Pondering…looking at the Wall

Ever find yourself still, staring at a wall? Can’t get over it? Can’t get around it? not sure how you even ended up here?

Been looking and struggling with this wall for quite some time..days have turned to months, months are quickly turning to years…

The need to evaluate, and re-evaluate is imperative.  The questions that come to mind are scary, and very transparent of the heart.  I’ve been shamed for being at this wall, accused of some horrific sin, dismissed as a backslider…..yet I am exactly where God wants me to be.  HE is shredding my legalistic views, HE is stirring my bitterness to eliminate it, HE is still in control…even here. Only when HE has finished with the extremely painful heart surgery, will HE see me to the other side.

Funny, how we are so quick to judge another at the wall. How quickly we dismiss what we don’t understand. So often we claim to know what God is doing in another. We even claim to know and understand God.  *sigh*

God is not created in man’s image, we don’t even have a conclusive definition of “Holy”, yet we claim it.  I absolutely hate looking at this wall…and at the same time…I believe HE has a plan that is more awesome than anything I could dream up.

HE promised to never leave me…

HE promised to finish the work HE started in me…

HE promised to never let go…

Simple promises. Holding on to them with all I got.  Hoping that when I get to the otherside of this wall, that my concept of HIM will have grown in huge proportions.  “I will wait patiently on the LORD”…HE is faithful, even when I am not.

Ever been here? what did you learn if you have been?  Maybe you are there now.  If so, how do you keep looking up?

“Therefore there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ”

Blogged Bible Study – Galatians 2

Reading this chapter, fresh was the way to do it this time for me.  I have read it many times and heard different leaders speak on it, and still something bothered me about it.  The LORD is good to shine new lights, and HE knows how my brain works!  In the past I have watched people take this book and bash Peter, and do it by saying they are following Pauls example. (Remember, Paul heard, then he saw, then he confronted – this is not how I see many confrontations taking place.) The problem I have with that is God also had Peter write two books of the Bible and I can’t excuse them as its a whole book from cover to cover.  SO my question to my self before GOD was, “what am I supposed to make of this?” and “doesn’t there have to be more to this than just confrontation?”  Here is what I came up with…

It does not matter how much you love Jesus, or how very much you are setting out to serve HIM, there will always be something there that will cause you to think “well maybe this will apply as well”.  I see Peter that way, and he fell to Legalism, as do many many well meaning Christ Followers.  Then I look at Paul, and it was right for him to call Peter on it.  This particular chapter is not just about “False Teachers” as whole.  This chapter is following up the verse in chapter one that I started this study with.

Gal. 1:4 who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of God our Father…

Gal. 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ and I know longer live,but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of GOD, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Do you see the theme? Jesus death on the cross was enough! Its finished, HIS words not mine.

This chapter is about knowing your freedom in Christ, and what the blood of Jesus has done for each of us, and allow no man to alter that in the slightest way, the result in this instance was bondage to Legalism. (Which in my opinion, is the strongest bondage in the Body of Christ today! point fingers at someone else, judge unjustly, tell someone how to dress for church,anything that adds to the Gospel message for human gain..Legalistic!)

Once you are bound by something, it seems to be easier to fall to anything.

What do you believe? Does your belief system work for you?  In this chapter I see two loved very much by Christ, both serving HIM, and a confrontation needed to help one out of the bondage that has started to consume him.  Can you relate to thinking you are on the right track, only to find later deception was trying to tie you down?  It happens, pray that it does not happen to you?  I am praying for the same thing for myself.  Let’s not bash Peter, and let’s not put Paul on a pedestal.  But look at the application, we will soon enough be on both sides of it in some point in our life.

Wide Eyed

While reading a post on my friend Joe’s blog, he reminded me of how often we dismiss people in our busy lives, and forgetting they are created in the image of our God.  How do we know we haven’t dismissed the “least of these”,when God has deliberately placed them in our path?  Or maybe entertaining Angels…ahhhh we don’t know..we just need to be open to whoever HE places in our path.  Joe’s post made me remember this song Wide Eye..sorry couldn’t find a good video to put up, but the words are powerful.  (Joe’s post left me wide eyed afresh, thanks Joe)

Nichole Nordeman- Wide eyed

Having lives in Hollywood for about a year,
I was forced to come face to face
with many diverse people everyday.
I was surprised and embarrassed by how sheltered
my life had been until then…
Surrounding myself mostly with people who were like-minded,
and consequently, safe to know.
I really had to come to terms with my quickness to judge,
to laugh, to dismiss anyone who threatened my sense of normalcy.
And it made me wonder –
how would I have reacted to Jesus
if I’d met Him in Los Angeles?

When I met him on a sidewalk
He was preaching to a mailbox
Down on 16th Avenue
And he told me he was Jesus
Sent from Jupiter to free us
With a bottle of tequila and one shoe
He raged about repentance
He finished every sentence
With a promise that the end was close at hand
I didn’t even try to understand

He left me wide eyed in disbelief and disillusion
I was tongue tied, drawn by my conclusions
So I turned and walked away
And laughed at what he had to say
Then casually dismissed him as a fraud
I forgot he was created in the image of my God

When I met her in a bookstore
She was browsing on the first floor
Through a yoga magazine
And she told me in her past life
She was some plantation slave’s wife
She had to figure out what that might mean
She believes the healing powers of her crystals
Can bring balance and new purpose to her life
Sounds nice

She left me wide eyed in disbelief and disillusion
I was tongue tied, drawn by my conclusions
So I turned and walked away
And laughed at what she had to say
Then casually dismissed her as a fraud
I forgot she was created in the image of my God

Not so long ago, a man from Galilee
Fed thousands with His bread and His theology
And the truth He spoke
Quickly became the joke
Of educated, self-inflated Pharisees like me

And they were wide eyed in disbelief and disillusion
They were tongue tied, drawn by their conclusions
Would I have turned and walked away
And laughed at what He had to say
And casually dismissed Him as a fraud
Unaware that I was staring at the image of my God

Teen Mothers in Church

Interesting…while thinking today of a young mother (16), who chose to keep her baby, and is trying very hard to keep good grades (maintaining an A average), taking on her motherly duties, and the baby is a picture of health and being well taken care of…one  happy baby.  This mother is wanting to go to church…I know there are consequences to our poor choices.  But those consequences should never be with holding Jesus Christ, or the gospel as if she has really out sinned God’s forgiveness.  Curious..

-Would your church be okay with this young lady being part of your daughters youth group? why or why not?

-Would you let your daughter be her only friend?

give me some feed back….(BTW-I already am loving this young mama)

Alot have opinions, and alot speak a good God talk…how about you? how do you think one should respond to this situation?

Blogging Bible Study- John 8 (part 2)

Nicodemus, in John 7, said ,”Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing, and learning what he does?”  Interesting that this woman brought before Jesus was brought without witness’ or at least none mentioned, and they hadn’t talked to her at all, at least not mentioned again.  These were not just stones, but rocks to execute…put to death.  THis is not how the Jews were taught, not according to the Torah. 

Jesus writing in the dirt…in the first post I looked at it from the wondering  stance of what did HE write.  But really this is the finger of God writing in the dirt.  As I take that in…my mind becomes so full I can hardly contain it!  Exodus 8:19 the magicians with Pharoah exclaimed that the plagues were the finger of God..  Exodus 31:18 the finger of God writes the ten commandments on the stone tablets…  Luke 11:20..Jesus tells them of driving out demons with the finger of God…  The finger of GOD writes the laws and passing the judgement. 

Although I do not believe we are the Judge, I do believe we are called at times to judge the difference between truth and the lie. Also anything that is standing against the Word of God, not only should we throw a stone at..but it should be stomped under our feet.  We still need to keep each other accountable, and we need to rebuke in love.  Matthew 18 has some ways that sin should be addressed, and again it calls for a witness…

Just some more thoughts on this passage..thanks to Jason for enlightening me! thank you J!