God loves you-part 2

     God loves us. This is an explosive, life-altering message. But how human to not believe it, or to allow our thoughts to cascade into a thousand other self-demeaning directions. How dare we call unlovely what he has loved with the price of the cross! Yes, God loves us--unconditionally, totally, genuinely. But his love is not a wispy or wimpy "because I love you I will never hassle you about your behavior or call you to account for the ways you disobeyed me." His love demands that we admit our sinfulness, and yet also makes a way of forgiveness--the death of Jesus in our place. Sadly, we pay too little attention to this great love.

     Romans 8: 35-39 tells us that nothing can separate us from God's love.  What incredible news! Nothing can separate me from his love. Not even my particular temperament or my feelings. Nothing. Period.

     This news should be the source of a never-ending refreshing, a spring so cool that it never ceases to satisfy. This news should prompt an overflow of love into the world around us and form the basis for the message we share to initiate the formation of new disciples--in effect, a fulfillment of the Great Commission.

     Not sharing this love is antithetical to its very nature. Our mission as Christians is made easy when we are dwelling in the reality of Romans 8.

     I love the way Eugene Peterson says it in his popular paraphrase:

     "Long before he laid down earth's foundations, he had us in mind, had settle on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love....(What pleasure he took in planning this!) He wanted us to enter into the celbration of his lavish gift-giving by the hand of his beloved Son." Ephesians 1:4-7, Message

     I adapted this blog from my book, "The Cure."

     Have a great day. Relish in this:  GOD LOVES YOU!!!

Harry

God loves you.

     I've been rereading something I wrote a few years ago and wanted to share it with you.  It comes from my book, "The Cure."  Concerning the truth that God loves me....

     The effect of the simple yet profound truth that God loves me is huge.  Within the confidence of his love, there is no need for worry.  I no longer need to impress anyone.  There is no need for despair over my circumstances.  If I am sure that God loves me, I am confident he will work and keep working on my behalf.  

     I can pray with assurance, preach with confidence, smile with sincerity, obey without concern for my own welfare, follow faithfully in the presence of trial or darkness, and share generously.  When I know God's love, I can be strong against temptation, stand unmoving in the midst of persecution, and remain unafraid in the presence of danger.  When I understand love, I'm free from the bondage of the past, the anxiety of the present, and fear of the future.

     If you understand God's love for you, really understand it, you will change the world!

A challenge by Francis Chan

I would like three pounds of God.

I ran across this poem:

I would like to buy three dollars worth of God, please.
Not enough or explode my soul or disturb my sleep,
But just enough to equal a cup of warm milk, or a snooze in the sunshine.
I don’t want enough of Him to make me love a black man, or pick beets with a migrant worker.
I want ecstasy, not transformation.
I want the warmth of the womb, not a new birth.
I want a pound of the eternal in a paper sack.
I would like to buy three pounds of God, please.
–Wilbur Reese

Wow.  Sure, it's tongue in cheek, but honest.  Almost too honest.

I want enough of God to wash away my sin, but not enough to challenge me into personal sacrifice and suffering. I want the Lord of the Universe to come into my life, but then sit quietly at the table and not speak unless I ask.

We want to give him an hour on Sunday.  But do we want to give him all week?

If the Gospel wasn't all about grace, this would be easy.  You see, if I got what I deserved, I could bargain with God.  "I worked this much and fulfilled my part of the bargain, so you can ask this much of me."  Instead, we face the trauma of grace:  Since he gives freely and without merit, he can ask everything.

Harry

The unforced rhythms of grace!

What was it about Jesus that men were willing to follow him to their deaths?

 

Was he harsh?  Sometimes, yes, particularly to religious hypocrites.

 

Was he honest?  Brutally so.  “You’ve had five husbands…”

 

Did he expect sacrifice?  Risk?  “If anyone would follow me let him take up his cross…”

 

But it was not these apparent hard things that defined him.  We know from John chapter one that Jesus was full of grace and truth.  Listen to these words from The Message , Matthew 11:

 

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”

 

I love the phrase, “the unforced rhythms of grace.”

 

Grace is undeserved favor.  I don’t merit it, didn’t earn it, don’t need a qualification for it beyond my own need (believe me, according to this standard, I’m qualified, summa cum laude!).  The ability to accept someone unconditionally (grace) is what gives them the power to change. 

 

Grace isn’t a one time, got-grace-at-the-altar experience.  It is the ongoing characteristic of God that determines his every interaction with his children.  It is present behind every good time.  And every hard trial. 

 

Just because the road has gotten hard doesn’t mean his grace has lapsed.  No, it may be disguised in a cloak of suffering.  We may not see it for what it is on this side of eternity, but I believe God’s character of grace is unchanging.  His actions to us whether roses or trials, reflect his goodness and love towards sinners (us!).

 

Jesus’ invitation in Matthew 11 is open.  Come and rest.  Learn the unforced rhythms of grace.

 

I’m in.

 

Have a great weekend.

 

Harry Lee

What happens when we see God?

I heard Del Tackett (www.deltackett.com) expound Isaiah 6:1-8 and he makes three points in response to my question. I want to expound on them here.

First, let's recap the first few verses from Isaiah 6: "In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he coered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: 'Holy, holy, holy is the lOrd of host; the whole earth is full of his glory!' And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: 'Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!' The one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said: 'Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for. And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, 'Whom shall I send and who will go for us?' Then I said, 'Here am I! Send me.' And he said, 'Go'..."

Look at Isaiah's response to seeing the Lord: I am lost! I am a man of unclean lips. This is the first thing that happens when we see God: We are exposed!

When we encounter the perfect, loving Savior, we quickly see how inadequate we are. But don't despair. Our weakness is our qualification for service! Remember, God is not looking for the strong, but for those who know their strength lies only in him. When we see Jesus for who he really is, our anxieties fall away. Our guilt and shame are erased. There is no place for fear!

The second thing that happens is related to the first and is seen in Isaiah's next response: "I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips." Number two: Our culture is exposed.
The third thing that happens is that God uses us to engage our culture. (Whom shall I send? Here am I, send me!). When we see God, He makes us world changers.

I believe our calling is to show Christ to the world as the true treasure that he is.  When they see Jesus in reality, expect a reaction.

The challenge to me is to live every day so that onlookers will see someone enamored with Christ and not with my own pleasure, riches, reputation or career.

Thanks Del, for reminding me what happens when we look at God.

Harry Lee

A Preposterous "Gospel"

Maybe you've seen the ads on TV where a question is asked, "What if roadies ran the world?" or one of the variations on the theme. Well, today, I'm asking, "What if humans invented the gospel?"

What would it look like if I got to make all the choices. Would I dare suggest qualities of a desired Savior in a personal ad?

Wanted: One Savior, attractive, wind-blown hair, funny, personable, willing to forgive my sin, and purchase my entrance into heaven. Not demanding of sacrifice, and certainly not prone to talk about money and generosity, except to bless me and my family. Able to lead on a smooth road towards Glory, not too many bumps, instilling in me the lofty qualities that men admire, but more instantaneous and without all the trials. A Savior who will heal my pains, and help me shed unwanted pounds without dieting. A Savior willing to hand out financial blessings and one who won't keep talking about service of the poor, taking up my cross and persecution.

Hmmm. It looks like a gospel that revolves around me.

But the Gospel is really all about God. Start to finish. He calls, prepares, saves, and leads an undeserving group of followers down a road characterized by things we define as good and things we'd rather avoid: suffering. The Gospel is all about God getting the glory.

So why do we seem so prone to long for a me-centered gospel?

Perhaps because we don't realize that true joy and blessings come from embracing and treasuring Jesus as he really is in incomprehensible awesomeness. Pastor and author, John Piper calls himself a Christian hedonist because he has realized that true joy and satisfaction in life come from a life lived in service for the king. Since he longs for that kind of joy and satisfaction, he gladly gives his life up to make others glad in God, to find their treasure in Jesus, the King of Kings.

This is where I will find true joy.

Oh Lord, help me see the truth of the Gospel without the blurred lenses of my own selfishness.
Harry Lee