"you deserve it!"
i hear this phrase a lot.
... watching advertisements that say, 'buy this product because you deserve it, you owe it to yourself, it's about time you did something for you!' makeup, cars, spas, clothes...
... watching tv shows and i hear it when someone is contemplating doing something that feels good, 'you deserve it, you're always thinking of others and it's time to concentrate on yourself!' biggest loser, dr phil...
... listening to the news discuss someone who died, as all the family and even acquaintances suddenly start saying, 'he didn't deserve this! he was such a wonderful person!' (why are they suddenly the best person ever if they die?!)
... at work listening as co-workers discuss how one of them went out with friends the night before: 'you deserve some fun.'
it's a nice thought: 'i deserve it'. it feels good and makes us feel like we've done something good to deserve the good that must be coming to us. we all deserve good things, right? we're all pretty good anyway, right?
the Bible paints a much different picture.
"all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Romans 3:23
"for the wages of sin is death" Romans 6:23
when we input sin, we receive death. it's like going to a job and expecting your wages in return. the job we've done is to sin; our payment is going to be death.
but surely those are just mistakes. really, people are generally good to begin with, right?
"... how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time." Genesis 6:5
"the heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. who can understand it?" Jeremiah 17:9
"there is no one who does good, not even one." Psalm 14:3b
"those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires... the mind of sinful man is death... the sinful mind is hostile to God. it does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God." Romans 8:5-8
"if we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us." 1 John 1:8
so really, we, as people, as a whole, deserve death. we don't even deserve our next breath of air, let alone a day at the spa! we don't deserve to have eyes, let alone to see beautiful blue skies and green grass...
if you don't believe me, contemplate children. they may be cute, but think about it: you never have to teach a child to do wrong. if anything, controlling that innate desire to do wrong is the hardest job for a parent. you give one instruction and what does the kid do? -exactly what you said not to do. it's inside of us from the beginning.
BUT there's hope!
"blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him." Romans 4:8
who is THAT man? can i be that man/woman? how do i get there?
"yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God." John 1:12
"... God will credit righteousness -- for us who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification." Romans 4:24-25
"you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ... since you are a son, God has made you also an heir." Galatians 3:26-27, 4:7b
that's a lot of big words and a lot of abstractness... how to make it simple?
it is like being sentenced to life for committing a crime. bail is set at $1,000,000. no way i can pay that! but Jesus came in and paid the million! i can go free! but i have to choose to walk out of jail; He doesn't force me to accept it. i was unrighteous, but He credited 'righteousness' to my account!
it is like walking across a desert for weeks. i'm sweaty and dirty and covered in grime. the little bit of water i have in my canteen must be saved for drinking. even if i tried to wash with the few drops left, it would probably just create a crust of dirty grime on my skin. my clothes are ripped and filthy. i can't be clean! Jesus came to me and says He'll take me to water! He'll wash my skin till it sparkles and give me a brand new set of clothes, also known as His perfection! all i have to do is follow Him out of the desert! my choice.
it's like being a slave. i'm a possession. the master can beat me, yell at me, instruct me to do anything he wants, even kill me. i have no rights. i'm no citizen. but Jesus came in and bought me!!! He offers that not only will i belong to a kind Master, but He will adopt me as His son/daughter!!!!!! in fact, i will be an equal heir to everything He has!!!!!! all i have to do is go with Him.
in all these cases, when i die, the choice i made here on earth will follow me after i die. you and i will stand in front of God for judgement. if we accepted Jesus as our Lord, God will look in the account book and see 'RIGHTEOUSNESS' credited there. He will look at me and see clean clothes on me, no dirt. He will see that i am His son or daughter and He will welcome me with open arms!
if you or i do NOT choose Jesus, however, God will see a debt of 'SIN' marked in the book, dirty clothes on our backs, and our chained, slaved status that we CHOSE. and He will have no choice but to cast us away, saying, "I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!" Matthew 7:23
choose wisely.
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Monday, February 6, 2012
it's a 'speed limit', not a 'speed minimum'!
so i'm driving to work in a 40 mph stretch of road, and the car behind me is riding my tail so closely i can't see his wheels... i'm going at least 40, and i think, 40 is the speed limit, not the speed minimum!
where does this urge come from that when a limit is set, we MUST push to that limit, if not past it?
it's more than just speed.
the Bible tells us to dress modestly. this would be dressing in a way that does not cause lust... what do american women do? the jeans are so tight it looks like they are suctioned on, the shirts are low enough to show cleavage (breasts are seen as sexual organs and should be reserved for the husband's eyes ONLY!), shorts have gotten short enough that sometimes butt cheeks are visible!!! these are extreme cases, but really, clothing should cover all cleavage and not show the upper leg (leaving men little option but to be tempted to wonder how far up they can see), and all clothing should be loose enough so that every nook and cranny and bump is not visible to all. yes, it is up to the men not to lust, but it is just as much the woman's job to be sure there is nothing to tempt the eye!
the Bible tells us ONE wife, ONE sexual partner all our lives. what do people do? it's seen as normal, if not expected, that people have slept with many partners before they even get out of high school, let alone think of getting married. and even once people get married, there's always divorce if you 'fall out of love' with the person you've vowed to be with, or an affair if you want to 'spice things up'... vow? love? chastity? abstinence? americans don't even seem to know what the words mean.
the Bible tells us to control ourselves and not be gluttons. the word gluttony is defined in the dictionary as 'excess in eating or drinking.' this means taking in more than you need. what do people do? one third of all americans are considered obese! that's not even including those who are not yet obese, but considered 'overweight'! watch the trend map on this site to give you a sense of the growing problem of obesity in the US since 1985. it was stunning to me:
http:www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/trends.html
obviously we aren't paying attention to any limits in the food category.
this is just to name a few... there are a lot more instances where we, as people, continue to push the boundaries, break past the limits. sometimes it's a good thing to push limits, but all too often it's bad.
what are the good limits YOU are failing to observe? are they physical? are they spiritual? what is God impressing on you to bring under control? He wants your life to be the best it can be. that's what limits are for!
"[The grace of God] teaches us to say 'NO' to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope -- the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for Himself a people that are His very own, eager to do what is good."
Titus 2:12-14
if you are a Christian, are you living as an example of Jesus' redemption, or do you look and act just like the rest of the world? are you eager to do what is good, instead of aching to give in to worldly passions?
if you are not a Christian, i encourage you to read the Bible to find out what God says. don't throw away your soul by rejecting Jesus! no matter what it is that you may struggle with, Jesus wants to have a relationship with you. HE will work inside you to transform you once you have accepted Him. there is no one too far, no one too lost, no sin too great for Him to forgive and heal.
where does this urge come from that when a limit is set, we MUST push to that limit, if not past it?
it's more than just speed.
the Bible tells us to dress modestly. this would be dressing in a way that does not cause lust... what do american women do? the jeans are so tight it looks like they are suctioned on, the shirts are low enough to show cleavage (breasts are seen as sexual organs and should be reserved for the husband's eyes ONLY!), shorts have gotten short enough that sometimes butt cheeks are visible!!! these are extreme cases, but really, clothing should cover all cleavage and not show the upper leg (leaving men little option but to be tempted to wonder how far up they can see), and all clothing should be loose enough so that every nook and cranny and bump is not visible to all. yes, it is up to the men not to lust, but it is just as much the woman's job to be sure there is nothing to tempt the eye!
the Bible tells us ONE wife, ONE sexual partner all our lives. what do people do? it's seen as normal, if not expected, that people have slept with many partners before they even get out of high school, let alone think of getting married. and even once people get married, there's always divorce if you 'fall out of love' with the person you've vowed to be with, or an affair if you want to 'spice things up'... vow? love? chastity? abstinence? americans don't even seem to know what the words mean.
the Bible tells us to control ourselves and not be gluttons. the word gluttony is defined in the dictionary as 'excess in eating or drinking.' this means taking in more than you need. what do people do? one third of all americans are considered obese! that's not even including those who are not yet obese, but considered 'overweight'! watch the trend map on this site to give you a sense of the growing problem of obesity in the US since 1985. it was stunning to me:
http:www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/trends.html
obviously we aren't paying attention to any limits in the food category.
this is just to name a few... there are a lot more instances where we, as people, continue to push the boundaries, break past the limits. sometimes it's a good thing to push limits, but all too often it's bad.
what are the good limits YOU are failing to observe? are they physical? are they spiritual? what is God impressing on you to bring under control? He wants your life to be the best it can be. that's what limits are for!
"[The grace of God] teaches us to say 'NO' to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope -- the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for Himself a people that are His very own, eager to do what is good."
Titus 2:12-14
if you are a Christian, are you living as an example of Jesus' redemption, or do you look and act just like the rest of the world? are you eager to do what is good, instead of aching to give in to worldly passions?
if you are not a Christian, i encourage you to read the Bible to find out what God says. don't throw away your soul by rejecting Jesus! no matter what it is that you may struggle with, Jesus wants to have a relationship with you. HE will work inside you to transform you once you have accepted Him. there is no one too far, no one too lost, no sin too great for Him to forgive and heal.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
how come it's so hard?
well, i've been working on the Lovely Challenge (described below) for almost a week... and i can't seem to get it together! i find it shocking how just controlling ONE aspect of my own thought process could be so difficult and seemingly impossible! it just shows me the sober reality of the state of my heart - born into evil, in need of Jesus' cleansing.
one good aspect of focusing on this, however, is that i am becoming more aware of my ugly thoughts, which i hope is the first step to removing them... next step, praying for His power to reject those thoughts.
and another verse to consider:
Philippians 2:14-15 "Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe..."
i wanna shine like a star...
one good aspect of focusing on this, however, is that i am becoming more aware of my ugly thoughts, which i hope is the first step to removing them... next step, praying for His power to reject those thoughts.
and another verse to consider:
Philippians 2:14-15 "Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe..."
i wanna shine like a star...
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