Tag Archives: John

White as snow since the blood of Christ

Posted on February 16, 2015 by | Comments Off on White as snow since the blood of Christ

white as snowSince about last Wednesday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has forecast snowfall for the tri-state area where I live. To be completely honest, I love snow – I love watching the flakes as they fall to the ground and the look of the fluffy and thick white blanket that hides the ground’s imperfections. This morning I was surprised to actually see about four inches of snow on the ground, but just as I am with every snowfall, my heart turns to my relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. There are several things that snow can teach us about the grace that God gives all who will seek genuine forgiveness.

Behind my apartment, in my back yard, so to speak, there are dips and depressions that fill the ground. There are also old cigarette butts from previous occupants and neighbors that still rise to the surface. There are weeds, crab grass, and a few dead leaves – all unsightly things that makes the yard difficult to enjoy. If we are completely honest with ourselves, it is a good analogy to how we must appear to God without the blood of Christ. The prophet Isaiah wrote under the leading of the Holy Spirit, But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away (Isaiah 64:6). Everyone has things in their life – sins – that are unsightly in the eyes of God. The apostle Paul wrote, For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23) and As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one (Romans 3:10). Without the grace of God, we appear just as a neglected yard before a snowstorm. We are filled with imperfections, with flaws, and other unsightly things.

Snow covers imperfections

This morning, by the time I woke up, there was nearly five inches of snow on the ground. No longer visible were the imperfections and unsightly clutter in the yard, but a thick, white blanket of snow. Again, the prophet Isaiah wrote as was led by the Holy Spirit, Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool (Isaiah 1:18). The Lord himself invites people to come and reason with the promise that we’ll be made pure from our sins – white as snow! David similarly wrote, Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities (Psalms 51:7-9).

Just as the snowfall hides the blemishes of the yard from our eyesight, the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ cleanses and blots out our sins. The “reasoning together” the Lord invites everyone to take part in is simply the same question He asked of Israel during the exodus from Egypt: I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live (Deuteronomy 30:19). The apostle Paul shows the importance of this reasoning with the Lord: That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved (Romans 10:9). By choosing to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal savior, we choose eternal life and he have our sins forgiven; even the Lord Jesus Christ taught, For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins (Matthew 26:28).

Jesus’ blood covers our sins

The apostle John wrote, And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood (Revelation 1:5) – when we accept Jesus we have become white as snow because of the shed blood of Jesus! There is no other way we can become white as snow without the blood of Christ; Paul wrote to the early Christians living in Jerusalem: And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission (Hebrews 9:22). Even Jesus taught this very idea during his earthly ministry that all paths do not lead to God; there is only one way that man will ever be justified in the eyes of God: Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me (John 14:6).

But this is where the similarity between the blood of Christ and snow ends. The blood of Christ remains pure and able to continue to cleanse us from our sins. After a few days, the snow will begin to melt, it will get dirty, and it will begin to show what is underneath it. David wrote, For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us (Psalms 103:11-12). Once we have been forgiven of our sins, the blood and love of Christ forever separates them from us once we have repented. And when we do sin again, all we have to do is to confess our sins, as John wrote: If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). Paul wrote that when we genuinely seek forgiveness of our sins God will not remember them from the point we seek His forgiveness any more: For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more… And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more (Hebrews 8:12 & Hebrews 10:17).

As I watch the snow continue to fall I am amazed at God’s grace towards me. There’s nothing special about me that God should show me such unmerited favor in His sight. He has blessed me beyond all measure and explanation. He can and will do the same for you if you will simply call upon the name of Jesus and believe that God raised Him from the dead and that He has made atonement for your sins. You, too, can have a life that appears white as snow to the Lord!

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Don’t pass on hurt feelings

Posted on February 4, 2015 by | Comments Off on Don’t pass on hurt feelings

Financial_Distress_Prayer15Hurt feelings happen to everyone and there is no one immune from experiencing the sting of them. A careless act, word, or deed from a close friend or family member has the ability to set us on an emotional edge. Sometimes the hurt is unintentional and is simply an act of ignorance or not clearly thinking; however, there are other times the hurt is deliberate and intentional. Regardless of if the hurt was intentional or not, it still does not change that we were hurt. What becomes more important than why we were hurt is how we choose to respond to the hurt.

Hurt feelings can cloud our judgment

The apostle Paul wrote, Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath (Ephesians 4:26) and this is good advice. Wrath, mostly associated with extreme anger, is any intense emotion that brings us to the extent we begin to target others for retribution. Hurt feelings can lead to the development of wrath if we allow ourselves to hold on to them long enough. Hurt feelings can cloud our judgment in many ways, often lowering our inhibitions. Things we normally would not do suddenly can become appealing – especially if we believe they will help us get even with whomever we believe did us wrong. The longer we foster the hurt feelings, the harder it becomes to avoid the desires to “get even.” Being formally trained in the books of the Old Testament, I believe the apostle Paul was simply taking a couple of David’s verses to heart:  Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah (Psalms 4:4) and Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil. For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth (Psalms 37:8-9). Just in these three verses there is so much wisdom given in how we are to handle hurt feeling.

When we feel that we’ve been wronged, our judgment becomes clouded as our fleshly nature begins to influence our thoughts. Again, Paul addresses our dual nature – the nature of Christ that dwells in us through the Holy Spirit and the fleshly nature that we were born with – That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness (Ephesians 4:22-24). The Holy Spirit, through the writings of Paul, is pleading with us to avoid doing the things that our flesh desires when our feelings have been hurt. Just as the Holy Spirit, through the writings of David, pleads with us to take our hurt feelings to the Lord, to commune – or share – our pain with Him, and allow Him to take care of it, the same Spirit pleads with us to put on our new nature and to forsake the old, sinful, and fleshly nature.

David wrote, fret not thyself in any wise to do evil (Psalms 37:8b) as a reminder that no matter how hurt we are we are not do evil to others, including the person or persons that hurt us. When we are living in the flesh it is easy to do just that. In fact, if we look at modern entertainment, there are hundreds of movies, television shows, and music that focus on some character getting even with someone else at any cost. I’ve taught at the college level now for nearly 12 years and am always amazed at how far some people will go to “get even” with someone else – all because they had their feelings hurt or were otherwise embarrassed. Again, David writes to us not to worry ourselves over getting even with those that have hurt us. As children of God, we are called to let Him handle these things; again, Paul highlights this very thought of God handling it as he wrote, Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good (Romans 12:17-21).

Taking our hurt to the Lord

One thing that is clear from the writings of Paul and David is that no matter how small or insignificant our hurt is, God does care. It takes a great act of faith to do what we know the Lord wants us to do. He wants us to share our hurt and our pain with Him. He wants us to let Him handle it, and He wants us to put our complete faith in Him. It’s difficult when you feel that someone has emotionally sucker-punched you to simply say “Lord, here’s how I am feeling and I give it to you…” and walk away. It takes real strength to say, “Lord, so-and-so did this and it really hurts; please help me deal with it…” and leave it in the Lord’s hands, but that is exactly what He expects us to do. The Bible teaches us that in times like these, we simply need to Be still, and know that I am God (Psalms 46:10a) and we need to remember  what Jesus taught: Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows (Matthew 10:29-31).

Within these posts I share with you, there is nothing discussed in them that I do not put into regular practice in my own life. A while ago, I had someone hurt me but instead of allowing myself to fester over it, I took it directly to the Lord. In my prayers to Him, I asked for the grace to forgive them and to not hold them to the hurt feelings they had caused me. I also asked the Lord to forgive them, and that I was going to let the entire event rest in the Lord’s hands. While I admit, in the past I have prayed a similar prayer when I’ve been hurt, this time I decided to really leave it in the Lord’s hands. Every time Satan stoked my fleshly nature, instead of dwelling on it, I would simply hand it back over to the Lord. What happened was that the Lord took away my feelings and gave me complete rest. Instead of worrying about it, I was able to find comfort and joy in obedience to the Lord.

I believe there are reasons why the Lord wants us to carry our hurts onto Him and not handling them ourselves. One of the main reasons that stands in my mind is that we only see one side of the equation. We may never know the reason that someone else said or did whatever it was that hurt us – perhaps it was something as simple as no real thought was put behind it to something as complex as them simply wanting to stir the pot. Whatever the reason is, we can only speculate and it is within our human nature to always look for the worst in other people when it comes to trying to rationalize what they did. Another reason is that we may not be their real target; Jesus taught If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you (John 15:18-19). We are as close to Jesus as they will ever get. The other reason is that the Holy Spirit may be working in the life of the person who has hurt us. They may be feeling hurt themselves, with the presence of the Holy Spirit bringing conviction into their life. We simply happen to be a target of opportunity.

In either of these cases, what would be accomplished by yielding to the flesh and getting even? If it is the Holy Spirit at work in the life of the person who has hurt us and we strike back at them, then we have successfully taught them that Christians are no better than those who are lost that need salvation. We have now hindered the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives and may be the reason they ultimately reject the gospel. If it is a word or deed that has been said or done out of simply not thinking, again I must ask, what have we accomplished? More hurt feelings? More strife between members of the family of God? More division within the church? I believe this is why Jesus taught, Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also (Matthew 5:38-39). It takes someone who walks close with the Lord to be able to turn the other cheek. It is the complete opposite of what our flesh wants to do but what joy and peace it brings when we simply take our hurts, from the small ones to the large ones, to the Lord.

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Personal evangelism: fruit we must bear

Posted on January 28, 2015 by | Comments Off on Personal evangelism: fruit we must bear

244_Paul_ApostlePersonal evangelism is simply described as the efforts of a Christian to share their faith in Jesus Christ with others. It should be easy for each of us, remembering the moment we accepted Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior, to share that moment with others. I remember my “moment” well; I was pulled off the side of the road at a three-way stop on the back side of the campus of Southern Illinois University when I told God I was tired of running, I was tired of feeling like my life didn’t matter, and I was tired of feeling empty. I told God I was a sinner and in need of his grace; I told the Lord that if He would accept me and forgive me, I would completely surrender my life to Him. Immediately I experienced a great psychological weight being lifted off me. As a Christian, I am sure you have experienced that same feeling and know exactly what I am talking about, yet why do we find it so hard to share that with others who need to hear it? Why aren’t we more concerned and burdened to be active in personal evangelism?

During the roughly three-year earthly ministry of Jesus, he taught: I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples (John 15:1-8). In this verse, Jesus is identifying himself as the true vine. To completely understand what imagery that the Lord is using here, I would like to share what I learned a while back about grape vines.

About the true vine

When I was living in Louisiana, I rented a house that had three grapevines. Having never grown grapes before, I decided that the next time I went to the local plant nursery I would ask someone how I should care for these vines. What I learned was that grapevines are not like a peach tree. For a grapevine to produce the best fruit, they must be carefully maintained. The most important part of the grapevine is the “true vine” which is the main stem between the branches and the roots. During the early spring, as the vine emerges from winter hibernation, the vine must be dressed – any branch not having new growth or having growth that is irregular, must be removed. Once the vine begins to bloom, the branches must be dressed again, removing any branch that does not have blooms or having blooms that are irregular. By doing this, not only is the health of the “true vine” protected, but the vine will bear fully mature and developed fruit. Thinking about what Jesus is teaching about, I believe that the fruit that He wants us to bear is nothing other than the spreading and sharing of the gospel. Jesus wants us to become involved in personal evangelism; He wants us to bring others to Him.

Paul and personal evangelism

The apostle Paul understood this teaching of Christ and in his various letters to the churches, we see that the importance of personal evangelism is often written about. After becoming a Christian, the book of Acts records that Paul wasted little time in telling others about what Jesus had done for him: And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God. But all that heard him were amazed, and said; Is not this he that destroyed them which called on this name in Jerusalem, and came hither for that intent, that he might bring them bound unto the chief priests? But Saul increased the more in strength, and confounded the Jews which dwelt at Damascus, proving that this is very Christ (Acts 9:20-22). Even before he had been commissioned as a missionary by the assembly of Christians in Jerusalem, Paul was preaching what he knew about Christ – what Christ had done in his life. Many times Christians do not want to take part in evangelism, fearing they might mess up, get embarrassed, or any number of reasons. The truth is that all of us have a story to share of how the Lord reached down and touched our lives.  After Paul’s surrender to the Lord, he was used to bring the gospel to others in a way that Peter, John, and James were ill-suited to do. Paul was well learned and because of his demonstrated knowledge, was well suited to spread the gospel of Jesus in the Hellenized world of southern Europe and Asia Minor. Peter or James, a fisherman and the son of a carpenter, would have simply been rejected or ignored.

As Christians, each of us have differences in abilities, talents, and backgrounds. We all have the will of Jesus in common. Jesus desires us to bear fruit; He desires us to share what He has done for us with the lost. He has prepared each of us to be able to share the gospel with those whom we come into contact. If we will allow Him, He will prune us, cutting out the things in our lives that will distract us from bearing much fruit. He will allow us to grow, to develop, and to ripen to the point where our fruit becomes bringing others to Him so that they may come to know the Lord Jesus as their personal savior. Our efforts a personal evangelism do not have to be fancy. They just have to be sincere, show an understanding of God’s love and grace, to turn from sin, and the need to trust in Jesus as the only hope for Heaven. While it should always involve scripture, it also is a story that needs to be told from your heart, a personal story of how Jesus loves you. Are you ready to bear fruit for the Master? What good is a grapevine that doesn’t bear grapes? Does your life point the way to the true vine?

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