Worth a Try...

We live in a society today, where if something looks difficult, most people steer clear from attempting it. After all, who wants to fail? But what if we are missing all of the instruction and beautiful lessons in the failing that God has for us. Even more, we are commanded to try. (Exodus 20:1-17; Leviticus 20:26; 1 Peter 1:16) "And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments." (1 John 2:3)

If you're a Christian, you're not going to life your life perfectly, that's exactly the point. Jesus Christ came not to heal the well, but the sick. We were sick with sin. But in the forgiveness we enjoy and adoption we walk in, we are called to holy living and empowered by the Holy Spirit to do what God has called us to do. So, in God's grace and strength, we should be trying to live a life that honors Him. 

How will we do what He has commanded, if we don't know what He has commanded? How will we seek to be Holy, if we know nothing of holiness. God has not left us without wisdom or knowledge. He gave us his written word, the Bible, to understand what He asks from us. How will you know what he desires for you if you don't read the Bible and seek to obey it? "

So if we are claiming to be Christians, but show no fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23), no desire towards repentance, and no desire to do what God has commanded, then we must seriously question our relationship with God and work to reconcile with Him immediately. (Philippians 2:12) There is grace, mercy, forgiveness, but only for those who bow their knee to Christ in this life. That takes effort, but it's a noble cause. 

Where we live...

I've been thinking a great deal about where we live lately. The television has been filled with news of attacks on the military in my country, continued attacks on the unborn in the womb and the sale of their dismembered bodies, and the wholesale slaughter of Christians around the world. On an international and national scale, things are deeply troubling to say the least. In addition to that, in my small circle of friends and family, the tales of brokenness and suffering abound, the reality of consequences of sinful behavior, and the unrepentant hearts of believers has been breaking mine. 

As I've been feeling a real pain and discomfort grow in my chest, costing me sleep and peace of mind over these events, I've been drawn back to two truths: 1) this place I live is not my home and 2) this place I live is in desperate need of the truth of God. 

God never intended for this world to be the way that it is or for things to be so broken. We wrought this with our words and deeds, yet it still seems nearly impossible to understand and even more difficult to take our own share for the blame and hurt we have caused. God made the world perfect and beautiful, we broke the perfection. But God didn't leave us where we were in brokenness. He condescended and transcended all of the ugliness and through His death, burial, and resurrection, has made a way for the us out of a broken home and into an eternally perfect one. 

Remember where you live, and live in such a way as to prepare for your real address in a better world. As a Christian, you will struggle because you will be trying to do the right thing in the wrong world. Don't give up. You're headed for a far better world. Persevere. Brokenness is everywhere. Jesus still reigns. Cling to Him. 

The Quest for Holiness

Everyone today is on a quest for something greater, a purpose, or a plan to achieve what they believe to be the ideal for their circumstance. Everyone. But who determines what is ideal or better? Psalm 112 gives great insight into the what happens when the believer seeks the best by God's standard. Psalm 112:1 begins with the psalmist rejoicing in the facts of God's character. We find that the person that is "blessed" by the Lord shows himself to be in active pursuit of of wisdom through a reverent fear of God and by delighting in His commands (Psalm 1:2). 

Of even more substance to the believer is the knowledge that there are blessings to be found in adversity (Psalm 112:4). Here, "darkness" is a metaphor for adversity implying that "even in darkness [the] light [of the Lord] dawns on the upright." This person is gracious and compassionate, seeking to relieve the suffering of others. And it plays out in practical ways in v. 5 with the believer giving freely without expectation of interest on a loan, simply believing it just to help others in need (Psalm 111:5). 

These blessings that come in adversity carry the believer through the hardest of times. Because the wise man holds to the precepts of God that are "steadfast forever and ever (Psalm 111:8), he is "steadfast" (v.7) "He will never be shaken" (v.6), "he will have no fear," "his heart is steadfast" and "his heart is secure." We can expect that we may experience any number of surprises in life, but for the believer will persevere in doing good. He does not waver and is not easily tossed about, but he "perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him." (James 1:12) That means that no matter if he receives "bad news" and has reason to "fear" or has problems with his adversaries (Psalm 112:7-8), His trust is in the Lord, so he can stand.   

Doing the will of God is motivated by a desire to be like God. The word godliness stems from the idea of God-like-ness. If the believer would seek to do the will of God, it must be motivated by a desire to be like God. Jesus said in John 14:23 that if we truly love Him, we will obey His commands. So to delight in His commands (Psalm 112:1) presupposes a grateful and generous heart. (James 2:14-20) 

      C.S. Lewis beautifully said in The Great Divorce, “ Only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God “Thy will be done,” and those to whom God says in the end “Thy will be done.” If we would seek a quest for greatness and purpose, we must first seek to humble ourselves and obey the will of our Heavenly Father, even though doing so will often take us completely counter to the surrounding culture. 

The Mark of Maturity.

It is a mark of Christian maturity that when you fall (and oh how we will fall!), you run TO God, not FROM God. This conveys an understanding that God, out of His great love for us, does not give up on His own. While he is perfecting us (Hebrews 12:1-2), honesty of heart tells us and Him that we are not perfect yet. There is further to be run. So when Christ calls us to confess our sin to one another, it's not to simply to show how great our need is, but also to show how great of a savior He is!

Honesty of heart that manifests itself in confession of sin builds community in so many ways. Here are just a few:

• Confession allows others to see that we are professing to be sinners saved by grace. 
• Confession reminds our community that they are not alone in their personal struggles with sin. 
• Confession helps us to see believers further along than us that we may learn from who have similarly struggled. 
• Confession offers us the opportunity to encourage and pray for those who are struggling.  

I've been thinking a good deal about this lately, as I see individuals trying to act independently of one another, yet still claim to be in the same group. The body of Christ removes the need for competition and instead brings about freedom to encourage and build-up one another when they find unity in confession and forgiveness. The outside world will only see us as the body of Christ, when we act in unity.

Today

"For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as on the day at Massah in the wilderness,," Psalm 95:7-8

At these historical places Israel had acted shamelessly against the Lord (cf. Exod 17:1–7; Num 20:1–13). Despite God saving Israel, they questioned and tested the Lord, much like you and I do. Verses 1 and 2 call us to remember his works of salvation in our lives and to let our praise and gratitude to flow out of that. When I'm grateful, I might ask for more, but I'm recognizing what has already been given and contentment flows out of that. 

Psalm 95 speaks volumes about how great our redeemer is, but also about what He has done. he has been patient and long suffering. This is because real love is persistent and God loves His children. We also are called to be long suffering with the idle, timid, and weak. That means we are to warn, encourage, and help one another for a really, really long time! Change does not happen in us or others overnight. 

God knows our past mistakes. He knows how we have failed Him before, but there is so much grace in that word "Today" in verse 7. If he calls on you to do something today, do it and know that your heavenly Father loves you and is for you. Move forward, past fear, into obedience. 

Leftovers

I've never been a fan of leftovers. Growing up, entire meals would consist of a few bites of spaghetti, cornbread, chili, hot dogs, mac and cheese, corn on the cob, and potato soup. You would take a few bites of each to make your meal and I would often wonder why we didn't just throw out the leftovers since there was only a small quantity of each item. My stomach may be filled by the assortment of food, but my heart was empty at the thought of it. I remained ungrateful for the provision, because it wasn't in the way that I had wanted it.

There are few things in life more disgusting than ungratefulness. Everyone hates the child who decries one hard earned gift for the love of another or the beggar who complains of the provided meal. This ungratefulness is not new to our Western society, nor to our modern times. One need not far to find this same attitude in the people of God in the wilderness. Out of slavery and death by the mighty hand of God, fed daily with manna by Him, this is the response of the people:

"Now the rabble that was among them had a strong craving. And the people of Israel also wept again and said, "Oh that we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we ate in Egypt that cost nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic.  But now our strength is dried up, and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at.” Numbers 11:4-6


They were ungrateful for God's provision and they most certainly didn't want leftovers. But it seems that God views leftovers differently, and by His grace I am beginning to see them differently too. Often, God uses leftovers to show His abundant provision and clear, powerful, miraculous presence in our lives. Just read Matthew 14:13-21 to see an example of this. 
Last night my wife, Lindsey, took squash from our garden, leftover chopped onions from a church function, and made a delicious squash casserole. It rivaled my grandmother's squash. She also handmade turkey meatballs, fixed sweet tea, and cornbread for us. There made so much that even after second helpings, there was plenty left over. Today for lunch, I had some of the leftovers (ok, all of it) and it was delicious. The leftovers today taught me 2 important lessons: 
1) My wife loves me very much and made extra so that our family could be full and satisfied. 
2) God's abundant provision is often missed when I am focused on looking for new things instead of enjoying what God has already given. His leftovers are so much better than the first fruits of the world. 

The two Matts

I am two individuals. Not bi-polar. Not a twin. Not part of a bad sci-fi movie experiment gone wrong. Instead, I am a human bring who understands what it means to be in Christ, yet not with Him in a glorified state. I am speaking of Romans 7:14-25 and I am speaking of every day of my life. I desire to do good things...godly things. I desire for my actions and words and thoughts to all be pleasing sacrifices to God that honor Him and reflect the glory of His name to the whole world. As anyone who knows me can knowingly exclaim, that is not always the case.

When I read Paul's words here, I recognize that Paul believes that a Christian desires to obey God's law and hates his sin (v. 15, 19, 21) and this person is willing to acknowledge that nothing good dwells in themselves apart from Christ himself. (v. 18) While there is great sin there, that is not all, because this person serves King Jesus with His mind. (v. 25)

I think that through the process of life, we often feel like this, yet know that the transformation must be completed, no matter how painful. I once a poster on my bedroom wall that I had found at a Christian book store. I would stare at it often as I fell asleep having the work resonate with my daily experiences.

The reality is, as we are sanctified through the daily, no...minute-by-minute work of the Holy Spirit we are faced with the reality that we take off our old filthy rags and are clothed in new, brilliant garments of Christ's righteousness. But we have worn those old clothes for so long, they are intertwined with our very being. Taking off the old ways and clothes takes the skin. If not for finding our new identity in Christ, I dare say that we would feel as if we were losing our being, but not so. if we are in Christ, we are new men and though the process is painful, Yahweh the Warrior goes to battle for me daily, helping me to die to self and live for Him.

What a joyous thought!