Halloween This time of year most kids and many adults are deciding what they are going to be for Halloween. Of course, no one is actually going to become something other than what they already are. In fact, what they are going to do is dress up and pretend to be someone or something else. This is a natural part of normal child development. All children pretend to be something they are not in the regular types of play. This is actually how we learn many things about how we should behave. A boy tries to mimic his dad and in the process learns to actually be a man. But, in between, he is acting like something that he is not. It is a little more strange with adults though. This phenomenon of adults wanting to dress up can probably fit into a couple of different categories. First, is simply the desire to have some fun. Just a harmless gathering of friends fellowshiping and laughing about who came up with the best or worst ideas. But for others this is not so simple or innocent. This game of pretending for many is a real way of escaping life even if only for a night. This attitude reveals a couple of crucial problems. One of these problems is that these individuals are struggling with a deep sense of unfulfillment. The other issue that comes to mind is that the person may be masking some deep pain or trauma. In either of these situations the cover up cannot and will not bring genuine hope and healing. Cover ups In the case of the person who is seeking an escape, the problem lies in what they are trying to escape from. These people are dealing with problems or stress or conflicts that make their regular life unbearable. However, when they take off the costume the problems are still there. These dilemmas cannot be solved by simply covering them up, but rather must be met with real solutions. The problem with escaping to fantasies is that the real world problems don’t get solved and usually only grow more destructive, depressing and even deadly. For those who are seeking to cover up some deep pain or trauma it is important to realize that the only real hope is found in a proper diagnosis which can lead to the right cure. If the pain is a result of one's own sin and consequences then the only way forward is not to hide away but rather to confess the sin in genuine repentance. But for the person who has been victimized by the sin of someone else the greatest antiseptic is the light of the gospel. Where that sin can be dealt with in both justice and grace and true healing can come from the Holy Spirit. Coverings The point that I am making is not that sin doesn't need to be covered, but rather that coverings are insufficient. When Adam and his chatty bride found themselves naked in the garden they tried to fashion their own covers to vale the wickedness of their sin against God. The problem is that their puny leafy patterns only made the surety of their sin more obvious when confronted by the Lord. The sown leaves could not hide the guilt and shame of their disobedience to the One who made them and loved them (Genesis 3:8-11). But when God showed up, while a curse was necessary, He also extended to them great grace. He made coverings for them that could temporarily and symbolically cover their shame and guilt until the suitable robe would be ready. God made for them coverings of skin by killing animals. Death was the penalty their sin had incurred.(Genesis 3:21) But the skinswere not enough to fully finally cover and remove the stain of sin. Instead depraved humanity needed a greater dress. Therefore we need to be clothed in the righteousness of Christ. However, the garments of Christ’s righteousness are not just some pretend costume that we put on to appear righteous but rather these clothes remove the stain of sin so that we become the righteousness of God in Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 5:16-21). But the only way for us to put on these good garments is by repentance and faith in Jesus, whereby we trust in Him to cleanse us and save us based on His amazing grace and perfect account.
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Not the Clothing Store Today I want to talk about the gap, but I am not talking about the store that you used to find in the mall. (Kids, malls were these places where you could shop in a bunch of different stores all in one building. This was way back in the stone ages before Amazon.) So, if I’m not talking about the store what do I mean by the gap. Well the gap is the chasm that exists relationally between two parties. For example, a couple whose marriage is in trouble might need a counselor or a wise other couple to stand in the gap and help bring about reconciliation. Oftentimes in legal disputes attorneys can stand in the gap and help negotiate equitable solutions without coming all the way into the courtroom. But in the scripture we are confronted with the grand canyon of relational separations in the gap between the holy and righteous God of the universe and the whole of sinful, wicked humanity including you and I. So, who is going to stand in the gap for us? Not Moses In the Old Testament the Lord provided a leader who stood in the gap for His people. Moses was extraordinary because he served as a type of prophet and judge over God’s people. Probably the best word to capture Moses' role in the redemptive purpose of God is that he was a deliverer. The Lord used Moses as His instrument to deliver His people out of the land of Egypt, out of the grip of Pharaoh, and out of the wilderness wandering leading them right up to the entrance into the promised land. During this time, Moses spoke to the people on God’s behalf and went up onto the mountain and into the tent of meeting to meet with God, so that he could speak to the people the words of God. Moses is the prototype of a savior in the Old Testament. Yet, in Jeremiah 15, God says that even if Moses were to stand in with the people He would not be with them because of how they have broken His commandments and hated all His ways. We might think that He was only referring to the generation that was going to be taken into exile in Babylon, but the reality is that every generation of sinful humanity is guilty of this kind of sin, blasphemy, and rebellion. Moses was not a sufficient Savior because, while God used him to bring temporal deliverance, the people didn’t stay saved. Not Samuel At the end of the period of the judges God again raises up a savior. As a matter of fact, the judges are a period where many flawed and imperfect people served as judges and saviors of God’s people. This is a reminder that they always needed a true Savior who could deliver them from their sin and rebellion. Samuel becomes the man of God who stands in the gap during his ministry between God and humanity. However, Samuel was also not the complete savior because He also was not able to bring to the generations of Israel a lasting peace or secure salvation. Again in Jeremiah 15 God also states that even if Samuel stood before Him these people including us all would not be able to remain in His awesome presence because of our sin and iniquity. Only Jesus But praise be to God He has provided a mediator who can stand in the gap for us. Paul says that Jesus being the God-man is able to be the one mediator(1 Timothy 2:5-6). Because Jesus is one who stands in for humanity in genuine perfection while also representing the radiance and holiness of the invisible God (Hebrews 1:1-3). Jesus is the only Savior able to save and deliver sufficiently, completely, and surely. The point is simple: Jesus Saves! He does not try to save or simply want to save or make salvation possible but instead He saves fully and completely everyone who trusts in Him. Know this - all others, those ‘would be’ saviors and tempting idols, will not ultimately be able to save you. Only Jesus can save you. And when Jesus saves and delivers you it’s for keeps. While both Moses and Samuel failed to keep the people saved Jesus and kept His people forever! Simple Is it ok to just want to be happy? Often people, even Christians will say or think that all they want is to be happy. However, happiness is not a great enough purpose to actually make you happy. The reality is that if we live simply to be happy we will inevitably end up not being satisfied, fulfilled, or content. Ultimately we will be saying with Solomon that all is vanity (Ecclesiastes 12:8). My point is simply that chasing happiness is the surest route to misery. Joy is the outcome of abiding in the Lord! As believers remain in Christ and fellowship with the Father and the Son (1 John 1:3-4) through the activity of the Holy Spirit, then true contentment, joy, and even happiness are truly possible.(Romans 14:17) It is also important to note that God loves His people too much to only desire our happiness. That may sound strange because many well meaning parents will boast that they just want their children to be happy. However, Christians parents ought to want far more for their children than simply happiness. Instead we should desire for our children to grow in holiness and reverence for God so that they will be used for His glory. Truly all people will be for His glory in one way or another but we desire that our children and ourselves would delight in the Lord (Psalm 37:4). Service Often in an effort to achieve happiness what we will do is seek to live easy and even lazy lives. We will seek comfort and satisfaction from every desire or craving. But the outcome of this kind of resistance free or go with the flow kind of lifestyle is that we will lose our strength as our muscles become atrophied from our lack of diligent effort. To live truly fulfilling lives we need the strength that comes from exercising real effort. We also need the health that comes from practicing genuine restraint. The fruit of the Spirit does include the attributes of patience and self control (Galatians 5:22). The point is that as Christ is formed in us (Galatians 4:19) and as we are conformed to the image of Christ (Romans 8:29) we grow in our experience of joy, peace, and hope regardless of our external circumstances. As a matter of fact it is a great privilege that God would count us faithful and allow us a place of service (1 Timothy 1:12). God does not call us into service to meet some need in Him for as God He is all sufficient in Himself and in need of nothing. And God does not bring us into service simply because of the needs of others for He could certainly meet those needs without us. But instead God brings us into service so that we can get the benefits of giving and serving (Acts 20:35). Sacrifice Ultimately, we see even in the life of the Lord Jesus Himself that sacrifice precedes joy. Remember that Jesus was looking to the joy when he voluntarily went to the cross enduring the violence and despising the shame for us. He was set on the culmination of the kingdom for the glory of God (Hebrews 12:2). Even so we are also called to sacrifice, not because God wants to take something away from us, but rather he wants to produce something in us for our good and His glory (1 Peter 1:3-9)! Pledge In a world that encourages an insatiable appetite for what is new and fresh we can easily lose our sense of commitment and connection. We see that when we face struggles or difficulties it is easier to just move on to the next opportunity than work through our current problems. As our attention spans become shorter our level of dedication is weakened. This presents a couple of detrimental problems. The first problem is that we will develop a genuine phobia of commitment. Pledging ourselves to something or someone in this state of mind feels more like a cage than an adventure. You often hear that many people today are delaying marriage because one or both parties are afraid of the commitment. Even with the legal arrangement of marriage many if not most couples and families still operate like joint partners more than members of an inseparable union. This behavior is not unreasonable because with the high rate of divorce and the culture of serial dating and unwed cohabitation, individuals are training themselves to expect the relationship to fail. One can usually see this phenomenon when people passionately declare their devotion today and by tomorrow they are ready to abandon their relationship. This can also be true of people joining the church with honeymoon expectations that now they have found the right church only to fall away quickly when they realize that those people are real life sinners just like in every other local church. The second problem is a genuine lack of ability to stay amidst a real hardship. Dedication and devotion are not superpowers that some people are born with. Instead, true commitment is a learned skill. We need to practice staying with the right commitments. I often hear folks argue that this is why their family has to miss church so that their children can learn to be committed to their favorite sport or hobby. RIDICULOUS! If we really want our family and our children to know commitment it will be when we say no to those things because the right worship of God is not just a priority but our highest priority! I believe that we best build this skill of dedicated devotion through simplifying our lives so that the most important priority being Christ and His kingdom can be at the center of everything we do as individuals, families, and local churches. Long Haul Maybe what we really need is to ourselves be devoted to the long haul. It’s easy to begin to covet the lush green grass just beyond the confines of our divinely appointed fences. We must become people who are not always looking to some new place or path but who are ready to settle in and put down roots for the long term. I am a big proponent of covenant membership in the local church. If you are a Christian, you should be a member of a local church. There of course can be seasons when you have moved or some event has necessitated a change in churches but when this happens you should be intentional about seeking out a family of faith. But then you need to join to stay. I believe that one of the problems in the church today is that many pastors are not prepared to devote themselves to the seasons of hardships and the long term life of the local church. Because this is the case they cannot inspire others to plant themselves in the church either. In any case we all both undershepherds and sheep need to be committed to the flock with which the Chief Shepherd has placed us and seek to follow Him together and do His perfect will! |
AuthorEddie Ragsdale Archives
May 2024
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