God gives grace to the humble–but He rejects the proud.  We all know this–but today, I was reminded that Christ often added this little statement to some of His most meaningful words: “He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.”  Why do people who have ears not hear?  The Psalmist says something very interesting in Psalm 40:6: “…but you have given me an open ear…” In context, the Psalmist is seeking to align himself with those who make God their trust, who do not turn to the proud, who see God like no one else, and are not externally giving of themselves to “religious activities.”  Yet, it is God who opens the ear–this is truly gracious of God to open the ears of those who love Him alone.

I wonder then, how much do I really miss hearing God because my ears are so closed to him and filled with other things–even religious things that are as big as burnt offerings and sacrifices.  Over time, the goodness and grace of God is not what marks my life–it is burnt offerings and sacrifices that gives a deafening sound to all around me.  Grace isn’t flowing; self-righteousness is.  Our churches are filled with people like me.  Consequently, there is very little hearing of God and the aroma of Christ and the grace of God is quiet.  So we resort to manufactured burnt offerings and sacrifices and just “do church.”  Grace doesn’t flow–not because God is on break or taking a nap, but because we are not making Him our trust.

Trust in the Lord! Pursue His great grace today and let your heart and mind and soul be filled with all the fullness of Him.  Let those of us who have ears, let us hear!

I was asked this recently.  I am not always sure what truth they are talking about, so I am slow to respond.  I have to delve further–“what do YOU mean by ‘truth’?”  In context, we were talking about the Christian life.  I had to be honest with myself and come to terms with a phrase that I have tried to orient my life by: “What is TRUE about this circumstance?”  So, for me, getting it right in life is coming to terms with what really is true.  Of course, many people ask this question: “What is truth?”  Scripture gives us this by stating that God’s Word is truth in John 17.  The Holy Spirit’s job is to guide us unto all truth in John 16:13.  Christ is THE truth  in John 14:6. So, for the believer, we shouldn’t have a problem in finding truth.

But then, there is this thing called sin–at its very core is deceit.  Satan is a liar and the father of lies (John 8:44).  He used deceit to get Eve to sin.  Sin is at its core the idea that God isn’t really God, but somehow, “I am god.”  This is what got Eve, and then Adam, and now it is true of all of us.  As fallen man, we have this inward desire to be god–that is, to make what we think, what we feel, what we desire to be the truth for our lives.  And on top of all that, we then make very important life decisions every day as if we were really god–as if, our truth is really truth.  It isn’t, and for many of us, we know it isn’t, but it is like we demand it to be so, and so, it is so!  We then, like Adam and Eve hide when we are held accountable for the results of living out our own truth–which isn’t truth, because it isn’t from the One True God.  How dangerous this is! How confusing it is.  We really can’t keep up with our feelings, our deceptions, our own spun truths, so we often set ourselves up for all kinds of problems.  We have lofty expectations in life that are not based in what is really true, but what we so desperately want to true.  One day, we wake up and realize that what we thought was true, really wasn’t–but it is too late and we have entangled ourselves with deceit and the fruit of deceit that our lives do not demonstrate a very accurate picture of Christ and His righteousness–His truth!

Thank God for the Redeemer–the Savior, who has saved me from my self-righteous truth and gave me the everlasting truth of His Word.  I will glory in my Redeemer.  In Him I find truth.

We really do live out our theology–day after day.  Who we think God is and how we see Him and know Him to be greatly effects our every day living.  If God is big, and permeates absolutely every area of our lives, then we will as the writer of Proverbs says, “in all of our ways aknowledge Him, and He will direct our paths.” (Prov 3:6).  We don’t take much time thinking about this, yet it is so very true.  You can tell me all you want about what you “think” or “believe” today, but, time always tells.  Over a period of time, your theology–your view of God really is displayed–whether you like it or not.  I was reminded just recently at a lunch with a fellow that the accounts in Scripture often bear this out–even though we don’t think of it.  For instance, how long was it when God told Abraham he would be a father of a nation, and God actually gave him a baby boy?  In the accounts, we don’t see the months and the years go by, but they do.  You remember how he came to attempt on his own and by his own wife’s pleading to circumvent God’s plan?  I am not sure how may years that was after God communicated to Him His intentions, (10-15??), but it was a long time in our human way of counting time.  Year after year–still, there was no boy born.  It must have been discouraging, deflating, and yes, humbling.  Was God asleep?  Was God insignificant, and was His Word invalid?  Think of the nights of doubt and maybe tears as the couple acted in faith, yet nothing happened.  Then, after Sarah’s constant pleading and perhaps badgering, her true theology began to unveil and she displayed unbelief in God.  And, like a  husband often does, he capitulated and when in to Haggar. (Thanks Dr. H for that timely reminder).  Hmm…where was God in this?  God used it–as He always does, because He uses sin sinlessly.  But time told on them both.

Time tells on us too.  Our theology shows up in the way we continue to love our wives.  As life travels on and circumstances unfurl their sovereign design, do we still trust in God’s great love for us?  Is his Word still valid?  Is our desire to be god stimulated because things don’t go as we planned in life with our wives?

Time tells on us too with our children.  Wow, does it ever.  Our view of God and His Word comes sharply into view as we see our humanity all over our children.  It is hard at first to see this when you are a young parent, but as time progresses, it sometimes comes out with a vengeance.

God is true, His Word is true, and Christ Himself is the truth!  Yet, we want our way to be the truth, the way, and the life.  Our unbelief is very imperfect.  But we have a Savior whose perfection in this area is–you guessed it–perfect!  He always did the will of the Father.  Isn’t that what we want to do?  Why?  Hopefully it is because our view of Him is correct.  And time told on Christ as well.  He died trusting in the Father and today lives as the intercessor for us who struggle at contuing belief.  So, let time tell–and it will–that our belief is imperfect, but our trust is in Christ–the perfect believer and we rest in Him alone!

Some friends of ours were just visiting and talking about their search for a new pastor.  This is not a particular new venture these days as pastors seem to bailing left and right on their congregations. I find this a sad thing.  I have always wondered why a pastor would leave before there was another shepherd to take his place.  I am not sure why that is.  I do understand there are times when pastors must step down for various reasons, but it also seems in reality, to be a lack of good shepherds these days.  Why is that?  Some blame seminaries.  I am not so sure.

For me, I think it is a matter of sowing and reaping.  For many pastors, the art of discipleship has been missing on their radar.  We as pastors often do not keep in front of us the need to reproduce in others what God has done in us.  Here is where we are reaping what we have sown.  One would think that making disciples would be an obvious thing to do coming out of the Great Commission in Matthew to “make disciples,” but somehow it gets overlooked.  You see, discipleship is time intensive–and what pastor has time to spend on one person?  Discipleship is dirty–you have to get your hands in sin sometimes and the web of sin is often hard to untangle.  Discipleship is also individual.  It cannot properly be accomplished in a class, or through a lecture.  Christ was very good at making disciples–but not everyone “got it.”  Crowds followed him, but only a very few were genuine disciples.  However, these men “got it” and they began to make disciples and the ministry of the gospel flourished.  Paul “got it” in 2 Tim 2:2 when he explains the proper way disciples are made: give yourselves to others who will in turn give themselves to others.  Good men reproduce good men.  This is goes back to Genesis where God commanded His creation to reproduce “after their kind.”  Certainly a pastor who loves shepherding people because the Great Shepherd, Jesus Christ has shepherded him, can then in turn shepherd and disciple another pastor, can’t he?

I love church planting, but there is such a need for godly men who will give themselves to discipleship who will then shepherd God’s people.  Who will take the time?  Who will take the interest?  Who will fill the spots that are open across this nation and shepherd people to a greater understanding of the Great Shepherd?  I say, “Lord, here am I, send me!”

It is an amazing thing to watch God’s grace at work in the lives of people.  God says that He resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6).  At the very base of our souls, there is much pride.  When Adam and Eve sinned against God, they were in effect saying, “God, Who You are, and what You say, do not matter–it is who I am and what I say that matters.”  This is the essence of pride that demonstrates itself in our lives in the deepest parts of our minds, wills, and emotions.  We want to be God–we are proud people.  So, we are constantly in need of grace.  God’s grace must in fact need to be flowing in our hearts every day because of the pride that swells in our souls.  So, to remind me–and possibly others who would read, I want to blog about the grace of God that I see at work in life–my life, and others.  So, here we go.

Life is all about God–who He is and what He has done, is doing, and will do.  He divinely enables me to live out the righteousness that He has given.  I need that grace not only for salvation, but for continued sanctification as well.  The questions I ask are: How is grace obtained, how is it appropriated, and why is it important for the child of God every day?  I’d love to know your thoughts.  I’ll update more later.  I am a rookie at this, so bear with me.