Let God do His work-don’t get in the way!
June 28, 2008
So here’s a popular optical illusion of Jesus. Stare at the center of the black and white blotch for 30 seconds and then stare at a white wall or white piece of paper and you should see the image of Jesus. What? You don’t see it? It’s so obvious!
Jesus kinda did this with the parables He shared. I’m reading John Fischer’s On A Hill Too Far Away and he says that Jesus would tell a story and people would hear it and just walk away scratching their head. And then He would explain it to His disciples and even some of them wouldn’t get it. Here is a quote from the book:
“Jesus was always careful with the truth. He guarded it constantly. He never made it easy to get to….Jesus shrouded the truth because he trusted in two things: The power of the Father in bringing people to Himself (“no one can come to the Father except the Father draw him”), and the intelligence and desire of the individual to know truth and come after it.”
The author goes on to suggest that maybe we need to learn to resist the temptation to make the gospel seem obvious and that we need to be comfortable with ambiguity. And he explains more with this quote:
“If it [the gospel] could be understood by human wisdom, it would cease to be what it is. The cross is one thing we don’t want to simplify. It’s meaning is not going to pop into place for everyone. Nor is it up to us to make it make sense…When we present the gospel to our culture, we are, in many ways, asking them to stare at a bunch of blotches on a page…Our job is not to get people to believe, but to hold up the picture. God’s job is to make the image pop into place. When we try to make everybody see, we are messing with God’s part, We will never do this as well as He does.”
Sometimes I search for more ways to make the gospel more easier to understand. But trying to explain God’s love is what I think is the “mystery” that Paul writes about. The mystery of the cross. This is God’s ultimate expression of love. God’s love. NOT human love. This kind of love goes beyond anything we will fully comprehend. Our minds don’t operate the way His does. It takes divine power to make the picture pop!
What’s your cardboard testimony?
June 23, 2008
So, what would be your cardboard testimony? Anyone brave enough to post their comment?
Check out this video and it may inspire you, out of appreciation for what He has done for you, to give your testimony to someone that may need to hear it. Face to face or as a comment on this post.
Here’s mine. Self-absorbed. (flipside) Consumed with Christ!
You shouldn’t be who you was
June 20, 2008
Started my quiet time today with Psalm 18. I love how it starts with “I Love You, O Lord, my strength.” I think of how I used to treat God. 10-12 years ago I would sometimes go days without even thinking about Him. Basically treating Him like my genie in a bottle. It was all about me and what I wanted. Called on Him when I needed Him. Now I go throughthe day with prayers like David’s psalm. Just simply “I love you God” or “You are so awesome God”. I’m definitely not who I used to be. It’s all been God just working on me and through me with His great love and patience. Like I also think back to how I used to be around other people in our church and I was definitely one to keep to myself and not one to socialize with them. Now I know that following the command that Jesus gave is the one convincing piece of evidence that I am a disciple of Christ-”By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:35). And we are supposed to do this as Jesus explains in the verse before, …even as I have loved you.” What a great example of how to love. Just as He did. Self sacrifice, gentleness, patience, forgiveness 70×7, loving the unlovable. But how do we love like Jesus? By what power do we do this? We can’t do it on our own, but by continually abiding in Christ (as a branch to The Vine) we are a pipeline filled with God’s love flowing through us to others! Check out this great verse:
Romans 5:5 “…and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our heartsthrough the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” NASV
So there it is. The way to love like Him, is to abide in Him. Having trouble loving others? Don’t rely on the love that you can give. Rely on the love of Christ that is in you. Then you find yourself being nicer, lifting others up instead of tearing down, not taking offense to other peoples remarks, ready to excuse, thinking, hoping and praying for the best for others, and even finding joy in serving and giving. Wow, what a completely different model than what the world has to offer. But that’s it! The kind of love that we as Christians are commanded to show each other is just what Jesus prayed for in John 17:21:
“…that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.“
So what does the world see now from Christians. Sometimes it’s nothing different from the world. Backbiting, gossiping and hate. Google “Christianity” and this is what you find:
We are to live our lives so that the world says, “Wow look at the way those Christians love each other!” Are you a follower of Christ? Do you follow His commandment to “love one another as I have loved you”. (John 15:12) The only way to do this is with a close, love-filled, abiding relationship in Christ. Then God’s love flows through you to others and you suddenly find that you’re not who you was!
