Gone

He will again have compassion on us; He will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. (Micah 7:19 ESV)

GONE

One Latin book in high school had missing sections, graffiti-filled pages, and an ugly cover.  I had Latin for four years, and every year I would try to get rid of that textbook… and every year, I ended up with it.  I would receive it randomly, I would accidentally switch books after class, and once the teacher, (knowing, I suspect, my disgust with THAT book) simply GAVE it to me.

No matter how hard I tried to get rid of it, it kept showing up.

Our sense of guilt does that, too.  We try good works, heartfelt apology, tears, and time… but our sins, iniquities, and transgressions keep showing up in our minds and hearts.

But really, we do that to ourselves.  Because the One whose view of our sinfulness actually matters, Christ Himself, tell us those things are gone.

He bore them on the cross.

He took the responsibility for them.

In God’s court, He actually says, “I DID THAT.” 

Those things are gone.

Squashed underfoot by the very bruised heel that crushed Satan’s head.

Farther away then the depths of the sea.  Without a submarine, sonar or radar, or scuba divers.

That is what God’s Forgiveness means.

Maybe it is time for us to stop gazing out to sea.

WE Get to Delight!

Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his

inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love. (Micah 7:18 ESV)

PART 2… WE get to DELIGHT, too

I used to hate mowing the lawn… until I started using a Zero-Turn-Radius.  I used to hate snow… until my granddaughter’s joyful face when seeing the white stuff changed my heart and mind.  I used to hate a particular author… until his articulate description of grace brought tears to my eyes.

And we tend to hate forgiving.  We think it is weak.  We think it will leave us unsatisfied.  We think it is not fair.  We think we need to be stronger.  We think forgiveness is for losers.

But forgiveness is grand!       

And the best way to begin delighting in forgiving, is to realize how much GOD delights in forgiving.  Surely He must know something bout it, that we are missing!

Like a excited parent eager to give THAT Christmas present, God is eager to give forgiveness.  Like a happy and experienced traveler, showing a friend Niagara Falls.  Like the bearer of good news.  Like the teacher who gets to give THAT student an “A.”

God is perhaps almost trembling with joy when He gets to FORGIVE.

We can delight in it, too!

Perhaps the reason we aren’t delighted to forgive someone, is the we have not had that much experience being the forgiver.

Try it!  Forgiving is delightful!

Delight

Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his

inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love.

DELIGHT

I can be relied upon to do those things that delight me.

I finish reading a good book, without being forced to turn the pages.  I ride my zero-turn-radius mower, not merely because, ‘it is time.’  I laugh at the jokes of my grandchildren, whether they are funny or not.

I delight in those things, and so I do them.  And you would be silly to doubt me in those things… to suspect I was not doing them… to be unsure that the book was REALLY being read, the lawn REALLY was being mowed, and the jokes REALLY were being enjoyed.

Yet we doubt God’s forgiveness. 

Even though He DELIGHTS in loving.

We hold fast to our past sins.  We berate ourselves on sin-anniversaries, or when memories crop up.  We act like Eeyore during Communion, or Charlie Brown as we walk into church.

And when we do those things we are foolish.

God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit DELIGHTS to give us forgiveness.

Bask in His delight.

Cause and Effect

And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” (Luk 23:34 ESV)

Cause and Effect

Recently, I had a painful infection.  It was not visible to the casual observer, but on one particular day it seemed that everyone was bumping it, scraping it, and hurting it.

My eyes flared as the most recent culprit caused my nerves to flame, and he apologized quickly.  “I’m sorry… I did not know…”

And I ALMOST blurted out, “Ignorance is no excuse!”  I am glad I held my tongue for two reasons.  First, it would have been a misquote.  And secondly… Christ’s example shows us a better path.

He hung there, up on our cross, unjustly pained, tortured, and despised on His people’s behalf.  If sinners’ awareness were a necessary part of the forgiveness process, we would expect Him to righteously snarl,

“your ignorance is a FURTHER sin!” 

“This sacrifice would help you wicked murderers if only you acknowledged what you were doing.”

“My blood would count as your payment to God’s Justice if you even BEGAN to confess!”

But He did not say those things.

They did not even know their sin… and He asked the Father to forgive them.

They did not even know what sin WAS… and He asked the Father to forgive them.

They believed they were doing the right thing, horrible though it was… and He asked the Father to forgive them.

Theologically, Jesus was correct, of course.  Because His forgiveness is what would LEAD to their repentance, confession, and conversion.

We do not repent, and thus find forgiveness.

He forgives, and He changes us so that we repent.

And we get to do the same thing.  Rather than carry our anger, disappointment, and grudges, we can imitate Jesus…

… and forgive.  For they do not know what they do.

Leopards

Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. (Isaiah 1:18 ESV)

Leopards

It is said, cynically, that leopards are unable to change their spots.  Meaning that a leopard can not become a tiger, or a panther, or a cheetah.  This is cynical because it claims that leopards, and by inference people, do not change.

And that false claim allows us to stop forgiving, because it would mean those sinners in our lives will never change.  A liar will always be a liar.  A thief will always be a thief.  The selfish will always be selfish. The promise breaker will always break promises.

When we believe the leopard lie, we deny that Christians can change bad habits, find new righteous paths, and grow in sanctification.  And therefore, it seems that forgiving is not only difficult, but it is stupid.

But God forgives.  And in His eyes our blood-red scarlet sins become as white as snow.

In other words, in God’s eyes, Christians become pure.  It happens because of Christ’s atonement.  It happens because God is willing to exchange our filthy rags for Christ’s beautiful robes. But it happens.

And if God’s eyes see us that way… who are we to see anything less?

It is difficult because our eyes still see our spouse’s sins, our children’s sins, our parents’ sins.  But God has changed those sins into Christ’s perfection.  Let His eyes overrule our eyes!

We might yearn for that faith vision to become actual vision.  But until it does (and it WILL!!!!) choose to see with  GodVision™.  See that leopard become a Lion of God.

And see how much easier it is to forgive.

Repeatedly

Then Peter came up and said to Him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times. (Matthew 18:21,22 ESV)

Repeatedly

It is hard to forgive.  And we often come up with reasons for NOT forgiving… conditions where we do not HAVE to forgive… things that allow us to be comfortable in our unforgiving.

Peter thinks he is being kind and loving when he offers to forgive someone up to SEVEN times for an offense.

One of the usual reasons that we seem to think frees us from our responsibility to forgive, is that often someone repeatedly sins against us.  We forgive… they repeat… we forgive… they repeat… we forgive… they repeat… and we want to say, “THAT IS ENOUGH OF THAT!”

But Christians forgive.  It is what we have had done TO us, through Christ, and therefore what we DO.  Or should do.  But it is hard.

Jesus here bursts the balloon of not having to forgive repeat offenders.

Maybe Peter actually understands already.  He might have used ‘seven’ as a symbol of an infinite number.  Which is pretty good.  Better than most of us modern Christians think we need to forgive.  But Jesus ups the forgiveness game.  He says INFINITELY INFINITE. 

We are never to stop forgiving.

Just like Jesus never stops forgiving us.

Carts and Horses

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (I John 1:9 ESV)

Carts and Horses

“If we are going to take an extended trip to Europe, we’ll have to save money, accumulate vacation time, and get better luggage,” we decided.  And we did save money, accumulate vacation time, and found better luggage.  But we did not do this things in order to help our decision, we had already made the decision.  That “IF” is meant in the sense of, “SINCE.”

If we are going to be married, we need to learn budgeting.

If we are going to church, we need to get up on time.

If we are going to have Spaghetti, we had better buy some meatballs.

And here, SINCE we have confessed our sins… meaning more than just today’s confession, but referring to THE confession that brought us into Jesus’ camp… God forgives, and gets rid of our unrighteousness.

Forgiveness from God towards His people is an automatic result of our salvific relationship with Him. 

John intends here to give us confidence in Christ’s atoning work… He is not creating a list of things we must do daily to be forgiven.

Since you are saved in, through, by, and because of Christ, HE is faithful to forgive us!  Not because we ask nicely.  But because HE is consistent, gracious, and merciful.

Starting with Forgiveness

…bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. (Colossians 3:13 ESV)

Starting with Forgiveness

I think more about playing the guitar than playing the mandolin.  Because I am a better guitarist than mandolinist.

I think more about reading Science Fiction than reading Physics textbooks.  Because I am a better SciFi fan than a Physics analyst.

I think more about using my lawn mower than driving a backhoe.  Because I am a better mower than a backhoe-er.

In my life as a Christian, I readily think about Biblical translation, crying when I privately pray, and writing sermons.  Because I think I am fairly good at those things.  But there are a number of Christian practices, attributes, and attitudes that I do not think about.  Because I am not very good at them.

I pretend to be good at them.  I try to be good at them.  I notice when I am NOT good at them.

But I do not really consider them, because I tend to consider those things at which I am better.

But we need to think about, consider, and dig in to those things that we are NOT very good at.  That is our part of the process of Sanctification.

And so, for the next while, let us consider something that we are not very good at.

Forgiveness.

Forgiveness is at the core of every Christian’s relationship with God.  It is at the core of God’s relationship with us.  It is foundational to our relationship with each other.

But we are not very good at it.  We do not forgive others as we were forgiven.  We do not accept forgiveness when it is offered.  We build excuse-walls that make our NON forgiving seem reasonable, wise, and even Spiritual.

Forgiveness, though… when we receive it AND we when perform it, changes our lives.

Forgiveness touches on every Christians’ thoughts, words, and deeds.  Forgiveness touches on every aspect of our daily activities.  Forgiveness is the dough of our Christian bread.

And I am observing and believing more and more that our misunderstandings about forgiveness are a root cause of all that plagues the church, the Church, and individual Christians.

This is not going to be an easy set of brief studies.  I expect I am not going to like it.  I expect it to encourage AND challenge.

I hope we will find that looking at what the Bible, Scripture, God’s Word says about forgiveness will alter how we see it, understand it, and practice it in an improved way.

Hold on to your hats.

The End

As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. (Genesis 50:20 ESV)

The End

In baseball, a batter might place a particular kind of hit in which he almost purposefully allows himself to get put out, but in doing so allows another player to advance around the diamond, and even score.  It is called a sacrifice.

In chess, a piece might be advanced to a particular position that causes the opponent to take that piece.  But in so doing, the sacrificed piece creates an opening that allows victory.

Every day I endure the pain of insulin injections so that my body can receive necessary sustenance. 

But at the moment of the player being thrown out, or the chessman being destroyed, or my flesh cringing at the needle… it is common and normal for the pain to outweigh the eventual gain.

And so the player might be angry at the shortstop.  The sacrificed Knight might be angry at the attacking Bishop.  My nerve ending might be angry at the syringe.

But when the whole picture is enjoyed… forgiveness is natural.

So, Joseph, seeing what God had really done, was able to forgive the terrible, hateful, inexcusable violence of his brothers.

It is trust in God that allows us to forgive our tormentors.  The God who loves His people, and is leading us towards Him.  In the best way possible, even when it is through some very difficult obstacles.

His plan is not just a sort of good plan, that cleans up the mess of our lives in the nick of time.  His plan is exactly what we need.  And we WILL see and understand that.  Even though now we do not. 

It is accepting that He, like the baseball coach, like the chess-player, like my doctor, knows what HE is doing.  And that it is good.

And knowing that can help us forgive those who seem unforgiveable.  Just like Joseph’s brothers were unforgiveable.  But really, they were.

Forgiveness is hard when my eyes see the cruelty, malice, thoughtlessness, and ill-will in those who hurt me or the ones I love.  But forgiveness is possible when I trust God’s sovereignty. 

Forgiveness is possible.

Because of God.

FanaticFanatics

So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.  (Revelation 3:16 ESV)

FanaticFanatic

Lukewarm is a strange word.  Modern English has lost the word, “Luke” from usage, but it used to mean tepid. Like your breakfast oatmeal, if you let it cool down from hot… but before it reaches cool.

Farm animals were declared dead when their flesh and blood were determined to be luke.  Cleaning water was luke when it was not warm enough to be useful.  A hearth was considered safe to leave unsupervised when it became luke.

Adding the adjective warm to the root word luke exaggerates the tepidness.  The word could have evolved as lukeluke, or warmwarm… but probably artistic concerns led folk to start to use lukewarm to define something that is an extreme of worthlessness.

The other ends of the spiritual spectrum are necessarily extreme.  Rejecting Christ (the coldness of atheism) has eternal consequences.  That rejection is not a casual, thoughtless thing.  Because the Grace of Christ is too big to be rejected casually.

Following Christ (the heat of knowing Him) has eternal consequences, too.  That decision, necessary for eternal survival, is not a casual, thoughtless thing. 

In fact, in the light of all that the gospel promises and provides, rejecting it could be declared foolishfoolish.  And union with Christ could be called fantasticfantastic.

Which pulls us into being fanaticfanatics.

Love

By this we know love, that He laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. (I John 3:16 ESV)

Love

A little known stage magician in the 19th century performed a bit of trickery in which he made a member of his audience disappear.  She reappeared suddenly in another part of the building, without time, pathway, or evidence of her travel.  He performed this act daily for two weeks.  And then he stopped. 

No one knew exactly how he did the trick.

He never revealed his method, no cynic was able to determine the means of disappearance, and even the audience member could not explain what happened.

But his stage trick began an exciting time in the history of stage magic.  Magicians performed their own version of his trick.  And over a few years, dozens of similar prestidigitations were invented, developed, and displayed.

But nothing ever matched the original.  Even to this day.

Love is extremely rare in the universe.  Certainly, reflections of Love are more common.  But Love itself, unconditional, unrewarded, selfless, costly, and full of devoted focus is almost unheard of.

But Jesus showed us Love.  And by HIS Love, we know that love exists.  And by HIS Love, we know what it looks like.  And by HIS Love we are enabled to imitate Him.

And it is not simply sacrificing one’s life that defines Love.  It is the fact that HE laid down His life.

Jesus is the original Love, that the rest of us try to copy.

The Twist

…as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures. (II Peter 3:16 ESV)

The Twist

Scripture speaks for itself.  And only Scripture is the standard by which we can hope to understand Scripture. 

Peter admits in this verse that some passages are hard to understand.  He notes that Paul and he both wrote about the same, difficult things. Understanding those hard parts of scripture is best accomplished by referencing other similar passages in the Bible, rather than twist and move the hard concepts to fit into OUR own preference.

In fact, when we put our own ideas at the same level of Scripture, we display our ignorance.

And when we disregard Scripture’s principles and applications, making God’s Word say mostly what WE want it to say, our worldview becomes imbalanced.

Some signs that we might be ignorant and unstable might be: 

            Deciding on a doctrine or truth, and then finding verses to fit our wishes. (Proof-texting)

            Ignoring passages that disagree with our opinions. (Cherry-picking)

            Skipping passages that condemn our favorite behavior. (Blindness)

            Reading some passages over and over, and neglecting others. (Narrow-minded)

Read it all.. Read it again… and listen to it.

Do not do the twist.

Reputation

…having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. (I Peter 3:16 ESV)

Reputation

Who cares what others think?

Christians should.

But not for the reason you might think.  Sometimes, it is pride that gives rise to worrying about reputation.  Sometimes, it is insecurity that gives rise to worrying about reputation.  Sometimes, we just say it is human nature for us to worry about reputation.

But Peter gives us the only good reason to be concerned about what others think of us.

A clear conscience strengthens our witness.

People mistrust politicians when past infractions are made public.  People boycott actors when past misbehaviors are made public.  People discount the achievements of heroes when past character flaws are made public.

And God’s enemies will shout with accusations and excitement when a Christian’s testimony is weakened by revealed wrongdoing.

It is not pride in self that motivates our life-choices, it is pride in Christ.  It is not insecurity in self that motivates our life-choices, it is security in Christ.  It is not human nature that motivates our life-choices, it is our transformed newness in Christ.

We will not be sinless.  But we can do the right thing, and thereby cut off the enemies’ plots. 

We will not be perfectly obedient. But we can clear our conscience through repentance and honesty, and thereby give the enemies no foothold against the gospel that comes from our mouths.

We will not be righteously righteous.  But we can daily live with the word of God in our minds and hearts, and thereby let Christ’s light outshine darkness.

And Christ will take these offerings and make them be enough.

sin and Sin

For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. (James 3:16 ESV)

sin and Sin

My laptop computer had a problem.  On the surface, the computer would randomly shut off.  The computer would freeze in screen and processor.  The computer would miss-file files.  The computer would miss-read keystrokes.

But none of those things were really the problem.

The problem, behind the scenes, was a small connection that was loose.  That connection powers the fan that keeps the computer cool.

So, the computer periodically overheated.  And thus, the computer randomly shut off, froze, and miss-filed.

The world has a problem.  It displays disorder, and vile practices.  But those things are caused by underlying jealousy and selfish ambition.  Which in turn are caused by Sin.  In other words, the sinfulness and sin are caused by Sin.

And that is why the solution to disorder and vile practices is not found in political elections, better laws, more separation from culture, or more involvement in culture.

The solution is Jesus.  Who pays for Sin and sin.  Who overcame Sin and sin. 

The world (including me) needs Jesus.

Nothing But Faith

For who were those who heard and yet rebelled? Was it not all those who left Egypt led by Moses? (Hebrews 3:16 ESV)

Nothing But Faith

The Israelites who wandered for years in the Wilderness were God’s People.  No one would look at their actions from Sinai to Canaan… and from Canaan to Canaan again and utter, “Wow, THERE are some amazingly worthy people!  No wonder God made THEM His Kingdom Citizens!”

They murmured, they complained, they disobeyed, they doubted, they rebelled.  Repeatedly.  They heard the Word of God via Moses, they saw the Power of God on Mt. Sinai.  They received God’s Law.  They heard and saw and experienced God in profound and obvious ways.

And they still rebelled.

And they still remained God’s people.  Because they believed.

It might seem like God is being ‘easy on sin.’  But He is not.  He treats ALL sin the same way.  He is wrathful towards Sin and Sinners.  He is angry at Sin and Sinners.  He is Just towards Sin and Sinners.

It is not their Rebellion that sets them apart from the rest of the world.  EVERYONE rebels.

It is their faith that sets them apart. 

It is God’s grace that sets them apart.

It is our faith and God’s grace that sets US apart, too.

And that is a good and necessary thing.  Because we, too, have heard God’s Word and we rebel.    And we are not made the apple of God’s eye by our niceness, our nice church clothes, our political theories, or our ten commandment obedience ratios. 

But we are saved by grace through faith! (Ephesians 2:8)

Author! Author! Author!

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness… (II Timothy 3:16 ESV)

Author! Author! Author!

My grandfather wrote in a journal before Journaling was Cool.  He wrote mostly about factory maintenance issues, Bible study, politics, and the best grandson in the universe.

It is worth reading, for me.

Although the mechanics of a factory in the 1960’s are not quite relevant, I still read the journal.

Although the Bible study notes are from a different theological perspective, I still read the journal.

Although the political situation has changed dramatically, I still read the journal.

And although my cousins were better grandsons than I was, I still read the journal.

I read the journal because my beloved grandfather wrote it.

Scripture is of much more practical value than my grandfather’s journal.  The teaching of the Bible is necessary and relevant.  The reproof of the Bible is accurate and beneficial.  The correction of the Bible is deep and life-changing.  The righteousness taught in the Bible leads me inexorably to my Savior, Christ Jesus.

But I read it, even more, because God inspired it.

The Bible is powered by God, instigated by God, motivated by God, and written by God.

That is the Bible’s foundational value.

Mystery and Understanding

 Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory. (I Timothy 3:16 ESV)

Mystery and Understanding

I’ve been enjoying some of Agatha Christie’s mysteries.  Usually, the detective in her books presents a Big Reveal towards the end of the book.  All of the evidence is presented, trains of thought are followed, and THE answer to “Who dun it?” is revealed.

Whether I can follow Christie’s logic is irrelevant.  Whether I like the ending is irrelevant.  Whether the other characters agree with he Last Page is irrelevant.

Because the answer to the Mystery has been revealed.

The “Mystery of Godliness” is not presented here as a Great Unknown.  A mystery, in the full sense of the word, is knowledge that has been revealed, not knowledge that is still hidden. 

Great, indeed, is the mystery of Godliness, because we understand that the answer to the mystery is Christ Jesus.

In football, it is not the throwing of the football that wins games.  It is the combination of throw and catch.

In romance, it is not the proposing of marriage that is exciting.  It is the combination of question and answer.

In dining, it is not the appetizer alone that satisfies hunger.  It is the combination of all the meal courses.

“Mystery” is another word that God’s people need to reclaim.  In Christ Jesus, ALL the unknowns of the universe are known.  In Christ Jesus, ALL the questions of the universe are answered.  In Christ Jesus, ALL the unsureness of history, destiny, and decisions are made sure.

Jesus is indeed the Great Mystery.  Because He is known.

Peace

Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all. (II Thessalonians 3:16 ESV)

Peace

I recall having financial peace when a new job provided gigantic income.  But then the job went away.

I recall having relational peace when a broken friendship was restored.  But then we fought again.

I have read of times of international peace.  Remember the War to End All Wars?  But then wars returned.

At times I have found peace with God through good choices, declarations, and intentions.  But then I sin again.

Financial peace only comes through Jesus, He owns the cattle on a thousand hills (Psalm 50:10)

Relational peace only comes through Jesus. He is the ultimate forgiver, displaying and empowering grace (Ephesians 4:32).

International peace only comes through Jesus.  He, and He alone is the prince of peace (Isaiah 9:6).

Peace with God comes only through Jesus.   Only Him (Romans 5:1).

Peace, peaceful peace, permanent peace comes through being loved by Christ, knowing Christ, and loving Christ.

His peace is not like the peace the world, my own efforts, or any event can offer.

Music

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. (Colossians 3:16 ESV)

Music

Some of you like, or prefer, some pretty odd music.  And it might appear that this verse sets some pretty tight boundaries on the music we choose.

“Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs” does not seem to leave room for a lot of the music streaming these days.

But rather than feel hemmed in by what might feel like a restrictive command, notice the way Paul develops his musical description.

If we start with the Word of Christ as our philosophical, mental, emotional, and even physical foundation, our musical choices (exactly like EVERY choice, in fact) becomes an expression of our Christ-centeredness, rather than an expression of our own tastes, experience, traditions, and likes.

And that Word of Christ is rich.  For Christians it is nothing less than our repaired heart, our delighted worldview, and our reason for everything. 

Christ’s Word is the motivation for our song.

Paul describes our options for Christ-Word music as being available in Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs.  Psalms references truths found specifically in Scripture.  Hymns references music written specifically for teaching and admonishing. 

And Spiritual Songs, despite what we tend to think, does not simply refer to shallow choruses played on Christian Radio, or sung around campfires.

Just as God reveals Himself through Special AND General Revelation, the Word of Christ can be found in music MUCH broader than what we sing in Worship on Sunday Morning.

It takes discernment, finding the Spiritual truths in music.  It takes purpose, finding the Spiritual truths in music.  It takes awareness, finding the Spiritual truths in music.

The Word of Christ can be found in the Beatles, Chopin, MC Hammer, and Merle Haggard.  But we will not find it if we choose our music based merely on our own tastes, our own preferences, our own skill-sets.

Rather, every song we sing (or hear, or play, or perform) is a wonderful opportunity to find the Word of Christ.  But determine whether the music IS Spiritual.  Determine what it teaches about Christ, perhaps hidden, perhaps obvious. 

And if Christ is not present, then do music somewhere else.

But when the Word of Christ dwells in your motivation, your desires, you reasons, then the Word of Christ can be found in all sorts of Spiritual Songs.

Then we can make a joyful noise!

Getting Rid of Weeds

 Only let us hold true to what we have attained. (Philippians 3:16 ESV)

Getting Rid of Weeds

I am not a good gardener.  When (very) occasionally I perform some yard work, deep in my heart I expect it to be finished.   I cut that grass… why is it long again?  I pulled those dandelions already… why is my yard yellow?  I cleaned out that garden bed… why are the flowers once more camouflaged by weeds?

Upkeep… keeping the weeds back once they have been torn out… keeping on keeping on… are part of our walk with Jesus as well as gardening.

If Paul wanted us to treat our lives like a garden, he might have said, “hold tight,” or “hold fast,” or “hold on.”

And if he had, we should attempt to grit our teeth, furrow our brow, and try harder… but this verse urges us strangely to ‘hold true.’

Not hold to our efforts, but hold true.

That is a reference to the One who is true.  The One, in fact, who is truth.  Jesus.

First realize and accept and rejoice that we have attained growth, progress, improvement in thought, word, and deed ONLY through Christ Jesus. Christians do not work our way into a good walk with Him.  He pulls us in.

We then can also realize and accept and rejoice that further progress in our walk will ONLY take place through Christ Jesus.

Holding true to what we have attained means keeping our eyes on Jesus, our feet in His steps, our hearts attuned to Him, our minds focused on Him.

I am not sure how this would work in my garden. 

But it is the only way to hold true in our Christian walk.