Q: They hurt you,she hurt you,he hurt you, a teacher hurt you,a coach hurt you, a ex-wife hurt you, a ex-husband hurt you,a relative hurt you, a friend hurt you, a pastor hurt you,church folk hurt you,your boss hurt you; "LET IT GO!"
A: Many Christians asks questions like, "How do I let it go?" "Why do I let it go?" "What if those who hurt me don't even know they did?" Or worse, "What if those who hurt me are glad I am suffering?" These are real struggles that Christians deal with every day. Sadly, many Christians will go to their pastor or Christian friend who will crack open the Bible to Matthew 6. "For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins (Mat 6:14-15)." The burden just gets heavier. Not only am I to try and find a way to "let it go," if I don't forgive, God won't forgive me and I am in jeopardy of going to hell. It may not be said so bluntly, but that is the conclusion often drawn. Thus, many Christians suffer in silence, at a loss to find peace in their hearts. What they don't realize is that Jesus was trying to show you that you can't forgive to the level God desires in an effort to guide you to the cross.
You will never be able to "let it go," forgive others, unless you first realize the forgiveness you already have received from God through the death of Jesus Christ. The Bible says that "the wages of sin is death (Rom 6:23)." And none of us have a life to give that would satisfy God for our sins. Because of this, God in His great love decided to "let it go" when it came to our sins so He could once again have a relationship with us. The death of Jesus Christ purchased "eternal redemption (Heb 9:12)." Therefore, as Christians we have "the forgiveness of sins (Eph 1:7)" for all eternity. This is why the Bible tells us to get "rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God FORGAVE you (Eph 4:31-32)." We are now able to forgive others with the forgiveness God has extended to us. God set us free from a debt we owed Him, but could not pay, so that in Him we could forgive others of the debt they owe us that they can't pay. Since God let it go with us, we are now free to have a relationship with Him and He with us. And, in Him, we are able to let it go with those who sinned against us so that both parties are freed from the bondage the others sin has put them under. God LET IT GO with us so, in Christ, you can LET IT GO with those who have sinned against you. Amen!
Q: We hear rappers say," I like to thank Jesus for helping me write my music"..Did Jesus encourage them to "write" there music?
A: Jesus didn't help a secular rapper write their music. Conversely, Jesus didn't necessarily help a Christian rapper write their lyrics either. Both rappers, like many entertainers, may have grown up in church environments. Therefore, they are familiar with the Lord and may even claim to have a relationship with Him. However, both are musically inclined and one just chose secular entertainment to express their talent while the other chose more Christian themes. While the secular rapper's music may be strong evidence they don't know the Lord, the Christian rapper's music isn't proof that they do know Him. Christians are so behavior oriented that we tend to throw people who we don't believe are behaving properly under the bus while glorifying the person we believe is acting more consistent with a Christian ethic. Regardless, God can use both rappers to bring glory to His Kingdom. "But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice (Phil 1:18)."
Like many of you, I cringe when I see a rapper/entertainer on stage accepting an award for something they did that didn't glorify the Lord and thanking Him for allowing it to happen. But, at the same time, while it doesn't reflect well on our Lord, it at least puts His name out there. And by doing so, it can lead to discussions like this one. And we should "rejoice" in that because the name of Jesus is still being proclaimed. Granted we may have to do some damage control, but at least we are focused on the Lord. And that is why we are reminded to "give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus (1 Thes 5:18)." Just like God works with us in the midst of our sinfulness, He can work in the lives of others trapped in sin. Therefore, next time some rapper gets up to accept an award and says, "I would like to thank Jesus for helping me write my music," praise God. Then pray that the rapper come in contact with someone who can lead them into a better relationship, or a saving relationship, with Jesus Christ. Be blessed.
Q: Jesus said take up your" cross" and follow me.. What does that mean? And how do we apply that to our lives?
A: What Jesus was saying to His disciples in Matthew 16:24 was that they needed to put off their own self interests in order to follow Him. The key to this whole passage is Jesus saying "follow" Me. The question the disciples must have asked and that Christians ask is "how do we deny ourselves?" The answer is to not focus on our flesh and behavior and replace our attention with something infinitely better. Jesus wanted the disciples to "follow" Him to the cross and, ultimately, the empty tomb and the Day Pentecost. Jesus began and ended His ministry with twelve spiritually dead disciples. Therefore, when He told them to deny themselves and follow Him they had no clue how to do that other than turn back to the Law and what came naturally. They were focused on their flesh and behavior. Therefore, when they were tested near the end of Jesus' earthly life, they abandoned Him. They didn't deny themselves and followed their own self interests. For example, Judas betrayed Jesus, Peter denied Him and Thomas doubted Him.
This is the mistake we must not repeat. The answer to how we deny ourselves is to replace focusing on our behavior with the inheritance we have been given as a result of the death of Jesus Christ. We deny ourselves by discovering all we have been given by God. God has "blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ (Eph 1:3) and has"given us everything we need for life and godliness (2 Ptr 1:3)." God gave us Himself in the Person of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Therefore, unlike the spiritually dead disciples who only had the Law at their disposal in hopes it would change their behavior, we have the indwelling Holy Spirit to guide us. Our lives then become one of being led from within by responding to His guidance rather than one of trying to be obedient and repentant, in the energy of our own flesh, to rules designed to modify our behavior. It too easy to say to ourselves, "Okay, I deny myself be doing these things and not doing these things." That is the beginning of the end. If you look at the disciples they went from abandoning Jesus, as spiritually dead disciples, to boldly proclaiming the Gospel as spiritually alive Saints. That didn't happen because they got their flesh to behave. It happened because they got their eyes off their flesh and on the Holy Spirit. Let us go and do likewise! Get your eyes off yourself and what you're doing and on the Lord and what He wants to do through you. Be blessed.
Q: James 4:7 says "submit" therefore to God, "resist" the devil and he must flee..What does that mean?
A: To submit means to "yield to someone's admonition or advice." Therefore means "consequently." Resist means to "withstand." Flee means to "vanish." Thus, another way of reading James 4:7 is to say, "Yield to the advice of the Holy Spirit. Consequently, you will be able to withstand the Devil and he will vanish." James, in this passage is talking to those who were fighting and quarreling (verse 1) with each other. They were fighting because of their fleshly desires (verse 2) which were leading them to desire things of the world (verse 4). They were even expecting God to give them the means by which to indulge their flesh (verse 3). All this because they were refusing to respond to the indwelling Holy Spirit within them (verse 5). If they would only have understood that all they have in Christ meets the desires of their hearts they sought to fill from blessings of the flesh. Sadly, many pastors teach and Christians believe that God will give us blessings of the flesh if we just behave properly. Just like the church James was addressing, we only end up desiring things so we can spend them on ourselves, indulge our flesh and divide the body in the process with quarrels and fights.
I wish Christians would realize that all they desire has already been met in Christ. God gave us Himself, in the Person of the Holy Spirit, which meets our needs for unconditional love, total acceptance, meaning and purpose to life. After all, is not that what we seek to get when we desire blessings of flesh? We want that emptiness inside of us to be satisfied. Unfortunately, if you do not believe you are getting the deepest desires of your heart met through your relationship with God you have no alternative, but to seek it from the world through sin. And the Devil will love to provide you with endless opportunities designed to keep your focus off of God. Ask yourselves this, "If God has given us everything we need for life and godliness (2 Ptr 1:3) and blessed us with every spiritual blessing in Christ (Eph 1:3), what more do we need?" Our Christian life is one of discovering all we have been given by God through faith in Christ. It is not a life of trying to get our flesh blessed either through the world or our pursuits of trying to please a God who is already pleased with us because of our faith in His Son. Discover today what God has freely given to you. Be Blessed.
Q: What does "anointing" mean? And why does Jesus "anoint" Christians?
A: Anointing means that through faith in Jesus Christ believers are rendered holy, separated to God. From the moment of salvation a believer is considered completely holy in the eyes of God and has been set apart, sanctified, from the world in order to be used by God. "For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be HOLY and BLAMELESS in his sight (Eph 1:4)." "But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you HOLY in his sight, WITHOUT BLEMISH and FREE FROM ACCUSATION (Col 1:22)." Christians are holy because Jesus is holy. And since He indwells us God sees us as holy as well. "If the part of the dough offered as first-fruits IS HOLY, then the WHOLE BATCH IS HOLY; if the ROOT IS HOLY, SO ARE THE BRANCHES (Rom 11:16)." A Christian is holy. Therefore, we live as who we are, we don't try to become holy or progressively sanctified, as some call it, through obedience to rules designed to modify our behavior.
We are anointed by the indwelling life of Jesus Christ so we can be set free from our futile attempts to become holy through our own means. The byproduct of which is that we can rest in what we are, holy in God's eyes, so Jesus can live His life through us. What does it mean to you to know that right now, at this moment, God sees you as perfectly and completely holy? It should make you say thank you and create in you a desire to present yourself as a "living sacrifice" to God to be used as He sees fit. "For by one offering He has PERFECTED FOR ALL TIME those who ARE SANCTIFIED (Heb 10:14)." Saints start today to live as who you are, a set apart, sanctified and holy child of God. It will set you free from the burden of trying to make yourself holy and allow you to get your mind off your flesh and squarely onto the Holy Spirit of God who indwells you. This truth will set you free to be who you are in Christ. May God continue to reveal to you the blessings you already have been given through faith in Jesus Christ. Be blessed.
No comments:
Post a Comment