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That She Might Be Holy

In the Beauty & the Beast, it is the beast who changes over the course of the story.  That’s how we would like wedding supper of the Lamb to go.  “Just As I Am” means that Christ ought to accept His bride without any change on her part while the Lion of Judah must be transformed into our image.

The Bible, however, shows a very different picture–one that describes a process of perfection that we must undergo to share in Jesus’ holiness.

I.  Ephesians 5:25.  Like God’s people of the Old Testament (Deuteronomy 7:6-8), there’s nothing special about us that the Bridegroom would choose us (1 Corinthians 1:26-28).  We are the nothings of this world, despised and rejected (Ezekiel 16:4-7), yet God loved us, and Jesus gave Himself for us (John 3:16-17).

II.  Ephesians 5:26.  We are not okay the way we are but dirty, sinful, and separated from Him.  Jesus perfects His bride, the church, through a sanctification process (Ezekiel 16:8-12).  This was made possible through His sacrifice on the cross and involves much discipline on our part (Hebrews 12:7-14).  The result, however, is that we share in His holiness if we are trained by it (Ephesians 4:20-24).

III.  Ephesians 5:27.   Once perfected, we advance to royalty (Ezekiel 16:13-14) as the King of Kings presents the church to Himself (1 Peter 2:9-10).  There is no doubt that the sanctified bride will be presented to the Lion of Judah (Revelation 21:1-4).  All that is to be determined is if you will be part of the bride.

We are given the opportunity to share in Christ’s character–holiness, but many do not work out their salvation with fear and trembling.  In describing how God’s people of the Old Testament did not go through the sanctification process, Ezekiel gives us a bleak picture of their end in Ezekiel 16:15-22.  May we remember where we’ve been, recall the price of our sanctification, and live our new lives as the bride of Christ.

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Turn over complete control

Heavenly Father, give me power today to do something that will promote the Kingdom of Christ and insert into someone’s heart the desire for you.

In order to do that, may I turn over complete control of my life to the Lord.

I reject the world and desire the Kingdom.

Bless me now that the Kingdom might prevail in every decision and action.

Be glorified in me as you were in your Son and my Savior. Make me in his image.

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The Lord Will Prosper Me

Little Jack Horner

Sat in a corner

Eating a Christmas pie;

He stuck in his thumb

And pulled out a plumb, 

And said, “What a good boy am I.”

Why did Jack isolate himself to the corner?  Was it to eat a pie he had stolen?  Or so he didn’t need to share it with anyone?  The lack of utensils would point to this.  And, is just declaring himself ‘good’ mean that he is now indeed good despite his behavior?

That’s how sinners and others who stray from God’s Word would like to have it, especially in this politically correct culture in which each person develops his own standard of conduct and declares it ‘good.’  But, God has a standard recorded in the pages of Scripture that He tells us to follow.

I.  Judges 17:1-13.  Five wrongs don’t make a right.  Micah steals from his mother, but to his credit returns the silver.  His mother then has it made into an idol, which Micah puts into his home, makes a shine, other gods, and articles of worship for it, and installs his sons as priests to it.  The writer interjects an explanation here that everyone at this time did what was right in his own eyes (Matthew 7:6-13).  Then, Micah gets a Levite to be a priest to the idol and declares that God will now prosper him because he has made a sad attempt at restoring his actions to God’s Word.

II.  2 Chronicles 34:15-21.  But, is ‘good enough’ good enough for God?  We can fool ourselves, but God knows our true motives (Proverbs 16:1-3).  James 1:5-8 tells us that He’ll help us with wisdom, and James 4:3-4 reminds us that we can’t compromise with the world.  While the world tells us that truth is whatever we make it, God says that’s not so (Proverbs 30:20).  Instead, we need to repent and return to God’s Word like Josiah or like the church at Ephesus was encouraged to do (Revelation 2:4-6).

III.  2 Corinthians 5:6-10.  Cain was told that if he did what was right, he would be accepted (Genesis 4:6-7).  The prodigal son needed to come to his senses and get up and return to his father (Luke 15:17-20) to be pleasing.  So, we must repent and submit to God’s will (James 4:7-10) if we are to please God.  We can’t just declare ourselves pleasing to God with the plumb from the stolen pie on our thumb and expect Him to say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

Perhaps we should rewrite the nursery tale:

Little Jack Horner

Got up from the corner

Returning his Christmas pie;

He repented of sin

Was restored from within, 

And said, “What a good boy am I.”

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For Whom Did I Forget to Pray?

O Savior of all mankind, of those
Who believe — for whom did I forget
To pray? What grace no longer flows,
What soul with sin is still beset

For lack of time upon my knees?
You called to faith, from far and near,
To heaven’s door with Kingdom keys,
With prayer we seek to make the Way clear.

Send me, O Lord, for here am I!
And send more workers to fertile fields!
Fling out the seed both low and high —
Alone you know what sowing yields.

Our Father in heaven, on you we call,
Requesting hearts both calm and brave,
To speak to the lost — one and all —
The searching soul to find and save.

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And His Strength Left Him

Like Superman, Samson had great strength, but he had his kryptonite–women!  Many like to blame Delilah (and she was certainly evil), but Samson, like us, was lured and enticed by his own evil desire.

I. Judges 16:1-30.  Though the text says “loved,” there’s no indication that Samson had anything but a very shallow relationship with Delilah, perhaps not much more than he had with his “heifer” who was burned (Judges 14) or the prostitute.  But like that first wife, Delilah worked with the Philistines to undo Samson by using her feminine wiles four times to discover the secret of his strength.  Now, Samson’s thickheadedness in not recognizing what she was doing each time he fought off men doesn’t excuse his giving in and telling this evil woman (she tormented him in his sleep!) and thus throwing away God’s gift.

II. James 1:1:13-15.  We too cannot blame others or circumstances … or the devil (Sorry, Flip Wilson) for giving in to temptation.  Like the foolish youth of Proverbs 7:6-23, we get lured and enticed by our own desire.  We must fight against it.  While in the flesh and made like us in every way, Jesus did in Gethsemane when he committed to following His Father’s will and not his own.  David didn’t do so well (2 Samuel 11), but Joseph resisted Potiphar’s wife’s advances (Genesis 39).  We must submit to God and resist the devil who is fanning the flame of our desire (James 4:7-10).

III. 2 Corinthians 7:10-11.  In Casting Crowns “Slow Fade,” the husband and father doesn’t realize how he is giving himself away.  Samson certainly didn’t get it.  But Judges 16:18-20 tells us that when he gave in, his strength left him … because the Lord left him.  The ending of Samson’s story shows that he went for vengeance rather than repentance.  Let that not be our end as God is willing to forgive and restore if we turn our hearts and minds back to Him through godly sorrow and right actions.

Each person’s Delilah is constantly there, working at us until we are vexed to death.  How we handle these temptations will determine if we hold onto our strength or die with the Philistines.

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Deadly Pill of Anger

Thinking of James 1.19-21

O God, this deadly pill of anger
Closes weakened minds to reason,
Delivers the soul to wild emotion,
In vengeance feeds the wounded hunger —

Cleanse us with your word of pardon,
Open our ears to hear your warning,
Loosen tongues for harmless learning,
Let not our hearts in anger harden.

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I can’t keep doing this

O God, I can’t keep doing this. I can’t keep this up.
I’m tired and frustrated and ready to call it quits.
Temptation continually barks at my heels.
Dangers lurk around every corner.
Many don’t care, and others want to stone me.
I’m looking for that rock to hide under.
When will it all end?

My son, I can keep you and hold you and propel you forward.
I am energized for every demand, powerful for the need.
My word puts the devil on the run.
I am your tower and refuge and solid rock.
I care, I love you, and continue to call you to me.
I will stand you up in the midst of the people.
The end will be your success and not your failure.

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Build One Another Up

Whether photoshopped or not, this picture of a cyclist being chased by a bear is a great illustration for motivation.  In our Christian walk, however, we struggle to see the bear behind us and often fall into drudgery or complacency.  How do we find the enthusiasm for ourselves and then to encourage and build up others?

I.  1 Thessalonians 5:8-11.  First, we belong to the day.  This we should not forget.  When we came up out of that water of baptism, we set aside the deeds of darkness as a new creation and pledged to live for God and His will (Romans 13:11-14).  So, we live as children of light (John 3:19-21) with the protection of God’s breastplate of faith and love and helmet of the hope of salvation.  So many face the trials of the day not equipped with what God has provided.  They haven’t grasped their motivation.

II.  Colossians 3:1-17.  The world tells us that heaven is for all and hell for a few, and sadly many live this motivation-killing lie.  The Bible shows us that the opposite is true–that hell is for all (Romans 3:23, Romans 6:23) and that heaven is for a few (Matthew 7:13-14).  We’re told to ‘obtain’ salvation.  This means we need to work it out with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12-13).  Even Jesus needed to do this (Hebrews 5:7-9) and used the joy of heaven as motivation to endure the cross (Hebrews 12:1-3).

III.  Ephesians 4:12-16.  In that is our motivation!  If in Jesus’ sacrifice we share in His glory, then we have reason to enthusiastically obey Him in our daily walk.  But that’s not enough.  We are to then encourage one another and build one another up.  Here’s the purpose of the church coming together each week and staying connected throughout the week.  Here’s why edification is so much more than just instruction.  It’s the application for our own lives and concern for others.  Because of Jesus, we do so.

God through Paul tells the Thessalonians “… just as you are doing.”  How encouraging it must have felt to know they were on the right track.  We too, if we do these things and rediscover our motivation for our Christian walks, can know that we are living out God’s plan for us.