Staying Focused on the One Necessary Thing

FIRST—

Remember Lot’s wife and choose to be more inclined to give your life away than you are to keep it. Jesus said it this way: “Remember Lot’s wife. Whoever seeks to keep his life shall lose it, and whoever loses his life shall preserve it” (Luke 17: 32-33).

SECOND—

Remember the widow’s mite, keeping in mind that it is more blessed to give than it is to receive. Jesus said it this way: “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury; for they put in out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on” (Mark 12:43b-44).

THIRD—

Remember the Pharisees and choose to take your focus off yourself and place it upon others. Jesus said it this way: “But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men; . . .” (Matthew 23:5a)

FOURTH—

Remember Peter and choose never to think more highly of yourself than you ought. Jesus said it this way: “Truly I say to you that this very night, before the cock crows, you shall deny Me three times” (Matthew 26:34).

FIFTH—

Remember the woman with the issue of blood and do not be afraid to leave your comfort zone. Jesus said it this way: “Daughter, take courage; your faith has made you well” (Matthew 9:22a).

SIXTH—

Remember the lad with his five loaves and two fish and be assured that your “little” is “much” when Jesus is in it! Jesus said it this way: “They do not need to go away; you give them something to eat” (Matthew 14:16)!

SEVENTH—

Remember the harlot and her “wasted” vial of costly perfume—pure nard—and be encouraged to “waste” your very life out of your love for Jesus. Jesus said it this way: “Your sins have been forgiven” (Luke 7:48)!

EIGHTH—

Remember Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus, and spend lots of time sitting at Jesus’ feet—lots of time. Jesus said it this way: “. . . Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:42b).

NINTH—

Remember the Samaritan, who showed compassion to the Jew who had fallen among thieves and been left to die in the ditch, and choose to be a neighbor to your enemy. Jesus said it like this: “Go and do the same” (Luke 10:37).

TENTH—

Finally, remember Peter and never take your eyes off Jesus. Jesus said it like this: “O you of little faith, why did you doubt” (Matthew 14:31b).

Christmas Morning!

Now, do you believe in Santa Clause, or not? Someone told me the other day that if I did not believe in him, I would not get anything, so I decided to renew my belief in him! As you can tell from the picture, I have no proof, as of the writing of this article, because I am waiting for my grandchildren to arrive to open presents. So far, I have seen no evidence of him in my behalf but I am continuing to remain filled with expectation!

Anyway, I hope you are having a great day today, enjoying your children and your grandchildren, if you are so fortunate as to have any.

By the way, have you noticed that Fox News has been airing Rick Warren almost non-stop since last night, maybe even the night before. I am certainly not a Rick Warren fan but I am thankful that Fox is brave enough to take the risk of giving Christianity it rightful place during Christmas (I only wish they had aired John Calvin but one doesn't always get everything he wants!).

Speaking of getting what one wants: I really hope Santa brought you what you really wanted, but even more importantly, I hope you have received from Jesus the greatest of all gifts--His love and forgiveness!

Merry Christmas!
Your Pastor

Merry Christmas!

I want to thank each of you who have so faithfully read my blogs during the past months, and a special thanks to those of you who respond with various comments. I also want to wish each of you a very blessed Christmas Day!

"For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord!"

What more can or needs to be said?

Blessings to you!

Mac

Part V and the gift of gifts

Dear Fellow Travelers,

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve 2006, the eve of the day we have set aside to celebrate the birth of Jesus! Interestingly, each of us has our own way of participating in this celebration but for the most part, we will gather as families, eat lots (too much) of food, and open gifts. It is my guess that some will receive gifts that will prove to be very useful; others will wonder, “What do I do with this?” Hopefully, yours will be something that will prove to be very useful, something that you will treasure for years to come.

In any case, I want to offer you something (a gift from Him) that, at least in my opinion, should be treasured and valued above any other gift you might receive, and it is this: Striving to maintain your relationship with God, so that He will not distance Himself from you by breaking fellowship with you, or by severing you from Himself altogether, need no longer be a concern for you because He chose to allow the New Covenant, unlike the Old Covenant, to be a covenant between Jesus and Himself; albeit, in your behalf, but excluding you from the covenant altogether, as is evidenced by these passages: (1) In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory (Ephesians 1:13-14; emphasis mine); (2) And for this reason He is the mediator of a new covenant, in order that since a death has taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were committed under the first covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. For where a covenant is, there must of necessity be the death of the one who made it (Hebrews 9:15-16; emphasis mine). In other words, the success of the New Covenant depends upon Jesus, not you. Devotions, solitude, prayer, repentance, confession, et al can be very beneficial, provided, however, that you do not do them in an effort to keep your end of the covenant and to, thereby, help to maintain the relationship. Jesus is your guarantee that this marriage will last eternally! Cease striving and rest in Him.

You know, when this truth dawned upon me, it forever changed my life, and I am trusting that it will do the same for you.

Blessings to you as you celebrate His birth!
Mac

Part IV & The Real Reason for the Season

As you well-know, one week from Sunday is Christmas Eve 2006—one Christmas Eve closer to the coming of Jesus for His Bride. You might be thinking, “It took a rocket scientist to figure that out!”; however, in my mind, it is very pertinent. You see, we celebrate Christmas for a reason—a good reason—and it might not be what most think. To be sure, when we celebrate Christmas, we are celebrating the birth of Jesus, BUT we do so with an incredible, anticipatory celebration of the future, namely, His return for the church—an anticipation that pales not only His birth, but also His death, burial, and resurrection! The fact of the matter is this: without His expected return for His Bride, the rest would not really mean very much. Unless there is eternal life in Jesus, we are of all people most to be pitied! So, celebrate Christmas but remember to keep in mind the reason for the celebration—His return for the Church!

Now, having said that, I know that many get more-than-somewhat-anxious when His return is mentioned because of their unfounded fear of the JUDGMENT SEAT OF GOD, you know, the “wide screen show” that everyone will see; consequently, they are most content keeping the focus of the season on the birthday party and want no mention of His return.

If you are one of these, I have a wonderful gift for you (part 4 of my present series) and it is this: Facing God at the Great White Throne Judgment and having Him reveal to everyone the secrets of your life need no longer be a concern for you because He has chosen not to give you what you deserve, but to set you free from all judgment and condemnation, as is evidenced by this: There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set us free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:1-2; emphasis, added). Not to mention that He chose never to remember your sins again, as is evidenced by this: And their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more (Hebrews 10:17; emphasis, added).

In other words, God chose to provide a scapegoat for you and for your sins in the person of Jesus; He gave Jesus what you deserved and gave you what Jesus deserved. Amazingly, Jesus took your record (your certificate of debt) upon Himself, and, even more amazingly, He gave you His record—His spotless, blemish-less, perfect, righteous record. Go figure! I do not understand it, either.

Anyway, as a result, God, being the just God that He is, has already judged Jesus guilty for your sins AND (again, being the just God that He is) He has judged you “righteous!” In my mind, this is GRACE LAVISHED! What an incredible gift!

What does this mean for you when you stand before God at the Great White Throne Judgment? It means that the only record that will be revealed is Jesus’ record! Yours is separated from Him as far as the East is from the West—never to be remembered again! His word to you will be—WELCOME HOME, NO CONTINGENCIES!

So, go ahead and celebrate Jesus’ birth and do it gusto, BUT remember why you are doing so—HE IS COMING AGAIN and THAT is what THIS is about! There is much more to this than merely swapping materialistic presents, placing colored lights in windows and upon trees, playing Santa Clause, and feeding the hungry at the soup kitchen! Folks, JESUS IS COMING AGAIN—SOON—AND YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE AFRAID; well, you do not if you belong to Him, and I, certainly, hope you do!

The Benefits & Blessings of Being a Participant of the New Covenant Part 3

I trust that you have finished all of your Christmas shopping and are now resting in the glory of the birth of Jesus—no more commercialization, no more materialism, no more over-the-limit credit cards, no more fussing over what to buy, no more standing in long lines to pay, and no more sweating over who you might have forgotten! Shucks, I will go so far as to hope that you have already nailed down where you will spend Christmas day, and really are looking forward to it.

For some reason, I have been wondering of late why we get so discombobulated over Christmas; it is as if we somehow think our going to Heaven depends upon how much we enter into the fray! I cannot think of any other reason that would explain why we become so, well so discombobulated. I mean people are standing in line all night just to buy that absolutely necessary, cannot-get-along-without-it, end-of-the-world-will-come-if-I-don’t-get-it toy, even killing one another in order to get of all things a play station (whatever that is). Listen, common, ordinary people are stressed to the max in an effort to make all the office parties, and party-parties, and whatever-else-kind-of-parties they have had scheduled for them. I mean life is intense, to put it mildly! Surely, at least getting to Heaven is at stake!

Well, listen up because I do have some good news for you (part 3 of my series on the benefits and blessings of being a New Covenant participant): Striving to get to Heaven need no longer be a concern for you because God has chosen to give you a seat on the same return flight that Jesus took when He ascended back to Heaven, as is evidenced by this: But God being rich in mercy, because of his great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:4-6; emphasis mine). In other words, you are already in Heaven and comfortably seated at God’s right hand in Jesus (notice the verb tenses), even better than a front-row seat!

Now, I know that many of you have been hoping just to make it into Heaven on a shoestring, and maybe, just maybe, not have to sit in the epistaxis (nosebleed) section; however, you can rest now. Stop! Get off the treadmill of performance! No longer be driven by guilt! It is now party time and Someone else has done ALL the work and you are already at the party—dressed in completely appropriate attire—and there is no “nosebleed section,” only “front and center seats.” Every invitee is seated at the feet of the Birthday Boy and you are one of them! The rush is over, so stop scurrying so! Get out of the long lines because everything needed (and then some) has already been purchased! Forget about your lists because everyone who is supposed to be invited is already at the party and they have been given the gift-of-all-gifts, one mere money cannot buy! Throw away your credit cards, even your checkbook, because all the bills have already been paid in full! LOOK! Can’t you see it? It is party time! Look at the myriad of balloons and that humongous birthday cake and that ocean-sized bowl of punch. LISTEN! I think I can hear the music and everyone beginning to sing, “Happy Birthday to You, Happy Birthday to You, Happy Birthday Dear Jesus, Happy Birthday to You!”

Wow! Do you realize how easy it would have been for you to have missed this, had He not chosen to give you a seat on the same “flight” that Jesus took when He ascended HOME? The truth is some of your would have missed it anyway (had I not reminded you of where you are) because you have been too busy trying to pull off what He has already accomplished!

There really does remain a Sabbath rest for the people of God and this is probably a very good time for you to cease from your labors and join the party. I dare you to join the ranks of the remnant, those who are more-than-satisfied to CELEBRATE JESUS!

The Benefits & Blessings of Being a Participant of the New Covenant Part 2

IT IS DECEMBER! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT? CHRISTMAS IS COMING—FAST! I hope you have all of your Christmas shopping done by now, so you can concentrate of the true meaning of this season (dream on, right?) Anyway, maybe you can give someone you love (or are trying to love) a copy of these “Benefits & Blessings of Being a Participant of the New Covenant” and strike at least one name off your list. I can promise you that you will get a response; maybe not a “thank-you-note” but at least a response (reaction is probably the better word).

As I said last week, one would think that the message of the New Covenant—the covenant of grace—would be so attractive to God’s people that they would be willing to stand in line overnight in the cold rain to hear about it; however, that is, simply, not the case. For reasons beyond anything I can comprehend, most Christians are far more attracted to the Law and to its requirements than they are to the New Covenant and the benefits and blessings it brings. Go figure! On to benefit #2!

Living in a Continued State of Forgiveness

Need No Longer Be a Concern for You!

Living in a continued state of forgiveness need no longer be a concern for you because God has chosen to make you perfect—forever perfect, as is evidenced by this: “By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every Priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time onward until His enemies be made a footstool for His feet. For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified (Hebrews 10: 10-14; emphasis mine).

In other words, because of the death of Jesus, the once-for-all-time-death—the offering of the body of Christ as a sacrifice for sin—the penalty for every sin you will commit during your entire lifetime has been paid in full. As a result, you are holy and perfect; consequently, forever forgiven. Granted this might sound a bit strange to your ears; however, please do not allow what seems a bit strange to cause you to throw the baby out with the bath water.

We have been well-trained by the religious that our living in a continued state of forgiveness before God is up to us. Somehow, we have been led to believe that our sin-debt still belongs to us; consequently, we must be constantly doing whatever might be necessary to convince God that we are seriously repentant and sorry for our sins. The truth is most of us think that the degree of our sincerity determines to a large extent whether or not God will forgive us. There is a Greek word for this belief system—hogwash! Of course, we understand the English term much better—heresy!

Anyway, Jesus died because He knew that we could never earn God’s forgiveness; thankfully, He earned it for us by doing the wildest thing—paying the penalty for our sins! Surely, you understand that when a debt is paid, it is also forgiven—this is what “paid-in-full” means, for Pete’s sake. Once you pay off a debt, no one can ever come against you for that debt—ever! Forgiveness is so sweet, especially when you cannot pay and someone does it for you!

Why don’t you just go ahead and life as if your entire sin-debt has been paid in full? It has, if you are His, so you might as well enjoy your freedom. Now you know why debt is often called MORTgage!

The Benefits & Blessings of Being a Participant of the New Covenant Part I

Several years ago now, I wrote an article entitled, “The Benefits & Blessings of Being a Participant of the New Covenant” and I did so because it was obvious to me that many of God’s children preferred to live as if they were still bound by the Old Covenant—attempting to keep the Law; celebrating the various Jewish holidays; and making various sacrifices (not animal, of course)—in an effort to please God and, thereby, to be accepted by Him. Sadly, this propensity has only worsened over the years.

One would think that the message of the New Covenant—the covenant of grace—would be so attractive to God’s people that they would respond to it with exuberance; however, that is, simply, not the case. For reasons beyond anything I can comprehend, most Christians are far more attracted to the Law and to its requirements than they are to the New Covenant and the benefits and blessings it brings. Go figure!

So, for the next several weeks, I am going to be reminding you of these incredible benefits and blessings. I can only pray that the Holy Spirit will use them to stir your heart and cause you to desire to become a bona fide member of the International Association of Those Who Enjoy the Benefits and Blessings of the New Covenant! With that, let us get started-

Meeting the Requirements of the Ten Commandments
Need No Longer Be A Concern for You!

I will bet that this will cause a stir but wait before you jump into the fray because there is, actually, good reason for this: God did for you what the Law could not do for you! “For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit (Romans 8:3-4; emphasis, mine). In other words as a bona fide member of the New Covenant, you can cease striving to meet the requirements of the Ten Commandments because Jesus satisfied the Law’s requirement for you, namely, that sin be punished by death.

Wow! This brings the often forgotten (yet very Biblical) concept of “rest” to center stage. The writer of Hebrews makes it clear that there is a Sabbath rest for the people of God (see Hebrews 4:9) but, tragically, few ever experience it because they are so busy trying to accomplish what God has already perfected. Somehow, we just cannot get it through our thick religious skin that when Jesus said, “It is finished,” He really meant it. There is nothing left for us to do because the work He finished was a perfect-in-every-way work!

Dear ones, we simply cannot improve on “perfect,” try as we might. Agreed! We live in a world of “imperfect,” a world that needs to be “perfected” or at least improved upon. This, however, is NOT the case when it comes to the Kingdom of God and to those of us who live therein. We have been made the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus—fully and completed accepted in Him! There is only one way that any of us could have qualified for such a high calling and that way is this: Jesus did for us what we could have never done for ourselves—He gave His life in exchange for our lives!

Have you ever stopped to think about the message you are sending when you attempt to improve upon what He has deemed perfect and complete? If you should, I think you would reconsider your position and immediately cease striving and begin to rest in Him.

The Basics of Evangelism

The more I observe how the church attempts to “polish” the gospel in its attempt to make it less offensive, the more I wonder why God allows it to continue to exist (my use of the term “church” refers NOT to the Body of Christ but to this monster we have created that sits on most street corners). If it were possible to offend God, then I must believe that He is about at His wit’s end (if it were possible for Him to be at His wit’s end). Thankfully (a fitting term for this time of the year), He is in control and not the least bit discombobulated! All I can say is this: He is quite patient!

Take for example the heretical concept of evangelism that the church has propagated for years and years in its effort to evangelize the masses; a tragic role-reversal concept where God is made the victim not only of man’s shenanigans, but also of man’s choice (actually, where God is made man’s victim and man elevates himself to the position of God!). Even a casual look at this would lead one to believe that God left the responsibility of redemption up to man and to his ability to contrive an effective plan.

Just for the record, I want to offer the following for your careful and prayerful consideration:

1. The gospel is the power of God for salvation, not the shenanigans of man.

2. The gospel is not for everyone; therefore, the masses cannot be evangelized.

3. The gospel is for the elect of God and ONLY for the elect of God; therefore, only the elect of God can be evangelized.

4. The antics used to evangelize the masses actually offend the elect; whereas, the gospel offends the masses.

5. No one, not even the elect, can come to the Father (be evangelized), unless He grants it and unless He draws them to Himself.

6. When the Father draws one of His elect to Himself, he/she will come to Him and that in His time.

7. The Son gives life to whom He wishes and only to whom He wishes.

8. God did not design evangelism to be some complicated, manipulative effort that man carries out; instead, He designed it to be something that He accomplishes through the power of the Holy Spirit.

9. The effectiveness of evangelism is not determined by the efforts of man—the one who wills or the one who runs—but by the power of God, who has mercy and lavishes grace.

10. What we win them with is what we win them to; consequently, we should never attempt to win anyone with anything other than the preaching of the gospel. Actually, we never win anyone because He has reserved that for Himself.

It is my prayer that you will become one of those who refuses to continue to attempt to polish the gospel, by merely submitting to the glorious and wonderful fact that God will get His elect Home—everyone of us—before dark, AND to the equally glorious and wonderful fact that He will get’er done with the offensive gospel and without our help!

Blessings and love,

Mac

The Offensive Gospel

“For though I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it; though I did regret it—for I see that that letter caused you sorrow, though only for a while—I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance; for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God, in order that you might not suffer loss in anything through us. For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation; but the sorrow of the world produces death” (2 Corinthians 7: 8-10).

Whatever else we might say about this passage, this is very obvious: it sounds very contrary to what we would expect a believer to say, especially one like Paul—I caused you sorrow and though I did regret it, I no longer do. There is something in most of us that simply does not like to cause sorrow in others and we certainly do not take the position that when we do, we should not regret it. But this is the position Paul takes in this passage.

Now, let me put Paul’s position in context: he makes it clear that he is not dealing with the sorrow the world brings—sorrow that produces death; instead, he is dealing with the sorrow that produces repentance—the kind of repentance that leads to salvation.

Even this clarification does not, however, simplify the text because even though we have been taught the incredibly good news of the gospel, we have also learned that the gospel is offensive foolishness to those who are perishing! Because of our desire not to repel the perishing by offensive foolishness, we attempt to add things to the gospel that disguise its offensive foolishness and, thereby, make it sound more reasonable and appear more attractive to the perishing masses. Sadly, we have developed this tragic mindset: let us do whatever might be necessary to polish the gospel so that we can reach the masses for Jesus. Whatever we do, let us not hurt anyone’s feelings by causing them sorrow, i.e. by telling them who they really are in the eyes of the Holy God.

Interestingly, however, God designed the gospel for His elect, not for the masses and Paul knew this and he knew it quite well. To be sure, neither Paul nor Jesus did anything to “polish the gospel” in an effort to reach anyone; instead, Jesus identified Himself as “the rock of offense” and Paul did everything he could to bring about Godly sorrow in the hearts and lives of his listeners. His words are clear and distinct: “For the word of the cross is to those who are perishing foolishness, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18). It was as if both of them were on a mission to discourage rather than encourage followers!

Follow Paul’s line of thought with me: I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful according to the will of God—sorrow to the point of repentance, the kind of repentance that leads to salvation! I do not think it takes a “rocket scientist” to see this but I will, nevertheless, make my point: no one comes to this kind of repentance until and unless they have been so offended by the gospel that they run to Jesus in utter desperation for redemption and salvation. You see, the gospel is offensive because it reduces man to mere “sackcloth and ashes”—helpless, hopeless, undone, and lost, while at the same time, it elevates God to, well, to God! The gospel is offensive because it brings man to the place where he can no longer worship himself! Isn’t that a novel thought?

Today, I learned that one of the large churches in Macon has asked for the preacher’s resignation. No one had to tell my why because I, well I may be dumb but I ain’t stupid: “The church is going in the wrong direction!” Translated, that means this: “Relative to the other churches in Macon, we are not effectively reaching the masses, so we need another pastor—one who will do whatever it takes not to offend anyone, while at the same time, implementing the kind of programs that will attract more of the perishing masses.” This, however, is my question: what would happen if the leadership of this church took the same position that Jesus and Paul took and simply preached the offensive gospel until it (the gospel) had offended everyone to the very core of their being, until it caused such sorrow that everyone came to repentance, the kind of repentance that leads to salvation?

How in the wide-world have we come believe that we must attempt to improve on the modus operandi of Paul, even Jesus Himself, by making the gospel attractive rather than allowing it to be what it is—offensive?

PASSION or passion?

Dear Fellow Travelers,

The following is an article that my mother, Naia Goddard, wrote about me; unfortunately, the date is unknown:

Mac’s Childhood

Born: February 15, 1942.

First grandson—everyone delighted.

I was saved before you were 4. I realized the awesome responsibility of where you would spend eternity—I knew I couldn’t do what I needed to do, so I spent a lot of time on my knees—seeking the Lord. He knew the desire of my heart and somehow used my mistakes for your good and His glory. When you wanted to do something I felt like Jesus did not want us to do, I always tried to give you an alternative and let you decide—usually, you decided the right way—(The movie episode; I was taught it was sinful to go to the movie). I took you and Kikky to all day prayer meetings and Bible study—you cut your teeth on the old altars—I guess you learned more than I realized. You accepted Jesus when you were five—you didn’t know anything else—it was our way of life. I guess you were tuned to Jesus as we never had any problems with you; you always wanted to please us. You worked hard at the store; Daddy kept you busy where you had very little free time to get into trouble, if you had wanted to. Ray and I taught the children in Sunday school and Bible school. As you all grew, I worked with the youth—I felt called to do youth work as surely as you have been called to preach. Then all those years we went to camp meeting at Indian Springs. As teenagers, the peer pressure was “if you aren’t a Christian, you aren’t anything.” But we had many decisions for Jesus during those years. So you all just fell in love with Jesus, and as you sang choruses and witnessed for Him, you just grew up and suddenly you’d missed all the “junk” and were rooted and grounded in Him.

As I read this brief bio, several thoughts came to my mind, not the least of which was this: from the moment of my Mother’s justification, she was very, very serious about knowing truth—her desire for it was insatiable. She read and studied the Bible, as if it would be taken away from her without a moment’s notice; she attended Bible studies and prayer meetings several times per week; and she never missed a church service—regardless of which church in the area might have been holding it. As you can probably tell from what she wrote, her early teachers were all dyed-in-the-wool Wesleyan-Arminian regarding their theological persuasion. Because she desperately wanted to know truth, she became easy prey for her “teachers.” Whatever these men (and women) said, she accepted as truth—no questions asked! Unfortunately, men like Calvin and Luther were in their opinions heretics, so she assumed the same posture. As you might imagine, before long, her list of “dos” and “don’ts” was well-formed and seen as the “one-and-only-correct-list.” (As you can see, one of the “don’ts” on her list was “Don’t go to movies because doing so is sin!”) Just for the record: she was very committed and just as determined to obey the list of rules given to her by her teachers, and compared to some, she did it quite well (at least in her mind).

My point is this: I know many people who have embraced the Gospel of Grace just as fervently as my mother embraced the Wesleyan-Arminian “gospel”; however, from what I have been able to see, their continued passion for what they believe doesn’t even come close to the on-going passion my Mother had for what she believed. One would think it would be the other way around! Why is there so much complacency within the lives of those who embrace the true gospel? Why is there such a lack of commitment? Why is there such a lack of participation? We should be the people who are most committed to what we believe but—

Thankfully, several years before her death, my mother saw the error of what she had been taught and she became even more passionate about the Gospel of Grace than she had ever been about the Wesleyan-Arminian heresy. She even burned her “beloved” list of “dos’ and “don’ts” and began to attend movies—even dance! Go figure—

I really pray that you can hear my heart in this—I really do!

HAVE YOU CONSIDERED MY SERVANT?

There is a part of Christianity that is, indeed, warm, fuzzy, exciting and incredibly wonderful! For example, have you ever been present when someone was being born into the Kingdom of God? Have you ever seen the power of prayer bring healing to someone you knew and loved? Have you ever been overcome with the excitement and warmth of The Presence of the Holy Spirit? Have you ever attended the ordination of one called by God into the ministry?
I could go on and on; but, suffice it to say that there is that part of Christianity that is warm, fuzzy, incredibly exciting, and outrageously wonderful! However, Christianity has another side that most of us do not like to face—one that is far removed from warm, fuzzy, excitement. Although, I realize that in all probability Job did not know Jesus by name, I think you can see this side of Christianity in God’s dialogue with Satan when He asked him this question: Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one like him on the earth? “And the Lord said to Satan, Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil” (Job 1:8).
Had you not read the rest of the story, you might think that God was recommending Job for a job promotion with Satan; however, that was not the case because Job was not an employee of Satan! No! God’s question for Job has a way of bringing into focus the truth that most of us don’t want to face, namely, this: Christianity is not what we think it is! It is a far cry from the whitewashed, prosperity-if-you-believe, apple-pie-in-the-sky, no-problems-religion that most of us have been taught that it is!
Just prior to our text verse, we read this: “And the Lord said to Satan, ‘From where do you come?’ Then Satan answered the Lord and said, ‘From roaming about on the earth and walking around on it’” (vs. 7). Let me ask you this: Why does Satan roam around on the earth? He does so because He is seeking someone to devour. Remember 1 Peter 5:8: “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”
With that in mind, it is not too difficult to see what Satan was about in his dialogue with God. Interestingly, however, God apparently assisted him in his search! His words were unmistakably these: “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one like him on the earth!” In other words, God was saying, “If you can get him you to come over to your side, you will have accomplished something huge—really huge!”
Now, let’s be honest: This doesn’t sound like the God we know! Let me say it this way: we hope this isn’t the God we know! The last thing we want to think that God might do is to invite Satan, in his search for someone to devour, to consider one of us. However, it is God (the Father of our Lord, Jesus!) and He did speak these words to Satan: “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one like him on the earth” (1:8) and He spoke them knowing full well what Satan was about!
He also knew something else! He knew what He was about in Job, and He knew that Satan was under His control! He had a very clear purpose in mind and He was in complete charge!
Now, having said all of that, there are several truths that must come into focus or none of us will be able to handle this text! Without them, I cannot imagine anyone even approaching this text without so much fear and anxiety that they would run from it! Yes! There is a piece of it that sounds exciting: “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one like him on the earth!” That might well be the highest compliment God ever paid anyone; however, when you realize what Job is being considered for, without the following truths firmly implanted, this passage is very, very hard! (Even then, it is no “walk in the park!”)
First – The sufferings of this present time are not worth being compared with the glory that is to be revealed in us! Listen to the words of Paul: “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us” (Romans 8:18).
The question seems to be this: Are the blessings of heaven really going to be worth the sufferings on earth that being a Christian brings? At least for Paul, the answer is a resounding – YES! No comparison! The glory that is to be revealed to us when we get home will be so incredibly wonderful that we won’t even have the thought, much less, raise the question.
Now, look with me at 1 Peter 1:6: “In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials.” Greatly rejoice in what? The blessings of heaven, of course! Look at verses 3-5: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”
What is our living hope; rather, who is our living hope? Jesus and all that He has prepared for His elect! Unless you really believe that the “sufferings of this present time” are nothing in comparison to the glory that is to be revealed in us, you will approach this text with so much anxiety and fear that you will run from it. Let me say it this way: You will never personalize it, as you do so many other passages!
Allow me to bring this home: today Satan is roaming about seeking someone to devour! He has not changed, neither has God! Are you prepared for God to assist Satan in his search, and this time to pick YOU out of the crowd for Satan to consider?
Second – It is much better to die and be with Christ than to continue on in this earthsuit, but it is to the advantage of others that we continue here! I know that that sounds a bit morbid; however, it is true because Paul said it: “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose. But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better; yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake” (Philippians 1:21-24).
There can be no mistaking what he said: It would be much better to physically die and be with Christ than to continue on in this earthsuit. We have a hope that does not and will not disappoint us! In my opinion, this is why Paul could say some of the other things he said. For example: “We have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the surpassing greatness of the power may be of God and not from ourselves; we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh” (2 Corinthians 4:7-11). Unless this is firmly planted in you, our text will leave you filled with so much anxiety and fear that you will run from it!
Third – Suffering because you are a Christian, is a privilege and a blessing—a thing of grace—not an act of divine punishment! Paul also said this: “For you have been granted the privilege for Christ’s sake not only to believe in Him but also to suffer in His behalf” (Philippians 1:29; Amp).
Look with me at 2 Timothy 1:8-12: “Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, or of me His prisoner; but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity, but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death, and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle and a teacher. For this reason I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed; for I know in whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day.”
We simply cannot get around the fact that for Paul suffering was a privilege and a blessing—a thing of grace—and so it is for you and me! Why? It is because when we suffer because we are His, we are being identified with Him.
Maybe this will help you see it: “And they took his advice, and after calling the apostles in, they flogged them and ordered them to speak no more in the name of Jesus, and then released them. So they went on their way from the presence of the Council, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name” (Acts 5:41). Again, unless this truth is firmly rooted in your life and mind, our text will leave you so filled with anxiety and fear that you will run from it!
Fourth – Suffering is not without divine purpose! Again, Paul probably said it best in Romans 5:3-5: “And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”
In Philippians 1:6-7 Paul said this: “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. For it is only right for me to feel this way about you all, because I have you in my heart, since both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel you all are partakers of grace with me.”
Suffering because we are His is never without divine purpose! God never finds Himself surprised in our suffering – never! No Christian ever suffers outside the parameters of God’s prescribed purpose!
If you cannot see this in the life of Paul, then certainly you can see it in the life of Jesus: His suffering was not without divine purpose. Neither is yours! Unless this is firmly planted in your heart and mind, our text will arouse such anxiety and fear that you will certainly run from it!
Fifth – It is through suffering that we learn obedience! This, too, might be a bit frightening; however, it is true! Believe it or not, it was also true for Jesus. The writer of the letter to the Hebrews said this: “Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered” (Hebrews 5:8).
The problem with this is that most Christians believe that suffering is the result of their disobedience; however, Jesus was NOT disobedient—even so, He learned obedience from the things He suffered, and, I might add, so do we!
Let’s look at the next verse (9): “And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation. This is even more frightening! He became to those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation!” What is it that we have been asked to obey? The Ten Commandments? Yes! But we have all miserably failed! What then? Job was a righteous man who feared God and hated evil, yet he suffered!
Look at Hebrews 4:9-11: “There remains therefore a Sabbath rest for the people of God. For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His. Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall through following the same example of disobedience.”
What is the obedience? It is this: Believing that Jesus is enough! Unless this is fixed in your mind, our text will leave you with such anxiety and fear that you will certainly run from it!
Finally – suffering exacerbates our weaknesses and allows His strength to be made perfect in us! From what I have been able to see, we do everything possible to keep from exposing our weaknesses because we do not want others to think we cannot handle life. However, it seems obvious to me that God is determined to expose our weaknesses—whether we like it or not, but He does so with purpose—to show Himself strong!
Listen to the words of Jesus to Paul: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in your weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). Again, unless this is fixed in your mind, our text will leave you with such anxiety and fear that you will run from it!

MYTEXT

“And the Lord said to Satan, Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil” (Job 1:8).

MY QUESTION

Are you praying that God will do for you what He did for Job and invite Satan to consider you? If not, don’t worry because if He decides to do so, He will do it without your permission. Do remember this: God causes all things to work together for good for those who love Him and are the called according to His purpose!!

I just thought I would give you something to think about in your spare time!

Blessings with grace lavished,

Mac

Friendship

Lately, I have been thinking quite a bit about friendship, and I think I know why—at my age true friends are few and far between. It seems to me that most people, especially those of the Christian variety, treat friendships more like trash than treasures. In my opinion, it is not difficult to recognize that university fraternities and sororities have, historically, done a much better job at developing long-lasting friendships than the church has ever done. Come to think of it, I wonder if anyone has ever done a legitimate study to discover why this is true.
As most of you know from personal experience, the friendships that are born out of university fraternities and sororities are pretty well doused with virtually every variety of immorality; whereas, the friendships that are born out of church interactions are (supposedly) pretty well doused with virtually every variety of morality. Why, then, is the church known for its inability to produce long-lasting relationships, but the university fraternities and sororities are known for their ability to produce long-lasting, even enduring, faithful friendships?
There is a part of me that wishes I had kept a record of the various friendships that I have seen permanently destroyed during my ministry; although, it is probably best that I do not have it because it would serve only to exacerbate the negative feelings I already have. What is so heartbreaking about this is the fact that most of them dissolved over simple misunderstanding—believing something that was not true, not having all the facts, and listening to gossip—as well as things as foolish as taking on another’s offense, attending to another’s business, and of course the lack of nurturing; not to mention, hasty generalizations.
I have personally experienced enough of this to last me for at least one lifetime, if not two. I really would like to know just how many people have chosen to abandon friendship with me for this single reason—they took up another’s offense. Believe it or not but this dual role of pastor/counselor has made me very vulnerable to such relationship losses, and in my opinion, I have suffered this loss far-too-often. I think we can call it “strangulation by triangulation.”
Anyway, the picture at the top was taken in 1960 (maybe 1961) when we were much younger—46 years younger—and much better looking. The suave, young man on the left is Bobby Ray Martin, the nerd in the center is Mac Goddard, and the debonair, young man on the right is Phil Bumpus. I have no idea how it happened but the three of us found ourselves attending Asbury College in Wilmore, Kentucky—at the same time, which we know now was very hard on the college. Now listen: we did not belong to a fraternity, mainly because fraternities were a definite “no-no” at Asbury (and certainly not to a sorority; heck, we couldn’t even hold hands with a girl, much less “sororitize” with her!) but we did attend church, mainly because we were required to do so, the other option being castration; YET, amazingly, I have managed to hold on to these two friends throughout all these years!! No fraternity, much church; yet, still friends! A triangle without strangulation! Is that amazing or what?
Night before last, Phil called me from his retirement home in Missouri, having just returned from a fishing trip in Minnesota, where he caught a boatload of fish and wanted to brag (being the humble soul that I am, I let him do so), and we laughed like two 19 year old boys talking about having just “sororitized” a 18 year old blonde! Can you believe it? This is 46 years after our first meeting (when he really was trying to figure out how to, well, just forget that I said that)!
Today, I had lunch with Bobby Ray at the Old Time Buffet! We picked up right where we left off the last time we met, as if it had been only a few minutes before. We laughed and ate and talked and, well, we did what we have always done—we nurtured our relationship and loved every minute of it!
Based upon “looks” one of these old codgers will die long before me but however it works out, I will always love them, and I will always call them—TRUE FRIENDS!
MY POINT: When you get my age, I hope you have some folk you can call true friend, and I hope you make it to my age!

What IS Today Can Suddenly Change!

October 9, 2006

This past April, my son, Michael, and I played a round of golf at one of the beautiful courses on Hilton Head Island. As you avid golfers know, because we were only a twosome, another twosome was assigned to play with us, but for reasons unbeknown to me, only one of the twosome showed up to play—obviously, a complete stranger. Dick, I soon learned, was a bit older than I and, I might add, a minister, as well. For those of you who know me, you know that I enjoyed that 18 hole journey with him. It didn’t take long for us to become involved in a “round the course” theological discussion, nor did it take long for me to know that we held very similar views, which made it even more interesting! To tell you the truth, somewhere around the 7th or 8th hole, I began to feel as if Dick and I had grown up together in the same small town and had been lifetime friends.

To be honest, I have no idea what my score was for that round but I do remember finishing the 18th hole, realizing that Dick and I would probably never see each other again, and that made the finish of a wonderful round of golf a rather sad time for me. That probably sounds strange to you but for some reason we “clicked” and I hated to think that our paths would probably never again cross. I did ask him for his email address, which he gladly gave to me (of course, I gave him mine, as well). When I returned home, I did not wait for Dick to email me; instead, I emailed him—immediately—and he responded just as quickly. Since then, we have emailed several times and in doing so, we have managed to continue, albeit on a limited basis, what I believe the Holy Spirit began in us last April.

Today, I received another email from Dick and I am going to take the liberty of sharing it with you; I have special reason for doing so: “Mac, Just a quick note to let you know our 43-year old son was killed while riding an ATV late Friday night. We are on our way to Pennsylvania for the funeral. I will be conducting the service and delivering the eulogy with the help of a wonderful minister friend - who was my minister for 30 years. I would appreciate your prayers. Blessings, Dick”

My special reason? I would appreciate your prayers for my friend and for his wife, as they make this painful journey to and through their son’s funeral. Dick is a precious man who truly loves Jesus and who sincerely desires to fulfill his calling, as a minister to the local congregation that has been entrusted to his care. His son’s death will leave a huge void in his heart, one that I don’t even want to attempt to imagine. This mother’s heart will never be the same! Yet, I am certain that the Holy Spirit will use this tragic event to strengthen the message that burns passionately within Dick’s heart; to inspire Dick and his lovely wife to encourage others to live, as if today is their last day; and to motivate Dick to faithfully remind others that what is today can suddenly change and life never again be the same.

Dick, if you ever happen to read this, I want to remind you that I thank God for that special day last spring at Hilton Head, when He brought our paths together and you became my friend. I am honored that you asked me to pray for you! My heart grieves with you and for you, and because it does, I am asking believers from Los Angeles to Boston; from Vancouver to Miami; from Seattle to Cincinnati to pray for you and for you wife, as you process your thoughts and feelings in the coming days, weeks, months, and, even years.

I love you, dear brother! Hopefully, our paths will cross again—soon!

Because of Jesus!!

Mac

The Waving of Chickens

Most of you are very aware that I am a strong proponent of salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus alone and, consequently, I am very strongly opposed to justification by works—legalism, in any form. I have often tried to warn you and others of the dangers of legalism, and for the most part, I think I have been heard; however, I do know that each of us continues to struggle from time to time with some of the left over remnants of it.

Anyway, I received the magazine, “Israel My Glory” this week and the article that contained this picture captured my attention and for obvious reasons—an ultra-orthodox Jewish father is waving a live chicken over the head of his son, while saying these words: “You are my sacrifice, by whom my sins will be forgiven.” After this ritual is carried out, the chicken is then slaughtered and given to charity!

I can only imagine how things were carried out in Biblical days with the sacrificing of lambs, goats, bulls, even pigeons, but this in my opinion is a very clear example (it takes no imagination) of one of the more significant dangers of legalism—it soon takes us so far away from dependence upon Jesus, that we find ourselves doing what amounts to “swinging live chickens” over our own heads and the heads of others, in our futile attempts to gain Jesus’ love and acceptance. This ultra-orthodox Jewish father is waving a live chicken over the head of his son in preparation for Yom Kippur, which, I am certain, was probably very important for him, but, unfortunately, it was no more effective at having his son’s sins forgiven, than my waving a perfect attendance pin over the head of my grandma would be.

My point is this: I am very thankful that I do not have to depend upon a chicken (dead or alive) for the forgiveness of my sins, nor a goat for that matter. Thankfully, Jesus is my redeemer and He has perfectly and permanently dealt with my sin problem. He has done for me what the blood of bulls, goats, and even chickens could never do—He took my sins away, so far away that God will never remember them again!

Can you see what is so sad in this picture? These Jews are the folk that God calls the “apple of His eye.” These are the folk that Jesus came to redeem; He is their Messiah! Unfortunately, they rejected him and, obviously, they continue to do so, as they wave live chickens in His face!

Careful now! Before you are too hard on them, remember this: in all probability, each of us has “waved our own live chicken” in His face, probably even today, in an attempt to get our sins forgiven; if not, we probably will before the day ends. For some reason, we seem to prefer doing things our own way, rather than submitting to His way. Fortunately, however, His way is the only way that works!

LISTEN! There is but one way to righteousness—JESUS! Neither chickens, ducks, goats, lambs, or perfect attendance pins, even correct doctrine, can take away our sins! Do we sometimes look as foolish as the Jewish father in the above picture?
LET US STOP “WAVING CHICKENS” IN JESUS’ FACE AND, INSTEAD, PLACE OUR TRUST IN HIM!!
Just a reminder—

Let the Party Begin!

I spent the better part of the afternoon with two of my very dear friends, June and Bill Martin, who are now retired and live in Greenwood, SC with their daughter, son-in-law, and grandchildren. We go back a very long way--over 25 years! Unfortunately, their visit with me was not what you might think; June's mother, Robina Revell, died the other night and they were with me to plan her graveside service, which will be held tomorrow at 2:00 at Macon Memorial Park, a perpetual care cemetery here in Macon. As you might imagine, I will be the "minister in charge!" I never have been quite sure what that term means but I do know that it does mean at least this: I will be in charge of finding words of comfort for these precious friends, as well as finding words of celebration, as we celebrate Robina's life and her homegoing. To be honest, I do not anticipate that being very difficult because these folk know and love the Lord; all I will have to do is lift out a few passages of Scripture and the rest will, well it will just happen. Immediately, several are already coming to my mind, so I am eagerly anticipating what He will do, how He will manifest Himself in our lives at this "place of death."

Acutally, for the elect of God, a gravesite is really not a place of death; instead, it is resurrection ground! (I only wish we could keep that in mind!) Jesus has promised to return for His Bride (actually, I thought it would have been long before now!)and He will do so--you count on that! Anyway, because He made this promise, this apparent "place of death" is actually a place of resurrection! There will be that final day, when God Himself descends from Heaven with the voice of the archangel, the trumpet of God will sound, and the dead in Christ (the "Robinas" who have gone before the rest of us) will rise first, then we which are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and so shall we ever be with the Lord(You can find that in 1Thessalonians, if you care to look)!In other words, when we gather tomorrow at Robina's gravesite, the place where the remains of her physical body will be buried, we will be standing on the same kind of ground upon which Mary Magdalene stood the morning of Jesus resurrection!!

You think about this for a minute: On that incredible morning, everyone, including the devil and all the demons of hell, were convinced that Jesus was dead. The devil was convinced that he had won over good and Jesus' followers were convinced that they had made a bad mistake in following Him. His "borrowed tomb" was for His followers, indeed, a place of death!Then there was Mary! She loved Him and He loved her--make no mistake about it! You remember the story; she approached the tomb about the time that Jesus stepped outside it, thinking that He was a gardner. "Please, sir," she begged, "if you know where they have taken Him, please tell me." Now remember: she was standing on what she thought was burial ground; however, she was mistaken--very mistaken! This supposed gardner replied with a single but all-powerful word: "Mary!" Wow!! Can you imagine that moment? "Raboni," she exclaimed! And they embraced!!

Listen, this IS going to be repeated but this time it will be the likes of you and me, who come forth from our grave! Oh, I am sure there are many skeptics, who believe that what I am writing is a "bunch of bunk" but who cares what they believe? They will be just as surprised as the devil and all the demons of hell were surprised on that first resurrection morning!

Robina has lived with Bill & June for the past 18 years, during which time, they have been her caretakers and her providers. I do not know whether you know it or not but carrying out this kind of responsibility is no easy task, even if it does involve your own mother. It has it own unique ways of sapping one's emotional energy, not to mention physical and mental energy. Toward the end, Robina suffered the ravages of pancreatic cancer, which is a merciless killer. Her body wasted away until it could no longer deal with the suffering and just at the right time, God took her HOME!! Wow!! No longer suffering, no longer having to put up with a worn out earthsuit! At home in her home, home!!

That is right: she is already in Heaven and seated at God's right hand in the Most Holy Place, which in my humble opinion ain't too bad a place to wake up to, from having had to deal with pancreatic cancer!

Now, listen up: this does not preclude her resurrection!! Somehow (and because I am NOT God, I do not understand how), somewhere on down the road, God is going to glorify her worn out earthsuit, and her spirit that is now in Heaven will be united with it and, well, LET THE PARTY BEGIN!!

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me!!

The Love of Christ Controls Us (or does it?)!

In his second letter to the church at Corinth, Paul made this assertion: “For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that One has died for all, therefore all have died; and He died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for Him who for their sake died and was raised” (English Standard Version). Talk about raising questions; even before I can finish typing these words, I am overwhelmed with all the questions Paul’s assertion raises.
“The love of Christ controls us!” He said it under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, so I know it is true, but sometimes mere casual observation tells me that it must not apply to some of God’s children. If the behavior I have witnessed and experienced from many of God’s children is the result of Jesus’ love controlling them, I can only say, “Thank God that His love is controlling them!” This is my question: What is wrong? If Paul is correct (and he is), then why does it so often appear otherwise?
To be sure, the love of Christ should control us, if for no other reason than we have been the recipients of it. We deserved anything but His love; yet, He has poured it out upon us without measure. Why, then, do we behave the way we do? Why doesn’t His love control us? (Maybe I should say it this way: Why do we live as if His love has no influence or control over us?) If His love really controls us, wouldn’t our tongues speak differently? If His love really controls us, wouldn’t we care more for the other person, than we care for ourselves? If His love really controls us, wouldn’t we be less influenced by the mirrors of a thousand, religious opinions? If His love really controls us, wouldn’t we be less prone to allow others to define obedience for us? In my opinion, if His love really controls us, many aspects of our lives would be very different!
Paul then gives his reason for his assertion: because we have concluded that One has died for all, therefore all have died; and He died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for Him who for their sake died and was raised. I think most of us will agree that One has, indeed, died for us, and in doing so He demonstrated the aforementioned love that controls us. However, he said that this One died for ALL, and I know that this raises the same kind of questions for most of us that the idea that “His love controls us” raises. If He really did die for all (everyone), then why are some going to Hell, not to mention, why isn’t everyone controlled by His love? I am definitely NOT a universalist (everyone is going to Heaven), so I have to believe that there is more here, than a casual glance can see. Why would Paul (of all people) even hint that Jesus died for everyone, when in fact He did not die for everyone?
Finally, Paul gives the evidence that demonstrates that the love of Christ controls us and it is this: those who live as the result of His death and resurrection, no longer live for themselves but for Him who for their sake died and was raised! Obviously, not everyone lives as the result of His death and resurrection, which is good evidence that He did not die for everyone; however, says Paul, those who do so live, live not for themselves but for the one who died and was raised for them, which just might be the most difficult part of this passage. Why? Well, from what I can see, most of us live for ourselves (even when on the surface we seem to be doing otherwise, e.g. visiting the sick), having little or no interest in living for the One who died and was raised—Jesus, to be specific.
There is another noteworthy “twist” to this idea of the love of Christ controlling us and it is this: When God places us in adverse situations, or when He intervenes in our decision making processes, or when He, simply, overrules in our lives by not allowing us to have our way, His love is controlling us. No, it might not look like, quack like, feel like, or waddle like the love of God but in fact, it is His love—every time and all the time! Be thankful; otherwise, who knows what we might be doing! However, do not be misled: because God has chosen for us to live in a loving relationship with Him, I do not think He is using His love to somehow twist our arms until we decide to live for Jesus and not for ourselves. This would negate the entire idea of relationship and leave us a mere puppets.
Anyway, regardless of how we cut this “pie” we cannot get away from the fact that the love of Christ controls us; however, neither can we get away from the fact that controlling love is an oxymoron. Well, almost, that is. If my love is controlling you, then I do not love you—period! If your love is controlling me, then you do not love me—period! In Christian marriage, if one mate’s “love” controls the other, then that mate’s “love” is really not love at all. But then, the text says that THE LOVE OF CHRIST controls us, not our love for one another, and there is a difference!!
You see, God is, well, He is God and, therefore, His love is perfect; consequently, His love must control us; otherwise, His love is really not love at all! If God’s love does not control us, then we are in heaps of trouble—serious trouble! If His love does not control us, then no one would ever be born of His Spirit! If His love does not control us, then we would have no clue as to the significance of our being recipients of such love! To be sure, if His love does not control us, then each of us will live ONLY for ourselves.
You think about this—

Marriage, Divorce, & Remarriage Part Final

Last week, I ended my article with this bit of encouragement: “If you are one of those who, thankfully, divorced after living (incarcerated) in a controlling marriage, but you are finding it difficult to enjoy your newly-discovered freedom, take heart! God never leaves His children in in the bondage of slavery (it was for freedom that Christ set us free!), so you can rest assured that He predestined you for this freedom, and, I might add, there is nothing better than His present provision for your life—absolutely, nothing—not fish, cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, or garlic (whatever they might represent in your life!).”
In other words, whether you choose to remain single or to remarry, God has a new life for you, a life that, on the one hand is terribly frightening, yet, on the other hand, even the thought is exhilarating, giving you the kind of rush I think you would feel just before you made your first bungee jump off the Golden Gate Bridge, hoping you would stop short of the school of piranhas that were eagerly greeting you.

The fact is you stand in one of those God-designed places where you can know better than you have ever known not only that you have died (you no longer live!) but also that Jesus is your life. You have been bought with a price and, therefore, are not your own! What an incredible place to have landed after such an gut-wrenching journey! As I see it you have landed on a precipice, a very high, vertical cliff, and your only way out is a free-fall jump! Sounds just like God, doesn’t it?

Now listen to these words from “Deep Unto Deep” by Dana Candler (p. 143-145): “. . . in my descent, a drawn out cry comes forth as my last request, “Have Your way!” Into His hands, I commit my spirit (Ps. 31:5). I have died, and I no longer live. I have no more rights. Swallowed up in the great deep of my transcendent God, fully His forever. I have taken His name, and my entire identity has been absorbed by Himself. I freefall with arms spread wide, holding nothing for myself and keeping not the slightest grip of ownership upon my life. My life is not my own. I have been bought with a price. And I have willingly surrendered to my position of hiddenness in Him—hidden with Christ in God. When we leave the places of living before men and begin to live before the Eyes-of-fire alone, we cross over into unknown territory. He has brought us to a certain wilderness of transformation. And here in this place we are no longer able to measure our worth by the tangible reality of our success before men. We leave the old measuring sticks at the door, for they are not suited for the ways of God. We depart from the false identity that was based on how respected, known, gifted, and influential we were in the eyes of men and leap into the vast unknown realm, the hidden reality, of who we are eternally in God. In this hurdle, we take great risk for we leave every familiar comfort behind us. To abandon the realm of the seen that we might freefall into the unseen is a daring endeavor and only faith anchors our souls. We voluntarily jump off the cliff of our old identity without an absolute clarity of our new one. Though we know who we are in the corporate sense of the redeemed-body-of-Christ, the mysteries that He formed in us individually and the details of who we are personally in the hidden places, are nearly entirely hidden from our understandings. We are trading in what we have always known and what others have always told us of ourselves for a book of blank pages. We leave all the old voices, however true or false, for the One voice who is temporarily very silent in our experience. He shows us so little of who we are in Him in the beginning because He wants us to experience the ‘drop off’ from the old ways and be willing to plunge into the unseen realm with eyes of faith. We face the pain of the barrenness of our souls. We face the reality of all that we do not yet know of Him, when we once thought we knew so much. We spend a season in this dangling-in-between place—no longer identified as we once were, yet still so foreign and distant from who we truly are in Him and our eternal identity. As we dangle, we pray, ‘Let me be weighed on honest scales, that God may know my integrity’ (Job 31:6).”

Let me be honest: I am scared-to-death of heights, so you can rest assured that I ain’t going to bungee jump, even from a barstool, much less a bridge, so I am certainly not going to choose a freefall jump from a cliff! Interestingly, however, God has His own ways of “landing” us in that place where our only way out is a freefall jump into the unknown. Fortunately, however, we do get to make that “one last request”—”Have Thine own way!”—but even that is a bit nerve racking.

Now, let me be even more honest. I think this author (Dana Candler) is unveiling something and I really want you to see it: Even though it makes you hyperventilate, it IS safe to make the freefall jump into the wilderness of transformation, into that high and holy place where the Holy Spirit, not men, determine obedience for you. You see, in your jumping you leave behind those old measuring sticks—how respected, known, gifted, and influential you were in the eyes of men—and trade them in for a book of blank pages, or so they seem. Thankfully, God has already written the script but He did so with white ink on white paper. To use the words of Dana Candler, “No one, except those rare few with eyes into eternity can perceive who we are anymore.”

So, go ahead and jump; it really is safe! Whether you choose to remain single or at some point to remarry, the best is yet to come, and that is a promise (from Him, not me!). At least, once you make the jump, you are no longer controlled by the mirrors of a thousand religious, self-centered opinions and that, my friend, is quite a measure of exhilarating freedom!
Thanks for all your patience in reading these bits and pieces of “literary genius” from this old codger, who knows very well that he not only knows very little, but also that what he knows is probably a far-cry from the real truth! Let us continue seeking Him, whom to know is eternal life!!

Marriage, Divorce, & Remarriage Part XVI

FISH, CUCUMBERS, MELONS, LEEKS, ONIONS, AND GARLIC

Last week, I ended my discussion with these words: In spite of all the fears and the ensuing anger, some do finally make it to freedom and when they do, well, all kinds of new emotions begin to surface (really, old emotions dressed in different garments) making even freedom a scary thing, much as it was for the black slaves of old. The signing of the Emancipation Proclamation set the slaves free—legally free—but it did NOT teach them how to live in freedom. Many of them walked off the plantations where they had been held in slavery, but the new emotions they began to feel (old emotions dressed in different garments) had them second-guessing themselves at every turn. Unfortunate, but true. Thankfully, it was for freedom that Christ set us free, therefore (to use the words of Paul), do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery!

When it comes to divorce, this second-guessing begins long before the divorce is finalized; however, once the person steps into the land of “freedom” it kicks into another gear, or to use the words of Emeril Lagasse, another “notch!” In fact, it often comes much like a landslide, in the form of “what-ifs” and “should haves.” “What if I had been more patient,” or “I probably should not have been so hard-lined,” or “If I had waited a little longer, we could have probably worked it out,” or “If I had just trusted God more, He would have changed my heart,” ad infinitum. In the long-run, this second-guessing is probably normal; it is probably our attempt at reassuring ourselves that we did the “right” thing, especially in light of the terrible stigma that has been placed upon those who divorce. So, if you see yourself here, just take it easy; give yourself time to adjust, to settle-in, and to discover at a deeper level than you have ever known, that His strength really is made perfect in your weakness. Remember: when you have the Creator of the Universe standing by your side and ON your side, all the “what-ifs” and “should-haves” you could ever list, really carry little consequence—He is in charge and in control every time and all the time.

Now, as to this notion of learning to live in this new-found freedom, something very familiar comes to my mind—fish, cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic. You are very familiar with the story but listen to these words: “Now the people became like those who complain of adversity in the hearing of the Lord; and when the Lord heard it, His anger was kindled, and the fire of the Lord burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp. The people therefore cried out to the Lord, and the fire died out. So the name of that place was called Taberah, because the fire of the Lord burned among them. And the rabble who were among them had greedy desires; and also the sons of Israel wept again and said, ‘Who will give us meat to eat? We remember the fish which we used to eat free in Egypt, the cucumbers and the melons and the leeks and the onions and the garlic, but now our appetite is gone. There is nothing at all to look at except this manna’” (Numbers 11:1-6; emphasis, mine).
As you well-know, the Israelites had been in bondage to the Egyptians for many, many years but God heard their cries and chose to deliver them out of Egypt and from slavery (God never leaves His children in slavery!) AND to lead them into Canaan, a land flowing with milk and honey—the land of freedom. Furthermore, He chose to be their provider and to see to it that they had everything they needed in this new-found freedom; HOWEVER, God’s provision soon lost its appeal and they found themselves grumbling and complaining, not to mention, wandering aimlessly in the desert.

Manna was neither fish nor cucumbers nor melons nor leeks nor onions nor garlic; in fact, unlike any of these, manna was perfect food but its appeal was, well, compared to these, it was not very appealing. Before long, the grumbling and complaining became a very clear and angry cry: “Oh that someone would give us meat to eat! For we were well-off in Egypt.” Did God respond? You bet He did and these were His words: “You shall eat, not one day, nor two days, nor five days, nor ten days, nor twenty days, but a whole month, until it comes out of your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you; because you have rejected the Lord who is among you and have wept before Him, saying, ‘Why did we ever leave Egypt?’”
Hopefully, at this point something very specific is becoming very obvious to you and I can only trust that it is this: the Israelites had to learn how to live in their newly-discovered freedom, even how to enjoy it! Contrary to what they thought, they were NOT well-off in Egypt; instead, they were slaves to those whose only purpose was to use them for their own selfish ends. Their question, “Why did we ever leave Egypt?” is the tell-tale sign of just how difficult it is for those who have been living as slaves to learn to live in freedom!

If you are one of those who, thankfully, divorced after living (incarcerated) in a controlling marriage, but you are finding it difficult to enjoy your newly-discovered freedom, take heart! God never leaves His children in in the bondage of slavery (it was for freedom that Christ set us free!), so you can rest assured that He predestined you for this freedom, and, I might add, there is nothing better than His present provision for your life—absolutely, nothing—not fish, cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, or garlic (whatever they might represent in your life!).

“So let us know, let us press on to know the Lord,
His going forth is as certain as the dawn;
And He will come to us like the rain,
Like the spring rain watering the earth”
(Hosea 6:3).

Marriage, Divorce, & Remarriage Part XV

Well, the murder/suicide is history, the post-mortem examination is complete, and the results are as expected—the perpetrator contained very high levels of various toxins, each of which was the fruit of self-centeredness. Regardless, however, of the reasons, both perpetrator and victim begin to experience the pain of loss—significant loss, especially if the marriage lasted past the honeymoon stage. Enter grief!

Grief is essential, if a healthy lifestyle is to ensue; however, it is oftentimes a very difficult journey. The elements (denial, guilt, anger outward, anger inward, depression, resolution, etc) are predictable but they do not always present neatly packaged; consequently, many refuse to make the journey to healthy living and, therefore, find themselves locked in the prison of anger, bitterness, resentment, and, even, clinical depression—futilely trying to “get even” or to get back what they lost. In the end, these become enslaved to the one(s) they blame for their loss, spending every waking moment trying to figure out not only how to get back what they lost, but also how to get back in control of the one(s) they no longer control.

In many instances, this murder/suicide precipitates divorce, the legal end of a marriage that in most cases has long-since died. In my mind, the divorce decree is much like a death certificate, in that it serves as legal evidence of the death of the marriage. It is usually very difficult to get those involved to see this; however, it is true: in most instances, marriages die long before anyone mentions the word “divorce.” Sadly, this is true because the church has placed such a stigma on divorce, one that causes people to remain in dead relationships, even long after decomposition is complete, and that is far too long.

For most Christians, deep, long-standing convictions also become key players, players that make making the decision very, very difficult. The sincere desire to obey God and to please Him in all things make such convictions as “God hates divorce” and “until death separates us” and “what God hath joined together, let no man put asunder” and “God cannot bless willful disobedience” and “thou shalt not commit adultery” powerful deterrents to divorce, which is why so many choose to remain in marriages long after the vows have been broken and life has ceased.

Sadly, most never seem to learn the truth that Paul proclaimed—the letter kills but the Spirit gives life—consequently, they spend entire lifetimes futilely attempting to please God (who, thankfully, is already pleased) by remaining in their “dead” marriages, only to become modern-day Pharisees.

Thankfully, however, there are those who do come to realize that we (Christians) have been called to live, not according to the letter of the Law but according to the leadership of the Holy Spirit—the difference between living under the Old Covenant of Law and the New Covenant of Grace. These are the ones who finally come to realize that they no longer have to allow others to define obedience for them and can, therefore, view divorce as a gift of God’s love, rather than as His curse.

Now, make no mistake: divorce IS difficult—very difficult—not only for both parties but also for other family members and friends. There is no short-cut, no easy way out; instead, it is gut-wrenchingly painful. Even when both parties agree that divorce is the best option for them; it is none-the-less painful. Emotions run wild, with fear and anger being the dominant players, even in the lives of those who sincerely believe that divorce can be a gift of God’s love.

From my experience, one of the greatest fear-factors is the fact that obtaining a divorce most often means hiring an attorney (or attorneys, as the case may be) at great expense, only to find that once matters enter into the legal system, both parties lose any and all control over their futures. Of course, circumstances do make a difference, e.g. when children are involved or when large amounts of money or property are at stake. After years of being involved as a marriage counselor, I have seen the system make decisions that were devastating and altogether unfair. I can remember examples that I simply could not believe were taking place in a court of justice! To be sure, there is no wonder that most will endure any and all kinds of malevolence, even abuse, before choosing to place their lives into such an incredibly insane system.

Obviously, another of the deterrent fear-factors is the concern that is often expressed with these all-too-familiar words: “I cannot make it alone—emotionally, financially, or spiritually.” To be sure, for some to take life on alone is quite a challenge; however, living in a dead relationship is an even greater challenge. The problem is this: we tend to grow comfortable in our long-standing misery; whereas, the uncertain future appears to be very uncomfortable, at least, that is, until God makes us desperate for life—like a drowning man is desperate for air. Of course, the spouse who does not want the divorce tends to exacerbate this fear with comments such as, “You know that you cannot survive financially without my help” or “You know that you cannot make it alone as a single parent” or “You know that you know nothing about finances” or “You can’t even change a light bulb.”

In spite of all the fears and the ensuing anger, some do finally make it to freedom and when they do, well, all kinds of new emotions begin to surface (really, old emotions dressed in different garments) making even freedom a scary thing, much as it was for the black slaves of old. The signing of the emancipation proclamation set the slaves free—legally free—but it did NOT teach them how to live in freedom. Many of them walked off the plantations where they had been held in slavery but the new emotions they began to feel (old emotions dressed in different garments) had them second-guessing themselves at every turn. Unfortunate, but true—

Thankfully, it was for freedom that Christ set us free, therefore (to use the words of Paul), do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery!