Forsaken

For Good Friday, I'm doing a repost of last year's Easter meditation. This article means a lot to me because the Holy Spirit is teaching me how Jesus is pivitol to my life as a child of God. May we all go boldly to the throne in awareness of how much that privledge cost.

I've seen movies and heard descriptions of Jesus' crucifixion. The physical torture that Jesus experienced is explained in detail, and we see each lash ripping His flesh, the excruciating walk to Golgotha, and the nails hammered into His hands and feet. Many times the pain is our sole focus, and we assume that the fear of this pain explains why Jesus petitioned God at Gethsemane to "take this cup from me." However, the physical sacrifice is only one aspect of Jesus' death on the cross. There is so much more that we many times forget to examine and meditate on.

The crucifixion is made up of three components, and physical pain is only one of them. Yes, Jesus is human, so the pain was a big part of why He said, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death" (Mark 14.34 NIV). But I do not believe that it was fear of pain that made Jesus sweat drops of blood (Luke 22.44 NIV). I know that Jesus loves me more than I can comprehend, and He would boldly confront physical persecution for my sake. I think He had a greater reason to feel anguish -- a reason that our culture has trouble even understanding.

The second aspect of the crucifixion that would cause Jesus to be overwhelmed with sorrow is that He became sin for us: "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" (2 Corinthians 5.21 NIV). Please note that Jesus became sin. He was sin for us. What is sin? Sin is the absence of God. Sin is the absence of light, love, beauty, glory, etc. The best way I can illustrate this concept is to take the innocence of a newborn baby and force that innocence to experience every disgusting, revolting, hideous sin you can think of. Try to imagine the innocence of those you love (especially your own children) and your mind will shut down. Your heart can not process the anguish.

The third aspect of the crucifixion ties directly into the second. This was the "more" that I was looking for. It took a while for me to comprehend, which demonstrates just how much I do not know about love. Several months ago, I was reading through the New Testament, and I was struck by the relationship between God and Jesus. They are so deeply rooted together, and I wanted to know how it felt. I prayed and asked God, "Show me how much Jesus loves You."

After I prayed that prayer, I read about Jesus praying to God in Gethsemane. His soul was in anguish, and God sent Jesus an angel to comfort Him. As I read about Jesus just minutes before He would be betrayed, I remembered how I had always been dissatisfied with explanations of the crucifixion. Yes, the physical pain Jesus endured was incomprehensible, but I know that there was another pain that I wasn't understanding. Finally, it hit me. If Jesus became sin, and God can have no part of sin, then God would have to disconnect from Jesus for a time.

Jesus loved God so much, and His entire existence was solely dependent on God; therefore, Jesus' biggest fear was to be forsaken by God. I believe Jesus feared this more than the physical pain and more than becoming sin. When Jesus cried out on the cross with His only complaint, He did not cry out, "My God, My God, this pain hurts so bad" or "My God, My God this sin is so revolting." No, Jesus cried out, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken me?" (Mark 15.34 NIV).

Nothing else mattered more to Jesus than the presence of God. That is how much Jesus loved God, and this showed me how much I do not. As I meditated on this, I became overwhelmed with anguish. God has been a side note, a ball I juggle in my busy schedule. Yes, He has also been a Father, a Friend, a Savior, a Healer, a Teacher, a Guide, an Encourager, yet He has never been my core. How do I know this? Because I constantly struggle with forsaking Him.

I forsake God for sleep, for my own desires, for my spouse, for my children, for my career, for the opinions of others, for security, for money, for prestige, for acclaim, for comfort, for pleasures, etc. I daily struggle with forsaking God, and I have no fear of it. Yes, I feel guilty and I repent when I know I've purposely walked away from His will, but do I fear? No.

I know that God loves me no matter what, and I'm happy to say that I have forgiveness of my sins through Jesus. However, I want God to be my core. I want Him to be my everything. I think that is why Jesus says, "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple" (Luke 14.26 NIV).

Jesus does not actually want us hating people or ourselves. Research the Scriptures, and you'll see that Jesus tells us over and over again to love others. However, our love for God should be so immense and so deep that our love for anything else should be comparatively weak. Would we be willing to give up all that we have for God? Jesus did.

When Jesus asked God to "take this cup from me," I do not believe He was talking about the physical pain or even becoming sin. Jesus' prayer before His crucifixion is the only time I see that Jesus took a step of obedience that He did not willingly want to take. God asked Jesus to give up the one thing that Jesus loved the most so that humankind could have everlasting life with Him: Jesus gave up God. Jesus became sin, and God can not have any part of sin. If this weren't true, then our sins are not really forgiven. If Jesus did not take our sins upon Himself, they are still on us. If they are still on us, God can not allow us into His glory.

If I could just understand Jesus' step of obedience, His sacrifice for me, I think I could have a glimpse of how much Jesus loved God. I love Jesus so much because He took this step of faith for God, even if He didn't want to. I love God so much because He "so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3.16 NIV). That God chose to weave me into this Divine Romance between Father and Son boggles my mind. I want to love them both back with a love deserving of their love for me. I know that my love will pale in comparison, but God beautifully makes up the difference with His grace!

Jesus is my hero because of His complete obedience to God. Many times God asks me to do things that I don't want to do, but I do them out of obedience. However, I can trust that God will never ask me to do it alone -- God will never forsake me (Hebrews 13.5) and Jesus is always praying on my behalf (Romans 8.34). The words that Jesus whispered before becoming my Living Sacrifice have become my new life's prayer: "yet not my will, but yours be done" (Luke 22.42 NIV).

"For a brief moment I forsook you,
But with great compassion I will gather you" (Isaiah 54.7 NASB).

Guest Post: Enthusiasm Outshines Ability

Enthusiasm Outshines Ability

My six year old son started playing soccer. He doesn’t quite know what he’s doing and the rules are a bit confusing to him, but he has stellar passion and enthusiasm for the game. His smile stays fixed on his face; and when he or his team mate makes a good play, he cheers and hollers. His passion spreads to the other team mates and his coach. They all get excited over seemingly simple moves. This passion -- placed in him by a family that continuously exposes his significance -- gives him power and strength to play hard and overcome his limitations and lack of skill.

When I see my son play, I think of the servant who was given five talents (Matthew 25.14-30). He was given more than the other two servants according to his abilities. I always believed that the servant was given more talents because he was more skilled; however, I know that skill does not necessarily ensure a person’s productivity. When you read the end of the parable, you find that the Master does not become upset because of the one-talent servant’s lack of ability; rather, it was the servant’s laziness that angered the Master.

When I researched the word ability, I discovered that it means something very different. The Greek word for ability is dynamis, which means power. It is the same word used to illustrate the power that surged through Jesus’ body when the woman from the crowd touched his clothes and was healed (Mark 5.30). Dynamis has little to do with a person’s skill-set but has everything to do with the power residing in the person. That power comes from the Holy Spirit who lives in Christians once we have the covering of Jesus’ righteousness.

We as Christians all have the power of the Holy Spirit residing in us, but it stays untapped until our passion for Christ unleashes it. When our actions follow our passion, we can accomplish anything that God has for us. We don’t have to be skilled or smart. In fact, God says that he uses foolish things to confound the wise (1 Corinthians 1.27). We just have to want to be used by the Holy Spirit, want to do more for the Kingdom of God, want to be endowed with more responsibility. We need to WANT more of Him!

The coach put my son in the game not because he’s a skilled player, but because my son wants to play. His passion usurps his ability. I believe if we all fully understood the significance that God places on us, we too would be passionate about His plan for our lives. And instead of being content with just one or two talents, we would beseech more from the Master. We might not have the amazing abilities that others have; but what we lack in ability, we make up for in enthusiasm.

“I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power” (1 Corinthians 2.3-5 NIV).

Paul himself was scared to do the things of God, but he did not let that stop him. He relied on the Spirit of God inside of him to accomplish God’s mighty work. Paul’s life is an amazing example of living with the power of the Holy Spirit. Paul might not have been the most eloquent speaker, but he wanted to be used by God. He was passionate about running a good race, and he was obviously a five-talent servant. We all can be five-talent servants if we are passionate for God and His Kingdom.

You can also read this article at Jan Christiansen's blog, Refreshed by the Word!

I'm Recruiting

Recruiting Time

When I imagine heaven, I see myself flying in some kind of exploration-cruiser, traveling through more of God's amazing creations. Even on this earth, scientists are discovering new creations all the time; and I believe this earth (as magnificent and beautiful as it is) is only a small portion of what our God can create. Heaven is not going to be a boring space of emptiness with nothing but a harp and a cloud. Heaven is going to be an adventure with amazing exploits and discoveries to be made!

I get excited thinking about my team of explorers traveling with me in heaven. I have no idea what we will be doing, but I do know it will be important and adventurous. God's eternal plan is beyond my comprehension; but if it's anything like it is on earth, it is bound to be exciting (Matthew 6.10).

As I considered all of this, I felt God tell my spirit, "Well, you better start recruiting your team."

Recruiting my team....?

That's when it hit me. There are millions of people who don't see heaven as I do. They long for something more than this physical life, their souls want to live forever, but they have no idea that there is a spiritual world. If I want people to join me in heaven, I better recruit them on earth (Matthew 16.19).

Humans are half-breeds. We are half flesh and half spirit. We have become very good at strengthening our physical lives, but our spiritual lives are starving. The sad truth is that our physical selves die. We walk over the graves of our ancestors just has our children will walk over ours. This life is just a brief vapor (James 4.14), which is kind of depressing if that's all we're clinging to and hoping in.

So if our physical bodies die, why aren't people embracing the other half of their existence? The answer is they don't understand Jesus.

Earth's Mission

God is a Creator (Genesis 1). He created us to give us life, love and a purpose. God created a perfect world and placed His beautiful half flesh/half spirit people in it (Genesis 2.7). However, instead of forcing our obedience, He gave us free-will.* We have the ability to choose God, which is our ultimate show of devotion. The ability to choose automatically corrupts God's perfect creation because many times we don't align ourselves with our perfect God.

Because God exists, the absence of God exists. Everything is defined by its absence. The absence of heat is cold. The absence of light is dark (Genesis 1.3-5). God dwells in heaven and the absence of God is hell. God is 100% perfect and His creations are perfect. However, because we are given a choice, His perfect creation becomes imperfect. God knew this would happen.

Since we are no longer perfect, we can no longer dwell with our perfect God in heaven. We are now separated from our Creator because our choices are flawed -- we all make mistakes. If God allows us to be a part of Him, He too will become corrupt. One hundred percent perfection cannot mix with anything less than perfect or else it too will become corrupt. This is no surprise to God, and He already had the answer -- Jesus.

Jesus lived the perfect life in our corrupted world and took our sin, so that we could wear His righteousness and stand before our perfect God (Romans 5.19). Jesus is the answer to the consequence of our bad choices with free-will. If we want to be a part of all the awesome exploits that God has planned for us in heaven, we better be wearing the righteousness of Jesus. God is all love, all knowing, all power, all glory, all good; and I don't want to exist away from Him. I don't know exactly what hell will be like, but the absence of God sounds lame to me.

The Answer

Language is our gift from the Creator, and our words are eternal. They might be formed in the physical world, but they make their way to the everlasting spiritual world. Words are tools that create. There is power in what we say. Jesus said that all we have to do is confess that He is Lord and we will be saved (Acts 2.21). All we have to do is admit our sin, and ask Jesus to take our separation from God, and His righteousness can be ours. Our faith in Jesus creates a bridge to God that joins the void of our separation caused by sin due to our bad choices we committed with our free-will.

Once we have Jesus' righteousness, we can now be in heaven and fulfill the amazing eternal plans of God because we are now supernaturally clothed in the 100% perfection of Jesus (Galatians 2.16). Jesus is our answer to everlasting life with a perfect God. In one hand, we are given free-will through the Tree of Knowledge; but in the other hand, we are given the Tree of Life through Jesus (Revelation 22.14).

Once we use our words and claim Jesus' righteousness (perfection), the Spirit of God dwells in us (Mark 1.8 & John 20.22). This is the coolest part of being a Born Again Christian, and it's kind of weird at first. All of a sudden, we have God's perfect Spirit inside of us, guiding us (John 14.26); but it takes time to get to know Him. We have to commune with Him like Jesus did. Jesus took time to pray often during His time on earth (Mark 1.35). It's like any relationship: We must cultivate it so we can get to know God and benefit from His love. But we have to have Jesus' redemptive covering for our perfect Creator to dwell in us.

Once we have the Holy Spirit, we can now fully understand God's creation through the Bible. Many people read the Bible and only see historical documents. But the living, breathing part of the Bible is closed to them. The Holy Spirit illuminates the Bible and applies it to our lives and situations (Acts 4.31). If we don't have Jesus and the promised gift of the Holy Spirit, the spiritual aspect of the Bible is dead (Hebrews 4.12). So when we talk to non-Christians about spiritual and eternal things, we need to first explain Jesus. Otherwise, we might be wasting their time and our energy.

So I'm recruiting. I might not have a lot to say or give, but I have the only thing that counts: I have the answer to the world's separation from their creator. I have Jesus. I want people to join me on my exploration-cruiser and go on many exploits in heaven with me. I want people to be united back to their Creator. I want people to finally fill that emptiness that they have grown accustomed to. There is so much more to this life than the material aspects of this world. We have eternity to live. My eyes are set on heaven. Will you join me?

"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28.19-20 NIV).

* Free-will is illustrated in Genesis 2 when God allowed Adam and Eve to be confronted with the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge. They had a choice even though the Creator told them that eating from the Tree of knowledge would cause their separation from Him (death).

Empty Spirituality

Research shows that many people do not know how to read their body cues. We confuse hunger for thirst, so we eat though we're really thirsty. Since our thirst never gets satisfied, we continue eating, hoping to quiet our need.

When we finally do recognize our thirst, we go for sugar and caffeine loaded beverages that actually dehydrate us even more. We down our coffee and sodas, which seem to help for the moment, but an hour later our bodies start sending us more need-signals.

We live out these crazy lives filled with unending needs and desires, but we never recognize the answer to our cravings -- we need WATER!

Our need for water is spiritual, as well. We are born with an innate desire for our God. He designed us with a craving for His Spirit. However, instead of filling our cups with Him, we fill our plates piled high with food of the world. We eat of pleasures, worries, money, relationships, materialism; and we are never satisfied. We have become fat, indulged, ever-hungry people, and our Spirits are whithering away to nothing.

However, the Enemy knows that many people will catch on to the fact that they are spiritually thirsty, so he cleverly creates Empty Spirituality. There are many beautiful tasting forms of spirituality that have always existed in this world. People drink them down hoping to quench their spiritual needs, but they only become more spiritually dehydrated.

Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water” (John 4.10 NIV). (emphasis added)

I've come across a lot of "enlightened" spiritual leaders, books and schools of thought, but they are completely void of Jesus Christ and His sacrifice on the cross. The Enemy sews many seeds of tantalizing insights that twist and change the Word of God. Then he strategically glosses over Jesus and His sacrifice for our sins -- humanity's only true hope. And the sad truth is that droves of people are getting a big dose of spiritually, but it's coming from the wrong side of eternity.

“My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water" (Jeremiah 2.13 NIV). (emphasis added)

We are unable to dwell with God in His realm, until we have our sins covered by the blood of Jesus. Jesus' sacrifice atones for our sins, and we take on His righteousness. God cannot connect with us otherwise because He is perfect, holy and pure. Jesus is the ONLY way to reach God. Why would God compete with "alternate" ways to His throne? Why would Jesus have to die on the cross if there was another way? Why would Jesus allow Himself to be disconnected from God for three days to take our sins on His back if a different plan of salvation could be achieved?

On the last day, the climax of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, "Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart’” (John 7.37-38 NLT). (emphasis added)

Jesus is God in the flesh who came down to this earth so that we could commune with a Holy God. People die for the cause of Jesus Christ because they know He is the world's answer for our spiritual need. Jesus is the Living Water. We must not accept spiritual substitutes, and we do God's children a horrible wrong when we skip over the cross. Spirituality will not get people to the presence of God -- only JESUS will.

For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; ‘he will lead them to springs of living water.’ ‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes’ ” (Revelation 7.17 NIV). (emphasis added)

The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters (Genesis 1.2 NLT). (emphasis added)

Question: Have you seen the core of Christianity influenced by Jesus-less doctrine? What can you do to protect yourself and others from consuming Empty Spirituality? Why is imperative for the foundation of spirituality to be built on Jesus?

Let's feed our children Living Water. Give them Jesus!

The 300 Club

I'm doing a guest post for Warren Baldwin, the author of Roaring Lions, Cracking Rocks. I hope you join me in The 300 Club!

My husband is intrigued by the story of God forming Gideon’s army to fight against the Midianites. We discuss this story together because we crave to be part of the 300 men God uses to show His glory. We all know that God slims down the army of 32,000 so He can ensure that the victory is obviously His alone. However, why does God choose to use those particular men? What is different about them that they are granted the honor of fighting? How can Christians today ensure that we are part of the infamous 300 Club?

Finally, after much conversation and study, my husband and I came up with three characteristics that separate these men from the crowd. I believe every single man among the 32,000 had an opportunity to serve God, but each chose to bow out of God’s plan by A) his lack of trust in God, B) his lack of hunger for God and C) his lack of obedience to God. God wants all of His children to share in His glory, but He gives us free will to choose. Whether or not we are willing to be a part of God’s amazing adventure is up to us.

God first whittles down the army by allowing those who were afraid to leave the fight and go home. Twenty-two thousand men walk out on the amazing demonstration that God is about to perform. I believe that this is the number one reason today Christians do not fulfill their destiny – they are afraid. This fear shows a lack of trust in God, and this lack stops the blessings of God. Psalm 84.12 (NIV) reads, “O LORD Almighty, blessed is the man who trusts in you.” The men who show courage trust that God is about to do something spectacular, and they know that they will share in the bounty.

Only 10,000 men are left after the doubtful leave. These are the men who trust in God and want to do His will, but the question is “Do they thirst for God?” God tells Gideon to have all the men go down to the water to take a drink. Although the Bible doesn’t specify, I believe not all 10,000 men make the trek down to the water. I’m sure many of the men did not feel thirsty, so they decide to stay behind on dry land. Jesus said in Matthew 5.6 (NIV), “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” The men who thirst for God have a desire to do His will, but the men who do not desire Him will stay behind.

Finally, at the water source God separates the men one more time. Not only must we trust God and thirst for Him, we have to be obedient to His nontraditional and sometimes crazy will. Out of all the men who drank water, only 300 of them lapped it up like a dog, and those are the men God could use. Although the entire image of lapping water has many implications, I’m fascinated that God chose the men who go against the norm, who are different. What I’ve learned about God is that He is not predictable, and He doesn’t do things the way the world does. Jesus is the prime example. The world expected a King, but God gave them a Carpenter. Job declares in Job 37.5 (NIV), “God's voice thunders in marvelous ways; he does great things beyond our understanding.” God does things differently, and if we crave to do His will, we can’t worry about what others are doing. Our obedience to God will cause us to stand out in mainstream culture.

God employed those 300 men to defeat the Midianites in a way that would not be documented in any wartime strategy manual. In fact, if each man did not trust God, thirst for Him and obey Him, the army would never have been able to pull off a victory – everything centered on God’s ability and the men’s compliance. There was no room for fear, selfishness or disobedience. Each man had to be crazy in love with God and willing to execute His bizarre plan. My desire for all Christians is that we make it into God’s 300 Club. We don’t have to be smart, popular or perfect; we just have to want God more than anything. My husband and I are ready to enlist in God’s plan. Will you join us?

Reference: Judges 7

You can also read this article over at Warren's Blog here!

Your Part in the Wall

I was reading in my one year Bible about the remnant rebuilding the wall after they returned to Jerusalem. Two very different prophets were called by God to oversee the construction of the wall and to help reestablish the nation. So much insight can be gleaned from this story, but I'm excited about what God made personal to me.

After reading Ezra's and Nehemiah's points-of-view, I felt God ask me, "Which one do you think you are?" I excitedly told God, "Nehemiah!" In my mind's eye, I could see God turn His head toward me, raise His eyebrows and say, "Really?" I read back through the details from both prophets, and I knew I was more like Ezra.

When I was twenty-five years old, I taught college composition. This was the hardest step of obedience I had taken up to that point. For a solid year, I lived on the opposite side of my comfort zone. The emotional, spiritual and physical pressure I felt squashed my appetite, and I became the thinnest I've ever been in my adult life. Although I was a good teacher and the students learned a lot and enjoyed my class, I was on edge all of the time.

I didn't like being in front of a class. I didn't like everyone looking at me for direction and answers. I didn't like having to talk, talk, talk all the time. I was definitely no Nehemiah. I would have preferred to sit among the students, read my books and lead by example. God knew this time would stretch me, so, thankfully, He didn't ask me to teach college for long. He gave me a full year to rest before He put me through another stretching situation (my first baby).

The interesting thing is that if God were to ask me this question several years ago, I would have insisted on the wrong answer. I get so enamored by the action and risk of Nehemiah that I forget about the heart and strength of Ezra. Both these prophets were necessary to the completion of the wall. They both brought God's vision to fruition by each doing his different, yet equal part.

I think the reason that many Christians feel jealous, angry or confused about what other Christians are achieving is because they don't know what they're supposed to be doing. It is hard to know who we are in Christ if we don't know who we are. I used to feel guilty about self-evaluation, like it was egocentric. But God reprimanded me. He said that I needed to have a healthy understanding of my design, my desires and my destiny. We all must find our wall (purpose), that grows His temple (church) and plant our house (life) in the middle of it.

When we find our niche in God's Kingdom here on earth, we will find ourselves in Holy Ease. This doesn't mean everything will be easy or smooth, but our passions should align with our purpose. Nehemiah and Ezra did a lot of work against all odds and showed great amounts of discipline, and they were able to achieve the impossible. Together they built the wall in 52 days and established God's people on His truth. God divided His vision, and everyone did his/her part. How much could the church accomplish today if all Christians would discover their part and do it wholeheartedly?

Have you asked God to give you a healthy understanding of who you are in Him? If you saw some of your personality reflecting from a Bible character, would you recognize yourself? How do you think knowing your design will help you achieve your destiny?

"Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us. Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other" (Romans 12.3-5 NIV).

Christian Inception

I watched the movie Inception. The idea of the movie is to delve into the core of the human subconscious (heart) and discover the hidden secrets of the soul. As I watched the movie, I knew that this concept was nothing new. When we are ready, the Holy Spirit invites all of us on a trip to the center of our hearts, but we have to be willing to go.

In the past year, God has taken me on a journey to the deep recesses of my heart. In all honesty, it has not been enjoyable. I discovered that most of my motives and intentions are connected to the root of selfishness. Selfishness is the human condition: it is our default setting—the thorn in our side. I always thought that my intentions were pure; but when I was pressed, the truth squeezed out.

Peter told Jesus He would never leave Him; but when Peter’s life was threatened, he chose selfishness. His pretty intentions were exposed, and he was humbled. God took Peter down to the inner parts of his Spirit, and Peter’s thorn of selfishness was revealed (Matthew 26.75). The thorn of selfishness (pride, flesh, sinfulness) is in all humans; the sooner we are aware of it, the better prepared will be to live with it.

Once I discovered my selfish nature (and got over the shock), I fervently worked towards working in love. However, I soon realized the difficulty of it. I would say something or do something deceitful, prideful or judgmental without meaning to. “Why did I do that?” I would question myself afterward. “I wasn’t intentionally trying to sin.”

What happens is that we automatically work out of selfishness if we are not consciously working out of love. The inception of our sinful nature was conceived by the Enemy and our consumption of it has infiltrated our entire mindset; and when we are not concentrating, we will unconsciously behave selfishly. That is why Paul says,

“So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!” – Romans 7.21-25

That is why we sin without trying to pursue it. As Christians, we have two “inceptions” in our hearts: the corrupted sinful nature we inherited at birth and the perfect spirit nature given to us by Jesus when we accepted Him as our Lord and Savior. It doesn’t matter how good we appear on the outside, if we do not actively – moment by moment – yoke ourselves to Jesus, we will be yoked to the Enemy, our selfishness and the world.

I asked God why throughout this past year He has taken me on this journey to center of my heart and exposed my sin? Why for the past year has He been exploring and measuring every single facet of my life? God led me to the book of Ezekiel when the Lord measured the temple. I read through all the measurements and quickly became irritated: “Why are you having me read all of these temple measurements?” I asked God.

Finally, God brought me to Ezekiel 44.4: “Then the man brought me by way of the north gate to the front of the temple. I looked and saw the glory of the LORD filling the temple of the LORD, and I fell facedown.” Only when God has measured every aspect of our temples, can the fullness of His glory rest on us.

Why is that? Why does He have to measure us first before He allows the fullness of His glory to fill us? The answer is what Paul excitedly claims: “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.” – 2 Corinthians 12.9.

When God reveals our selfishness through measuring our hearts, we realize that nothing beautiful can come from our lives separated from God. We in and of ourselves are corrupted by sin. However, God will rest His glory on us when we realize that the Glory is His alone. We can boast in our weaknesses because the awareness of them reminds us that all glory and beauty and love come from God. And this understanding will compel us to fervently seek to walk in His love and not in our own selfishness. This is the foundation of humility.

“So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor” (1 Peter 5.6 NLT). Do you want to be a part of God’s glory? Take a good look at your heart, and know that goodness comes from God alone. Humble the sinful nature, so that God’s perfect nature can have complete authority over your life.

Do Nothing

Today, I began reading the story of Jesus sleeping through the storm. The storm was bad enough to scare seasoned fishermen. These men have probably seen pretty bad storms, yet this one could have killed them. Though the situation was dire, Jesus did nothing to save their lives. The disciples had to wake Jesus and beg Him to intervene, and Jesus was none to happy about it: "He said to his disciples, 'Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?'" (Mark 4.40 NIV).

I also read about the first Easter, and realized the two stories are very similar. Jesus allowed the world to kill him, yet He did nothing stop them. There was a spiritual storm going on, but Jesus would not intervene. Jesus knew that His Crucifixion was a part of God's purpose. He had to have faith and relent to God's will.

After I read both stories, I felt the Holy Spirit tell me, "Sometimes I want you to do nothing."

I've experienced storms in my life in which I fought, begged and struggled. I realize in retrospect that I should have done nothing. I fought against situations, I begged God to help me and I struggled with people; but I should have just taken a cat-nap and let God deal with it. I needed to be still and meditate on God's greatness (Psalm 46.10).

God has battles He has anointed us to fight, and He promises us that He will go before us and claim our victory (Deuteronomy 20:4). However, there are battles that He will fight for us. There are situations, people and storms that God will take care of on our behalf, and He doesn't want us to lift a finger (Psalm 35.1). But we need to trust Him.

Sitting on our hands and trusting God is sometimes more painful than battling against everyone who persecutes us. We need to follow Jesus' example: Sometimes He confronted and other times He relented. Jesus trusted God's divine will.

All we have to do is stay in tuned with the Holy Spirit's leading. Is He telling us to prepare for battle or to prepare for bed? If we can pick and choose our battles based on God's ultimate design, we will not become wearing with defending ourselves all the time. God promises us that He will redeem us; we just need to have faith in His Word (Psalm 31.5).

Jesus did so many amazing things, and He was busy much of the time. However, He knew when He needed to work and when He needed to rest. If we could find that balance, we would reserve energy for the times God calls us to action. God does us a favor when He tells us to rest during the conflicts He knows we can do nothing about.

God allows certain storms to arise because they are a part of His master plan. If we fight against everything that attacks us, we might be accidentally resisting God: "But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God" (Acts 5.39 NIV).

FORSAKEN

I've seen movies and heard descriptions of Jesus' crucifixion. The physical torture that Jesus experienced is explained in detail, and we see each lash ripping His flesh, the excruciating walk to Golgotha, and the nails hammered into His hands and feet. Many times the pain is our sole focus, and we assume that the fear of this pain explains why Jesus petitioned God at Gethsemane to "take this cup from me." However, the physical sacrifice is only one aspect of Jesus' death on the cross. There is so much more that we many times forget to examine and meditate on.

The crucifixion is made up of three components, and physical pain is only one of them. Yes, Jesus is human, so the pain was a big part of why He said, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death" (Mark 14.34 NIV). But I do not believe that it was fear of pain that made Jesus sweat drops of blood (Luke 22.44 NIV). I know that Jesus loves me more than I can comprehend, and He would boldly confront physical persecution for my sake. I think He had a greater reason to feel anguish -- a reason that our culture has trouble even understanding.

The second aspect of the crucifixion that would cause Jesus to be overwhelmed with sorrow is that He became sin for us: "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" (2 Corinthians 5.21 NIV). Please note that Jesus became sin. He was sin for us. What is sin? Sin is the absence of God. Sin is the absence of light, love, beauty, glory, etc. The best way I can illustrate this concept is to take the innocence of a newborn baby and force that innocence to experience every disgusting, revolting, hideous sin you can think of. Try to imagine the innocence of those you love (especially your own children) and your mind will shut down. Your heart can not process the anguish.

The third aspect of the crucifixion ties directly into the second. This was the "more" that I was looking for. It took a while for me to comprehend, which demonstrates just how much I do not know about love. Several months ago, I was reading through the New Testament, and I was struck by the relationship between God and Jesus. They are so deeply rooted together, and I wanted to know how it felt. I prayed and asked God, "Show me how much Jesus loves You."

After I prayed that prayer, I read about Jesus praying to God in Gethsemane. His soul was in anguish, and God sent Jesus an angel to comfort Him. As I read about Jesus just minutes before He would be betrayed, I remembered how I had always been dissatisfied with explanations of the crucifixion. Yes, the physical pain Jesus endured was incomprehensible, but I know that there was another pain that I wasn't understanding. Finally, it hit me. If Jesus became sin, and God can have no part of sin, then God would have to disconnect from Jesus for a time.

Jesus loved God so much, and His entire existence was solely dependent on God; therefore, Jesus' biggest fear was to be forsaken by God. I believe Jesus feared this more than the physical pain and more than becoming sin. When Jesus cried out on the cross with His only complaint, He did not cry out, "My God, My God, this pain hurts so bad" or "My God, My God this sin is so revolting." No, Jesus cried out, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken me?" (Mark 15.34 NIV).

Nothing else mattered more to Jesus than the presence of God. That is how much Jesus loved God, and this showed me how much I do not. As I meditated on this, I became overwhelmed with anguish. God has been a sidenote, a ball I juggle in my busy schedule. Yes, He has also been a Father, a Friend, a Savior, a Healer, a Teacher, a Guide, an Encourager, yet He has never been my core. How do I know this? Because I constantly struggle with forsaking Him.

I forsake God for sleep, for my own desires, for my spouse, for my children, for my career, for the opinions of others, for security, for money, for prestige, for acclaim, for comfort, for pleasures, etc. I daily struggle with forsaking God, and I have no fear of it. Yes, I feel guilty and I repent when I know I've purposely walked away from His will, but do I fear? No.

I know that God loves me no matter what, and I'm happy to say that I have forgiveness of my sins through Jesus. However, I want God to be my core. I want Him to be my everything. I think that is why Jesus says, "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple" (Luke 14.26 NIV).

Jesus does not actually want us hating people or ourselves. Research the Scriptures, and you'll see that Jesus tells us over and over again to love others. However, our love for God should be so immense and so deep that our love for anything else should be comparatively weak. Would we be willing to give up all that we have for God? Jesus did.

When Jesus asked God to "take this cup from me," I do not believe He was talking about the physical pain or even becoming sin. Jesus' prayer before His crucifixion is the only time I see that Jesus took a step of obedience that He did not willingly want to take. God asked Jesus to give up the one thing that Jesus loved the most so that humankind could have everlasting life with Him: Jesus gave up God. Jesus became sin, and God can not have any part of sin. If this weren't true, then our sins are not really forgiven. If Jesus did not take our sins upon Himself, they are still on us. If they are still on us, God can not allow us into His glory.

If I could just understand Jesus' step of obedience, His sacrifice for me, I think I could have a glimpse of how much Jesus loved God. I love Jesus so much because He took this step of faith for God, even if He didn't want to. I love God so much because He "so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3.16 NIV). That God chose to weave me into this Divine Romance between Father and Son boggles my mind. I want to love them both back with a love deserving of their love for me. I know that my love will pale in comparison, but God beautifully makes up the difference with His grace!

Jesus is my hero because of His complete obedience to God. Many times God asks me to do things that I don't want to do, but I do them out of obedience. However, I can trust that God will never ask me to do it alone -- God will never forsake me (Hebrews 13.5) and Jesus is always praying on my behalf (Romans 8.34). The words that Jesus whispered before becoming my Living Sacrifice have become my new life's prayer: "yet not my will, but yours be done" (Luke 22.42 NIV).

"For a brief moment I forsook you,
But with great compassion I will gather you" (Isaiah 54.7 NASB).

The God/Oprah Analogy

Creation is a part of life. It seems everyone has a desire to create. Our founding-fathers created the United States of America. Oprah created the Oprah show. And women and men across the world create families. We all want to create something, whether it be a fun evening out, a beautiful scrapbook, an awesome business proposal or an A on a paper. We are destined to create things!

But why is it that when Christians say that God created the world that people seem to get all uptight? Who else created the world, aliens? Doesn't it take just as much faith to believe in aliens as it does God? If aliens created our world, then who the created them? More aliens?

Whether you believe in aliens or not is not the point. The point is that this thing we call life had to be created by someone who was not created - someone who has always been.

So why can't we just accept the fact that an eternal Creator exist? Is it easier to believe that God created all things or that all things were created out of nothing, were created by no one and were created for no reason?

But, you might ask, "This world is so messed up! Why would God create this crazy world filled with a bunch of imperfect people who are constantly hurting each other? And why do I need Jesus? What is the whole crucifixion thing about, anyhow?"

The answer to these questions are in the Bible -- the most produced, most bought and most read book of all time. However, I have mulled over what I've learned and tried to come up with a way to explain Jesus in a way that may make sense to people unfamiliar with the Bible. I call it the God/Oprah Analogy.

Oprah Winfrey created the Oprah Winfrey Show. No doubt she created the show because she feels that she has something beneficial to impart to her audience. So in order to create a successful show, she had to organize a system of production and create rules for everyone to follow. Along with these rules are repercussions if the rules are broken. Without repercussions, the rules would not be taken seriously. The system, the rules and the repercussions are all necessary if the show is going to be successful. Without them there would be complete chaos and no one would learn anything. The show would be an absolute dud!

Now the system is in place, rules have been created and repercussion have been established. Why she created the system the way she did, we'll never know. Why she chose the rules she did, we'll never know that either. But we must trust that she had her reasons; and if we keep questioning them, we'll never enjoy the show because we're too busy complaining about it.

Finally, the show is ready to go! All Oprah needs is an audience. The audience is very important to her. The audience is why she created the entire show in the first place. If there were no audience, there would be no show!

The audience arrives at the show. They sit down in their seats and the production team goes over every detail of what to expect. They explain the system and emphasize the rules. They also clearly lay out the repercussions if the rules are not obeyed. They explain that if the rules are broken, the show can not be a success. If the rules are broken, people can get hurt. If the rules are broken, Oprah will not be able to fully bless her audience.

What are the repercussion of not obeying the rules, you might ask? Well, there is only one -- you get kicked off the show. If you yell at Oprah while the cameras are running, steal someone's seat next to you, throw pennies at the person in front of you or run naked up and down the aisles, better believe it, you will get escorted off the show and off the premises. But, as you have already guessed, the audience members are not perfect, and they break the rules.


Oprah knew this would happen. She allowed the audience into their seats knowing full well that they have the choice to obey or not. If she didn't allow them this free-will, what would be the point? If she dictated everything they did, everything they thought and everything they said, why would she need the show? The audience might as well have been created in the image of a chair or camera or microphone. What makes this audience different than any other of Oprah's creations is that they have a choice. That is why free-will is so special, but it also comes with a price.

What is the price of free-will? The audience breaks the rules. They mock Oprah, hurt each other and reek havoc in the show. But what is Oprah to do? She loves the audience. She has so much to teach them and give them. She has a special plan for each member of the audience that will make The Oprah Winfrey Show amazing! But they are not obeying the rules she set up in order to make the show a success. They are tearing the show apart bit by bit. Worse of all, they are throwing their fists at Oprah, criticizing her efforts.

"We hate you!" they scream.

"You don't exist!" they yell.

Oprah wonders how the audience could possibly assert she doesn't exist when, in fact, it is her show -- her idea, her design, her creation. A special gift she made for the very audience that rejects her.

What does Oprah do now? The show is in complete chaos. Sure, there are a few audience members who appreciate her and acknowledge her, but they too have broken the rules. The entire audience has broken at least one rule, and according to the repercussions she made for those who disobeyed, she would have to kick everyone off the show. But she loves them so much. How could she kick them off? But if she doesn't enforce the rules, the entire show will be a disaster.

What the audience doesn't know, however, is that Oprah anticipated this before the show was ever created. She knew the audience would fall short of perfection, and she had an idea. She leaked hints about her plan to a few of the audience members, and like the game telephone, the idea passed around from ear to ear changing ever so slightly with every whisper.

The time finally came for her idea to be executed. Oprah gets up from her chair, walks down from her stage, enters the audience stands and takes her seat among other audience members. While she sits in her tiny seat, she demonstrates to everyone how the perfect audience member should live. She proves with her own life that there is a way to live a blameless life. She shows love and mercy to the audience members around her and chooses a handful of disciples to spread her love after she is gone.

But where is she going? Is she going back on stage to her big, cushy seat? Nope. She allows the audience members to hurt her, blame her and drag her off stage. The audience kicks off the only perfect person that ever lived, a person who never broke any of the rules. They kick her off for obeying the rules that they could never obey. And she allows them to do this. Why? Because she figured out how to uphold her rules and keep her audience. She took the punishment for their sins.

In order to keep her audience, Oprah does the most beautiful act of love ever! She kicks herself off of her own show. Three days later, however, she arrives back on her big, cushy seat and her glory is once again restored. The audience members are still not perfect, but at least now they have an example of how to live. Moreover, they never have to leave the show because Oprah took the repercussions of their disobedience. But in order to claim Oprah's sacrifice for them, they have to acknowledge the sacrifice and accept it as their own.

And the show goes on! Many audience members stay the entire length of the show, but they are unable to look past their tiny row of seats. Others, however, see past their seats and to the stage where Oprah is. Oprah is able to guide them, bless them and love them even though the chaos continues around them. They know that the Oprah Show is only a pilot, preparing the way for the perfect show to come.

And that is the end of the God/Oprah Analogy. This analogy is obviously not perfect. Oprah is not God. She is an imperfect human like all of us. But there is a God who created this life and that God wants to bless you through the chaos.

Hopefully, this example will make the entire God/Jesus thing a little easier to understand. If you would like to understand more, I pray that you read the Bible and start talking to God. God didn't just leave us on this earth alone. He gave us a guidebook (Bible), He gave us the Holy Spirit to teach us and He gave us Jesus to save us and to be our example. It is very simple and so wonderful!

Jesus is the only way we can reach God through this messed up world. God sent only one person to our world to guide us and to die for us. Accepting Jesus into your heart doesn't make all of your problems go away, but Jesus can give you healing, peace and joy if you let Him. All you have to do is say this prayer:

"God, I don't quite understand this whole God/Jesus thing, but I know I'm missing something in this life. I'm not a perfect person. I've made many mistakes that I'm ashamed of, but I want to make things right. Thank You for taking punishment for my sins. I accept your sacrifice, and I will no longer hold on to the guilt of my mistakes. Come into my heart, Jesus, and show me how to form an intimate relationship with God. You have something special for me in this life. I want to fulfill the purpose You created me for. I pray this in Jesus' name, Amen."

If you prayed this prayer and have faith that your words are true, congratulations! You are a Christian. You will not understand everything right away, but I would suggest that you read the Bible, get involved in a Bible-based church, find another Christian who can help you and ask God to give you some additional Christian resources to guide you.

If you are already a Christian, please continue to put your relationship with Jesus first. Make time to talk with Him and study His Word; otherwise, you are lost in this crazy world without a map or a guide. You can also send this post to friends that you would like to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. This post isn't perfect, but God uses our imperfections to accomplish His perfect will.

*Special author's note: I used the example of Oprah not because I support her, but because this is what I would say to her in order for her to understand that there is only one way to heaven and that is through Jesus Christ. Whatever feelings you have about her are not important. What is important is that you love her. If you don't believe me, read Luke 6:27-36.




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