"Set Apart" Series, Part Three: Confessions & Questions

I have a confession to make: I'm at a place in life where I have more questions than answers about what it means to live the "set apart" life. Let me just share with you a handful of Scriptures regarding living out our faiths in the world.

We are "the light of the world." Matthew 5:14

We are to "go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation." Mark 16:15

We as disciples of Christ are to "be brought to complete unity to let the world know" that Jesus loves them. John 17:23

We're not to "conform any longer to the pattern of this world," but to test and approve what God's perfect will is. Romans 12:2

The Bible teaches us to "say 'No' to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and Godly lives in this present age." Titus 2:11

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." James 1:27

"Friendship with the world is hatred toward God." James 4:4

"Do not love the world or anything in the world." 1 John 2:15

The verses go on and on, and it is very clear to me that God wants me in this world, sharing my story and letting His light shine in and through me. At the same time, He wants me to live a holy, blameless life, set apart for Him. For me, the rub comes while I'm trying to live these Truths out practically. Just when I think I've got a grasp on the balance in the two, something comes along to drive me back to my knees asking.

Living out the "set apart" life starts with confessing I have no idea how to do so. I need the Lord's wisdom, discernment and leading. As I pause and ponder, I also pray and praise, knowing that I'll only have what I need if I ask the Lord to provide it for me.

As I've shared from my gut with the Lord this week, here are some of the questions I've thrown out at him:
How can I be holy & blameless without clinging to legalism?
How can I be a light in this world without some of the darkness absorbing me?
Can I be out among those lost without becoming consumed by self-righteousness and judgment?
When something unfamiliar & scary comes along, will I trust You to help me face it, or will I try to protect myself?
Am I too wealthy, God? Do I need to give up more of my possessions?
How do I reach out to the hurting without their hurts consuming my heart and mind?
Is it okay to relax and have pleasure, or should I use every waking moment to reach others?
What in the world do I do with all this technology, God? What is the balance?

I'm back to the beginning in saying that I have more questions than answers, but I know as I continue to seek the Lord, He will teach me His heart. I'm skeptical of anyone who says they've got it all figured out, because I truly believe that the more we grow in our faith walks, the more questions we have, and the deeper they are.

I also believe this is where grace comes in. So many times, we use grace as our "get out of sin free" card, and it is true that when we repent, His forgiveness is readily available to us. But the deeper part of grace is that when we want to live righteously and falter out of ignorance or immaturity, His grace is there to meet us when we hit our knees asking the whys and hows. I love the way the Message puts it for us in Romans 8:26-28:

"Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting,

God's Spirit is right alongside helping us along.

If we don't know how or what to pray, it doesn't matter.

He does our praying in and for us,

making prayer out of our wordless sighs,

or aching groans.

He knows us far better than we know ourselves,

knows our pregnant condition,

and keeps us present before God.

That's why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives

of love for God is worked into something good."

It all goes back to the Lord. (Doesn't it always?) I'm so thankful He loves me enough to help me sort through my weaknesses, my wonderings, my wanderings. I praise Him that He takes my desire to please Him and brings it in line with the will of the Father as I surrender to the Holy Spirit. "You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world." 1 John 4:4

What are some of the deep wonderings and ponderings in your faith walk?

"Set Apart" Series, Part Two: Snub & Run

In Part One, I pondered if the set-apart life could really be done according to 1st Peter 3:8 & 9. Based on the comments received on the blog and on Facebook, it's obvious people are hungry for discussion on this.

For Part Two, I'm going to pause & ponder the rest of that passage in 1st Peter. Verses 10-12 (The MSG again):

"Whoever wants to embrace life

and see the day fill up with good,

Here's what you do:

Say nothing evil or hurtful;

Snub evil and cultivate good;

run after peace for all you're worth.

God looks on all this with approval.

But He turns His back

on those who do evil things."

I love the way this is worded in the NIV too. "Whoever would love life and see good days..."

Do we as believers in Christ really desire to love life? Do we want to embrace it? Not love it and embrace it in the sense that we love life more than we love Christ, but do we love the life that God has given us to live by the power of the HOly Spirit--that life mentioned in John 10:10--"life to the full."

I think the two verses build on one another:

"The thief comes to steal, kill and destroy,

but I have come that they may have life & have it to the full."

We already have life to the full living in us, but whether we live it out to the full or not is a whole different story.

Sometimes we are content to be discontent with life. "The world is falling apart..." "I can't wait to be in Heaven..." True. But I don't want us to get to the point where we allow our thinking on the ick Satan is doing to rob us of Christ's fullness alive in & available to us today.

So if we truly desire loving Christ's life in us, this passage shares how to do that. Peter chooses to go back to the advice given in Psalm 34:

"Say nothing evil or hurtful;

Snub evil and cultivate good;

run after peace for all you're worth."

Sounds so easy, doesn't it? I can't think of anything I pray about more than God helping me in these areas. My words come from the overflow in my heart, and folks, it ain't pretty in there a lot of the time. If my spiritual life could be measured by how much time I spend in the Word, I would get an "A" for sure. But if it were measured by how much time I live out the Word, well, I'd never graduate!

But we don't ever graduate, do we? His grace gives us opportunity after opportunity to live life His way. He loves us that much.

I love the picture in my head when I read "Snub evil." There's no major rant, no violent declaration. Just snub and run on ahead. God in us is too good to spend time chewing out evil. We hold our heads up high, realizing we have the Word of life in us, and we go on to "cultivate good & run after peace." HE is the Prince of Peace, and when we run after Him, evil runs the other direction.

Don't mean to trivialize the power of evil. In every post on a passage of Scripture, there is another passage to give it more depth or light. Sometimes we are faced with a horrible battle with evil, and the Lord gives us more intense training in our faithwalks. We are to stay aware and on our guard against the devil's schemes (1st Peter 5:8). We are to fight with spiritual weapons (Ephesians 6). But I would still argue that if you are running after the Lord, you will be fully aware and armed when those intense battles come.

Please don't be intimidated if you are not to this place on your Christian journey yet. I've been a committed Christian since childhood, and I'm still not. But the question is, do we have the want-to? And if we're at a place where we have the want-to, are we willing to go about it God's way? We can't get there on our own.

"'Not by might, not by power, but by MY Spirit,' says the Lord." Zechariah 4:6

"...apart from Me, you can do nothing." John 15:5

I can't leave the topic without the last few points of the passage. They are key:

"God looks on all this with approval.

But He turns His back

on those who do evil things."

When we live life HIS way, He approves. When we do evil, He doesn't. He's holy. Yes, there's grace and forgiveness when we repent, thank goodness, but if we struggle with the same sins on a repetitive basis, we are wise to remember He is holy and that He hates sin. Often I have to get to the place where I've grown to hate my sin so much that I am more submissive to Him than ever to help me turn from it. Inevitably, when I do, it's hard and uncomfortable. But it's worth it in the end, because "life to the full" is so much sweeter than life to the comfortable. Full life keeps on giving and flowing. Comfort-driven life not only has limits, but also begins to deplete.

Wild stuff, but true. What are your thoughts?

"Set Apart" Series, Part One: Can We Really Live This Way?

It doesn't matter where I turn lately, it's all around me: sarcasm and insults that is.

It's in reality shows, news reports, the blogosphere, social media. It's in my church, and even worse, in my home.

God has laid this on my heart as a matter of urgency to discuss among believing Christians, and though I'd much rather write on a Psalm or an encouraging passage, my eyes & heart are locked into this series, and the key is nowhere to be found. So after much prayer, I'll share.

"Summing up: Be agreeable, be sympathetic, be loving, be compassionate, be humble. That goes for all of you, no exceptions. No retaliation. No sharp-tongued sarcasm. Instead, bless--that's your job, to bless. You'll be a blessing and also get a blessing."
1 Peter 3:8,9

Disclaimer: I'm not a theologian, so I'm not going to attempt to take apart the meaning of this passage. Rather, I'd like to share some of the insight and ponderings the Lord has laid on my heart--what it has stirred up in me. So, no sermon here...but think along. Pray along. And ask the Lord to reveal His Truth to you in a fresh way...

First and foremost, can we as believers really live this way? I believe we can, but not by mustering up our own discipline or fortitude. Rather, by the power and with the help of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Every action in our Christian lives comes down to Spirit-filled living. Apart from Him, we can do nothing. (John 15:5)

Sure, as a stand-alone, these verses in 1 Peter could be used by any "peace-loving" person or religion. But we are not talking about loving peace, we're talking about loving Christ.

The truth is, if you live this way as a believer, you will be put down, ridiculed or worse. Those who live this way as a non-believer will rarely be persecuted. Have you ever noticed that? Maybe this is because when we do what is right because the Holy Spirit is leading us, the Lord shines through...thus resistance from those who don't know Him. When someone lives with "the common good" as his motive, most of the time, people admire them, even follow them, so to speak. Even Christians can be deceived by these "good people," and if we're not careful, we'll begin to imitate them instead of Christ.

Something else to ponder: Oftentimes, Christians believe that being "agreeable" means you can't speak out on evil or other issues. That is not true. But we must realize when we do speak out, the Lord wants us to do it His way. In Spirit and in Truth. (John 16:13 & Romans 9:1) For me, I'm still learning what that means, and it is a continual process of surrender for Him to teach me.

On the opposite end, I hear & read of other Christians who seem to think that bashing their spouse or boss or pastor or another believer is perfectly within their freedom to do. While I try not to stand in judgment of these actions, they still wrinkle my spirit and make my heart feel sick. Unfortunately, I have been a "basher" a time or two (or two times three) myself, which makes me sicker than anything.

So, in summary today, let's pause and ponder this:
Why are so many Christians fighting?
Have we lost our sympathy and passion for the lost & hurting?
How can we get away from using the same humor and retaliation that the rest of the world does?
Are we busy looking for ways to be blessed, or are we blessing others?
How can we stand up for and help those who can't defend themselves without using the world's methods?

Are we living a "good" life or a Holy-spirit filled life? 

From whom do we receive our advice and counsel on right living?
Why is it so hard to live this way, and how can we start to turn the trend around in the church and in our homes?

Share your thoughts and your ideas, your struggles and solutions if you feel led.

Father, I praise You for giving me Your Word to help me in this life. I am more aware than ever that this is not my real home, because each day I feel a little more uncomfortable than I did the day before. I long for my Heavenly home, yet I know You still have work for me to do here. Help me to be content, not to lose my passion to love and live Your way, and not to grow bitter and sarcastic toward others. Lord, show me how to depend on You more fully to live out these passage of Scriptures in every situation and relationship. It gets so muddy, so complicated, and I often try to figure things out on my own. Cause humility & work salvation in and through me, I pray. In Jesus' name, Amen.

A Message Worthy of an Encore

Reading through my Message Bible yesterday, this passage stopped my heart. The Lord had some work to do in me.

It was pause-worthy.

1st Peter 4:7-11
"Everything in the world is about to be wrapped up, so take nothing for granted. Stay wide-awake in prayer. Most of all, love each other as if your life depended on it. Love makes up for practically anything. Be quick to give a meal to the hungry, a bed to the homeless--cheerfully. Be generous with the different things God gave you, passing them around so all get in on it: If words, let it be words; if help, let it be God's hearty help. That way, God's bright presence will be evident in everything through Jesus, and He'll get all the credit as the One mighty in everything--encores to the end of time. Oh, yes!"

So many applications jump out at me, and I'm caught off-guard by the depth of them. 

"Stay wide awake in prayer."

This doesn't mean stay up all night. Rather, each situation I face can be one in which to pray through or over. Every person I meet can be one to bathe in prayer. Of course I'm not necessarily going to grab their hand and start praying out loud with him or her, but in my mind, heart & soul, I can pray to the One who knows them intimately.

"Love as if my life depended on it. Love makes up for practically anything."

It's intentional. Urgent. Insistent. Christ's love in and through me is miraculous, and it is to be showered on others. This kind of love is really important to the Lord, and it is the kind of love He lavished on me.

"Be generous with the different things God gave me..."

I always want to give my money away and buy people things, but am I generous with my words? With tangible help? With prayer? With His message? Am I generous in love?

All of it is so that "God's bright presence will be evident in everything." 

I pray that I will never feel entitled to someone else's applause or love in return to what I give out. When I'm serving others because I love Christ, then I expect nothing in return. If I'm loving His way, the receiver experiences God's presence. Period.

I pondered:

How many times do I "love" someone until they say something that hurts or offends me? 

How often do I count what others have or have not done for me based on what I've done for them?

Do I hope deep down for applause? An encore even?

Have I grown complacent in praying for others?

Am I sometimes numb to the needs of others?

Even more deeply, I pondered:

There is so much pain. How can I possibly meet all the needs around me? What are the boundaries?

Are there things I spend my time on that are fruitless which could be shoved aside to obey in these areas?

How are these verses lived out practically in my season of life as well as the way He's wired me?

I praise the Lord for helping me come up to answers to these things inside my heart and mind, at least for now.  I'd share them, but His answers may be different for you.

One thing I can tell you for sure is that I pray my hands & feet & mouth & heart & mind would give the Lord the renown He is due...that His light would beam through me, making His sacrificial love evident to all.

May it be so, Lord. I lift my hands in praise, giving You an encore with my everyday living. You are mighty to do so in me as I stay surrendered to You.

How do these verses cause you to ponder in your life?