Fellow Sojourner

Last night I read my post from Tuesday and I want to make something very clear. We are no longer under the Law. When I reread my thoughts from that morning I felt a touch of bondage to food regulations. I just want to be very clear. Christ fulfilled the Law. In Him is freedom--freedom from performance to gain acceptance.

Food can become such a place of bondage for so many people and the very last thing I want to do is bind you tighter. The point I was trying to make was that God is the giver of wisdom--even in the foods that are best for our bodies. We are free in Christ but as Paul reiterates, does that mean free to sin? Of course not. (see Romans 6:15) We have been given one physical body, why not treat it with a touch of respect and give it foods that make it function optimally. That was my only point. Please hear my heart.

It reminds me of the absolute necessity that we take everything we hear and read back to the Word of God. There are many Bible teachers out there--even ones that I have quoted along the way. But they are human. Yes, hopefully they are seeking after the Lord and submitting to His leading, but people can fail. It is vital that we take everything back to the foundation of God's Word--judging what we are taught against the truth of Scripture. Never take what someone says as truth unless you are certain it lines up with God's will and ways--His heart is firm, faithful, and true.

I read one of my favorite passages this morning. It is from the book of Acts--Acts 5:22-42. The apostles had been arrested and imprisoned, then freed by an angel of the Lord in the night and told to go to the temple and teach. So they obeyed and were soon taken again by the officers and placed on trial before the council. When reminded that they had been asked not to preach in the name of Jesus they replied, "We ought to obey God rather than men."

Likewise, we live for One--Him we are called to obey. This world, even religious elite, may tell us many things to "do" but ultimately our focus need only stay fixed on One. He is our righteous Judge. To know His heart, we must seek after His face. He loves you and me with a perfect love. His plans for you and me are for our good and His glory. He can be trusted with our greatest fears and most tender of hurts.

My hope is that as you read the things I say, your eyes are pointed to the One who is sitting on the throne of heaven. That is my prayer. I am your fellow sojourner showing you where I have found life. Dig deep, friend. Taste and see that He is good. (Psalm 34:8)

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In the Hated Eye

Have you ever been in the hated eye of someone else--where tension lives and chains bind tightly? Maybe you have hurt them. Maybe they have misunderstood your actions. Maybe there is no justification for their scorn.

Two things:

1. If you are the one doing the hating then it is time to forgive. Hatred towards another only puts you in captivity. As a believer we are called to love unconditionally, period. "But you don't know how bad they betrayed me." You are right, I don't. But Jesus was rejected by those He loved, yet He gave His life that they/we might have redemption. If anyone had a reason to hold a grudge I believe it would have been Him. It's time. Forgive and be forgiven. Don't waste your time with hatred.
2. If you are the one being hated then get on your face before God and clear the air with Him first. If you need to ask someone for forgiveness then trust God for boldness to be courageous and then take a step of faith. It is right and good and you will be blessed! If you simply need to pray for that other person then start interceding. Then do good to them.

Proverbs 25:21-22 instructs, "If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink; for so you will heap coals of fire on his head, and the Lord will reward you."

OK, so our motive shouldn't be fire on our enemy's head, but kindness and love does melt a hard heart.

Jesus also says, "love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil. Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful." (Luke 6:35-36, emphasis mine)

Then this world will know that we are His disciples. Pray for opportunities. Pray that God would show you how to be kind to those who persecute you. The point is God's glory--that many would come to know our Awesome Lord!

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Foolish Rebellion

Did you know that 4-year-olds know everything? I didn't think this phenomenon started until the pre-teen years, but my preschooler is proving me wrong. She knows everything. Only the grace of God will surely get us through those teen years. Lord, go before us!

When I think back to my teen years I sadly remember how disrespectful I behaved, especially towards my mom. I have since apologized for my foolish behavior--sorry, again, mom--but the memories still linger spurring my hope for Jesus' return to new heights--you know, before my kids enter this stage.

I was reading in Deuteronomy 32 this morning with regard to God's heart towards His own children. It reads, "He found him in a desert land and in the wasteland, a howling wilderness; He encircled him, He instructed him. He kept him as the apple of His eye. As an eagle stirs up its nest, hovers over its young, spreading out its wings, taking them up, carrying them on its wings, so the Lord alone led him, and there was no foreign god with him" (vv. 10-12)

Isn't that a beautiful depiction of God's loving care for His children. He calls you and I the apple of His eye. He encircles, instructs, and carries. Thank you, Lord. Yet in the following majority of the chapter we see how God's people rebelled. They "grew fat, thick, and obese" with things of this world, and "forsook God who made him, and scornfully esteemed the Rock of his salvation." (v. 15) And devastating judgment followed.

It reminds me of my teen years. Years where I knew it all and rebelled from the teachings of the ones that loved me most. And destruction was inevitable. Sadly I think that some of us grow up in age yet never fully return to our first love--the Lord Himself. He keeps us as the "apple of His eye" even though He may have to discipline as a loving Father. He does know what is best. He is motivated by love. He can be fully trusted with our hearts and lives.

But to understand His ways and gain His perspective in our day to day living--the moments--then it is vital that we sit before Him and listen to His words. Just as a teen--or twenty-something year old--comes to their own parent asking for forgiveness, seeking their wisdom and guidance, and then resting in their love, so must we get before this Holy, loving, good Father. Allow Him to lavish us with His love and allow Him to prune those dead vines. His truth is life to our weary bones.

Keep on.

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