Too often I find myself looking at life from a "me-focused" perspective:
"What should I do?"
"What can I do?"
"What should I not have done?"
This tends to make me frustrated and worried, because it's a law-based perspective. I'm constantly putting myself down from not living up to my own expectations.
Obviously, living with this perspective is not the way to be content and joyful in life. Rather, I need to keep my focus on Christ:
What has he done for me?
What is he doing in my life right now?
What has he promised for my future?
In terms of my eternal state ("What has God promised for my future?"), that's something for which I fully rely on God, not on myself. I have been made of a child of God by his grace and saved through faith in his Son, Jesus Christ, which is a gift of God. My eternal salvation is not in question, and it is secure in Christ.
It's the day-to-day life that's a struggle, not my hope for the future. Satan tries to tear me (all of us) down: "You're such a terrible person. You never get anything right. God is so disappointed in you."
To counter this, we get to live in the knowledge that we are forgiven. God gladly and willingly forgives all our mistakes--even the ones we might think are unforgivable--and helps us turn away from our sins, repent, and turn back to him.
When I feel like I'm a "terrible person" or a "bad Christian," I remind myself that God sometimes works in and through me despite me! The Holy Spirit, living within us, enables us to live a life that's obedient to God and that reflects his love to those around us.
The ability to live a "good Christian life" is not something we find within ourselves. It's something God gives us freely, as a father gives good gifts to his children.
We cannot trust our feelings in this. Whether I "feel" like I'm a terrible person or not, that doesn't change what God has done for me. Our forgiveness is not based on our feelings. Neither is our salvation. We are saved and forgiven because of God's great love for us, shown in Christ's death and resurrection.
This is what I want to be the focus of my life!
Not me. Not my actions.
God--and his great love for me.
Showing posts with label forgiveness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label forgiveness. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
How to Make a Marriage Last
Throughout Scripture, I see evidence that God really likes marriage. He came up with the idea in the first place when he created Adam and Eve for each other. Jesus performed his first miracle at a wedding. And God used marriage to describe the relationship between Jesus and the body of believers.
God designed marriage to be something that takes people and makes them "one flesh." This is a bond that was never designed to be broken. God actually said in Malachi 2:16, "I hate divorce." God designed marriage to be for life!
How do we make a marriage last that long, though? The current mindset of our society suggests that people aren't even interested in a lifelong marriage. More than half of all couples who marry eventually get divorced (source). Obviously we're doing something wrong if the average marriage has such a short lifespan.
Now, I understand that there are some good reasons to get divorced. Actually, I think there are two: abuse and infidelity. When one spouse hurts the other and/or refuses to remain faithful, it's reasonable for the other spouse to divorce them. (Even in such cases, there can be reconciliation and healing, although that's not always possible.)
But I'm not talking about why a marriage could end. How do we keep that from happening? What can we do to make a marriage last?
I think that in order to keep their marriage strong and healthy for a whole lifetime, couples should avoid making two fatal assumptions: One, that love is a feeling, and two, that marriage is something a husband and wife can do on their own.
Never fall into the trap of thinking that love is a feeling. Attraction is a feeling. Lust is a feeling. Affection is a feeling. Love--real, enduring love--is a choice. It is a decision, and it is a commitment.
Sometimes, on those rare occasions when we're really upset with each other, my husband or I will say to the other, "I love you, but I do not like you very much right now." Love lasts through petty arguments, through financial problems, car breakdowns, difficult pregnancies, whining toddlers, and raising teenagers.
Why?
Because love is NOT something we find within ourselves. Love is a gift from God, and it finds its sole source in him. God loves us SO much that his love flows through us to those around us. John wrote in his first epistle, "We love because he first loved us." (1 John 4:19) We are only able to love each other because God loves us!
Furthermore, we are able to continue loving others because God gives us the ability to do so. Not only did he set an example for us of what love is, he gives us the strength to love because that is something that pleases him (Philippians 4:13).
We do not look to ourselves or our spouse for the strength to keep loving them, including during those times when they don't deserve it or aren't acting loving toward us. We look to God, who knows our needs, hears our prayers, and continues to fill us with his love.
This brings me to the second trap: never think that your marriage is something you and your spouse can do well on your own. A marriage should always be a team of three: you, your spouse, and God. Remember, God created marriage and designed it to last, and he wants your marriage to last a lifetime!
He is willing and able to give you and your spouse the tools you need to build a solid, lasting marriage. Those tools, gifts from him, are numerous (patience, wisdom, kindness, a sense of humor, etc.), but besides love, I think the most important is forgiveness.
As God gives us the ability to love, he also enables us to forgive. True forgiveness is only possible when we realize that we have been forgiven. My husband and I are both sinners for whom Jesus died. He has forgiven our sins, and paid the price for the sins of the whole world. Now that we have been forgiven, we can forgive one another. No sin we commit against each other is bigger than the ones Jesus has already forgiven us for!
So how do you make a marriage last? Look to Jesus. Find in him a love that is so incredible it will flow from him, to you, and to your spouse. Realize that he has forgiven you of every wrong thing you ever did or will do, and realize that he gives you the ability to forgive as you have been forgiven. Make him the center of your marriage--let everything in your life find its focus in Christ. It's with his love, forgiveness, strength, and grace that you can build a marriage that will last a lifetime.
Linking with Messy Marriage, A Wise Woman Builds Her Home, To Love, Honor and Vacuum
How do we make a marriage last that long, though? The current mindset of our society suggests that people aren't even interested in a lifelong marriage. More than half of all couples who marry eventually get divorced (source). Obviously we're doing something wrong if the average marriage has such a short lifespan.
Now, I understand that there are some good reasons to get divorced. Actually, I think there are two: abuse and infidelity. When one spouse hurts the other and/or refuses to remain faithful, it's reasonable for the other spouse to divorce them. (Even in such cases, there can be reconciliation and healing, although that's not always possible.)
But I'm not talking about why a marriage could end. How do we keep that from happening? What can we do to make a marriage last?
I think that in order to keep their marriage strong and healthy for a whole lifetime, couples should avoid making two fatal assumptions: One, that love is a feeling, and two, that marriage is something a husband and wife can do on their own.
Never fall into the trap of thinking that love is a feeling. Attraction is a feeling. Lust is a feeling. Affection is a feeling. Love--real, enduring love--is a choice. It is a decision, and it is a commitment.
Sometimes, on those rare occasions when we're really upset with each other, my husband or I will say to the other, "I love you, but I do not like you very much right now." Love lasts through petty arguments, through financial problems, car breakdowns, difficult pregnancies, whining toddlers, and raising teenagers.
Why?
Because love is NOT something we find within ourselves. Love is a gift from God, and it finds its sole source in him. God loves us SO much that his love flows through us to those around us. John wrote in his first epistle, "We love because he first loved us." (1 John 4:19) We are only able to love each other because God loves us!
Furthermore, we are able to continue loving others because God gives us the ability to do so. Not only did he set an example for us of what love is, he gives us the strength to love because that is something that pleases him (Philippians 4:13).
We do not look to ourselves or our spouse for the strength to keep loving them, including during those times when they don't deserve it or aren't acting loving toward us. We look to God, who knows our needs, hears our prayers, and continues to fill us with his love.
This brings me to the second trap: never think that your marriage is something you and your spouse can do well on your own. A marriage should always be a team of three: you, your spouse, and God. Remember, God created marriage and designed it to last, and he wants your marriage to last a lifetime!
He is willing and able to give you and your spouse the tools you need to build a solid, lasting marriage. Those tools, gifts from him, are numerous (patience, wisdom, kindness, a sense of humor, etc.), but besides love, I think the most important is forgiveness.
As God gives us the ability to love, he also enables us to forgive. True forgiveness is only possible when we realize that we have been forgiven. My husband and I are both sinners for whom Jesus died. He has forgiven our sins, and paid the price for the sins of the whole world. Now that we have been forgiven, we can forgive one another. No sin we commit against each other is bigger than the ones Jesus has already forgiven us for!
So how do you make a marriage last? Look to Jesus. Find in him a love that is so incredible it will flow from him, to you, and to your spouse. Realize that he has forgiven you of every wrong thing you ever did or will do, and realize that he gives you the ability to forgive as you have been forgiven. Make him the center of your marriage--let everything in your life find its focus in Christ. It's with his love, forgiveness, strength, and grace that you can build a marriage that will last a lifetime.
Linking with Messy Marriage, A Wise Woman Builds Her Home, To Love, Honor and Vacuum
Monday, April 22, 2013
Sexuality: What it should be {Marriage Monday}
Mondays are "Marriage Mondays" here at Living in the Light! If you're new here (especially if you're visiting from the A to Z Challenge)--welcome!! I'm so happy you're here. Check out my "About Me" page HERE, some of my favorite posts on marriage HERE, and my two most popular posts HERE and HERE.
Today's letter for the A to Z Challenge is "S." And on Mondays I write about marriage. So what better topic for today than sex?
(By the way, no worries about graphic content here... my mother reads my blog!)
I believe that our society has a perverted view of sex. This should be a fairly obvious fact. Sex outside of marriage is so normal it's practically encouraged, homosexuality is legal in several states, pornography is way too easily available, and adultery within marriage is so common that it's joked about on television shows and in movies. Half of all marriages nowadays end in divorce.
Obviously, our culture is doing something very, very wrong when it comes to sex.
For the Bible-believing Christian, the reason for this is quite obvious as well. As a society in general, we don't do sex God's way anymore. Celibacy outside of marriage is no longer encouraged as it used to be. Faithfulness within marriage isn't stressed as essential. Sexual promiscuity doesn't garner the disapproval it once did. And as a result of Hollywood and the media as a whole, poor examples of what sex should be are displayed on our TV and computer screens every day.
I'm here to tell you that sex God's way is fantastic. No, you don't need the details. But sex, reserved for marriage and kept sacred within marriage, is incredibly fulfilling. It contributes to the unity of husband and wife in a beautiful way. It is the means by which God has provided for the procreation of children. It is a source of great delight for husband and wife. Sex within the bonds of marriage is a beautiful, blessed thing.
Satan does everything he can to make us forget that. He has used the media to great effect to convey the idea that sex should be whatever we want it to be--that it's all about making ourselves feel good, so we can do whatever we want to gain our own pleasure. He has twisted the Biblical design for sexuality to make it into something it was never intended to be.
When God created humanity, he made one man and one woman and gave them to each other with the command to "be fruitful and multiply." Sex is reserved for marriage, and within marriage it is to be limited to the husband and the wife.
Sex is not dirty or gross. We don't need to talk about it clandestinely. It shouldn't be cause for blushing and giggles when it comes up in conversation. Parents, please talk openly with your children about sex. Don't give them details they don't need, of course, but make sure they aren't afraid to ask you about it. Instill in them the understanding that sex, when used as God intended, is a beautiful gift to be cherished.
Also, I think that as the Church as a whole, we need to stop treating sex outside of marriage as if it's the unforgivable sin. It's not. It's a serious sin, to be sure, and it can come with all sorts of major consequences--sexually transmitted diseases, spiritual brokenness, damaged relationships, and disruption of lives. But just like any other sin, where there is repentance, there is always forgiveness. Each of us succumbs to temptation of one kind or another. Sexual temptation is no different. But we can't treat sexual sins as if they're "no big deal," either. They are a big deal. They are in direct contradiction to God's laws. But God is always willing to forgive the repentant believer, and he is amazing at giving second (and third, and fourth...) chances.
So let's celebrate God's gift of sex! But let's keep it within marriage.
Let's tell our children how great sex is within marriage... and let's help lead them to repentance, and then forgive them, if and when they step outside God's bounds for marriage.
Sex is a beautiful thing. And that's why I'm not afraid to write about it.
Linking with: The Alabaster Jar, What Joy is Mine, A Proverbs 31 Wife, The Better Mom, The Modest Mom, Yes They're All Ours , To Love, Honor and Vacuum, Messy Marriage
Linking with: The Alabaster Jar, What Joy is Mine, A Proverbs 31 Wife, The Better Mom, The Modest Mom, Yes They're All Ours , To Love, Honor and Vacuum, Messy Marriage
Monday, April 8, 2013
God is Number One
Mondays are Marriage Mondays at Living in the Light. If you're a new visitor (especially if you're visiting from the Challenge)--welcome!! I'm so happy you're here. Check out my "About Me" page HERE, some of my favorite posts on marriage HERE, and my two most popular posts HERE and HERE.
If I was ever asked to give just one tip for making marriage great, it would be this:
Make God #1.
In your marriage, in your life, in your thoughts and actions.
When God gave the Ten Commandments, he began like this:
If I was ever asked to give just one tip for making marriage great, it would be this:
Make God #1.
In your marriage, in your life, in your thoughts and actions.
When God gave the Ten Commandments, he began like this:
And God spoke all these words, saying,
“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
“You shall have no other gods before me." Genesis 20:1-3
Having "no other gods" doesn't simply mean not worshiping false idols or the gods of other religions. It means not putting anything in one's life before God--and that includes one's spouse!
In the book of Matthew, a lawyer questioned Jesus and asked
“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he [Jesus] said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 22:36-40
What are we to do above everything? Love God with all our "heart, soul, and mind." In other words, with everything we have in us. And second, we are to love those around us as we love our spouses.
I don't want this to be all about what we do. Because ultimately, life isn't about us. Marriage isn't about us. It's about God. Life is a gift from him. Marriage is, in my humble opinion, one of the greatest gifts God's given us in this life. In marriage, God has given us a picture of the kind of sacrificial, selfless love he has for us. Of course, marriage doesn't always perfectly reflect that love--in fact, no marriage is ever perfect. That's because all marriages are between two sinful human beings. But God shows us grace, and blesses us despite our failures and shortcomings. He continues to pour out his love abundantly on us and our spouse, even when we don't deserve it. And God's love for us enables us to love one another.
The best thing any person can do for their marriage is to focus on God. Our spouse will fail us, and we will fail them. But God is always faithful, and we can trust that when we do fail, he will forgive us and renew us and our marriage.
What do you think? Is this a helpful suggestion for marriage? What's the one best tip for marriage you would give?
Linking with: The Better Mom, The Modest Mom, Yes They're All Ours, What Joy is Mine, The Alabaster Jar, A Proverbs 31 Wife
Linking with: The Better Mom, The Modest Mom, Yes They're All Ours, What Joy is Mine, The Alabaster Jar, A Proverbs 31 Wife
Saturday, April 6, 2013
Forgiveness, and why it's amazing.
On Saturdays I'll be talking about a "serious" topic for the A to Z Challenge. If you're a new visitor (especially if you're visiting from the Challenge)--welcome!! I'm so happy you're here. Check out my "About Me" page HERE, some of my favorite posts on marriage HERE, and my two most popular posts HERE and HERE.
Of all the blessings of being a child of God, forgiveness is one of the ones I'm most thankful for (besides salvation!), but it's the one I often find hardest to accept.
The concept is a difficult one for our minds to wrap around sometimes. Here's how God's forgiveness works: We sin. Jesus died to pay the price for that sin. We confess our sin and our desire to repent, to turn away from it. God says, okay, your sin is gone. My Son eliminated it. It's no longer on your record, I'm not going to remember it, and now you get to try again, and I'll help you.
Sometimes there are consequences, even when we are forgiven, but the guilt is gone.
What Satan often tries to do (and sometimes succeeds) is to make us think that we're still guilty. Or that we have to do something to earn forgiveness.
We're not. And we don't. Forgiveness is a gift. It's not something we deserve, it's not something we earned because we're good enough, or because we're faithful enough.
We have forgiveness--we NEED it--because we're not good enough. That's why it's a gift. It's all about grace: God's undeserved kindness toward us, because of His Son Jesus.
Another amazing thing about forgiveness is that we get to share it. Because we've been forgiven, we are free to forgive others.
Sin is a part of life. It's inevitable. It's inescapable. But IT HAS BEEN CONQUERED. Christ's death destroyed forever the power of Satan, sin, and death. We still fight the battles against our sinful natures, but the war has already been won. Because of this, we have the ability to pronounce forgiveness to others. Because we have been shown God's grace, we can show grace to those who sin against us. And we can tell them the good news of God's forgiveness.
It's funny, I struggle with remembering that I'm forgiven, and with forgiving myself. But I have no trouble reminding others that THEY are forgiven! Sometimes I need to preach to myself as much as I need to encourage others.
That's when I turn to God's Word, and the words in 1 John chapter 1:
"If we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. But if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:8-9)
Of all the blessings of being a child of God, forgiveness is one of the ones I'm most thankful for (besides salvation!), but it's the one I often find hardest to accept.
The concept is a difficult one for our minds to wrap around sometimes. Here's how God's forgiveness works: We sin. Jesus died to pay the price for that sin. We confess our sin and our desire to repent, to turn away from it. God says, okay, your sin is gone. My Son eliminated it. It's no longer on your record, I'm not going to remember it, and now you get to try again, and I'll help you.
Sometimes there are consequences, even when we are forgiven, but the guilt is gone.
What Satan often tries to do (and sometimes succeeds) is to make us think that we're still guilty. Or that we have to do something to earn forgiveness.
We're not. And we don't. Forgiveness is a gift. It's not something we deserve, it's not something we earned because we're good enough, or because we're faithful enough.
We have forgiveness--we NEED it--because we're not good enough. That's why it's a gift. It's all about grace: God's undeserved kindness toward us, because of His Son Jesus.
Another amazing thing about forgiveness is that we get to share it. Because we've been forgiven, we are free to forgive others.
Sin is a part of life. It's inevitable. It's inescapable. But IT HAS BEEN CONQUERED. Christ's death destroyed forever the power of Satan, sin, and death. We still fight the battles against our sinful natures, but the war has already been won. Because of this, we have the ability to pronounce forgiveness to others. Because we have been shown God's grace, we can show grace to those who sin against us. And we can tell them the good news of God's forgiveness.
It's funny, I struggle with remembering that I'm forgiven, and with forgiving myself. But I have no trouble reminding others that THEY are forgiven! Sometimes I need to preach to myself as much as I need to encourage others.
That's when I turn to God's Word, and the words in 1 John chapter 1:
"If we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. But if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:8-9)
Monday, April 1, 2013
Attitude {Like that of Christ Jesus}
Welcome to visitors from the A to Z Challenge! Please leave a comment to let me know you're here, and check out other posts that pique your interest! Mondays are Marriage Mondays at Living in the Light.
"Don't give me that attitude, young lady!" That's what comes to my mind when I hear the word attitude. Of course, when my mother said that to me growing up, it was definitely always because I deserved it! But the word seems to often have a negative connotation.
According to dictionary.com, the word simply means "manner, disposition, feeling, position, etc., with regard to a person or thing; tendency or orientation, especially of the mind."
I want to consider what kind of attitude we have in marriage. How is my attitude toward my husband? How is yours toward your spouse? How is your "disposition, feeling, position, etc." when it comes to marriage?
My attitude can sometimes be loving, especially when my husband has been sweet and helpful, when he hasn't left dirty dishes or laundry lying around, when he's been affectionate. But in that case, my attitude is dependent on my husband's actions toward me. That's reasonable, I suppose, but is it right?
Let's see what Scripture has to say about it.
This, Paul wrote to the Philippians, is the attitude we are to have: that of humility, considering others better than ourselves. Paul doesn't advocate self-loathing, but he is encouraging his readers (that's us!) to put others first.
I have already found from experience that when I do this in my marriage, my husband's and my relationship greatly benefits from it. When each of us is seeking to serve the other person, instead of paying attention to only our own needs and wants, we're both happier. When we act in a selfless manner toward the other, we both feel loved so very much, because in doing that we're demonstrating that each of us is the most important person in the other's life.
It might seem counter-intuitive to live in such a way. "Gotta look out for number one," after all. But following what comes naturally doesn't always work out. By nature we're sinful, selfish human beings. It's because of Jesus' sacrifice in our place that we have the ability to live as he did--selflessly. Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice for us: his own life. He loves us so much that he was willing to suffer indescribable humiliation and agony, so that we could be forgiven--and so that we could imitate him.
By God's grace, we're able to show each other Christ-like humility and selflessness--in all our relationships, but especially in marriage.
I'm going to keep working on this in my own marriage. Try it for yourself! See what happens when you start putting your spouse first. The results just may be even better than you thought.
I'd like to give a shout-out to Arlee Bird, the fantastic blogger who started this A to Z Challenge three years ago! Head over to his blog and say hello!
Linking today: A Proverbs 31 Wife, What Joy is Mine, The Better Mom, Yes They Are All Ours, Countrified Hicks
"Don't give me that attitude, young lady!" That's what comes to my mind when I hear the word attitude. Of course, when my mother said that to me growing up, it was definitely always because I deserved it! But the word seems to often have a negative connotation.
According to dictionary.com, the word simply means "manner, disposition, feeling, position, etc., with regard to a person or thing; tendency or orientation, especially of the mind."
I want to consider what kind of attitude we have in marriage. How is my attitude toward my husband? How is yours toward your spouse? How is your "disposition, feeling, position, etc." when it comes to marriage?
My attitude can sometimes be loving, especially when my husband has been sweet and helpful, when he hasn't left dirty dishes or laundry lying around, when he's been affectionate. But in that case, my attitude is dependent on my husband's actions toward me. That's reasonable, I suppose, but is it right?
Let's see what Scripture has to say about it.
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death--even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:3-11 (NIV)Jesus Christ, God's Son, God himself, humbled himself to the ultimate point. We just celebrated yesterday his resurrection from the dead--but he wouldn't have had to rise if he hadn't allowed himself to be humiliated and killed on a cross.
This, Paul wrote to the Philippians, is the attitude we are to have: that of humility, considering others better than ourselves. Paul doesn't advocate self-loathing, but he is encouraging his readers (that's us!) to put others first.
I have already found from experience that when I do this in my marriage, my husband's and my relationship greatly benefits from it. When each of us is seeking to serve the other person, instead of paying attention to only our own needs and wants, we're both happier. When we act in a selfless manner toward the other, we both feel loved so very much, because in doing that we're demonstrating that each of us is the most important person in the other's life.
It might seem counter-intuitive to live in such a way. "Gotta look out for number one," after all. But following what comes naturally doesn't always work out. By nature we're sinful, selfish human beings. It's because of Jesus' sacrifice in our place that we have the ability to live as he did--selflessly. Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice for us: his own life. He loves us so much that he was willing to suffer indescribable humiliation and agony, so that we could be forgiven--and so that we could imitate him.
By God's grace, we're able to show each other Christ-like humility and selflessness--in all our relationships, but especially in marriage.
I'm going to keep working on this in my own marriage. Try it for yourself! See what happens when you start putting your spouse first. The results just may be even better than you thought.
I'd like to give a shout-out to Arlee Bird, the fantastic blogger who started this A to Z Challenge three years ago! Head over to his blog and say hello!
Linking today: A Proverbs 31 Wife, What Joy is Mine, The Better Mom, Yes They Are All Ours, Countrified Hicks
Friday, March 29, 2013
The best of all Good days
This is the best of all good days.
It's Good Friday. The day when Christians all over the world remember the suffering and death of Jesus Christ.
Perhaps this doesn't seem like it should be a good day. It certainly wouldn't have seemed good for the followers of Jesus. Their Lord, the one they believed to be the Messiah, had been betrayed, arrested, tortured, mocked, and condemned to death. Finally he was nailed to a cross.
And he died. He really, truly died.
It seemed as if the Messiah wasn't who everyone thought he had been. "If you are the Son of God," the soldiers and religious leaders taunted, "come down from there!"
I'm sure his mother, his disciples, those who loved and followed him, wondered why he didn't come down from the cross.
Why he endured unimaginable suffering. Why he responded to their angry jeers with sad silence.
They couldn't know, then, the magnitude of what he was doing. The Messiah, the Savior, suffered in near-silence, speaking only to utter words of forgiveness, words to fulfill prophecies made about him hundreds of years before... with the weight of the world's sin on his sinless shoulders.
He suffered so that we would not have to. He took on himself what we deserve and endured separation from God himself so that we would never experience such grief, such guilt.
That's why today is called Good...
Because we know that on another Friday, so long ago, Jesus paid the price for our sins. He took our guilt and punishment on himself so we would know his forgiveness. So that we would not die eternally, but would instead spend eternity with him in heaven.
It's Good Friday. The day when Christians all over the world remember the suffering and death of Jesus Christ.
Perhaps this doesn't seem like it should be a good day. It certainly wouldn't have seemed good for the followers of Jesus. Their Lord, the one they believed to be the Messiah, had been betrayed, arrested, tortured, mocked, and condemned to death. Finally he was nailed to a cross.
And he died. He really, truly died.
It seemed as if the Messiah wasn't who everyone thought he had been. "If you are the Son of God," the soldiers and religious leaders taunted, "come down from there!"
I'm sure his mother, his disciples, those who loved and followed him, wondered why he didn't come down from the cross.
Why he endured unimaginable suffering. Why he responded to their angry jeers with sad silence.
They couldn't know, then, the magnitude of what he was doing. The Messiah, the Savior, suffered in near-silence, speaking only to utter words of forgiveness, words to fulfill prophecies made about him hundreds of years before... with the weight of the world's sin on his sinless shoulders.
He suffered so that we would not have to. He took on himself what we deserve and endured separation from God himself so that we would never experience such grief, such guilt.
That's why today is called Good...
Image credit: Iamnee via www.freedigitalphotos.net
Because we know that on another Friday, so long ago, Jesus paid the price for our sins. He took our guilt and punishment on himself so we would know his forgiveness. So that we would not die eternally, but would instead spend eternity with him in heaven.
What wondrous love is this, O my soul, O my soul,
What wondrous love is this, O my soul?
What wondrous love is this,
That caused the Lord of bliss
To bear the dreadful curse for my soul, for my soul,
To bear the dreadful curse for my soul?
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
How I was saved, and how you were, too!
This post was inspired by this salvation story on natashametzler.com. Reading Natasha's post and responding to it got me thinking about my own salvation story!
The story of my salvation doesn't start with me. It starts with God. God, who created heaven and earth and everything in them. God, who from the beginning of the world had a plan to conquer sin and death (Genesis 3:15). God, who sent His Son to earth to become a human baby, who would grow into a sinless human man, who would die for the sins of the whole world (John 3:16).
Image Credit: bela_kiefer via www.freedigitalphotos.net
My salvation starts with the incredible love of God. It's because God loves us--all people--so much that He has a plan for all of us to spend eternity with Him.
He gives us faith. We become His children. We believe in His Son, Jesus Christ, and the fact that Jesus' death paid the price for all the wrong we ever do. We live a brief life on earth, obeying God and loving Him according to His Word and in response for the gifts He constantly gives us (in addition to the gift of faith in Him! Wow!). Then, when our sinful, earthly bodies die, our sinless souls are united with God in heaven, and spend eternity joyfully with Him in paradise.
This is what God did for me. He made me his child just four weeks after I was born into this world. In my baptism, the Holy Spirit came into my heart by the power of God's Word, and gave me faith. It wasn't necessary for me to understand what that meant, because my saving isn't about me. It's not anything I do. God saves us, God makes us His children. It's kind of like how we become our parents' children. We don't have any choice to become their children. And they don't love us because of anything we do. They love us simply because they are our parents. God loves us because He is our Father.
So I became God's child through the miracle of baptism. As I grew, my parents taught me, using God's Word, how much God loves me, and what Jesus did for me. And I knew for sure that I was God's child. I knew that whenever I died, I would be in heaven with Jesus. I knew that I was sinful, and did bad things, but I also knew that God forgave those sins when I asked Him to, just as my parents told me they forgave me when I disobeyed them.
Now that I'm an adult, I'm still constantly learning what it means to be God's child. How does that play out in my everyday life? God reminds me daily to trust Him in everything. He has to keep teaching me how to accept His forgiveness, because I struggle with remembering that. Satan is constantly working to try to pull me away from God, but I know that because the Holy Spirit lives in my heart, Satan can't hurt me. Jesus has already defeated him and his power, and I have nothing to fear.
So my salvation story doesn't end with me, either. It ends with the ultimate gift from God--eternal life in heaven. It will end when my sinful body dies, and my eternal, holy, sinless soul is taken to heaven by Jesus, where I will live with Him forever. There no one will be sad or in pain. There will be no death, no grief, no discomfort. There will be joy, peace, love, and light, and it will be more wonderful than we can ever imagine, until we actually get there.
God wants everyone to be in heaven with Him. He has created you just like He did me, and He loves you, too, more than you will ever understand. I hope you know my Jesus, too, and know that He is your Lord and Savior--and how much He loves you. You can spend eternity in heaven, too, because Jesus paid the price for your sins as well as mine. Try saying this to God, your Father--you have nothing to lose, and everything to gain:
"Dear God, I know you love me. I know you sent your Son, Jesus, to pay the price for my sins. I acknowledge Jesus as my Lord and Savior. Thank you for giving me faith in you and in what Jesus has done for me. Now, as your child, I give my whole life to you."
Linking up today: A Holy Experience, Upward Not Inward, Deep Roots at Home, Raising Homemakers, We are THAT Family
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Forgiven: Knowing it, believing it, living it.
I'd like to do a little soul-baring with you, my dear readers. Perhaps one of you has had an experience like mine, so I hope that sharing my own story will bless you, as well.
For much of my life I've had what you might call a legalistic mindset. I've always understood about grace, don't get me wrong. I know Jesus died for my sins, I know that because of him I'll have eternal life, I know that God has forgiven every sin I've ever committed or will ever commit. I know I don't have to DO anything at all for my salvation--Jesus has done it all.
But I struggle with applying what I know in my head, to what I truly believe in my heart. I've never struggled with faith in Christ, but I've struggled with letting go of my sin. With accepting the fact that God's forgiveness erases that sin from my life.
It's not like I've done anything "majorly wrong." I've never done drugs, smoked or gotten drunk. I was a virgin when I got married. I've avoided swearing and bad language. I've never broken a federal law. My parents raised me to be a good, honest, obedient and law-abiding person.
But I'm just as sinful as anyone else, and I also happen to have a bit of a "guilt complex." Or, as my husband says, an overly active conscience. I struggle with letting go of my own sins.
I struggle with forgiving myself, and accepting that through Christ, God has forgiven me.
Does this sound like you? Have you ever had a struggle like this?
Whether you have or not, perhaps what I've learned will be helpful for you.
Since I started dating Joshua, he has been a powerful voice of forgiveness in my life. He easily and quickly forgives me when I sin against him and ask his forgiveness. He's reminded me time and again of God's forgiveness. And I'll remember that, and know it, for a while. But then that little voice inside me pulls up a wordless doubt, one that darkens the cheerfulness I usually feel, and makes me feel sorry for myself. "I'm just not good enough. I'll always have to struggle with this. The consequences will always be part of my life. I don't deserve forgiveness."
I read a blog post today where the author talked about forgetting. She asked God to remove memories of past sins, so that she wouldn't dwell on them anymore. This, I realized, is what I needed to do-forget about those sins. Dwelling on my sins, hanging on to that guilt, and refusing to forgive myself, is actually sin in itself. It's letting the law take over my life, instead of filling my life with the Gospel. Then I read another blog post with a similar message, and tonight Joshua and I watched the movie October Baby. It's about a teenage girl who discovers that she's adopted...and that her birth mother had attempted to have her aborted, but the abortion failed. The girl also had a twin brother, and although they were both born alive, her brother died. She struggled to forgive herself for living when her brother died, to forgive her birth mother for trying to kill her, and to forgive her adoptive parents because they had kept the truth from her for a long time.
In the movie there is a powerful message of forgiveness--that because God has forgiven us, we have the ability and the power to choose to forgive others. Including ourselves.
As the movie was ending I dissolved in tears...because for the first time in a long time, I felt truly at peace with myself. I realized that I was damaging myself by refusing forgiveness. And so I let go. I let go of the guilt I've been clinging to. What a self-centered thing I had been doing. It's not like it consumed my life...but it would come up at times, and I wouldn't just let it go. But I believe God spoke to my heart today. And so I've let go of the past, those sins that no one else would blame me for but for which I've been blaming myself. The sins that Satan's been using to hurt my heart.
I read a Scripture verse on a blog today, and it applied so well to my blog, but also to God's gentle message to me today. It's at the top of this page. Scroll up and read it.
It's especially the last sentence of that verse that really means a lot to me right now.
I also love these other words of God about forgiveness:
What God's given me is eternal life. And grace, forgiveness, and everlasting love.
There is no reason for me to hang onto my guilt. There is no reason to deny myself forgiveness, not when God has forgiven me long ago. I am a saved, baptized, forgiven child of God.
And just as Jesus died to save me from MY sins, so he died to save you from yours. Remember that verse at the top of the page? That's for you, too. When we repent of our sins--turn away from them--God is quick to forgive, and remind us of how much he loves us.
And he loves us so very much.
I hope you know that. If you don't, please talk to me, or talk to a pastor or another Christian you know, who is walking with Jesus. If you don't believe in Jesus in your personal Lord and Savior, he wants you to, so much! He wants you to know that you are his child.
It's amazing how much Jesus loves us. I've been reminded of that today, yet again, and I hope you know that in your heart, too.
Linking with: Growing Home, Heavenly Homemakers, Time-Warp Wife, Exceptionalistic
Image courtesy of David Castillo, www.freedigitalphotos.net
But I struggle with applying what I know in my head, to what I truly believe in my heart. I've never struggled with faith in Christ, but I've struggled with letting go of my sin. With accepting the fact that God's forgiveness erases that sin from my life.
It's not like I've done anything "majorly wrong." I've never done drugs, smoked or gotten drunk. I was a virgin when I got married. I've avoided swearing and bad language. I've never broken a federal law. My parents raised me to be a good, honest, obedient and law-abiding person.
But I'm just as sinful as anyone else, and I also happen to have a bit of a "guilt complex." Or, as my husband says, an overly active conscience. I struggle with letting go of my own sins.
I struggle with forgiving myself, and accepting that through Christ, God has forgiven me.
Does this sound like you? Have you ever had a struggle like this?
Whether you have or not, perhaps what I've learned will be helpful for you.
Since I started dating Joshua, he has been a powerful voice of forgiveness in my life. He easily and quickly forgives me when I sin against him and ask his forgiveness. He's reminded me time and again of God's forgiveness. And I'll remember that, and know it, for a while. But then that little voice inside me pulls up a wordless doubt, one that darkens the cheerfulness I usually feel, and makes me feel sorry for myself. "I'm just not good enough. I'll always have to struggle with this. The consequences will always be part of my life. I don't deserve forgiveness."
I read a blog post today where the author talked about forgetting. She asked God to remove memories of past sins, so that she wouldn't dwell on them anymore. This, I realized, is what I needed to do-forget about those sins. Dwelling on my sins, hanging on to that guilt, and refusing to forgive myself, is actually sin in itself. It's letting the law take over my life, instead of filling my life with the Gospel. Then I read another blog post with a similar message, and tonight Joshua and I watched the movie October Baby. It's about a teenage girl who discovers that she's adopted...and that her birth mother had attempted to have her aborted, but the abortion failed. The girl also had a twin brother, and although they were both born alive, her brother died. She struggled to forgive herself for living when her brother died, to forgive her birth mother for trying to kill her, and to forgive her adoptive parents because they had kept the truth from her for a long time.
In the movie there is a powerful message of forgiveness--that because God has forgiven us, we have the ability and the power to choose to forgive others. Including ourselves.
As the movie was ending I dissolved in tears...because for the first time in a long time, I felt truly at peace with myself. I realized that I was damaging myself by refusing forgiveness. And so I let go. I let go of the guilt I've been clinging to. What a self-centered thing I had been doing. It's not like it consumed my life...but it would come up at times, and I wouldn't just let it go. But I believe God spoke to my heart today. And so I've let go of the past, those sins that no one else would blame me for but for which I've been blaming myself. The sins that Satan's been using to hurt my heart.
I read a Scripture verse on a blog today, and it applied so well to my blog, but also to God's gentle message to me today. It's at the top of this page. Scroll up and read it.
It's especially the last sentence of that verse that really means a lot to me right now.
I also love these other words of God about forgiveness:
"I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' because they will all know me, from the least of the greatest," declares the Lord. "For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more." Jeremiah 31:33b-34
The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust." Psalm 103:8-14God doesn't remember my sins. Jesus' sacrifice on the cross took care of that. God has removed my sins from me; they are no longer part of my life. He is gracious, not "fair"--I don't get what I deserve. I deserve eternal punishment.
What God's given me is eternal life. And grace, forgiveness, and everlasting love.
There is no reason for me to hang onto my guilt. There is no reason to deny myself forgiveness, not when God has forgiven me long ago. I am a saved, baptized, forgiven child of God.
And just as Jesus died to save me from MY sins, so he died to save you from yours. Remember that verse at the top of the page? That's for you, too. When we repent of our sins--turn away from them--God is quick to forgive, and remind us of how much he loves us.
And he loves us so very much.
I hope you know that. If you don't, please talk to me, or talk to a pastor or another Christian you know, who is walking with Jesus. If you don't believe in Jesus in your personal Lord and Savior, he wants you to, so much! He wants you to know that you are his child.
It's amazing how much Jesus loves us. I've been reminded of that today, yet again, and I hope you know that in your heart, too.
Linking with: Growing Home, Heavenly Homemakers, Time-Warp Wife, Exceptionalistic
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Saved by Grace. This is what matters.
My friends, it's a blessed but weary morning. Most days I'm ready to jump out of bed and start my Bible reading, make breakfast, write a post if I haven't already.
Today I'd love to go back to bed, but this house needs my attention, and so do you. And you and I both need a reminder of the big picture--what life is all about, what the most important thing is. (And I'll tell you what, it's not the fact that I have a lot of picking up to do around here.)
It's this:
Ephesians:
2 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body[a] and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.[b] 4 But[c] God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. [Emphases added] [Source]
This is what matters. We can't expect perfection from ourselves, because we're not perfect. We needed saving--which means at one point, we were lost. Specifically, dead (see v. 1). But in our baptisms, God made us one with Christ--one in his death, and one in his resurrection, so both Jesus' sacrifice and righteousness count for us, too. God made us alive with Christ. He has given us the promise of eternal life with Jesus, and because of his grace has given us faith (again, through our baptism and in the Word) which saves us.
Can I add a note here? Perhaps you don't believe the truth of these things. You might have heard about them, but not made them a part of your life. If you don't know who Jesus is, or if you've heard of him but don't believe in him as your Lord and Savior, please, email me (jaimie dot ramsey at cune dot org) and we'll talk. This message is for you, too, because Jesus also died for and loves YOU!
Our salvation is not contingent upon anything we do or don't do. That would make even salvation from sin into a law. But it's not.
Our salvation is entirely about Jesus, and what HE has done for us.
We are children of God and the Holy Spirit lives in our hearts, enabling us to live obedient lives to God. Because of Jesus' sacrifice on our behalf, God no longer looks at us and sees sinners. He looks at us and sees Jesus. He knows we're sinful, but he also knows Jesus has already paid the price for that sin. He has already forgiven us for everything we have done or will ever do that is against his will for us. There is no more price to be paid, no more punishment to be taken. Oh, we experience the temporal consequences of bad decisions. Sometimes those consequences are acutely painful. But they don't affect our eternal state--our soul has been ransomed by Jesus Christ, and nothing in this world can touch it.
Ah...yes. This is what's important. God doesn't love me more if my house is clean. He doesn't look at my homemaking skills or my good grades and say, "Well done, Jaimie, you've just made your salvation more sure." That would be ridiculous. God doesn't depend on us for our own salvation. He just asks that we don't throw away the faith in his Son that he's graciously given us. And I'm not about to do that.
Today, you and I can rest in the knowledge that God loves us, no matter what our house looks like, no matter how we do in our job or our studies or whatever vocation we're in. Remember that you are saved by grace through faith, and this is NOT of your own doing. It's a gift from God.
Linking today with Upward not Inward, Exceptionalistic, Deep Roots at Home, Raising Homemakers
Today I'd love to go back to bed, but this house needs my attention, and so do you. And you and I both need a reminder of the big picture--what life is all about, what the most important thing is. (And I'll tell you what, it's not the fact that I have a lot of picking up to do around here.)
It's this:
Ephesians:
2 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body[a] and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.[b] 4 But[c] God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. [Emphases added] [Source]
This is what matters. We can't expect perfection from ourselves, because we're not perfect. We needed saving--which means at one point, we were lost. Specifically, dead (see v. 1). But in our baptisms, God made us one with Christ--one in his death, and one in his resurrection, so both Jesus' sacrifice and righteousness count for us, too. God made us alive with Christ. He has given us the promise of eternal life with Jesus, and because of his grace has given us faith (again, through our baptism and in the Word) which saves us.
Can I add a note here? Perhaps you don't believe the truth of these things. You might have heard about them, but not made them a part of your life. If you don't know who Jesus is, or if you've heard of him but don't believe in him as your Lord and Savior, please, email me (jaimie dot ramsey at cune dot org) and we'll talk. This message is for you, too, because Jesus also died for and loves YOU!
Our salvation is not contingent upon anything we do or don't do. That would make even salvation from sin into a law. But it's not.
Our salvation is entirely about Jesus, and what HE has done for us.
We are children of God and the Holy Spirit lives in our hearts, enabling us to live obedient lives to God. Because of Jesus' sacrifice on our behalf, God no longer looks at us and sees sinners. He looks at us and sees Jesus. He knows we're sinful, but he also knows Jesus has already paid the price for that sin. He has already forgiven us for everything we have done or will ever do that is against his will for us. There is no more price to be paid, no more punishment to be taken. Oh, we experience the temporal consequences of bad decisions. Sometimes those consequences are acutely painful. But they don't affect our eternal state--our soul has been ransomed by Jesus Christ, and nothing in this world can touch it.
Ah...yes. This is what's important. God doesn't love me more if my house is clean. He doesn't look at my homemaking skills or my good grades and say, "Well done, Jaimie, you've just made your salvation more sure." That would be ridiculous. God doesn't depend on us for our own salvation. He just asks that we don't throw away the faith in his Son that he's graciously given us. And I'm not about to do that.
Today, you and I can rest in the knowledge that God loves us, no matter what our house looks like, no matter how we do in our job or our studies or whatever vocation we're in. Remember that you are saved by grace through faith, and this is NOT of your own doing. It's a gift from God.
Linking today with Upward not Inward, Exceptionalistic, Deep Roots at Home, Raising Homemakers
Monday, January 28, 2013
Look to the Cross
This morning during my Bible reading I read Psalm 22. This psalm is one of the clearest Old Testament prophecies of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. It includes many details which Jesus' passion would fulfill many hundreds of years later.
"All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads: 'He trusts in the LORD; let the LORD rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him.'" (v 7-8)
"I am poured out like water, all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax; it has melted away within me. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death. Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet. I can count all my bones; people stare and gloat over me. They divide my garments among them and cast lost for my clothing." (v 14-18)
A little later this morning I read a blog post by my friend Sara, discussing one of my favorite hymns, Water, Blood and Spirit Crying. She quotes Stephen Starke, who wrote the text, and who said in his explanation of it, "To look for God we need look no farther than the cross."
I mentioned to Joshua while we were eating breakfast that it seemed that I was being led to focus on Good Friday today--interesting since it's a foggy, damp Monday. Joshua replied that every day is a good day to ponder the events of that Friday so long ago. He's right.
What Jesus did for me that day should be in my heart and my thoughts every day, because it was that sacrifice of his that makes it possible for me to live each day in his grace, and to have the hope of eternity in heaven.
The horrors that Jesus experienced aren't pleasant to think about. I'm not suggesting that I let the awful details of his torture and death pervade my thoughts constantly; I would never be able to think about anything else if I was only focused on that. But the reality is that Jesus' death, and his resurrection, are the reasons that I have God's forgiveness--and it is only because of that that I can love, obey and serve him.
The text of the hymn Water, Blood and Spirit Crying is worth reading in its entirety:
"All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads: 'He trusts in the LORD; let the LORD rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him.'" (v 7-8)
"I am poured out like water, all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax; it has melted away within me. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death. Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet. I can count all my bones; people stare and gloat over me. They divide my garments among them and cast lost for my clothing." (v 14-18)
A little later this morning I read a blog post by my friend Sara, discussing one of my favorite hymns, Water, Blood and Spirit Crying. She quotes Stephen Starke, who wrote the text, and who said in his explanation of it, "To look for God we need look no farther than the cross."
I mentioned to Joshua while we were eating breakfast that it seemed that I was being led to focus on Good Friday today--interesting since it's a foggy, damp Monday. Joshua replied that every day is a good day to ponder the events of that Friday so long ago. He's right.
What Jesus did for me that day should be in my heart and my thoughts every day, because it was that sacrifice of his that makes it possible for me to live each day in his grace, and to have the hope of eternity in heaven.
The horrors that Jesus experienced aren't pleasant to think about. I'm not suggesting that I let the awful details of his torture and death pervade my thoughts constantly; I would never be able to think about anything else if I was only focused on that. But the reality is that Jesus' death, and his resurrection, are the reasons that I have God's forgiveness--and it is only because of that that I can love, obey and serve him.
The text of the hymn Water, Blood and Spirit Crying is worth reading in its entirety:
Hymn Text: Water, Blood, and Spirit Crying (Lutheran Service Book 597)
1. Water, blood, and Spirit crying,
By their witness testifying
To the One whose death-defying
Life has come, with life for all.
2. In a wat'ry grave are buried
All our sins that Jesus carried;
Christ, the Ark of Life, has ferried
Us across death's raging flood.
3. Dark the way, yet Christ precedes us,
Past the scowl of death He leads us;
Spreads a table where He feeds us
With His body and His blood.
4. Through around us death is seething,
God, His two-edged sword unsheathing,
By His Spirit life is breathing
Through the living, active Word.
5. Spirit, water, blood entreating,
Working faith and its completing
In the One whose death-defeating
Life has come, with life for all.
By their witness testifying
To the One whose death-defying
Life has come, with life for all.
2. In a wat'ry grave are buried
All our sins that Jesus carried;
Christ, the Ark of Life, has ferried
Us across death's raging flood.
3. Dark the way, yet Christ precedes us,
Past the scowl of death He leads us;
Spreads a table where He feeds us
With His body and His blood.
4. Through around us death is seething,
God, His two-edged sword unsheathing,
By His Spirit life is breathing
Through the living, active Word.
5. Spirit, water, blood entreating,
Working faith and its completing
In the One whose death-defeating
Life has come, with life for all.
Let us rejoice in Christ's sacrifice for us on the cross; and let us live every day in the joy which his forgiveness gives us.
Monday, January 14, 2013
Marriage: A Challenge and a Blessing
If you are married, you know that marriage isn't always a walk in the park. It's hard work! When two sinful (saved by grace, but still sinful) people merge their lives, there will be difficulties, no matter how compatible a couple is.
At the root of many marital difficulties is communication, or the lack thereof--communication about money, sex, in-laws, jobs, children, etc, etc. Learning to communicate fully with one's spouse is a lifelong process, one for which I definitely do not have all the answers. What I do know is that it is essential for each spouse to seek to understand the way their partner communicates, because, of course, men and women communicate in quite different ways. When each spouse is willing to look at things with the other person's perspective, communication will be easier.
In my experience and in talking with married friends, I've noticed that as married couples, many of us are great at communicating with other people, but not necessarily with each other! But then,
we don’t live with other people, and therein lies the greatest difficulty and the greatest blessing in marriage.
I
think God often give us the spouse he has because that person has something to teach
us, or because something about them helps us realize our own weaknesses and strengths. That's definitely true for Joshua and me. Marriage, I have learned, is one of the most effective ways God teaches us to be more like Jesus. It requires us to be selfless, to give of ourselves for the good of the other person, to love someone even when they're driving us crazy. It requires us to have tough love, and to keep the other person accountable to God's will and direction for their lives. Making a lifetime commitment to another person, and sticking with that commitment, is one of the hardest things anyone could ever do--but it will be one of the greatest blessings they will ever experience.
One unfortunate thing that I have discovered in life, in relationships with my parents, siblings, and husbands, is that it is easiest to hurt and disagree with the people I
love the most (partly because I'm with them so much, and know them better than I know anyone else). This
isn't a pleasant fact, but because we live in a sinful world, it's true.
I also
know that God's love and forgiveness make up for the deficiencies in our own
ability to love and forgive. Therefore, no matter what struggles we have, we have the strength of Christ to work through them and the love and the
forgiveness from the Father to heal after the struggles are worked out. This is the only way my marriage works, and it is the backbone of all the relationships I have: God's love and his forgiveness.
Marriage is by no means easy. We have to fight against our sinful natures every day, but by God's grace he enables us to become more like him, and love our spouse the way God loves both of us. Even when we do fail, God gives us a second chance (and a third, and a fourth...). He constantly forgives us when we repent, and helps us try again. And I, for one, am glad I have an entire lifetime with my husband to work on getting this marriage-thing right!
Marriage is by no means easy. We have to fight against our sinful natures every day, but by God's grace he enables us to become more like him, and love our spouse the way God loves both of us. Even when we do fail, God gives us a second chance (and a third, and a fourth...). He constantly forgives us when we repent, and helps us try again. And I, for one, am glad I have an entire lifetime with my husband to work on getting this marriage-thing right!
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
How I've Been a Hypocrite
My dear readers, I have a confession to make.
I've been quite a hypocrite this summer.
Here I've been writing all these posts about how to be a good, godly wife, what I've been learning about marriage, how to love my husband, the importance of really listening to him...
and I've messed up. Big-time.
Let me set up the scenario for you:
Joshua and I have started reading The Lord of the Rings together. He had already read The Fellowship of the Ring, and I read that and half of The Two Towers, but a long time ago. So we read some chapters together, and I was reading a few on my own, to catch up and because bibliophile me can't really put a book down once I start reading it (and getting into it, which I definitely am with Lord of the Rings!).
Sunday night, my husband asked that I not start reading The Two Towers because he wanted us to read it entirely together.
By Monday morning, that request had slipped my mind, and yesterday I read the first two chapters.
Last night, my husband discovered this and was not happy.
You need to know a couple things about my Joshua:
1) He is an introvert.
2) His primary love-language is quality time.
I did not realize how much reading this book together meant to him. I thought (forgetting that he asked me not to) that he wouldn't mind if I read a couple chapters.
It means a LOT to him, and he minded quite a bit.
Looong story short, we're all good now, I'm forgiven, I understand where I went wrong, everything is okay.
But I have some work to do. Because my blunder led me to discover several very important things that I've been blind to all summer.
1) Neither my husband, nor I, have been content with the routine we've gotten into this summer: Joshua comes home from work, he relaxes with some TV or computer time, I make supper, we eat, we watch a movie or both do things on the computer, we go to bed.
I realized why neither of us has been content with this routine. Very little of it is about us being together. Neither of us has liked this...but both of us assumed, wrongly, that the other one was content and/or not interested in doing anything together. We both messed up on this...but now that we've realized it, we can work to right it.
2) I cannot assume things about my husband; I need to talk to him if I can't figure things out on my own. (Because we all know what it means to assume...the person who pointed that out to me shall remain nameless.)
3) Sometimes the solution is staring me in the face, and is a lot simpler than I realize.
Togetherness. That's all my husband wanted. He doesn't want me to think up elaborate ideas for date nights. He doesn't need me to write a list of twenty-five things we can do together. He just wants me. He wants my attention, my time, and my presence.
4) The things I think my husband wants and needs are not necessarily the things he really does want and need.
I figured that if I kept the house in order, fed him a nice supper, let him do his thing on the computer and TV, watched a movie with him, and had sex before we went to bed, that my husband would be happy.
Eating, rest, alone time and sex are all necessary...but they don't replace actually being together and giving my husband my full attention and self. It doesn't work if I'm constantly thinking of other things I need to/should be doing, or if I spend the entire evening in the kitchen after he gets home. He wants ME. That's it.
5) This problem is fairly easy to fix if I a) get DONE with housework before Joshua gets home each day, b) keep chore-doing to a minimum in the evenings when he is home and c) be intentional and put time together in our schedule. As soon as this post is written I'm going to write, in ink, on the calendar, "DATE NIGHT" at least every three weeks. And nothing, absolutely nothing, will mess with those nights.
6) I realized last night how much I really mean to my husband. That was huge. It's good to know how much he appreciates the meals I make or that I keep the house in order...but knowing he just wants me?? That made me feel so treasured and loved. And it made me resolve to make HIM feel the same way, by focusing more on him.
It's horrible when it takes a bad thing to wake me up to more bad things I've been doing...but the result of all this is that I think things in our marriage are really going to change for the better. I can't believe how blind and stupid I've been all summer....but THANK GOD for the forgiveness which he has given me and which he has enabled my husband to give me.
Once again, it's Romans 8:28 in action. God uses ALL things, even our silly, selfish sins, to work for our good. I'm praying that he will enable me to be a much more selfless, loving, and attentive wife, and that our marriage will continue to grow, mature, and become more joy-filled every day.
And I'm sorry for being such a hypocrite!
Linking up today...
Cornerstone Confessions; Far Above Rubies; Growing Home; Thankful Homemaker; Time-Warp Wife; Lessons from Ivy
I've been quite a hypocrite this summer.
Here I've been writing all these posts about how to be a good, godly wife, what I've been learning about marriage, how to love my husband, the importance of really listening to him...
and I've messed up. Big-time.
Let me set up the scenario for you:
Joshua and I have started reading The Lord of the Rings together. He had already read The Fellowship of the Ring, and I read that and half of The Two Towers, but a long time ago. So we read some chapters together, and I was reading a few on my own, to catch up and because bibliophile me can't really put a book down once I start reading it (and getting into it, which I definitely am with Lord of the Rings!).
Sunday night, my husband asked that I not start reading The Two Towers because he wanted us to read it entirely together.
By Monday morning, that request had slipped my mind, and yesterday I read the first two chapters.
Last night, my husband discovered this and was not happy.
You need to know a couple things about my Joshua:
1) He is an introvert.
2) His primary love-language is quality time.
I did not realize how much reading this book together meant to him. I thought (forgetting that he asked me not to) that he wouldn't mind if I read a couple chapters.
It means a LOT to him, and he minded quite a bit.
Looong story short, we're all good now, I'm forgiven, I understand where I went wrong, everything is okay.
But I have some work to do. Because my blunder led me to discover several very important things that I've been blind to all summer.
1) Neither my husband, nor I, have been content with the routine we've gotten into this summer: Joshua comes home from work, he relaxes with some TV or computer time, I make supper, we eat, we watch a movie or both do things on the computer, we go to bed.
I realized why neither of us has been content with this routine. Very little of it is about us being together. Neither of us has liked this...but both of us assumed, wrongly, that the other one was content and/or not interested in doing anything together. We both messed up on this...but now that we've realized it, we can work to right it.
2) I cannot assume things about my husband; I need to talk to him if I can't figure things out on my own. (Because we all know what it means to assume...the person who pointed that out to me shall remain nameless.)
3) Sometimes the solution is staring me in the face, and is a lot simpler than I realize.
Togetherness. That's all my husband wanted. He doesn't want me to think up elaborate ideas for date nights. He doesn't need me to write a list of twenty-five things we can do together. He just wants me. He wants my attention, my time, and my presence.
4) The things I think my husband wants and needs are not necessarily the things he really does want and need.
I figured that if I kept the house in order, fed him a nice supper, let him do his thing on the computer and TV, watched a movie with him, and had sex before we went to bed, that my husband would be happy.
Eating, rest, alone time and sex are all necessary...but they don't replace actually being together and giving my husband my full attention and self. It doesn't work if I'm constantly thinking of other things I need to/should be doing, or if I spend the entire evening in the kitchen after he gets home. He wants ME. That's it.
5) This problem is fairly easy to fix if I a) get DONE with housework before Joshua gets home each day, b) keep chore-doing to a minimum in the evenings when he is home and c) be intentional and put time together in our schedule. As soon as this post is written I'm going to write, in ink, on the calendar, "DATE NIGHT" at least every three weeks. And nothing, absolutely nothing, will mess with those nights.
6) I realized last night how much I really mean to my husband. That was huge. It's good to know how much he appreciates the meals I make or that I keep the house in order...but knowing he just wants me?? That made me feel so treasured and loved. And it made me resolve to make HIM feel the same way, by focusing more on him.
It's horrible when it takes a bad thing to wake me up to more bad things I've been doing...but the result of all this is that I think things in our marriage are really going to change for the better. I can't believe how blind and stupid I've been all summer....but THANK GOD for the forgiveness which he has given me and which he has enabled my husband to give me.
Once again, it's Romans 8:28 in action. God uses ALL things, even our silly, selfish sins, to work for our good. I'm praying that he will enable me to be a much more selfless, loving, and attentive wife, and that our marriage will continue to grow, mature, and become more joy-filled every day.
And I'm sorry for being such a hypocrite!
Linking up today...
Cornerstone Confessions; Far Above Rubies; Growing Home; Thankful Homemaker; Time-Warp Wife; Lessons from Ivy
Monday, August 20, 2012
Not a happy camper (but a work in progress)
My husband and I spent part of this weekend at his parents' house. We hadn't spent the night there yet this summer, and since school starts a week from today (yikes!!), we wanted to get a visit in. We also hadn't broken in our new tent (from my grandparents at Christmas) and other camping gear (from my parents this summer), so we brought the tent, sleeping bags, and air mattress and set up in the back yard.
All was fine till we went to bed. I was comfortable on the air mattress (once I added more air, because it was rather flat at first), but Joshua was not. So we deflated the air mattress. Joshua was comfortable, I was not; the ground was hard, dry, and bumpy--the result of a summer-long drought. I was not a happy camper. Literally. So we eventually hauled the blankets, pillows and sleeping bags inside and camped out on the basement floor instead. Where the ground was hard, but we had plenty of padding, and it was smooth. And level. And we slept fine and woke up happy with each other once again.
But I did not handle the discomfort well. I did not listen to my husband well. I complained. And argued. And acted like a whiny little kid.
This is not the best side of me.
By now, of course, all is forgiven, but that wasn't an isolated occasion. So far all three of the times we've slept out in a tent together, Joshua has had to deal with me being unhappy and uncomfortable at some point. (He has graciously agreed to give me yet another chance! I'll get there yet.) And I act like that in other situations, too.
This morning, this passage from Philippians came to my mind:
Oops.
I goofed...once again. Thank God (and my husband) for forgiveness. But did you see? That's not all law in that passage. I realize it sounds like IF we don't complain or argue, THEN we will become blameless, pure children of God. But that doesn't happen all by our own power!
We're children of God because God chose us in our baptisms. However, refraining from complaining and arguing is part of what happens as a result of being his child. Obviously we won't ever be completely perfect, but we can, by God's grace, live a life completely devoted to serving and obeying him. We won't do it perfectly, but Jesus' sacrifice on the cross covers us, taking away all our sin, so that we can "shine like stars in the universe." Then, as we live lives that honor and glorify God, we can "hold out the word of life," the Gospel, in witness of God's grace.
Those are a lot of good reasons for me to work on this problem of complaining and arguing.
Yet another good reason is that when I complain and argue, I'm not being obedient to or respectful of my husband. Proverbs 21:9 has this zinger: "Better to live on a corner of the roof than share a house [or a tent, in this case] with a quarrelsome wife." Just ten verses later, verse 19: "Better to live in a desert than with a quarrelsome and ill-tempered wife." Ouch. My poor husband would, at times, be better off either on the corner of the roof or in a desert, than living with me, the way I act sometimes.
God, in his mercy and grace, enables me to live most of the time in a way that pleases and honors him: loving, kind, respectful, obedient to my husband, and pleasant to live with. The Jaimie-in-a-tent is a side of me that needs some work. But then, I am a constant work in progress...and neither God nor my husband is going to give up on me.
Linking up to these lovely ladies, with thanks:
The Alabaster Jar; What Joy is Mine; lowercase letters; The Better Mom; Raising Arrows
All was fine till we went to bed. I was comfortable on the air mattress (once I added more air, because it was rather flat at first), but Joshua was not. So we deflated the air mattress. Joshua was comfortable, I was not; the ground was hard, dry, and bumpy--the result of a summer-long drought. I was not a happy camper. Literally. So we eventually hauled the blankets, pillows and sleeping bags inside and camped out on the basement floor instead. Where the ground was hard, but we had plenty of padding, and it was smooth. And level. And we slept fine and woke up happy with each other once again.
But I did not handle the discomfort well. I did not listen to my husband well. I complained. And argued. And acted like a whiny little kid.
This is not the best side of me.
By now, of course, all is forgiven, but that wasn't an isolated occasion. So far all three of the times we've slept out in a tent together, Joshua has had to deal with me being unhappy and uncomfortable at some point. (He has graciously agreed to give me yet another chance! I'll get there yet.) And I act like that in other situations, too.
This morning, this passage from Philippians came to my mind:
"Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life..." Philippians 2:14-16bEverything. Without complaining. Or arguing.
Oops.
I goofed...once again. Thank God (and my husband) for forgiveness. But did you see? That's not all law in that passage. I realize it sounds like IF we don't complain or argue, THEN we will become blameless, pure children of God. But that doesn't happen all by our own power!
We're children of God because God chose us in our baptisms. However, refraining from complaining and arguing is part of what happens as a result of being his child. Obviously we won't ever be completely perfect, but we can, by God's grace, live a life completely devoted to serving and obeying him. We won't do it perfectly, but Jesus' sacrifice on the cross covers us, taking away all our sin, so that we can "shine like stars in the universe." Then, as we live lives that honor and glorify God, we can "hold out the word of life," the Gospel, in witness of God's grace.
Those are a lot of good reasons for me to work on this problem of complaining and arguing.
Yet another good reason is that when I complain and argue, I'm not being obedient to or respectful of my husband. Proverbs 21:9 has this zinger: "Better to live on a corner of the roof than share a house [or a tent, in this case] with a quarrelsome wife." Just ten verses later, verse 19: "Better to live in a desert than with a quarrelsome and ill-tempered wife." Ouch. My poor husband would, at times, be better off either on the corner of the roof or in a desert, than living with me, the way I act sometimes.
God, in his mercy and grace, enables me to live most of the time in a way that pleases and honors him: loving, kind, respectful, obedient to my husband, and pleasant to live with. The Jaimie-in-a-tent is a side of me that needs some work. But then, I am a constant work in progress...and neither God nor my husband is going to give up on me.
Linking up to these lovely ladies, with thanks:
The Alabaster Jar; What Joy is Mine; lowercase letters; The Better Mom; Raising Arrows
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
What a Young Wife has Learned
My husband and I have been married for a year and two months (and a little more). It has already been an amazing journey, and I am humbled and awed at the thought that God has given me this incredible man with whom I get to spend my whole life.
There is so much more I could say about what I have learned about marriage in the last fourteen months, and about what marriage has taught me about myself, about what love is, and about who God is. But these things, I think, are the most important.
Linking up to these lovely ladies today, with thanks:
Upward Not Inward; New Life Steward; To Love, Honor and Vacuum; Women Living Well; Deep Roots at Home; A Wise Woman Builds Her Home
I have found, in talking with other young married couples (wives especially) that we're all going through similar things and trying to learn a lot of the same things. This makes perfect sense; we are, after all, at about the same point in life.
One year of marriage has taught me a lot, thanks be to God. I have so much more to learn, and I know that, so I can't claim to be an expert of any kind.
But I would like to share today some of the most important things I've learned, which are all based on the Word of God.
1) My husband needs to be respected as well as loved, and that does not come naturally to me like loving does. As a woman, I have very little difficulty loving people, especially my husband. But when it comes to respecting him, that takes work. Perhaps that's why Paul wrote to the Ephesians:
"...each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband." Ephesians 5:332) I need to say more often to myself, "Hold your tongue, woman!" Before I speak, I need to think: is it respectful? Is it loving? Is it necessary? Is it timely? Is it helpful? Maybe this is just me, but I get into the most trouble by saying things out of turn, or saying something I shouldn't at all. I could fix a lot by simply being more careful about what I say, and when.
"When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise." Proverbs 10:193) I need to keep my priorities in order. First God, then my husband, then myself. It is necessary to put his needs before my own and be selfless. Again, this doesn't come naturally, but doing this will have a very positive impact on my life and my marriage.
"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus..." Philippians 2:3-54) My husband and I should forgive each other--always. This is the key. This is how our marriage works. We are both sinful people, saved by grace, yes, but still sinners. Failing each other is inevitable--which is why forgiveness is such a gift of God, and so very important.
"Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you." Ephesians 4:325) Remember--the ability to love does not come from me, or from my husband. It is a gift of God. The amazing thing about marriage is that God doesn't expect us to do it on our own. He gives us the strength, will and resources--like forgiveness--to love, respect and honor our spouse. Love isn't something I produce on my own power. It comes from Him.
"Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love." 1 John 4:7-86) Marriage is an earthly example of the love Jesus Christ has for all who believe in him. The bottom line is, my marriage isn't about me or my husband. It's about God. Marriage is a way God blesses his people incredibly. It is one of the ways he explains to us the love he has for us. It is an image of the relationship Jesus Christ has with the church--his Bride. Marriage is another way that we, as God's children, can honor and glorify him.
"Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water thorough the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church--for we are members of his body. 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.' This is a profound mystery--but I am talking about Christ and the church. However, each one of you must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband." Ephesians 5:21-33
There is so much more I could say about what I have learned about marriage in the last fourteen months, and about what marriage has taught me about myself, about what love is, and about who God is. But these things, I think, are the most important.
Linking up to these lovely ladies today, with thanks:
Upward Not Inward; New Life Steward; To Love, Honor and Vacuum; Women Living Well; Deep Roots at Home; A Wise Woman Builds Her Home
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Simple Faith
I recently read a book by Janette Oke called A Bride for Donnigan. I won't give a full synopsis--it was just the end that really moved me yesterday. (However, I would recommend this and all her books!)
By the end of the book, two parents are trying to raise their six young children as well as they can. Neither parent was raised in a Christian family, but they believe there is a God, and that they should teach their children about Him. Slowly, through much study of the Bible, they come to understand what God has done throughout history. But there is something missing. The husband and wife are both still burdened with anger and unforgiveness as a result of their past. Finally, while talking with their children about Jesus, their little girl realized what they needed to do. "I want to tell God sorry," she sobbed. Her parents had not yet understood what it meant to pray--that they could just tell God anything--but their small daughter spoke simply to God, telling Him she was sorry for the bad things she had done, and asking Him to forgive her. When she finished, she looked up at them with a smile full of joy and peace, knowing she was forgiven.
Her parents wanted that. So, not long afterward, they each told God that they were sorry for what they had done wrong, asked Him to forgive them, and asked Him to help them live their lives in obedience to Him.
It was that simple. They, too, felt the peace and joy that their little daughter had.
Now, I know this is a fictional story. But Janette Oke is right. The apostle John wrote in his first epistle,
I've been a Christian all my life. I was baptized when I was less than a month old, and I've had saving faith in Jesus Christ ever since. I am thankful for this, but sometimes I make my faith more complicated than it needs to be. Sometimes I'm fooled into thinking I actually have to do something to earn God's forgiveness...that I have to live a perfect life in order to please Him.
Well, I would have to live a perfect life to please God...if Jesus hadn't already done it for me.
There's nothing more I have to do. Jesus has paid the price for my sins, taken them away on the cross, and provided the means necessary for my eternal forgiveness and salvation.
I don't have to try to impress God. All He wants me to do is "tell Him sorry."
Thanks be to God for His immeasurable grace!!
Yesterday, as I closed this book, I was in tears. I realized that I had been trying too hard. I don't need a big, complicated faith. Jesus encouraged His followers to have faith like a child--and that's what I need, too: a complete, unassuming faith that expects nothing of myself. God doesn't expect me to be perfect. He knows I can't be, and that I can't do anything good on my own. He is the One who gives me the willpower, strength and ability to please and serve Him.
So I asked Him for that. I asked Him if this blog is really what He wants me to do--if it's pleasing and glorifying to Him. I asked Him to help me be the best wife I can be to Joshua. I asked God to help me honor, glorify, serve and praise Him in everything I do.
Then, last night, a friend messaged me on Facebook. She said that my blog was a blessing to her, and even asked for help in coming up with an idea for a devotion.
A comment on yesterday's post suggested that I write devotions for women.
My husband reiterated once again that I am a great wife to him.
Now, it's not often that God answers my prayers quite this clearly. Sometimes I'm not sure what His answer is. Sometimes it's "No" or "I have something better for you." But yesterday, the answer clearly was "Yes." I am so very thankful to have been encouraged in this way.
By the end of the book, two parents are trying to raise their six young children as well as they can. Neither parent was raised in a Christian family, but they believe there is a God, and that they should teach their children about Him. Slowly, through much study of the Bible, they come to understand what God has done throughout history. But there is something missing. The husband and wife are both still burdened with anger and unforgiveness as a result of their past. Finally, while talking with their children about Jesus, their little girl realized what they needed to do. "I want to tell God sorry," she sobbed. Her parents had not yet understood what it meant to pray--that they could just tell God anything--but their small daughter spoke simply to God, telling Him she was sorry for the bad things she had done, and asking Him to forgive her. When she finished, she looked up at them with a smile full of joy and peace, knowing she was forgiven.
Her parents wanted that. So, not long afterward, they each told God that they were sorry for what they had done wrong, asked Him to forgive them, and asked Him to help them live their lives in obedience to Him.
It was that simple. They, too, felt the peace and joy that their little daughter had.
Now, I know this is a fictional story. But Janette Oke is right. The apostle John wrote in his first epistle,
"If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:8-9).It's that simple. When we confess our sinfulness, God forgives us and purifies us from the sin within us.
I've been a Christian all my life. I was baptized when I was less than a month old, and I've had saving faith in Jesus Christ ever since. I am thankful for this, but sometimes I make my faith more complicated than it needs to be. Sometimes I'm fooled into thinking I actually have to do something to earn God's forgiveness...that I have to live a perfect life in order to please Him.
Well, I would have to live a perfect life to please God...if Jesus hadn't already done it for me.
There's nothing more I have to do. Jesus has paid the price for my sins, taken them away on the cross, and provided the means necessary for my eternal forgiveness and salvation.
I don't have to try to impress God. All He wants me to do is "tell Him sorry."
Thanks be to God for His immeasurable grace!!
Yesterday, as I closed this book, I was in tears. I realized that I had been trying too hard. I don't need a big, complicated faith. Jesus encouraged His followers to have faith like a child--and that's what I need, too: a complete, unassuming faith that expects nothing of myself. God doesn't expect me to be perfect. He knows I can't be, and that I can't do anything good on my own. He is the One who gives me the willpower, strength and ability to please and serve Him.
So I asked Him for that. I asked Him if this blog is really what He wants me to do--if it's pleasing and glorifying to Him. I asked Him to help me be the best wife I can be to Joshua. I asked God to help me honor, glorify, serve and praise Him in everything I do.
Then, last night, a friend messaged me on Facebook. She said that my blog was a blessing to her, and even asked for help in coming up with an idea for a devotion.
A comment on yesterday's post suggested that I write devotions for women.
My husband reiterated once again that I am a great wife to him.
Now, it's not often that God answers my prayers quite this clearly. Sometimes I'm not sure what His answer is. Sometimes it's "No" or "I have something better for you." But yesterday, the answer clearly was "Yes." I am so very thankful to have been encouraged in this way.
"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins
and purify us from all unrighteousness."
When we pray, "God, please forgive me," that is a prayer He always answers with "Yes."
God keeps His promises.
Whenever we confess, He will forgive and cleanse us.
And it really is as simple as that--as simple as a child's faith.
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