It was a major FAIL. It happened at the breakfast table as Anaya was eating breakfast. My Bible was open to Galatians 5:22-26, and I was writing in my journal about how I was going to spend the upcoming weeks focusing on the fruits of the Spirit. Spending a week focusing on each of the fruits of the Spirit, and I was kicking it off by beginning to focus on love. As I was writing down the fruits of the Spirit in my journal Anaya, in typical two year old fashion, knocked her bowl of cereal off the table sending milk and Peanut Butter Crunch plummeting to the ground beneath. In retrospect here was my first chance to respond in love. To respond in a way that would be even remotely consistent to love and the fruits of the Spirit. After all, I had just read, and was in the process of writing the verses down so it should have been easy to respond in love! However, I FAILED. I FAILED big time. No I didn't scream and get really mad at Anaya, but love was absent from the way that I responded. After I got the mess cleaned up (which consisted of getting our dog out of the bedroom) and got a new bowl of cereal poured, I sat back down before my Bible and journal and realized how badly I failed.
My failure made me realize how desperately I need the Spirit of God to work in me and through me. Galatians 5:17-18, "For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature." I desperately need the Holy Spirit if I am going to exhibit the fruits of the Spirit in my life. I need to yield my life to the Holy Spirit, I need to discern the voice of the Holy Spirit, I need to spend more time in the Word, in prayer, in fellowship with brothers and sisters in Christ, in order that the desires of the Spirit would become stronger and stronger and the desires of the sinful nature would become weaker and weaker.
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Monday, August 27, 2012
I talked too much
I talked too much on Friday night. For those of you who know me you might find this hard to believe (except when I preach :)) but it is the truth! It seemed like I talked on and on and on and on and on. My mouth was dry. My throat hurt. I talked too much! Why? I was trying to explain to my 6 year old son Ethan the game of football as I took him to his first vikings game on Friday! Have you ever tried to explain football to someone who really has no idea about any of the rules of football? It is exhausting! I have watched, enjoyed, and played football for a good part of my life! I love it! I understand the game, the rules, and what both the offense and defense are trying to do. When you know something really well, it can be hard to explain in such a way that someone who is clueless about it can understand. One example of how this proved to be true at the vikings game! It was a boring game, too many field goals and not enough touch downs! Throughout the game I kept quizzing Ethan about how many points a team gets when the kicker kicks the ball between the uprights (the two yellow polls that are sticking up into the air). He had it down, the answer was 3, he knew it! However, near the end of the game the vikings scored a touchdown tying the game at 9-9! After the touch-down we kicked the extra point! To Ethan this seemed to be identical to a field-goal because the kicker kicked the ball between the two yellow polls sticking up in the air and he excitedly exclaimed, "Daddy, we now have 12 points!" I then had to explain to him that when you kick the ball through the yellow things after you score a touchdown it is only worth 1 point, not 3. In the midst of explaining field goals, how far a yard is, how you have four tries to get 10 yards, field position, penalties, punting, kicking off, offense, defense, and on and on, I was exhausted! However, I think Ethan walked away with a much better understanding of the game of football as a result of the effort I put into explaining it in a way that would make sense to someone who was clueless about all the details of football.
As we were driving home from the game (which in classic viking fashion we lost on a last second field goal, because surprise our prevent defense for the one millionth time did not work) I was thinking about how explaining Christianity to someone who has no knowledge of the Bible, Jesus, God, is very difficult and time consuming! However, it is incredible important that we do it! As fewer and fewer people have contact with the Church, and the Bible, the more important it will be for us to learn how to explain our faith in ways that make sense to people who don't understand the Biblical language. We need to know how to explain extremely important concepts such as sin, repentance, salvation, redemption, propitiation, justification, sanctification, faith, grace, mercy, who God the Father is, who Jesus is, who the Holy Spirit is, the trinity, and so forth!
So how would you do, how would I do, in begin able to explain these concepts to someone to whom these concepts are completely foreign? Do you know these concepts well enough to explain them to a four year old? If you don't we need to keep working on your understanding of these concepts. It is true that if you know something really well, you will be able to explain even really complicated ideas, in an easy to understand way. Do you engage in theology? Do you study the above concepts? Do you discuss these with your brothers and sisters in Christ? Do you ask questions about the above concepts? It is easy when your life is surrounded with the above concepts that we assume everyone knows what we are talking about. They don't, and we need to do the hard work of preparing ourselves to explain the vital concepts of the Christian faith to those who desperately need to hear the good news of Jesus Christ! Talking too much once in awhile might prove to make an eternal
difference!
As we were driving home from the game (which in classic viking fashion we lost on a last second field goal, because surprise our prevent defense for the one millionth time did not work) I was thinking about how explaining Christianity to someone who has no knowledge of the Bible, Jesus, God, is very difficult and time consuming! However, it is incredible important that we do it! As fewer and fewer people have contact with the Church, and the Bible, the more important it will be for us to learn how to explain our faith in ways that make sense to people who don't understand the Biblical language. We need to know how to explain extremely important concepts such as sin, repentance, salvation, redemption, propitiation, justification, sanctification, faith, grace, mercy, who God the Father is, who Jesus is, who the Holy Spirit is, the trinity, and so forth!
So how would you do, how would I do, in begin able to explain these concepts to someone to whom these concepts are completely foreign? Do you know these concepts well enough to explain them to a four year old? If you don't we need to keep working on your understanding of these concepts. It is true that if you know something really well, you will be able to explain even really complicated ideas, in an easy to understand way. Do you engage in theology? Do you study the above concepts? Do you discuss these with your brothers and sisters in Christ? Do you ask questions about the above concepts? It is easy when your life is surrounded with the above concepts that we assume everyone knows what we are talking about. They don't, and we need to do the hard work of preparing ourselves to explain the vital concepts of the Christian faith to those who desperately need to hear the good news of Jesus Christ! Talking too much once in awhile might prove to make an eternal
difference!
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Faith Like A Child- Big girl beds, sin, and the throne of grace!
We recently made the big transition with our two year old getting her crib taken down and replacing in with "A big girl bed." For those of you who have never gone through this transition, let me share with you a bit of the ramifications of moving from a crib to a "big girl bed." A crib has four sides which confine the child. Meaning: when the child is in bed, they will stay in bed (unless they begin climbing out of the crib but that's a story for another day). A big girl bed has..... no sides. Meaning: They can get out of bed whenever they want to. The first several days of the switch were great and we had no issues of Anaya getting out of bed when she was supposed to be sleeping. However, in recent days that initial success has come to a screeching halt. It was a few minutes after putting her to bed and she came walking back out into the living room, so we calmly reminded her that it was bed time, and that she needed to stay in bed until morning. A few minutes later she was back in the living room, and this time we were a bit more stern about reminding her that she needed to stay in bed. A few minutes later, she was back again. This time we were even more firm and stern with her as we picked her up and quickly deposited her back into her bed.
A few minutes later...... here she comes again! However, this time it was different. She was walking incredibly slow and she had covered her face with her blanket because she knew very well that she was doing something she was not supposed to be doing and she was hoping that if we did not see her that she would avoid getting in trouble. You can probably guess how well that worked for her.... it didn't! That was the last battle of the night. Mom and Dad finally proved victorious as Anaya did not make another appearance until morning! There is nothing quite like the calm and quiet of a house full of kids who are sound asleep!
The whole event got me thinking about sin. We all sin, that is not a surprise to any of us! We all have sin that we seem to struggle with more than others. That one sin that we seem to commit time and time, and time, and time, again. It is often with those repetitive ongoing sins that we attempt to hide them from God. We no longer want God to see our sin, we no longer want to ask God for forgiveness for our sin because we have come to him time and time, and time, and time again with our sin and we are to the point where we just want hide our faces in hopes that God will no longer see our sin.
Friend, this brings us to the beauty of the Gospel message. We can take the blanket off, we can stop trying to hide our sin from God (because it doesn't work), and we can allow Him through His spirit to transform us more into the likeness of Jesus. If you have entered into a relationship with God, through Jesus, when God looks at you He no longer see's your sin, He see's the perfect righteousness of Jesus which has been imputed (placed) on you! How incredible is that! It is not because you deserved it, it is not because you only came out of your room 3 times last night, it is totally and completely the grace of God given to you, a sinner.
Hebrews 4:14-16 is the perfect description of what this looks like, "Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are- yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." Friend, approach the throne of grace with confidence, take the blanket off your face and go before God knowing that you will find the grace and help you need!
Monday, June 4, 2012
Stop believing in yourself
WARNING: I AM GOING ON A RANT
If you are on facebook you are probably well aware of the current craze of posting quotes, often times containing an inspiring pictures in the background. I have no idea where people are finding all these quotes and pictures, but they are everywhere! Some I admit are funny. A few are actually inspiring. Many are annoying as I have to scroll pass them to see what is going on in the lives of family and friends. And some of them just make me really mad. They are the ones that either say, "Believe in yourself" or allude to this idea that we should trust and believe in ourselves and everything will be ok. What makes matters worse if these are often times posted by well-meaning brothers and sisters in Christ. The problem: The idea of believing in yourself IS NOT BIBLICAL in anyway, shape, or form. Believing in yourself is a terrible idea. Here is the self that you are believing in according to Romans 3, "There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understand, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one one who does good, not even one. Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit. The poison of vipers is on their lips. Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace they do not know. There is no fear of God before their eyes." A few verses in later in chapter 3, "For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." Friend, if you are believing in yourself, that is who you are believing in. You are believing in a person who has been deeply and throughly affected by sin in every fiber of your body. We need to stop pretending that we are pretty good people, when the Bible makes it abundantly clear that we are really wicked, sinful people, who have sinned against the God of the universe.
Friend, the only hope for you, and the only hope for me, is Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ died in my place. Jesus Christ took my punishment. Jesus Christ took God's wrath against my sin, upon himself. My hope is not in believing in myself, my hope is in believing in Jesus. In believing what HE accomplished on the cross for me. Believing in yourself will lead to an eternity apart from God, in hell, because you (just like me) have sinned and fallen short of God's glory. Galatians 6:14, "May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world." Stop believing in yourself. Start believing in Jesus and what HE HAS ALREADY ACCOMPLISHED ON YOUR BEHALF!
END RANT
If you are on facebook you are probably well aware of the current craze of posting quotes, often times containing an inspiring pictures in the background. I have no idea where people are finding all these quotes and pictures, but they are everywhere! Some I admit are funny. A few are actually inspiring. Many are annoying as I have to scroll pass them to see what is going on in the lives of family and friends. And some of them just make me really mad. They are the ones that either say, "Believe in yourself" or allude to this idea that we should trust and believe in ourselves and everything will be ok. What makes matters worse if these are often times posted by well-meaning brothers and sisters in Christ. The problem: The idea of believing in yourself IS NOT BIBLICAL in anyway, shape, or form. Believing in yourself is a terrible idea. Here is the self that you are believing in according to Romans 3, "There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understand, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one one who does good, not even one. Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit. The poison of vipers is on their lips. Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace they do not know. There is no fear of God before their eyes." A few verses in later in chapter 3, "For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." Friend, if you are believing in yourself, that is who you are believing in. You are believing in a person who has been deeply and throughly affected by sin in every fiber of your body. We need to stop pretending that we are pretty good people, when the Bible makes it abundantly clear that we are really wicked, sinful people, who have sinned against the God of the universe.
Friend, the only hope for you, and the only hope for me, is Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ died in my place. Jesus Christ took my punishment. Jesus Christ took God's wrath against my sin, upon himself. My hope is not in believing in myself, my hope is in believing in Jesus. In believing what HE accomplished on the cross for me. Believing in yourself will lead to an eternity apart from God, in hell, because you (just like me) have sinned and fallen short of God's glory. Galatians 6:14, "May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world." Stop believing in yourself. Start believing in Jesus and what HE HAS ALREADY ACCOMPLISHED ON YOUR BEHALF!
END RANT
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
A glimpse of Jesus at Walmart
It was Friday evening and I was at Walmart getting groceries for the week. It was the first time shopping since our family decided to go on the Feingold diet (a diet that eliminates preservatives, artificial flavoring, colors, and other things) and after 1 1/2 hours of working my way through the busy isles checking every item to see if it was acceptable according to the Food list and shopping guide that I had with me, I was ready to be done, and go home. I was waiting in line to check out and it was then that I caught a glimpse of Jesus. I don't know about the Walmart that you typically visit, but at the Walmart I typical visit the workers are usually courteous and polite, but that is about it. As soon as the cashier finished checking out the individual in front of me she turned her attention to me, and gave a warm greeting with a generous and sincere smile and asked me how I was doing in a tone that took me back because it sounded like she really cared. I gave the common, "pretty good" which at that moment really meant I am crabby, tired, frustrated, stressed, and the faster you can get me out of this store the better. After giving my answer I asked her how she was doing, and her answer was, "I am doing great, thank you so much for asking." Her answer surprised me for several reasons.
First, I am not sure that I have ever had a worker at Walmart respond by saying they are doing great, so that surprised me. Second, I was surprised by how genuine she seemed in her answer. As far as I can tell she wasn't just saying "great" when in reality she was miserable. Third, I was surprised by how she genuinely seemed truly grateful that I took the time to ask how she was doing. Had the conversation ended here, and nothing more but polite courtesies ensued until I was walking out of Walmart, I would have left surprised, encouraged, and wondering what made that woman so different than all the other workers I have encountered at Walmart.
For the next 2-3 minutes as she scanned all my groceries we had a great conversation. I learned that she lost her husband four years ago to cancer, and after replying by saying I am so sorry to hear that she told me that I shouldn't be, and went on to tell me that had her husband never gotten cancer he would not have come into a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. We talked briefly, and than I was on my way. As I was leaving the store I said a brief prayer of thanksgiving to God for my sister in Christ. As I was driving home I reflected about all the people who go through her lane on a given day and leave the store encouraged, surprised, and wondering what made her so different. Jesus living through her is what made her different, and every day people get to catch a glimpse of Jesus at Walmart in Cambridge, MN when my sister in Christ is working. I believe that God will use many of those glimpses in his grand scheme of drawing people to Himself!
At Walmart in Cambridge, MN I have a sister in Christ who offered me, and countless others, a glimpse of Jesus. Thank you. Now the question for you and me is simple? Are we giving people glimpses of Jesus at work, at home, at the store, at sporting events or wherever life takes us? We don't always have opportunities to sit down and share the Gospel message with every person that crosses our path in a given day, however we should always strive to give people a glimpse of Jesus. A glimpse of His love, His grace, His patience, and His kindness that will help pave the way for the Gospel to be spoken and received by that person. Maybe you will be the one who has the joy of speaking the Gospel message to that person, or maybe it will be someone else, but never forget how incredibly important a one minute encounter with a person might be. Give people around you a glimpse of Jesus today.
First, I am not sure that I have ever had a worker at Walmart respond by saying they are doing great, so that surprised me. Second, I was surprised by how genuine she seemed in her answer. As far as I can tell she wasn't just saying "great" when in reality she was miserable. Third, I was surprised by how she genuinely seemed truly grateful that I took the time to ask how she was doing. Had the conversation ended here, and nothing more but polite courtesies ensued until I was walking out of Walmart, I would have left surprised, encouraged, and wondering what made that woman so different than all the other workers I have encountered at Walmart.
For the next 2-3 minutes as she scanned all my groceries we had a great conversation. I learned that she lost her husband four years ago to cancer, and after replying by saying I am so sorry to hear that she told me that I shouldn't be, and went on to tell me that had her husband never gotten cancer he would not have come into a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. We talked briefly, and than I was on my way. As I was leaving the store I said a brief prayer of thanksgiving to God for my sister in Christ. As I was driving home I reflected about all the people who go through her lane on a given day and leave the store encouraged, surprised, and wondering what made her so different. Jesus living through her is what made her different, and every day people get to catch a glimpse of Jesus at Walmart in Cambridge, MN when my sister in Christ is working. I believe that God will use many of those glimpses in his grand scheme of drawing people to Himself!
At Walmart in Cambridge, MN I have a sister in Christ who offered me, and countless others, a glimpse of Jesus. Thank you. Now the question for you and me is simple? Are we giving people glimpses of Jesus at work, at home, at the store, at sporting events or wherever life takes us? We don't always have opportunities to sit down and share the Gospel message with every person that crosses our path in a given day, however we should always strive to give people a glimpse of Jesus. A glimpse of His love, His grace, His patience, and His kindness that will help pave the way for the Gospel to be spoken and received by that person. Maybe you will be the one who has the joy of speaking the Gospel message to that person, or maybe it will be someone else, but never forget how incredibly important a one minute encounter with a person might be. Give people around you a glimpse of Jesus today.
Monday, April 16, 2012
Faith like a child- Saying Amen!
Awhile back I was rocking Anaya (20 months old) as we always do for her bedtime routine. After singing a couple songs it was time to pray. We were praying for some friends, and after each phrase Anaya responded by saying "yeah." She had never done this before, and has not done it since but it presented a beautiful picture of what we mean when we say the word amen. Here is a little of the prayer from that night...
Me: God, we want to pray for _____________. Anaya: yeah
Me: We ask that you would give her strength. Anaya: yeah
Me: We ask that you would show grace to her body Anaya: yeah
Me: We ask that you would help her to feel your presence Anaya: yeah
And that is how the prayer continued on until it was complete. It was beautiful and precious, and something that I will likely not forget. It also created a beautiful picture of the word amen, which essentially is a word we use to say that we agree. Here is one definition that I found for the word amen.
"Amen is an exclamation expressing agreement with a statement. At the end of a prayer it expresses the genuineness or truth of the petition or praise."
Saying amen makes perfect sense at the end of the prayer, but that is not the only time when it is appropriate. Anytime you read, or hear, about a truthful declaration being made about who God is, or what God is doing, saying amen would be an appropriate response demonstrating your agreement with the statement that has been made about God. I think it would do us all good to be continually voicing our agreement as we hear and read declarations about who God is and what He is doing! So, what do you have to say amen to today? Or as Anaya so beautiful reminded me, what phrase do you simply want to respond to by saying, "YEAH!"
Me: God, we want to pray for _____________. Anaya: yeah
Me: We ask that you would give her strength. Anaya: yeah
Me: We ask that you would show grace to her body Anaya: yeah
Me: We ask that you would help her to feel your presence Anaya: yeah
And that is how the prayer continued on until it was complete. It was beautiful and precious, and something that I will likely not forget. It also created a beautiful picture of the word amen, which essentially is a word we use to say that we agree. Here is one definition that I found for the word amen.
"Amen is an exclamation expressing agreement with a statement. At the end of a prayer it expresses the genuineness or truth of the petition or praise."
Saying amen makes perfect sense at the end of the prayer, but that is not the only time when it is appropriate. Anytime you read, or hear, about a truthful declaration being made about who God is, or what God is doing, saying amen would be an appropriate response demonstrating your agreement with the statement that has been made about God. I think it would do us all good to be continually voicing our agreement as we hear and read declarations about who God is and what He is doing! So, what do you have to say amen to today? Or as Anaya so beautiful reminded me, what phrase do you simply want to respond to by saying, "YEAH!"
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Forgiveness: Part 5- What it is!
Forgiveness is hard, but for the Jesus follower forgiveness is necessary. We have spent time looking at the Gospel message to see why forgiveness is necessary, and also to gain the motivation we need to forgive others who have done the unthinkable to us and those we love. Scripture makes it clear that we need to forgive others, so the last question to ask and answer is what does it mean to forgive others.
The only logical place to look when asking the question what does it mean to forgive others, is looking at what it means that God has forgiven us. In God forgiving us it means that He no longer holds our offenses against us. God has released, removed, taken away our sins, our offenses against Him. God no longer holds our sin over our heads saying, "I remember when you..... and because of that I am going to treat you this way." Forgiving someone means that you no longer hold what that person did against them. You let it go, you release it. This does not necessarily mean that you forget, but when you do remember the offense you no longer hold it against the person.
In God forgiving us, God was seeking our good. So in forgiving others it means that we desire and seek the good of the person who has offended us, and if opportunity arrises to bless and bring something good into that persons life we will do it. (Love your enemy). After all, I was God's enemy and He sought my good, so we need to seek the good of those who have offended us.
Forgiveness can be very painful. It is not an easy, quick, painless, process to forgive someone in a Biblical manner. It is painful to release someones offense(s) against you. It is really hard too. It is painful and costly to seek the good of someone who has hurt you in such deep ways, that is painful and costly. Forgiveness was painful for God too, in having to send His son to die a horrific death in order to forgive you and me. Forgiveness is never easy, and true Biblical forgiveness is costly, and painful. However, once reaching the place of forgiveness you will find incredible peace, joy, relief, and grace fill your life.
I feel like I need to add a disclaimer. Forgiving someone, does not mean that you must continue to put yourself in a situation where you are being abused in any way. Forgiveness does not mean that you do not take steps to distance and remove yourself (or others) from someone who is abusing and hurting others.
So how has God been working in your life in the area of forgiveness? I would love to hear your story! In this blog series I have only been able to scratch the surface when it comes to forgiveness. If you have further questions or concerns regarding this issue I would love to discuss those with you. So feel free to contact me to share your story and God's work in your life, and/or to further discuss forgiveness. You can contact me by e-mail- joshrobertson52@gmail.com
It is my prayer that God has used this as together we struggle and strive to forgive others as God has forgiven us.
The only logical place to look when asking the question what does it mean to forgive others, is looking at what it means that God has forgiven us. In God forgiving us it means that He no longer holds our offenses against us. God has released, removed, taken away our sins, our offenses against Him. God no longer holds our sin over our heads saying, "I remember when you..... and because of that I am going to treat you this way." Forgiving someone means that you no longer hold what that person did against them. You let it go, you release it. This does not necessarily mean that you forget, but when you do remember the offense you no longer hold it against the person.
In God forgiving us, God was seeking our good. So in forgiving others it means that we desire and seek the good of the person who has offended us, and if opportunity arrises to bless and bring something good into that persons life we will do it. (Love your enemy). After all, I was God's enemy and He sought my good, so we need to seek the good of those who have offended us.
Forgiveness can be very painful. It is not an easy, quick, painless, process to forgive someone in a Biblical manner. It is painful to release someones offense(s) against you. It is really hard too. It is painful and costly to seek the good of someone who has hurt you in such deep ways, that is painful and costly. Forgiveness was painful for God too, in having to send His son to die a horrific death in order to forgive you and me. Forgiveness is never easy, and true Biblical forgiveness is costly, and painful. However, once reaching the place of forgiveness you will find incredible peace, joy, relief, and grace fill your life.
I feel like I need to add a disclaimer. Forgiving someone, does not mean that you must continue to put yourself in a situation where you are being abused in any way. Forgiveness does not mean that you do not take steps to distance and remove yourself (or others) from someone who is abusing and hurting others.
So how has God been working in your life in the area of forgiveness? I would love to hear your story! In this blog series I have only been able to scratch the surface when it comes to forgiveness. If you have further questions or concerns regarding this issue I would love to discuss those with you. So feel free to contact me to share your story and God's work in your life, and/or to further discuss forgiveness. You can contact me by e-mail- joshrobertson52@gmail.com
It is my prayer that God has used this as together we struggle and strive to forgive others as God has forgiven us.
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