It's been said that life is measured in frames like a film.
Moments in our lives that might be a called a reaction shot. A term film makers use when actors are reacting to a situation. There are reverse angle shots when life shows us one side of something or an object (even a person's story) only to reverse and show us the other side.
Likewise a pan shot is when the camera remains stationary but turns horizontally revealing new areas. Recall 2 Chronicles 16:9, "For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him." God who sits on the throne (stationary) shifts and moves his eyes (lens) through every known hidden place on earth! And God's eyes act like tilt shot going up and down capturing all of heaven and hell's activity all at the same time.
Moses was prohibited from entering the Promise Land because he failed to show God as holy when striking the rock. He was to speak to the rock so water can be released. Later God took him to Mount Nebo and gave him a panoramic shot of the land. Then Moses climbed Mount Nebo from the plains of Moab to the top of Pisgah, across from Jericho. There the LORD showed him the whole land--from Gilead to Dan (Deuteronomy 34:1).
At one time Moses cried to see His Glory now God was showing His glorious promise to Moses. Beloved, we have these "framed" moments but they must be transitioned to another frame to produce a complete film. Sometimes we can be captured by a single frame in life. Sometimes blissful moments can cause us to stay in the moment far too long. Or unbelief and fear freezes us in that moment.
We can easily forget God is the author of our script (testimony). He has the power of the director's cut when editing the complete film. You can say Moses' anger caused him to be locked in a heated moment (a single frame) where he failed to see there was much more (a sequence of frames) at stake than venting his rage.
Beloved, the eyes of God is watching us. He is our Director and though we may not understand it we must allow His Spirit to do whatever He has put into our hands to do and be willing to move into place at His precise timing.
As the body of Christ we have all a part to play until that day in Revelation 21:1-4 when the final film of our lives are finished and the final credit belongs to Christ alone.
Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,”for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. (NIV)
Saturday, November 28, 2015
Saturday, November 21, 2015
The Lesser Glory
Romans 1:25-26 warns of a downward spiral of exchanging truth for a lie and serving the creature rather than the Creator that lends itself to degrading passions and gross sins.
The Devil will make every attempt to deceive us about the full effects of sin and its long lasting consequences that can result. The Bible says, "Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death" (James 1:5 KJV).
I know of a man who destroyed his liver with alcohol that he bled out in the hospital and another man who was unfaithful to his spouse to learn he has HIV. What started out with thought of just a simple sip of golden ale or some hidden sexual exchange soon overtook their lives.
But sin does not have to be so extreme.
Sin can be as subtle as an attitude or refusing to surrender that hidden longing in the heart for something we know He prohibits.
Achan failed to obey God after Jericho was conquered and took a wedge of gold and a Babylonian garment. He hide it in his tent. But it was something else buried deep in his heart that refused to listen to God and made himself an exemption to the rule. He was drawn to the lesser glory of shimmering gold. In the end, Achan and his family was destroyed.
Beloved, all around us in this culture there are things that will call our attention but do not bow to that deceptive voice. Daniel's friends did not obey the king's command to bow to the golden image he set up. So they were thrown into a fiery furnace but God walked among the flames with them.
Lust is the lesser glory that has marred the true glorious image of God reflected in His creation of men and women. When we stoop and bow to what is nothing short of fool's gold we become corrupt and degraded. Shame almost always follows when we have given our attention (worship) to the world's goods.
But there is grace, beloved, glorious grace that He lavishes on those who call out to Him for help no matter the condition of the heart. Grace interrupts sin's destructive course and grace restores the glory of God in the heart. The only higher glory that should consume the heart.
Grace. Rich and glorious. Grace.
The Devil will make every attempt to deceive us about the full effects of sin and its long lasting consequences that can result. The Bible says, "Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death" (James 1:5 KJV).
I know of a man who destroyed his liver with alcohol that he bled out in the hospital and another man who was unfaithful to his spouse to learn he has HIV. What started out with thought of just a simple sip of golden ale or some hidden sexual exchange soon overtook their lives.
But sin does not have to be so extreme.
Sin can be as subtle as an attitude or refusing to surrender that hidden longing in the heart for something we know He prohibits.
Achan failed to obey God after Jericho was conquered and took a wedge of gold and a Babylonian garment. He hide it in his tent. But it was something else buried deep in his heart that refused to listen to God and made himself an exemption to the rule. He was drawn to the lesser glory of shimmering gold. In the end, Achan and his family was destroyed.
Beloved, all around us in this culture there are things that will call our attention but do not bow to that deceptive voice. Daniel's friends did not obey the king's command to bow to the golden image he set up. So they were thrown into a fiery furnace but God walked among the flames with them.
Lust is the lesser glory that has marred the true glorious image of God reflected in His creation of men and women. When we stoop and bow to what is nothing short of fool's gold we become corrupt and degraded. Shame almost always follows when we have given our attention (worship) to the world's goods.
But there is grace, beloved, glorious grace that He lavishes on those who call out to Him for help no matter the condition of the heart. Grace interrupts sin's destructive course and grace restores the glory of God in the heart. The only higher glory that should consume the heart.
Grace. Rich and glorious. Grace.
Saturday, November 14, 2015
I'm Persuaded
Romans 8:38-39 says, "For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (KJV).
To be persuaded means to "move by argument, entreaty, or expostulation to a belief, position, or course of action" (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary).
Are we persuaded - fully confident - in the Lord's love toward us? Are we convinced He will fulfill His promises in our lives?
Intercession is where we find the strength (or lack of) persuasion in God's sovereign power to act. Do we believe God can change our home, heal relationships, answer requests for a better paying job or provide clear direction? Prayer is not in the number of words we speak (Luke 18:13) or how long we pray. True pray is rooted in the substance of faith to trust Him (Hebrews 11:1).
Such faith Abraham possessed to get up from where he lived and how he lived to go to a far country. He was not sure where he was actually going but was persuaded by His voice to leave everything behind. Hebrews 11:10 says, "Abraham was confidently looking forward to a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God." (NLT).
Abraham took God at His word because he understood the nature of God. A God who does not lie and who does not change but is faithful.
And that is why our persuasion must flow from our knowledge in the character of God rather than some emotional or circumstantial experience. Our emotions will betray us. Circumstances are temporal and fickle. Sadly, we are more convinced about our failures which appear to dominate and control our lives.
If we are persuaded nothing...absolutely nothing...can separate us from His love than we can pray boldly and with confidence. Even if our heart condemns us God is greater than our hearts (1 John 3:20).
Beloved, we can't coach ourselves to be persuaded in His ability to act because this requires the work of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit teaches and leads us into all truth. Truth that persuades us God loves me no matter what so I can pray with reckless faith to believe Him.
To be persuaded means to "move by argument, entreaty, or expostulation to a belief, position, or course of action" (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary).
Are we persuaded - fully confident - in the Lord's love toward us? Are we convinced He will fulfill His promises in our lives?
Intercession is where we find the strength (or lack of) persuasion in God's sovereign power to act. Do we believe God can change our home, heal relationships, answer requests for a better paying job or provide clear direction? Prayer is not in the number of words we speak (Luke 18:13) or how long we pray. True pray is rooted in the substance of faith to trust Him (Hebrews 11:1).
Such faith Abraham possessed to get up from where he lived and how he lived to go to a far country. He was not sure where he was actually going but was persuaded by His voice to leave everything behind. Hebrews 11:10 says, "Abraham was confidently looking forward to a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God." (NLT).
Abraham took God at His word because he understood the nature of God. A God who does not lie and who does not change but is faithful.
And that is why our persuasion must flow from our knowledge in the character of God rather than some emotional or circumstantial experience. Our emotions will betray us. Circumstances are temporal and fickle. Sadly, we are more convinced about our failures which appear to dominate and control our lives.
If we are persuaded nothing...absolutely nothing...can separate us from His love than we can pray boldly and with confidence. Even if our heart condemns us God is greater than our hearts (1 John 3:20).
Beloved, we can't coach ourselves to be persuaded in His ability to act because this requires the work of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit teaches and leads us into all truth. Truth that persuades us God loves me no matter what so I can pray with reckless faith to believe Him.
Saturday, November 7, 2015
Moving Past Regret
The sting of regret can paralyze us from walking out of the past and into a bright future.
Regret is a deep disappointment as a result of something we shouldn't have done or said which brought a lot of pain to ourselves and others. Recrimination is the sister of regret. We punish ourselves by negative self talk or refuse to take risks that will lead us to a place of healing and freedom. Why try when all we do is fail?
Only God can break through our circular thoughts of failure and shame. He knows how to untie the many knots in our thinking that prevents us from seeing things clearly and accurately.
God gives a promise to quiet those condemning thoughts. Zephaniah 3:17 says, "The LORD your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing." (NIV).
The Lord wants to remind those who struggle with regret that you are no less loved because of some grievous failure. Failure or success never measures the love of God toward us. Rather His love frees our heart from the stronghold of guilt and shame. God's love gives us the confidence to trust Him because we can't put any confidence in ourselves to do what is right.
Beloved, we have to pray for understanding. We know so little and often what we do know is not from God's point of view. Regret can misshapen our minds to become narrow and closed. God has to take us to the heights of Mt. Pisgah like Moses to see the entire Promise Land. When we see things from His perspective the cyclic thoughts of regret lose their hold. When we see through the eyes of faith differently we will be believe differently.
Tell God what you regret. Don't hide or hold back anything from Him. Truth will bring light to dispel any darkness and truth will liberate the bound heart. And true to Romans 8:1-2 we are not a condemned people but the freest people because we are loved by God - regardless of our mistakes and bad choices.
Regret is a deep disappointment as a result of something we shouldn't have done or said which brought a lot of pain to ourselves and others. Recrimination is the sister of regret. We punish ourselves by negative self talk or refuse to take risks that will lead us to a place of healing and freedom. Why try when all we do is fail?
Only God can break through our circular thoughts of failure and shame. He knows how to untie the many knots in our thinking that prevents us from seeing things clearly and accurately.
God gives a promise to quiet those condemning thoughts. Zephaniah 3:17 says, "The LORD your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing." (NIV).
The Lord wants to remind those who struggle with regret that you are no less loved because of some grievous failure. Failure or success never measures the love of God toward us. Rather His love frees our heart from the stronghold of guilt and shame. God's love gives us the confidence to trust Him because we can't put any confidence in ourselves to do what is right.
Beloved, we have to pray for understanding. We know so little and often what we do know is not from God's point of view. Regret can misshapen our minds to become narrow and closed. God has to take us to the heights of Mt. Pisgah like Moses to see the entire Promise Land. When we see things from His perspective the cyclic thoughts of regret lose their hold. When we see through the eyes of faith differently we will be believe differently.
Tell God what you regret. Don't hide or hold back anything from Him. Truth will bring light to dispel any darkness and truth will liberate the bound heart. And true to Romans 8:1-2 we are not a condemned people but the freest people because we are loved by God - regardless of our mistakes and bad choices.