It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. (Galatians 5:1)
Paul was absolutely correct. In Christ, we find utmost freedom.
If you don't believe me, or doubt that yourself even a little bit, I'd offer this. Reading through Mark 5, Jesus heals a demon-possessed man. When Jesus exorcises these demons, they ask Him:
The demons begged Jesus, "Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them." He gave them permission, and the evil spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned (Mark 5:12-13)
Now you might say, well, that's not freedom, the evil spirits had to ask permission. Well, that view, no disrespect, is horribly arrogant. I think checking with Jesus for any request or decision is generally a good idea, since He created everything.
Really, think about it. Demons, yes demons asked Jesus to do something, they requested specifically to go into the pigs, and He gives them the freedom to do so.
So if Jesus gives great sovereignty of choice, does that mean He is not sovereign?
Not in the least, I don't think. In fact, I think it enhances His greatness. He doesn't have to be some autocratic, domineering totalitarian over what He created because He knows that love really doesn't exist in that way. He's obviously mature enough to know that the ones He created will rebel against Him and do stupid things.
Does Jesus get mad and quickly snap His created back in line?
No, just the opposite. He loves even more and offers even more grace. It's really quite counter-intuitive for what we're familiar with here on earth.
In a world that is deprived of all sorts of freedoms for all sorts of people and nations, Jesus offers real freedom from sin and the ways of the world.
Jesus means freedom.
Showing posts with label will. Show all posts
Showing posts with label will. Show all posts
1.14.2010
God's will
I was thinking, "God's will" in the context of the Christian church today is somewhat a twisted term. It's probably common to hear, "I wonder what God's will for my life is?" "Is God's will this or that, should I move to this or that place?"
When we say those phrases the way we intend them, and I have said them a great many times, we are acting incredibly self-centered, becoming the center of the universe.
I mean, really, God's will is God's will, the things He desires and the things that His heart cries for result in actions and decisions that course through our space time history.
Our will, when we decide to do this or that, move to there or here, those decisions are OUR WILL.
I was just feeling convicted that I was being quite self-centered when thinking about God's will for MY life. When I do that, I tend to start with me, think about my desires, whether they are wants or needs, and somehow pray about that, think about it, and then end up projecting that whatever it is is somehow God's will.
God's will is God's will. My will is my will.
When my will corresponds to God's will, which I will say, God's will is the unchanging, perfect, without compromise, absolutely pure will, when my will even minimally aligns with the Great Creator's will, then I'm on to something.
When we say those phrases the way we intend them, and I have said them a great many times, we are acting incredibly self-centered, becoming the center of the universe.
I mean, really, God's will is God's will, the things He desires and the things that His heart cries for result in actions and decisions that course through our space time history.
Our will, when we decide to do this or that, move to there or here, those decisions are OUR WILL.
I was just feeling convicted that I was being quite self-centered when thinking about God's will for MY life. When I do that, I tend to start with me, think about my desires, whether they are wants or needs, and somehow pray about that, think about it, and then end up projecting that whatever it is is somehow God's will.
God's will is God's will. My will is my will.
When my will corresponds to God's will, which I will say, God's will is the unchanging, perfect, without compromise, absolutely pure will, when my will even minimally aligns with the Great Creator's will, then I'm on to something.
12.27.2009
alone time
Many people in our culture consider it weird when people want to spend time alone, be by themselves or get away. Something is thought of as not right, or that person has issues because they can't be in community 24/7.
I think it's interesting that the Gospel authors point out multiple times of Jesus' alone time. As in our culture, Jesus' desire to be by himself, to get away from people, was quite strange for that day and age. Especially in a time where robbers free-roamed the territory, wild animals couldn't be defended against with modern weaponry...it was much more dangerous being alone and people didn't often do it.
Yet Jesus did, alot.
"But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed." (Luke 5:16)
"...Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed..." (Mark 1:35)
"One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God." (Luke 6:12)
"...Sit here while I go over there and pray..." (Matthew 26:36)
The key thing to notice is that Jesus didn't go be alone for the sake of getting away from people. He seems to have gotten away to have deep prayer time with the Father and reflect on His ministry and pray for God's will to be done. Before Jesus made major decisions, He went to be alone.
Ironically, Jesus' alone time seems to have strengthened and fortified Him for the times that He did interact with His community of disciples and the larger crowds full of thousands of people.
And so, just as Jesus was considered a complete weirdo for many of the habits He had and things He did, I think it's safe to say that we can also find intentionality in our times of solitude, for they are necessary to functioning well and living a life full of the Spirit for God.
I think it's interesting that the Gospel authors point out multiple times of Jesus' alone time. As in our culture, Jesus' desire to be by himself, to get away from people, was quite strange for that day and age. Especially in a time where robbers free-roamed the territory, wild animals couldn't be defended against with modern weaponry...it was much more dangerous being alone and people didn't often do it.
Yet Jesus did, alot.
"But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed." (Luke 5:16)
"...Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed..." (Mark 1:35)
"One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God." (Luke 6:12)
"...Sit here while I go over there and pray..." (Matthew 26:36)
The key thing to notice is that Jesus didn't go be alone for the sake of getting away from people. He seems to have gotten away to have deep prayer time with the Father and reflect on His ministry and pray for God's will to be done. Before Jesus made major decisions, He went to be alone.
Ironically, Jesus' alone time seems to have strengthened and fortified Him for the times that He did interact with His community of disciples and the larger crowds full of thousands of people.
And so, just as Jesus was considered a complete weirdo for many of the habits He had and things He did, I think it's safe to say that we can also find intentionality in our times of solitude, for they are necessary to functioning well and living a life full of the Spirit for God.
12.22.2009
Mark 8
It's great how Jesus asks rhetorical questions to cut straight to issues that really matter. He asks a few of them in Mark 8, and they're quite poignant for the current reality of my life. His questions are good are-you-living-the-gospel reality checks.
Here's one:
He sighed deeply and said, "Why does this generation ask for a miraculous sign? I tell you the truth, no sign will be given to it." (Mark 8:12)
(notice Jesus sighed deeply before he said that, as if to communicate...you guys still really don't get it!!) I think a great number of Christians are always looking for a "neon sign" that points us to God's will. In life, we want signs or dreams or messages to tell us which big decisions to make that will properly line up with walking and serving God.
If we think about this for a second, this line of thinking is not really in the heart of God. He gives us an example and His word in Christ to know what His heart deeply cares about. God gives us freedom in our life to decide how to go about fulfilling that gospel magnetism with professed allegiance to Christ.
In this passage in Mark, Jesus just fed about 4,000 MEN the text says (more when adding women and children present)...so maybe about 10,000 people with 7 (SEVEN) loaves of bread. Jesus did this just after his disciples confessed their lack of faith "But where in this remote place can anyone get enough bread to feed them?"
Their problem is the same one I encounter when it comes to gospel living. I proudly depend on myself, my faculties, my abilities when it comes to trying to live out the gospel.
The same thing happens with Peter later in Mark 8 (8:31-33).
Hence, it's fitting that Mark 8 closes with:
Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels."
notice Jesus said this to the crowd AND the disciples. He wants this to be public knowledge.
He's telling us to get rid of ourselves and our pride. Forget the ways of the world. It's empty tired and broken. Pursuing its rewards is empty and full of despair.
Jesus is challenging us to live a life marked by free gospel living that is based on an everlasting devotion to His name, depending on His power and not ours.
Here's one:
He sighed deeply and said, "Why does this generation ask for a miraculous sign? I tell you the truth, no sign will be given to it." (Mark 8:12)
(notice Jesus sighed deeply before he said that, as if to communicate...you guys still really don't get it!!) I think a great number of Christians are always looking for a "neon sign" that points us to God's will. In life, we want signs or dreams or messages to tell us which big decisions to make that will properly line up with walking and serving God.
If we think about this for a second, this line of thinking is not really in the heart of God. He gives us an example and His word in Christ to know what His heart deeply cares about. God gives us freedom in our life to decide how to go about fulfilling that gospel magnetism with professed allegiance to Christ.
In this passage in Mark, Jesus just fed about 4,000 MEN the text says (more when adding women and children present)...so maybe about 10,000 people with 7 (SEVEN) loaves of bread. Jesus did this just after his disciples confessed their lack of faith "But where in this remote place can anyone get enough bread to feed them?"
Their problem is the same one I encounter when it comes to gospel living. I proudly depend on myself, my faculties, my abilities when it comes to trying to live out the gospel.
The same thing happens with Peter later in Mark 8 (8:31-33).
Hence, it's fitting that Mark 8 closes with:
Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels."
notice Jesus said this to the crowd AND the disciples. He wants this to be public knowledge.
He's telling us to get rid of ourselves and our pride. Forget the ways of the world. It's empty tired and broken. Pursuing its rewards is empty and full of despair.
Jesus is challenging us to live a life marked by free gospel living that is based on an everlasting devotion to His name, depending on His power and not ours.
1.03.2009
ding! -- the Lord's will
I had a pretty significant "ah-ha!" moment reading through a devotional (Utmost for His highest - Jan 2) yesterday morning and wanted to share it.
So here are my thoughts, and I'll start by using an analogy of marriage to present my case.
So as a marriage grows deeper and more intimate, it's many times the man and wife get to a point where they "know what the other is thinking" or easily understand why the other is upset. Growing in such a relationship is a matter of being in the presence of each other for both quality and quantity amounts of time. A husband and wife at this level of relationship don't sit around asking each other questions to reconcile and become closer. "Hey honey, um, did you just get mad again because I left the toilet seat up?" "Well dear, I didn't say I love you when you left for work today, did that somewhat bother you?" "Through thought osmosis, I'm expressing I adore you, but I really felt I didn't need to say it, is that cool?"
Don't get me wrong, questions are part of growing closer, but the intimacy, I think, really comes from spending quality time together where man and wife can soak in who each other are and what they're about as well as an outflow component of doing life together, so that man and wife can see how each other apply their passions and deeply held priorities to the world.
So here's how it hit me clearly.
My tendency with the Lord is to constantly ask "Lord, Lord, what is your will for me today or this month?" "Should I be doing this?" "Should I be initiating this relationship or trying to do this or that?" "Oh Lord, please show me a sign somehow in the amazing ways you work..." I ask and ponder these questions, but I now really don't think that's the best way for me to discern Christ's will.
My realization was this: I will find out much more what the Lord's will for my life is by coming to Jesus' feet to spend intimate time with Him, not asking Him questions about what our relationship looks like or should look like or what His will is in this or that. As I spend more time with Him, I'll know good and well what He desires.
So here are my thoughts, and I'll start by using an analogy of marriage to present my case.
So as a marriage grows deeper and more intimate, it's many times the man and wife get to a point where they "know what the other is thinking" or easily understand why the other is upset. Growing in such a relationship is a matter of being in the presence of each other for both quality and quantity amounts of time. A husband and wife at this level of relationship don't sit around asking each other questions to reconcile and become closer. "Hey honey, um, did you just get mad again because I left the toilet seat up?" "Well dear, I didn't say I love you when you left for work today, did that somewhat bother you?" "Through thought osmosis, I'm expressing I adore you, but I really felt I didn't need to say it, is that cool?"
Don't get me wrong, questions are part of growing closer, but the intimacy, I think, really comes from spending quality time together where man and wife can soak in who each other are and what they're about as well as an outflow component of doing life together, so that man and wife can see how each other apply their passions and deeply held priorities to the world.
So here's how it hit me clearly.
My tendency with the Lord is to constantly ask "Lord, Lord, what is your will for me today or this month?" "Should I be doing this?" "Should I be initiating this relationship or trying to do this or that?" "Oh Lord, please show me a sign somehow in the amazing ways you work..." I ask and ponder these questions, but I now really don't think that's the best way for me to discern Christ's will.
My realization was this: I will find out much more what the Lord's will for my life is by coming to Jesus' feet to spend intimate time with Him, not asking Him questions about what our relationship looks like or should look like or what His will is in this or that. As I spend more time with Him, I'll know good and well what He desires.
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