Those Old Thoughts

Gospel in Genesis

With the kind of sins that we have done in the past and for many other reasons, I struggle with shame and fear of man.

Genesis records how the world was 'unashamed' before the fall, "the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed." Genesis 2:25.

But then they fell into sin and they were very conscious of how spiritually ugly they were! The Adam and Eve were ashamed of themselves. They tried to cover themselves with fig leaves (Gen.3:7), so that the one could not see the others shame -in this way they actually hid from each other. We often do the same thing, hiding who we really are, so that we will not have to endure humiliation. 

When God showed up on the scene, they hid because "I was naked" (3:10). What does God do? 

He dose not say, "I made you perfect! You have nothing to be ashamed of. Take off those silly cloths and be free!" Nor dose He zap them instantly. 

God acknowledges that they have a good reason for being ashamed. In fact he proclaims the infamous curse that we have lived under. But God does not leave them without hope. He points them to the coming Messiah in verse 15, and then gives them a picture of the gospel: 

He covers over their shame with clothes of skin as if to say, "You are shameful, but I will cover over your shame." 

(Isaiah 61:10) I will greatly rejoice in the LORD; my soul shall exult in my God,for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.  

What a wonderful gospel! Now, I do not need to live hiding shame -not because I am such good person, but because God has such abundant grace!

Psalm 32

Let's look at Psalm 32:

Psalm 32:1-2  A Maskil of David. Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.  (2)  Blessed is the man against whom the LORD counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.

Can you begin to get your mind around this truth? The LORD almighty does not count your sins against you! There is no condemnation if you are in Christ! (Romans 8:1)

Now, the blessed man in verse two is also the one doesn't have deceit in his spirit. How about you? Are you still harboring any little secret? Are you believing the lie: "no one needs to know." 

This verse calls us to think -just imagine if you didn't have any deceit! How freeing would that be? No more need to pretend or put up a faults front. 

Psalm 32:3-4  For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.  (4)  For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah

Deceit is very self-destructive! It will eat us alive! Why? Because, if you are a Christian, the Spirit of God will deeply convict you of your sins. This is a marvelous grace! and a miserable place to live! Most of the time those guilty feelings come from the fact that you are guilty! 

Psalm 32:5  I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD," and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah

This is the best verse! What do I DO about it? Confess! Stop pretending, acknowledge my sin -call it what it is. Notice the result! "you forgave the iniquity of my sin" That is amazing! The joy of that reality is the fuel for fighting the sin. God Forgives Me! Praise His Name!

Repentance

1 Thessalonians 1:9  For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God,


An idol is anything that you put before God –anything you serve more than God. You know what is your god by contemplating what rules your free recourses: What do you do with your free money, free time, -what does your mind think about when it is in neutral? That is the god you serve. 
So, we know true repentance has happened when those free recourses are given to the true and living God. You want to give more money; you want to fill your time with God; and when your mind goes to neutral, it doesn’t fill with all those pictures, it thinks about God (meditates)! 
Of course, this is a process and a battle. We are tempted to fight this battle on the surface level of recourses: “If I just give more, fill my time with God-stuff, and never let my mind go blank, then I will change.” The truth is that we need to fight it at the very deep level of the heart. “you turned to God” This is repentance! 

Why Amputate

Here is a good time to review the “why.” Why are we doing this? I mean amputation, sure, but why do we need to be radical about it? 
We are not seeking to be free from sin because sin is inconvenient or keeping us from personal goals. Nothing short of the Glory of God is our goal, and aim. So what is the worth of the glory of God? –any and all earthly comforts –indeed our very lives are not worthy to be compared to this ultimate goal.


Rom 8:18  For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.


Certainly, this verse can include all suffering here on earth. But in the context of this passage (8:13 & 7:11-25) it is talking about our struggles with killing sin. So let us kill sin in a radial way for the purpose of the glory of God!

Repentance

As I taught my 2 and 3 year old sons what repentance is they learned that it is “1. STOP disobeying 2. Say SORRY, I was wrong 3. GO obey” This is the simplified explanation of doing a U turn in your life.


Psalms 34:14  Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.
Proverbs 3:7  Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD, and turn away from evil.
Ezekiel 14:6  "Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD: Repent and turn away from your 

Means of Grace

The truth is that the only way we can live in victory and joy is by God freely giving those things to us by His grace. God had different ways of giving that grace to us -they are often called the "means of grace." They are not the grace itself, but are the river bed in which the water of grace flows to us.
The main means of grace that God uses to impart grace to us in His Word. Without it, there is simply no hope of any spiritual life!

We focus a lot on 'putting off' -what we need to get rid of, and this is very important. And just as important is the "putting on" aspect of the Christian walk. Again, the first thing and most thing that we use to put on is the Scripture!

Ephesians 4:24  "and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness."

Power of Jesus

Look at the power of Jesus:

Joh 11:43  When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out."

And just like that, a very dead man walked out of a tomb! This is the power that I pray you will know…

Ephesians 1:18-21  having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know … (19)  what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might  (20)  that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places,  (21)  far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.

This is the power we call upon! The very same power that raised Jesus from the grave all the way up to the most highly exalted place!

Unless the LORD Builds

Psalm 127:1 "Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor
in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchman stays
awake in vain."

This verse pulls together to two things that do not want to fit into
our mind: Our responsibility to labor and the free gift of God to
grant grace change. Both are essential and I will not claim to grasp
the depths of this mystery. But practically speaking it works out like
this: you must throw yourself upon the mercy of God and beg Him to
change you from the inside out. Only He can rebuild your heart and
give you new desires and a longing for holiness. While you are here,
broken before the Lord, you must also strive to make every use of the
means of grace -tools of mercy. Pray always. Deluge yourself in the
Scripture. Sing praises to the Lord. Walk in the light of
accountability. Be radical in implementing these things!

My Soul Clings to the Dust

The Psalms often encourage me by putting words to my feelings:

Psalm 119:25-32 My soul clings to the dust; give me life according to
your word! (26) When I told of my ways, you answered me; teach me
your statutes! (27) Make me understand the way of your precepts, and
I will meditate on your wondrous works. (28) My soul melts away for
sorrow; strengthen me according to your word! (29) Put false ways
far from me and graciously teach me your law! (30) I have chosen the
way of faithfulness; I set your rules before me. (31) I cling to
your testimonies, O LORD; let me not be put to shame! (32) I will
run in the way of your commandments when you enlarge my heart!

"My soul clings to the dust" "My soul melts away for sorrow" that is
so descriptive and pictures exactly how we feel some times.
What is good to see is what the writer's reaction is; what does he do
when he is so down? "I cling to your testimonies, O LORD" -he runs TO
God, not AWAY from Him! Cling to Christ! Run to Him! The other option
is not an option. Don't give up! Cry out to God! He is merciful.

Look to Jesus

The path of the Christian life is hard, isn't it? But we must press on!

Heb 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,

How do we do this? what does it mean to run? what are you supposed to DO?

Heb 12:2-3 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. (3) Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.

Look to Jesus! Consider Jesus! See him as your example, yes, but also see His love for you in what He did on the cross. The way to victory is to learn to daily -hourly depend on God to grant you more grace.

hope of the glory of God

We need hope in order to press on in our fight against sin.

Romans 5:2 "Through him we have also obtained access by faith into grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God."

"in hope of the glory of God" could mean different things. It describes the object of our hope -what we are to hope for (hope for the gory of God). What are we hoping for? Freedom? Less guilt? That God will just take this struggle away? Let us hope for something far better! Hope that as you live in purity God will be glorified!

"in hope of the glory of God" describes the source of our hope (hope from the glory of God) The times that we are most full of hope are those times when we are awe-struck with God's glory and radiance. Thus the way to become full of hope is to focus on God's great glory.

Disgust with Sin

When we fall into lust, it is right to be disgusted -with the sin, with the act, and with ourselves. If we can just shrug it off, that is a sign that we do not understand the seriousness of our sin. 


But, It is not enough to feel disgusted with our sin. We must ask, "Why am I disgusted?" If we take this simple step, so often we find that even our disgust with sin is sinful. Most of the time my 'disgust' is little more than annoyance at how my own weakness has gotten in the way of my goals; my little kingdom cleanup project is not going as I wished.

The proper disgust comes when we see sin, not for what it causes but for what it truly is: an affront to the glory of God. I, who was created to bring God glory by enjoying Him, have done the exact opposite. "against you, you only have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight." (51:4)

This disgust with sin then gives way to a desire to restore that joy in God. "Restore to me the joy of your salvation." (51:12)

If we remain stuck in disgust, it is a good sign that we are not disgusted for the right reason.
So, we should not simply shrug off our sin, but we need to have the right reason for our disgust.

Growing in Grace

 2Peter 3:18  But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

   

  “Growing in grace” What does this mean? How is it done? Some time ago, I would have explained “growing in grace” to mean the striving after the spiritual disciplines. This is partially true, but even so I spoke to it only in theory, not understanding it in realities. Recently I have come to understand this phrase by living it. While there is an element of striving on my part, this phrase emphasizes the undeservingness of the growth. The word “grace” in this phrase declares that all growth is a gift of God! I can strive with such a zeal and passion that it completely consumes me, but if God does not give the grace, I will not advance one step in sanctification. This does not excuse my responsibility to strive, nor should it in any way dampen my zeal or commitment to the spiritual disciplines. Rather this truth simply ascribes all growth to God and it compels my heart to be full of thanksgiving to God for His work. 

   So when I see in my heart a desire to read and study the scriptures, I praise God! When I notice a new urge to tell others about the grace of God in the gospel, I praise God! When my heart fills with a longing for my children to share in this grace so that I daily point them to Christ, this is a work of God in my heart. When a song of praise springs up in my heart, how can I take credit for creating it? I give thanks and praise all to God and I strive all the more to fulfill these desires and strengthen them. One grace that God has given me is a desire to sing. In order to understand the depth of this grace, you must know that I never sang before! Not alone, or at church or at home. "I can’t sing," was my excuse. But now, a song seems to always be bubbling in my heart until I cannot keep it in anymore. This is an amazing grace of God! This desire is so foreign to any I’ve ever had before that it is plainly the powerful work of the Holy Spirit. To Him be all the glory! I still have no ability to sing well, but perhaps with time God will grant me this grace also.