin at the end of the passage, with verse 32, because it is the anchor verse of this passage.  The group of people Paul is describing practice these behaviors.  He does not say that they are tempted to do them, or that they occasionally sin and fall into them.  He does not say that they are "born to them" or that they are helpless against these sins.  He says that they choose these behaviors as a lifestyle, reveling in them, wallowing in their sin gleefully, defiantly.  AND, they encourage others to follow their example, while approving of those who live the same way.  Insolence, rebellion and unrepentance are present here, a sort of "in your face" attitude toward righteousness and toward God Himself.  Make no mistake: the lack of repentance is this group's most egregious sin.

That being established, let's look at the specific depraved behaviors which most often characterize this people:

• "dishonorable sexual passions" (any sexual relations with anyone or anything outside the bounds of holy matrimony) 
• wickedness (a general term)
• covetousness and envy (a hunger for what God has given to someone else)
• malice (spite, vengefulness)
• strife (promoting friction, discord and dissension)
• hostility
• murderers
• deceitful (a lying tongue)
• gossipers 
• slanderers (those who spread lies about others to destroy them)
• arrogant
• boastful
• haters of God
• heartless, ruthless
• disobedient/disrespectful to parents

Paul ends the passage with the strong affirmation that those who live this way KNOW that their actions and attitudes are wrong.  Still, they repeatedly choose to walk in their own ways, rejecting God's.

There is an analogous passage in the Old Testament book of Proverbs, and I was thinking about that as I copied down the list above.  Perhaps the apostle Paul was thinking of this passage as he wrote Romans 1.  Take a look and note the similarities.  Can you count the 7?

16There are six things that the Lord hates,

even seven things that are an abomination to him:

17haughty eyes, a lying tongue,

and hands that shed innocent blood,

18a heart that devises wicked plans,

feet that are swift to run to evil,

19a false witness who pours out lies,

and a person who spreads discord among family members.

20My child, guard the commands of your father

and do not forsake the instruction of your mother.

21Bind them on your heart continually;

fasten them around your neck.

22When you walk about, they will guide you;

when you lie down, they will watch over you;

when you wake up, they will talk to you.

23For the commandments are like a lamp,

instruction is like a light,

and rebukes of discipline are like the road leading to life

Proverbs 6:16-23 (NET)

I fully realize that some of you, readers of this blog, are going to be highly offended at this post, that you will see it as a rebuke.  Society has made some of the behaviors, sins, on this list very socially acceptable.  In fact, if you do speak out against certain sexual sins, you are condemned by a large segment of our modern American society.  However, I am not in this "business" of blogging in order to twist and pervert the word of God.  His judgment on me, were I to do that, would be more awful than any shunning or backlash I receive from readers.

There is a way that seems right to a man, but the end of it is (physical and spiritual) death.

Proverbs 14:12

If you are my internet friends, how can I stand by silent, cherry-picking and choosing only the most comfortable Bible passages?  I can't, not in good conscience. Paul warns in Romans 1:32 that those who condone, approve of, give consent to these evil behaviors are just as guilty as those who practice them!  What a dire warning!  

The end of the Proverbs 6 passage reminds us that rebukes of discipline are like the road that leads to life, (both physical and eternal).  It is my prayer that today's post will be viewed by you in that light and that you will search your own heart in these matters.  As long as a person has physical life, there is hope.  He or she can turn around, walk in the other direction toward God, toward His plan of salvation, toward eternal life.

Father, these types of horrible trades remind me of folks who get high-interest title loans.  They trade something of true value for something of seemingly equal value, only to later find themselves in a deep, deep pit.  I pray for those who are in one of these lifestyle situations, walking purposely far from You.  I pray that You will open their eyes to their imminent destruction and their eternal peril! May they turn around, turn around and run toward You, their only salvation.  May they trade in their dirty, broken lives for life eternal.  In Jesus' name, amen.