Our ability to forgive others is intricately tied to our understanding of God's holiness and our sinfulness. The discussion of God's holiness, and our sinfulness, have filled up countless numbers of books and here we can only begin to scratch the surface of these incredibly important topics. In my own journey with forgiveness coming to a better understanding of God's holiness and my sinfulness was a vital part of reaching the place of forgiveness.
God is Holy. That means God is totally and completely separate and set-apart.
Isaiah 46:5, "To whom will you compare me or count me equal? To whom will you liken me that we may be compared"
Isaiah 46:9, "I am God, and there is no other. I am God, and there is none like me."
Isaiah 40:18, "To whom, then, will you compare God? What image will you compare him to?"
Isaiah 40:25, "To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal? says the Holy One."
I could point to many other passages to demonstrate God's holiness. God is totally and completely Holy. God has no beginning or ending. God is all-powerful, all knowing, all present. Staying within His character, God is free and able to do whatever He desires. He does not have to answer to anyone, or defend Himself before anyone. Revelation 4 presents an incredible picture of God's throne room and what is taking place at this very moment as you read this.
Revelation 4:3-11, "And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian. A rainbow, resembling an emerald, encircles the throne. Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads. From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. Before the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God. Also before the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal. In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back. The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle. Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under his wings. Day and night they never stop saying: 'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.' Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say, 'You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things and by your will they were created and have their being.'" What an incredible picture of the throne room of God, and what is taking place right now. It is that God who is constantly being praised, who created all, and whose will is fully carried out, who you and I offend and sin against.
We need to remind ourselves of God's holiness time and time again, because as we see God's holiness we begin to come to grips with the magnitude of our sin. Every-time you and I sin, it is Holy God that we are sinning against. The one who created us, and sustains us, is the one that we are sinning against. Every time we sin we are making the choice to put our selfish desires above Holy God, and that is crazy to think about based on the picture of God's throne room we just looked at. That is the God that we sin against. A God who hates sin, and rightfully has, and will continue to pour out his wrath against sinners. To make matters even more stunning listen to what Isaiah 64:6 states, "All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags." In the presence of Holy God our righteous acts, the good deeds we do, are like filthy rags. The literal translation of filthy rags in the Hebrew is menstrual cloth. Grossed out by that? Good! Because even the good things we do in the sight of Holy God are like a menstrual cloth. If that is how our goodness appears before God, think about what our sin must look like before Holy God.
God is Holy. We are sinful. So how does all of this connect with forgiveness? Until we understand who it is we have sinned against, and offended, it will be very difficult to forgive those who have sinned against and offended us. However, once we grasp God's holiness, our sinfulness, and astonishingly God's forgiveness and love, we begin to move to a place where we can offer forgiveness to anyone for anything. For the next part of this series we will look at God's grace and forgiveness offered to you and me, and by understanding that, how we will be able to forgive others!
Monday, March 12, 2012
Monday, March 5, 2012
Forgiveness: Part 2- My journey
Forgiveness is really, really, hard, and as I discussed in my last post it is an area where many, many, followers of Jesus struggle. However, Scripture is crystal clear that if we refuse to forgive others, we will not receive God's forgiveness. It was those passages in Scripture (Matthew 6:14-15, Matthew 18:35, Mark 11:25, and others) that drove me to my need to pursue forgiveness. In order to respect the privacy of the individual I cannot give details about the specific events that took place that led for my desperate need to seek forgiveness. Suffice it to say that someone close to me was deeply wounded and violated, because of the actions of another individual who I knew, although not well. It was years after the incident in which I found out about what happened. My initial response was one of hatred and rage, truly desiring the death of the individual. Those feelings never went away, even as time went on. Granted the feelings of hatred and rage were not as frequent as time went on, however anytime something happened that brought this individual to mind, hatred and rage, instantly boiled up anew in my mind and heart.
It was in reading passages of Scripture about the necessity of Jesus followers to forgive others that convicted me and made me realize that I needed to begin to move in the direction of forgiveness. It was not instantaneous, and at times when I thought I had reached the place of forgiveness, something would happen that made it clear that I had not yet reached forgiveness. During this time in my life God taught me some incredible truths about what forgiveness is, and how we as Jesus followers can go about forgiving others, even those who have done the unthinkable and hurt you in ways you could have never imagined. So where do we begin? By looking at the God of the universe and what our sin must look like in His eyes. It is only by understanding the Gospel message, that we can understand and move towards the place of true forgiveness! Part 3 of this series will be looking at the holiness of God, and how our sin looks in the presences of Holy God.
It was in reading passages of Scripture about the necessity of Jesus followers to forgive others that convicted me and made me realize that I needed to begin to move in the direction of forgiveness. It was not instantaneous, and at times when I thought I had reached the place of forgiveness, something would happen that made it clear that I had not yet reached forgiveness. During this time in my life God taught me some incredible truths about what forgiveness is, and how we as Jesus followers can go about forgiving others, even those who have done the unthinkable and hurt you in ways you could have never imagined. So where do we begin? By looking at the God of the universe and what our sin must look like in His eyes. It is only by understanding the Gospel message, that we can understand and move towards the place of true forgiveness! Part 3 of this series will be looking at the holiness of God, and how our sin looks in the presences of Holy God.
Monday, February 27, 2012
Forgiveness: Part 1
Over the past several years I have spoken on forgiveness multiple times to a variety of different groups of people. Sermons, lessons for students, and talking one on one with multiple individuals. Every-time I have spoken on forgiveness it has struck a nerve with many, many, people. Something that we all face living in a fallen, broken, sin-satured world, is deep hurt and pain. Sometimes these hurts are the result of our own choices that we have made. Sometimes these hurts are just things that happen and no one is really at blame. However, sometimes these deeps hurts and pains have been directly caused by another person. Needless to say, we have all been hurt by people, and as a result we all need to forgive. As I have been talking about forgiveness I have come to the realization that many people, followers of Jesus, have struggled deeply with forgiveness and many have not been able to get to the place of forgiving others.
A couple years ago I asked on facebook if people have had a situation happen to them where they have yet to grant forgiveness. A number of people responded to me, sharing heartbreaking stories of deep pain and hurt, and also shared with me how long they have been unable to grant forgiveness. Here are a few of the responses I got. 1 Year, 5 years, 9 years, 11 years, 13, years, 13, years, someone in their late twenties said a lifetime, and one individual shared that they had been struggling to forgive someone for 30 years. It is safe to assume that many, many, follower of Jesus struggle with forgiving others.
So why am I beginning a series on forgiveness? For several reasons. First, it has been an area of struggle and process for me. Secondly, it is an area where many, many Jesus followers struggle. Thirdly, there seems to be much confusion about what Biblical forgiveness is. Fourthly, Scripture is extremely clear on the necessity for Jesus followers to forgive others. Matthew 5:14-15, "For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins." Matthew 18:35, "This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart." The need of Jesus followers to forgive is as clear as can be.
I would love to hear your stories, and how God is working on you when it comes to forgiveness. The next part of the series will share my struggles, failures, battles, and victories that have been ongoing when it comes to forgiveness. Praying that God might use this to draw us all nearer to Him.
A couple years ago I asked on facebook if people have had a situation happen to them where they have yet to grant forgiveness. A number of people responded to me, sharing heartbreaking stories of deep pain and hurt, and also shared with me how long they have been unable to grant forgiveness. Here are a few of the responses I got. 1 Year, 5 years, 9 years, 11 years, 13, years, 13, years, someone in their late twenties said a lifetime, and one individual shared that they had been struggling to forgive someone for 30 years. It is safe to assume that many, many, follower of Jesus struggle with forgiving others.
So why am I beginning a series on forgiveness? For several reasons. First, it has been an area of struggle and process for me. Secondly, it is an area where many, many Jesus followers struggle. Thirdly, there seems to be much confusion about what Biblical forgiveness is. Fourthly, Scripture is extremely clear on the necessity for Jesus followers to forgive others. Matthew 5:14-15, "For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins." Matthew 18:35, "This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart." The need of Jesus followers to forgive is as clear as can be.
I would love to hear your stories, and how God is working on you when it comes to forgiveness. The next part of the series will share my struggles, failures, battles, and victories that have been ongoing when it comes to forgiveness. Praying that God might use this to draw us all nearer to Him.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Faith Like A Child- With you I can.
In the craziness of day to day life with four little one's running, pooping, peeing, laughing, dancing, playing, crying, eating, hugging, kissing, and loving it is easy to miss the lessons that God is trying to teach me through our kids! In Matthew 18 Jesus tells us that unless we change and become like little children, we will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
Whenever Anaya (our 18 month old) is around a person she does not no very well, her first reaction is fear, even when they are down on their knees excitedly calling her to come and see them! Often times she will purposely back away from the person, or take the long way around in order to avoid them, as she searches for someone familiar and safe. Once she finds Heidi or I she comes over and puts her hands up and in the way only an adorable 18 month old can, she says, "up, up, up, up." So we lift her up, and as we begin to walk with her towards the person while a little shyness might still exist, she is no longer backing up, and trying to get away from the new person. While holding her we ask her to say hi to the person, and give a high five, and a fist bump, and as she is safely in our arms she excitedly engages with the person who originally made her run away in fear! What an incredible picture that paints for us as followers of Jesus!
Matthew 28:18-20 comes to mind, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." What an incredible command and charge we have been given as followers of Jesus. We have been commanded to make disciples as we are going about life. At work, at home, at church, at the grocery store, on mission trips, in school, at the health club, in our clubs and committee's, we are called to make disciples! That is a big task, and if we are honest, often times a daunting task as we quickly begin to think of all of our inadequacies, doubts, fears, and insecurities. However, if we remember the last part of Matthew 28:20 we should have the courage to go forth in doing what God has called us to do. "And surely I (the "I" referring to Jesus, the one who has ALL authority in heaven and on earth) am with you always, to the very end of the age."
While living a life of Gospel intentionality focused on creating disciples as we go about is a daunting, and sometimes scary task, we can go forth in faith trusting the promise that the one who has ALL authority will be with us! What an incredible promise. So the next time we become fearful in doing what God has called us to do, may we remind ourselves who it is that is with us! May we, like a child, overcome fear knowing that the one who is with us is trustworthy and faithful and go where God is leading us!
Whenever Anaya (our 18 month old) is around a person she does not no very well, her first reaction is fear, even when they are down on their knees excitedly calling her to come and see them! Often times she will purposely back away from the person, or take the long way around in order to avoid them, as she searches for someone familiar and safe. Once she finds Heidi or I she comes over and puts her hands up and in the way only an adorable 18 month old can, she says, "up, up, up, up." So we lift her up, and as we begin to walk with her towards the person while a little shyness might still exist, she is no longer backing up, and trying to get away from the new person. While holding her we ask her to say hi to the person, and give a high five, and a fist bump, and as she is safely in our arms she excitedly engages with the person who originally made her run away in fear! What an incredible picture that paints for us as followers of Jesus!
Matthew 28:18-20 comes to mind, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." What an incredible command and charge we have been given as followers of Jesus. We have been commanded to make disciples as we are going about life. At work, at home, at church, at the grocery store, on mission trips, in school, at the health club, in our clubs and committee's, we are called to make disciples! That is a big task, and if we are honest, often times a daunting task as we quickly begin to think of all of our inadequacies, doubts, fears, and insecurities. However, if we remember the last part of Matthew 28:20 we should have the courage to go forth in doing what God has called us to do. "And surely I (the "I" referring to Jesus, the one who has ALL authority in heaven and on earth) am with you always, to the very end of the age."
While living a life of Gospel intentionality focused on creating disciples as we go about is a daunting, and sometimes scary task, we can go forth in faith trusting the promise that the one who has ALL authority will be with us! What an incredible promise. So the next time we become fearful in doing what God has called us to do, may we remind ourselves who it is that is with us! May we, like a child, overcome fear knowing that the one who is with us is trustworthy and faithful and go where God is leading us!
Monday, January 23, 2012
"Build your kingdom here" Great song, fantastic prayer.
Rend Collective Experiment is a worship band from Ireland. They are not that well known in the US, but they should be! A student who helps with worship for the youth group was the one who introduced me to Rend Collective Experiment. Not to long ago I had the opportunity to see them in concert with a group from our church and it was an incredible night that was capped off with their song. "Build Your Kingdom Here." Great song, and a fantastic prayer for all of who claim to be followers of Jesus. Check out the lyrics.
Lyrics: Come set Your rule and reign In our hearts again Increase in us we pray Unveil why we're made Come set our hearts ablaze with hope Like wildfire in our very souls Holy Spirit come invade us now We are Your Church We need Your power In us We seek Your kingdom first We hunger and we thirst Refuse to waste our lives For You're our joy and prize To see the captive hearts released The hurt; the sick; the poor at peace We lay down our lives for Heaven's cause We are Your church We pray revive This earth Build Your kingdom here Let the darkness fear Show Your mighty hand Heal our streets and land Set Your church on fire Win this nation back Change the atmosphere Build Your kingdom here We pray Unleash Your kingdom's power Reaching the near and far No force of hell can stop Your beauty changing hearts You made us for much more than this Awake the kingdom seed in us Fill us with the strength and love of Christ We are Your church We are the hope On earth May this be our prayer. You can check out the song here....http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcSWpVKKMcs&feature=related |
Thursday, January 5, 2012
I'm gonna lose: Quick, stop racing!
Twice this week as I watched Ethan head to the bus stop I had the opportunity to watch a spectacular race! Tuesday on the way to the school bus the neighbor boy came out, and having a slight edge on Ethan, took off in a mad-dash to win the much coveted status of being the first one to the bus stop. Ethan got his legs moving as fast as possible, and with his backpack bouncing all around he darted to the bus stop, only to come to a complete halt about 25 yards shy of the bus stop. Why? Because he realized he was going to lose, so he quit!
This morning I had the great privilege of seeing round two of the match up. This time, however, Ethan is the one who had the slight edge and he took full advantage of it, dominating the competition and gaining the distinct honor of being the first one to the bus stop. The neighbor boy, just like Ethan, took off in a mad dash only to come to a screeching halt 25 yards shy of the bus stop. Why? Like Ethan he realized he was going to lose, so he quit.
So what do these early morning competitions mean for you and me as we strive to be followers of Jesus? A lot! I feel so many people live out this exact scenario when it comes to their Christian walk. They have an absolutely incredible experience of receiving and experiencing the love and grace of God through Jesus Christ. Many have dreams about how they want to live a life that counts. How they want to live a life that will continually be used by God to bring Him glory, and to bring salvation to others. Many have ideas to change the world. Many have radical dreams and want to make some incredible sacrifices in order to follow Jesus. They take off with so much excitement, energy, enthusiasm, determination, perseverance, and hope, only to quit short of the final destination? Why?
They believed they were gonna lose. As they took off with all these lofty goals, dreams, and prayers they looked around to see a bunch of others who started with those same goals, dreams, and prayers living out a life that looks nothing like what they originally imagined. A life where faith, Jesus, sacrifice, risk, and an amazing adventure, seemed to be replaced with church, routine, boredom, striving for wealth, and getting our life all wrapped up in someone else's adventure through books, television, and celebrity drama. We quit. We stopped. We realized we were going to lose, because we see people all around us who began with the same dreams, desires, and adventures, as we had and somehow they didn't make it, so why should I think I will. We quit.
Francis Chan in Crazy Love states, “I quickly found that the American church is a difficult place to fit in if you want to live out New Testament Christianity. The goals of American Christianity are often a nice marriage, children who don’t swear, and good church attendance. Taking the words of Christ literally and seriously is rarely considered. That’s for the radicals who are unbalanced and who go overboard. Most of us want a balanced life that we can control, that is safe, and that does not involve suffering.”
I think Francis Chan is right. It is difficult to follow Jesus in a church culture that seems to fit way better with the American dream than with the kingdom of God. Here is my challenge to you and to me... Read the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) asking the simple question based on the life and teachings of Jesus how did Jesus expect his followers to live. After you finish the Gospels, read the remainder of the New Testament asking the same question. When you have finished reading ask the question. According to the new testament description of a follower of Jesus, am I a follower of Jesus? As you are reading through the New Testament try your best to read them as if for the first time. Try to forget about how the vast majority of Christians in North America live, and do "faith" and just read the Bible and than ask the question. "According to the new testament description of a follower of Jesus, am I a follower of Jesus?"
We might be surprised, and terrified, of what we find. If you do this, I would love to hear what you discover, and I will be sharing with you what I discover. Have we quit the race because we feared we would lose? If we have, the only thing we can do is start running again! Praying that God would make it abundantly clear to each of us what it means to be a follower of Jesus, and give us the grace, strength, and desire to change whatever needs to change in order to be followers of Jesus.
This morning I had the great privilege of seeing round two of the match up. This time, however, Ethan is the one who had the slight edge and he took full advantage of it, dominating the competition and gaining the distinct honor of being the first one to the bus stop. The neighbor boy, just like Ethan, took off in a mad dash only to come to a screeching halt 25 yards shy of the bus stop. Why? Like Ethan he realized he was going to lose, so he quit.
So what do these early morning competitions mean for you and me as we strive to be followers of Jesus? A lot! I feel so many people live out this exact scenario when it comes to their Christian walk. They have an absolutely incredible experience of receiving and experiencing the love and grace of God through Jesus Christ. Many have dreams about how they want to live a life that counts. How they want to live a life that will continually be used by God to bring Him glory, and to bring salvation to others. Many have ideas to change the world. Many have radical dreams and want to make some incredible sacrifices in order to follow Jesus. They take off with so much excitement, energy, enthusiasm, determination, perseverance, and hope, only to quit short of the final destination? Why?
They believed they were gonna lose. As they took off with all these lofty goals, dreams, and prayers they looked around to see a bunch of others who started with those same goals, dreams, and prayers living out a life that looks nothing like what they originally imagined. A life where faith, Jesus, sacrifice, risk, and an amazing adventure, seemed to be replaced with church, routine, boredom, striving for wealth, and getting our life all wrapped up in someone else's adventure through books, television, and celebrity drama. We quit. We stopped. We realized we were going to lose, because we see people all around us who began with the same dreams, desires, and adventures, as we had and somehow they didn't make it, so why should I think I will. We quit.
Francis Chan in Crazy Love states, “I quickly found that the American church is a difficult place to fit in if you want to live out New Testament Christianity. The goals of American Christianity are often a nice marriage, children who don’t swear, and good church attendance. Taking the words of Christ literally and seriously is rarely considered. That’s for the radicals who are unbalanced and who go overboard. Most of us want a balanced life that we can control, that is safe, and that does not involve suffering.”
I think Francis Chan is right. It is difficult to follow Jesus in a church culture that seems to fit way better with the American dream than with the kingdom of God. Here is my challenge to you and to me... Read the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) asking the simple question based on the life and teachings of Jesus how did Jesus expect his followers to live. After you finish the Gospels, read the remainder of the New Testament asking the same question. When you have finished reading ask the question. According to the new testament description of a follower of Jesus, am I a follower of Jesus? As you are reading through the New Testament try your best to read them as if for the first time. Try to forget about how the vast majority of Christians in North America live, and do "faith" and just read the Bible and than ask the question. "According to the new testament description of a follower of Jesus, am I a follower of Jesus?"
We might be surprised, and terrified, of what we find. If you do this, I would love to hear what you discover, and I will be sharing with you what I discover. Have we quit the race because we feared we would lose? If we have, the only thing we can do is start running again! Praying that God would make it abundantly clear to each of us what it means to be a follower of Jesus, and give us the grace, strength, and desire to change whatever needs to change in order to be followers of Jesus.
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Faith Like A child- Let's go bye, bye!
Being surrounded by three (and soon to be four young children) daily I catch glimpses of what Jesus was referring to when He calls us to have faith like a child! To receive the kingdom of God like a little child (Luke 10:15) is not easy to do, especially when we grow up and begin thinking/acting/living more like adults and less like little kids. I hope to occasionally share what God is teaching me through my kids!
One of the most exciting times in the Robertson household is when we say to our kids, "Let's go bye, bye." Say these words in our house and the response you will get is absolutely incredible! Laughter, shouts of joy, dancing, and emphatically pulling on the safety gate to get down the stairs and out the door. The amazing thing about this reaction is..... it doesn't matter where we are going. It could be the dentist, the gas station, disney world, the grocery store, church, anywhere. The kids are just excited about going.... the destination is of little consequence, they are just excited to be going!
What about us adults? Do we react the same way when God is calling us to go bye, bye? Or do we demand to know all the details about when, where, and why? Do we stay put, refusing to move forward with God, until we have all the information we want? God is calling us to be and do many things! So how do you respond? With excitement, not caring about the destination, because you are just excited to be going anywhere with God? Having child-like faith means that we follow God with excitement, even when we don't know where He is leading us to! God is calling you to go with him! How are you responding? Are you dragging your feet, and stalling until you find out the destination and results of the journey? Or are you responding with laughter, shouts of joy, dancing, and emphatically pulling on the safety gate to get down the stairs and out the door?
One of the most exciting times in the Robertson household is when we say to our kids, "Let's go bye, bye." Say these words in our house and the response you will get is absolutely incredible! Laughter, shouts of joy, dancing, and emphatically pulling on the safety gate to get down the stairs and out the door. The amazing thing about this reaction is..... it doesn't matter where we are going. It could be the dentist, the gas station, disney world, the grocery store, church, anywhere. The kids are just excited about going.... the destination is of little consequence, they are just excited to be going!
What about us adults? Do we react the same way when God is calling us to go bye, bye? Or do we demand to know all the details about when, where, and why? Do we stay put, refusing to move forward with God, until we have all the information we want? God is calling us to be and do many things! So how do you respond? With excitement, not caring about the destination, because you are just excited to be going anywhere with God? Having child-like faith means that we follow God with excitement, even when we don't know where He is leading us to! God is calling you to go with him! How are you responding? Are you dragging your feet, and stalling until you find out the destination and results of the journey? Or are you responding with laughter, shouts of joy, dancing, and emphatically pulling on the safety gate to get down the stairs and out the door?
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