Purified (Revisited)

Purified

"'Behold, I am going to send My messenger, and he will clear the way before Me, and the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple; and the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming,' says the LORD of hosts. But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap. He will sit as a smelter and purifier of silver, and He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, so that they may present to the LORD offerings in righteousness." Malachi 3:1-3 (NASB)

If you think that the sins of Christians are different than the sins of other people, you are correct. They are worse. "They are worse for when a believer sins, they not only break the Law of God, but they break the heart of God. When a believer deliberately sins, it isn't just the disobedience of a servant to a master, or the rebellion of a subject against a king; it's the offense of a child against the loving Father. The sins we cherish and think we get away with bring grief to the heart of God." (Wiersbe, 2002) We all know what these sins are in our own hearts, but have we considered what they do to the heart of God?

In Malachi, the last of the writing prophets, the people had sinned against God in a number of ways, the first being that they lacked love for God. This was also the first sin that Jesus mentioned in Revelation 2:4, "But I have this against you, that you have left your first love." (NASB) It is probably listed first because the lack of love for God is the source for all other sins. There is a definite lack of love for God in the world today even among believers. We are guilty of trying to squeeze God into our molds instead of being transformed by Him as it says in Romans 12:2, "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." (NIV) The world is a difficult place to live with the temptation always before us to water down, set aside, or squeeze what God says so that it will fit the politically correct byword of the day. The world and many Christians want God's blessings but not His judgement. As believers, we need to remember that God's judgement will come whether we want it to or not. We want everything that is nice and pleasant in God's Word and we forget that we will be held accountable for everything we do and don't do. One of the ways we avoid this is by not knowing God's Word at all, almost as if what we don't know won't hurt us. Of course, that will not be true. We are responsible for studying God's Word and hiding it in our hearts as in Psalm 119:11, "I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you." (KJV) And, "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth." 2 Timothy 2:15 (NIV) We need to face the fact that we have a responsibility to honor and serve God, but we also have a responsibility to know Him. And how can we love Him if we do not know Him.

Many times we walk through life oblivious to what we ourselves are doing (or not doing) and we can leave wreckage in our wake. We should always be examining ourselves against the example of Jesus. We should take stock at the end of each day, thinking about what we have done, what we should have done, and if there is anything that we have done that requires apology or making right somehow. I am not saying that we should or can purify ourselves, but how can we even ask to be purified if we are not being careful how we walk for it says, "For this reason it says, 'Awake, sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.' Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil." Ephesians 5:14-16 (NASB)

The process of purification is not usually a pleasant process. A Father disciplines those He loves, "My son, do not despise the LORD's discipline and do not resent his rebuke, because the LORD disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in." Proverbs 3:11-12 (NIV) "All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness." Hebrews 12:11 (NASB)

To begin the purification process, we need to ask God to bring things to our attention that need correcting, changing, or remodeling. If we are the temple of the Holy Spirit, then we can rely on Him to bring conviction to our hearts, and if we are listening, the process can begin. We need to ask as David did in Psalm 139:23-24, "Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." (KJV)

God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins. "Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being, And in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom. Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow." Psalm 51:6-7 (NASB) "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise." Psalm 51:17 (NASB) If we ask, He will answer, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9 (NIV)

So let's get to know what He requires of us, "He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." Micah 6:8 (NIV) And let's cry out to Him "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and sustain me with a willing spirit." Psalm 51:10-12 (NASB)

Dear Lord, Please make me aware of what needs to be changed in me. Help me to study Your word and hide it in my heart so that I might not sin against You. Let me not break Your heart but let me bring joy to You and Your kingdom.

Originally posted June 15, 2010.

Image courtesy of Photobucket.com.

Holy Living

Colossians 3

Rules for Holy Living

 ¹Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. ²Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. ³For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. ⁴When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.  ⁵Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. ⁶Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. ⁷You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. ⁸But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. ⁹Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices ¹⁰and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. ¹¹Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.
 ¹²Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. ¹³Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. ¹⁴And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
 ¹⁵Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. ¹⁶Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. ¹⁷And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Rules for Christian Households

 ¹⁸Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.  ¹⁹Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them.
 ²⁰Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.
 ²¹Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged.
 ²²Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. ²³Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, ²⁴since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. ²⁵Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for his wrong, and there is no favoritism. (NIV)

 Dear Lord,  Thank you that you show us how to live.  Make us humble, kind, gentle, patient, and compassionate. Let us put to death our earthly natures.  And let us do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

Photo courtesy of Photobucket.com.

What did Jesus Write in the Sand?

The Adulterous Woman

 ¹But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.  ²Early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people were coming to Him; and He sat down and began to teach them.
 ³The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery, and having set her in the center of the court,
 ⁴they said to Him, "Teacher, this woman has been caught in adultery, in the very act.
 ⁵"Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then do You say?"
 ⁶They were saying this, testing Him, so that they might have grounds for accusing Him. But Jesus stooped down and with His finger wrote on the ground.
 ⁷But when they persisted in asking Him, He straightened up, and said to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her."
 ⁸Again He stooped down and wrote on the ground.
 ⁹When they heard it, they began to go out one by one, beginning with the older ones, and He was left alone, and the woman, where she was, in the center of the court.
 ¹⁰Straightening up, Jesus said to her, "Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?"
 ¹¹She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said, "I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more."
John 8:1-11 (NASB)

"For Jesus to forgive this woman meant that He had to one day die for her sins.  Forgiveness is free but it is not cheap."  (W. Weirsbe)  What did He write on the ground?  I feel certain that whatever He wrote had a great deal to do with the fact that they, one by one, left  the center of the court where they had so adamantly condemned her. I am also certain that Jesus had a purpose in this.  Was He writing their sins in the dust?    Was He reminding them of the Ten Commandments written by the hand of God as it says in Exodus 31:18?  Or was He writing their names, reminding them of the warning in Jeremiah 17:13 which says, "O LORD, the hope of Israel, all who forsake you will be put to shame. Those who turn away from you will be written in the dust because they have forsaken the LORD, the spring of living water"?  (NIV)  Was He implying that they, themselves, were the ones prophesied about as those who forsook  Him and that He, Himself, is the spring of living water which He states in John 4:10-14 (NIV).

"Go, and sin no more!"  Jesus said.  This freely given forgiveness will never be an excuse to sin.  We are to repent and turn away from our sins, not repeating them again.  In Psalm 130:4 it says,  "If you, God, kept records on wrongdoings, who would stand a chance?  As it turns out, forgiveness is your habit, and that's why you're worshiped."  (The Message)  "God demonstrates His own love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."  Romans 5:8 (NASB)

Many think that this woman was set up by the scribes and the Pharisees and being that the man she must have been with was not there also, for the law calls for both to be stoned, it seems to confirm the thought that they must have orchestrated the event which would be, of course, against God's law.  They were definitely trying to trick Jesus into a controversial situation, into something they could use against Him.  The law demanded stoning but if Jesus allowed her to be stoned, many of his followers who were the weak, sinful, and poor, would have felt abandoned by Him since He said, "For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost."  Luke 19:10 (ESV)  But if He were to prevent her from being stoned, He would be going against the law of Moses.  Jesus, of course, cannot be tricked and knew the exact intentions of their hearts even before they brought the woman before Him.  Whatever He wrote in the dirt, in combination with His statement, "He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her," was enough to send them away in disgrace.  Could it have been their sins or their names?  Or was He just giving them time for the words He had spoken to sink in and do their work?

Do you give Jesus' words time to sink in and do their work?  Do you try to convince yourself that you are too busy or too important or too tired to spend time in His presence?  Do you rationalize your lack of devotion?  Is Jesus writing your name in the sand?

Dear Lord,  Make us a people who forgive as You forgive.  Make us a people who hear Your word and let it sink in and do its work.  Let us not trick ourselves into a life without Christ...

As Far as the East is From the West...

"For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. Just as a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him."  Psalm 103:11-13 (NASB)

I imagine a globe spinning, you know, the kind we use in classrooms all over the world.  As I spin the globe I realize that one can always go east.  We can always go west as well.  So in essence, we can say that the east is infinitely far away from the west and visa versa.   So how far is the east from the west? It is an infinite distance.  That is how far the Father removes our sins from us if we have been forgiven.  He tosses our sins into the sea and remembers them no more if we have been forgiven.  Not only does He toss them into the sea, He puts up a sign that says, "No fishing!"

I don't know about you but all of my life I have had a tendency to drag my old sins up off of the ocean floor and rehash them.  I ask for forgiveness from the Lord again and again over the same old thing.  Now, I haven't committed the sin again (which is a whole different situation), I am just asking God to forgive again something He has already forgiven!  I think He must wonder whether I truly understand what He means when He says He has forgiven me.  If He has forgiven me and I haven't committed the same offense over again, He has forgiven me and He remembers it no more.  I need to accept His forgiveness and let it go...No Fishing allowed!

"I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more."  Isaiah 43:25 (NIV)

"The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!"  John 1:29 (NASB)

"O Master, these are the conditions in which people live, and yes, in these very conditions my spirit is still alive— fully recovered with a fresh infusion of life!  It seems it was good for me to go through all those troubles. Throughout them all you held tight to my lifeline.  You never let me tumble over the edge into nothing.  But my sins you let go of, threw them over your shoulder—good riddance!"  Isaiah 38:17  (The Message)

"But in our time something new has been added. What Moses and the prophets witnessed to all those years has happened. The God-setting-things-right that we read about has become Jesus-setting-things-right for us. And not only for us, but for everyone who believes in him. For there is no difference between us and them in this. Since we've compiled this long and sorry record as sinners (both us and them) and proved that we are utterly incapable of living the glorious lives God wills for us, God did it for us. Out of sheer generosity he put us in right standing with himself. A pure gift. He got us out of the mess we're in and restored us to where he always wanted us to be. And he did it by means of Jesus Christ."  Romans 3:21-24 (The Message)

Dear Lord,  Teach us to ask for Your forgiveness for our transgressions with repentant hearts.  Help us to turn away from our sins.  Thank you that You do not remember them once You have forgiven them.  Help us to see the sign that says, "No Fishing!", and leave those sins where You have put them, on the bottom of the ocean floor...

Your Love Broke Through

Sometimes what we really need is just to have the Lord break through the hard enamel we have coated ourselves with. We apply layer after layer until our exterior is so shiny and hard that it feels like we will crack when we try to smile; we feel all shaky and nasty inside and fake on the outside. We keep applying the stuff around ourselves when we are hurt or sad or lonely, when we are disappointed or upset or sinful. We are trying to protect ourselves but all we end up doing is keeping the One who can help us out and all of the bad stuff in. We don't know how to deal with how we feel, so we find some way not to feel it...

When God's love breaks through our self erected walls, I won't kid you, it is painful. We need to ask Him for His forgiveness and for His peace. And the more we have coated or built up around ourselves, the more painful it can be when it all comes crashing down. We need to be real with God and with ourselves. We need to feel the pain and hand it over to God. Once we hand it over to Him, we can get past it but we probably won't ever get over it. Masking the pain is never productive. We mask it, hide from it, run from it, blame someone else for it, get angry over it, sugar coat it, glaze it over and surround it with things that make it look better than it actually is. What we seldom do is deal with it. Honesty is the best policy. First, we need to be honest with ourselves and then we need to be honest with God who sees it all. "Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account." Hebrews 4:13 (NIV)

"Your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies. Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice like the great deep. O LORD, you preserve both man and beast. How priceless is your unfailing love! Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of your wings. They feast on the abundance of your house; you give them drink from your river of delights. For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light. Continue your love to those who know you, your righteousness to the upright in heart." Psalm 36:5-10 (NIV)

Dear Lord, Let Your love break through to our hardened hearts. Help us to be softened toward You and Your love. Teach us to feel our pain instead of masking it or decorating it. Let us lay everything at Your feet and help us to leave it there, Lord. Forgive us and heal us. Help us to be honest with ourselves, with others and with You...

Purified

"'Behold, I am going to send My messenger, and he will clear the way before Me, and the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple; and the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming,' says the LORD of hosts. But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap. He will sit as a smelter and purifier of silver, and He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, so that they may present to the LORD offerings in righteousness." Malachi 3:1-3 (NASB)

If you think that the sins of Christians are different than the sins of other people, you are correct. They are worse. "They are worse for when a believer sins, they not only break the Law of God, but they break the heart of God. When a believer deliberately sins, it isn't just the disobedience of a servant to a master, or the rebellion of a subject against a king; it's the offense of a child against the loving Father. The sins we cherish and think we get away with bring grief to the heart of God." (Wiersbe, 2002) We all know what these sins are in our own hearts, but have we considered what they do to the heart of God?

In Malachi, the last of the writing prophets, the people had sinned against God in a number of ways, the first being that they lacked love for God. This was also the first sin that Jesus mentioned in Revelation 2:4, "But I have this against you, that you have left your first love." (NASB) It is probably listed first because the lack of love for God is the source for all other sins. There is a definite lack of love for God in the world today even among believers. We are guilty of trying to squeeze God into our molds instead of being transformed by Him as it says in Romans 12:2, "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." (NIV) The world is a difficult place to live with the temptation always before us to water down, set aside, or squeeze what God says so that it will fit the politically correct byword of the day. The world and many Christians want God's blessings but not His judgement. As believers, we need to remember that God's judgement will come whether we want it to or not. We want everything that is nice and pleasant in God's Word and we forget that we will be held accountable for everything we do and don't do. One of the ways we avoid this is by not knowing God's Word at all, almost as if what we don't know won't hurt us. Of course, that will not be true. We are responsible for studying God's Word and hiding it in our hearts as in Psalm 119:11, "I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you." (KJV) And, "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth." 2 Timothy 2:15 (NIV) We need to face the fact that we have a responsibility to honor and serve God, but we also have a responsibility to know Him. And how can we love Him if we do not know Him.

Many times we walk through life oblivious to what we ourselves are doing (or not doing) and we can leave wreckage in our wake. We should always be examining ourselves against the example of Jesus. We should take stock at the end of each day, thinking about what we have done, what we should have done, and if there is anything that we have done that requires apology or making right somehow. I am not saying that we should or can purify ourselves, but how can we even ask to be purified if we are not being careful how we walk for it says, "For this reason it says, 'Awake, sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.' Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil." Ephesians 5:14-16 (NASB)

The process of purification is not usually a pleasant process. A Father disciplines those He loves, "My son, do not despise the LORD's discipline and do not resent his rebuke, because the LORD disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in." Proverbs 3:11-12 (NIV) "All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness." Hebrews 12:11 (NASB)

To begin the purification process, we need to ask God to bring things to our attention that need correcting, changing, or remodeling. If we are the temple of the Holy Spirit, then we can rely on Him to bring conviction to our hearts, and if we are listening, the process can begin. We need to ask as David did in Psalm 139:23-24, "Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." (KJV)

God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins. "Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being, And in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom. Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow." Psalm 51:6-7 (NASB) "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise." Psalm 51:17 (NASB) If we ask, He will answer, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9 (NIV)

So let's get to know what He requires of us, "He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." Micah 6:8 (NIV) And let's cry out to Him "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and sustain me with a willing spirit." Psalm 51:10-12 (NASB)

Dear Lord, Please make me aware of what needs to be changed in me. Help me to study Your word and hide it in my heart so that I might not sin against You. Let me not break Your heart but let me bring joy to You and Your kingdom.