“For what business is it of mine to judge outsiders?  Isn’t it those who are part of the community that you should be judging?  God will judge those who are outside.”
~1 Corinthians 5:12-13~

“But exhort [urge, advise, or caution earnestly; admonish urgently] one another every day, as long as it is called ‘today,’ that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.”
~Hebrews 3:13~

“Don’t you juuuuuuudge me!”

My husband and I picked up this line a number of years ago from a TV show that I won’t name because it’s mostly trash.  (It irks me that someone can’t come up with a show that is truly funny minus the yuck and not-so-subtle propaganda of the day.)  Anyway…throughout the episode, the mother of one of the main characters kept making really stupid decisions in an attempt to get herself out of the consequences of a really stupid decision.  Any time someone would even give her a questioning look, this was her response.  Even though we are no longer faithful followers of unsaid show…the line stuck and we use it regularly (and jokingly) when one of us senses the other may be questioning our line of reasoning or actions.

But all joking aside, this attitude represents a worldly and destructive perception that has infiltrated the Body of Christ - resulting in dysfunctional relationships and stunted refinement/growth; which inevitably hinders our effectiveness in reaching the lost.  Oh, how the enemy rejoices when the people of God wreak havoc on each other and wander aimlessly from their mission.  And I believe he gained this foothold through gradually drawing our eyes and hearts away from the glue that holds us together:  The Gospel.

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
~Romans 8:1~

“There is no fear in love.  But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment.  The one who fears is not made perfect in love.”
~1 John 4:18~

As a dear friend and I were discussing our grief over the shallowness and paranoid defensiveness that pervades many relationships among professing Believers, I stated simply, “We’re terrified of each other”; which can only mean that we are desperately confused about our condition…before both God and our brothers and sisters in Christ.

“If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth.  But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.  If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
~1 John 1:6-9~

“But if we walk in the light…we have fellowship with one another.”  Shallowness is not an option as we walk in the light of Christ.  Paranoid defensiveness is not an option as our sins are laid bare in the all-exposing light of Christ.  And “fellowship” that is void of humble honesty, conviction, confession and repentance toward one another is no fellowship at all; it is a lie.

“Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen?  It is God who justifies.  Who is he that condemns?”
~Romans 8:33-34a~

So why are “God’s chosen” terrified of each other?  Why do we vehemently resist the sharpening and sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit among us?  Why is this true fellowship such a rarity in our churches today?  I believe the answer lies in the infinitely important distinction between God-ordained, sanctifying judgment within the context of Christian community and the deceivingly convincing yet empty condemnation of the enemy who was silenced once and for all when our Savior spoke these Words:  IT IS FINISHED (John 19:30).

“For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.”
~Hebrews 10:14~

Christ didn’t make us sinless on the day that we came empty-handed to the foot of the cross and received His offering as the complete payment for every sin we ever have, are or will commit in these “bodies of death” (Romans 7:24).  We have been declared “perfect” before the throne of God by our complete trust in the validity and sufficiency of that payment.  But in our day-to-day lives we remain far from perfect.  “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:6).  And if the truth is “in us”, we will walk the remaining days of this temporal life in His sanctifying light; actually becoming the people we have already been declared to be (2 Corinthians 3:18).

This “becoming” is a community project (1 Corinthians 5:12-13, Hebrews 3:13); not in shallowness or paranoid defensiveness, but in the light of Christ’s perfect love…which gives us ears to hear instead of hearts that fear (1 John 4:18).

“The cross is the one safe place for sinners because the wrath of God fell there once and it will never fall there again.”
(Jason Meyer, The Centrality of the Cross)

And she knows that she’s undeserving
She bears the shame of history
But this worn and weary maiden
Is not the bride that He sees
She wears white, head to toe
But ONLY HE could make it so
(Casting Crowns, Wedding Day)

“Fools mock at the guilt offering,
but the upright enjoy acceptance.”
~Proverbs 14:9~

“…I said to you, ‘Live!’  I made you grow like a plant of the field.”
~Ezekiel 16:6-7~

“It is God who makes things grow.”
~1 Corinthians 3:7~

I was reminded yet again this morning how easy it is to confuse obedience with life.  One of our daughters walked into the kitchen wearing jeans that qualified as “inappropriate” by school dress code standards.  She was pretty irked when told to change.  After much “discussion” (parental lecture facing blank stare), she finally admitted that no matter how she felt about the school’s fashion standards, her choice to don those jeans knowing full-well it was against the rules was a sin. 

“So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.”
~James 4:17~

But after sending her back upstairs I began to feel conviction over the absence of one crucial element in our conversation:  The Gospel.

Jesus stated that the first and greatest commandment is to “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength” (Mark 12:30) and that our authentic love for Him would produce the fruit of obedience (John 14:15).  Authentic love is the heartbeat of life in Christ.  And the fruit bearing seed of this life is the Gospel. 

I can try to program my kids to obey.  But what will it profit them to have a reputation of being alive by their works and yet be dead to Christ (Revelation 3:1)?

So she and I had another brief “discussion” (see above) prior to her departure in which I prayerfully attempted to unfold the heart of our obedience to Christ.  Our all-loving yet immeasurably holy Creator never makes light of sin.  She might have gotten through the day without any repercussions.  But there was a day many years ago when her Savior was pierced for that transgression; He was crushed for that iniquity; the punishment owed to her was upon Him.  It is by those wounds alone that He heals us from our terminal condition and speaks life to our cold, dead, guilty hearts (Isaiah 53:5). 

“But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.”
~Romans 6:17-18~

Oh, that I would never lose sight of the power of God to both bring forth and preserve life through His precious Gospel (Romans 1:16).  May this Seed take root in our daughters’ hearts and yield the fruit of joyful obedience.

Resource for further study:

Common Parent Traps article by John MacArthur

(See previous post for introduction to new series.)

“Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.’”
~John 3:3~

“He who used to persecute us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.”
~Galatians 1:23~

If a poster child were required as evidence that authentic conversion is entirely an undeserved act of divine intervention, the apostle Paul wins hands down.  I’ve debated with a friend of mine over this issue on more than one occasion.  “Surely the Lord saw something good in his heart”, she argues.  But I think we need to be careful not to say something about the apostle that he wouldn’t say about himself. 

“Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance:  Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners – of whom I am the worst.  But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.”
~1 Timothy 1:15-16~

“For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.”
~1 Corinthians 15:9~

The apostle Paul knew better than anyone the depravity that existed in his own heart prior to the blinding Damascus encounter which led to Kingdom sight (Acts 9:1-19).  To use his own words…he was “dead in his trespasses and sins…following the prince of the power of the air…a child of wrath” (Ephesians 2:1-3).  Not only did he fully reject Christ as Messiah but he did everything in his power to destroy His followers. 

“But when God, who set me apart from birth and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me…”
~Galatians 1:15-16~

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ – by grace you have been saved – and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.  For by grace you have been saved through faith.  And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
~Ephesians 2:4-9~

But…God. 

“Don’t you think we have a choice?”

This is the question that often follows when I express what I believe the Bible teaches about conversion.  It’s controversial territory.  I have found through the years that there is much in God’s Word that is challenging to understand and at times, difficult to swallow.  It’s at those times when I, like Job, must put my hand over my mouth (Job 40:4), and like Paul, remind myself, “Who are you, a mere human being, to argue with God?” (Romans 9:20) 

Do we freely choose to receive or reject Christ?  Is conversion simply a matter of taking in the details of the gospel and then making a “decision”? 

“The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.”
~1 Corinthians 2:14~

“For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot.”
~Romans 8:7~

Human beings make choices every day…choices consistent with our nature.  And according to the Scriptures, our nature is hostile to God.  In physical terms, we are living, but in spiritual terms, we are stone cold dead.  Dead people can be religious – but they will never see the kingdom of God.

“I know your works.  You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead.”
~Revelation 3:1~

“And I [Paul] was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers…But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.”
~Galatians 1:14, Philippians 3:7~

So…are we free to choose Christ?  Sure.  But we won’t want to.  Unless…

“…God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shown in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”
~2 Corinthians 4:6~

“…he has caused us to be born again…”
~1 Peter 1:3~

But…God.

“I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleanness, and from all your idols I will cleanse you.  And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you.  And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.  And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.”
~Ezekiel 36:25-27~

As I attempt to unpack some of the reasons that we struggle with listening to the wisdom and warnings of God, it seemed wise to begin with this controversial yet infinitely important possibility…we don’t know Him.  And if we don’t know Him, we won’t follow Him.

“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”
~John 10:27~

Those who have been born again by the Spirit of God will continue to stumble in many ways; the reason being, we now have two natures in constant conflict over our allegiance (Romans 7).  Our new nature will eventually win through the guarding, guiding, disciplining, transforming power of the Holy Spirit dwelling within us (Jude 1:24-25).  In the meantime, it’s important to be aware of the deceit within and the snares without that tend to muffle the Lord’s voice in our ears (which I will address in entries to come, Lord willing). 

However, sometimes resistance implies not a conflict but a lack of one.  This reality continues to be a heavy burden on my heart as I move in “Christian” circles.  When spiritual discussions with professing Believers are predominantly characterized by apathy or defensiveness…something is seriously wrong.

“Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith.  Test yourselves.  Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? – unless indeed you fail to meet the test!”
~2 Corinthians 13:5~

True conversion is the creation of spiritual life from within that produces increasing evidences without.  No one else can accurately test our authenticity.  Is it well with your soul?  How does your heart respond to His Word, whether through personal reading, conversations with others, sermons, etc.?  Do you follow the Lord out of love or duty?  Are you “fighting the good fight” or is your flesh flying solo?  You can’t fail this test and still pass the class.  Your eternity is at stake.

The apostle Paul knew that he did not raise his spiritual corpse from the grave - it was the Lord’s doing; a precious gift of mercy and grace from start to finish.  The same is true for all of us. 

“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit – fruit that will last.”
~John 15:16~

“It will come about that the rod of the man whom I choose will sprout.”
~Numbers 17:5

The Lord produces this life through the message of the gospel.  And the initial “fruit” of His “choosing” is authentic repentance and faith.

“For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.”
~1 Peter 1:23~

“I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes…”
~Romans 1:16~

 “As God’s fellow [worker I] urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain.  For he says, ‘In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.’  I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.” (2 Corinthians 6:1-2).  The efforts of our flesh are useless (John 6:63).  “[We] will be ever hearing but never understanding…ever seeing but never perceiving” (Acts 28:26).

But…God.

“My child, listen and be wise:
Keep your heart on the right course.”
~Proverbs 23:19~

One of the tasks on my “To-Do List” over Spring Break was clothes shopping for our girls.  After browsing through the clothes and making multiple visits to the dressing rooms at our first destination, I stated that it was mom’s turn to browse and headed toward the Home Décor section, adding the obligatory word of caution, “There are a lot of breakable items here.  Please be careful.” 

On an end aisle display we noticed a very large arrangement of multiple colored hourglasses.  After commenting on the not-so-bright positioning of said display, I warned yet again, “Please don’t touch those.” 

About thirty seconds later I heard the sound of glass clanging; then breaking.  

“Really?” was all I could conjure up in the moment as I looked at the guilty party and proceeded to search for a store employee to confess our destruction of their property.  Thankfully, grace was extended and our shopping bill didn’t suffer. 

Once the stress of the moment subsided a bit, I looked at our girls and simply said, “You really need to listen to me.”

“But my people wouldn’t listen to me.”
~Psalm 81:11~

Like sand through the hourglass, so are the days of our lives.

As we all know, a child’s failure to heed their parent’s wisdom or warning is, unfortunately, an all too common occurrence.  In thinking over the broken hourglass situation I wondered, what compelled this child to disregard my multiple warnings?  Which immediately led me to wonder, what compels us to disregard the wisdom and warning of our Creator?  Why don’t we listen?

In my ponderings I’ve come up with a few reasons and I’m sure there are many others that I haven’t yet considered.  In a recent entry I confessed that I was feeling stumped as to where to go from here in regards to journal entry topics.  I think I’m going to venture another attempt at a series.  Any predictions on how long it will take?  ;)  Stay tuned…

On a lighter note, here’s a picture of a wall-hanging I purchased during our shopping experience.  I got quite a laugh out of it and just couldn’t pass it up. 

“So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, ‘If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’”
~John 8:31-32~

“He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.”
~Titus 1:9~

I entreat you to observe how important it is for Christians to be sound in the faith, and to be armed with clear Scriptural knowledge of the whole system of the Gospel. I fear the increasing tendency to regard all doctrinal questions as matters of opinion, and to look on all "earnest-minded" people as right, whatever doctrines they maintain. I warn you that the sure result of giving way to this tendency will be a vague, low, misty theology—a theology containing no positive hope, no positive motive, and no positive consolation—a theology which will fail most, just when it is most needed—in the day of affliction, the hour of sickness, and on the bed of death.

I know well that it is a thankless office to offer such warnings as these. I know well that those who give them must expect to be called bigoted, narrow-minded, and exclusive. But I cannot review the many errors which prevail…without seeing more than ever the immense need there is for urging on all to be careful about doctrine. Oh, learn to know what you mean when you talk of believing the doctrines of Christianity! Be able to give a reason of your hope. Be able to say what you think true, and what you think false in religion. And never, never forget that the only foundation of soundness in the faith, is a thorough textual knowledge of the Bible.
(J.C. Ryle, Perseverance)

I’m feeling a little stumped.  I actually started on a theme prior to the impromptu focus on weariness.  Do I go back to that?  I mean…that was almost a year ago.  A lot has happened since then.  And to be honest, it was probably a good thing that I got distracted for awhile because the “a lot” that has happened has been extremely painful at times.  I could have easily fallen into some passive-aggressiveness on here.  That’s never pretty…or consistent with my heart’s desire for this journal.  Not to mention…sinful. 

Anyway…as I said…stumped.  I might post random stuff for awhile.  Or just continue the break a bit longer.  Or…crazy thought…start another series.  Or…quit?  Only the Lord knows.  And I trust Him.  More and more everyday. 

“But all things should be done decently and in order…For God is not a God of disorder…”
~1 Corinthians 14:40, 33~

Amen. 

If only my family could understand that my obsession with an orderly house is simply submission to biblical truth.  J

For the sake of “decency” and “order”, here are the links for the entire “Rest for the Weary” series, beginning to end. 

Rest for the Weary

Rest for the Weary (part 2):  Shadows and Realities

Rest for the Weary (part 3):  A Slight (but hopefully relevant) Detour

Rest for the Weary (part 4):  What Jesus Didn’t Mean

Rest for the Weary (part 5):  Trusting Truth

Rest for the Weary (part 6):  Can we handle the Truth?

Rest for the Weary (part 7):  Reasoning in Our Hearts

Rest for the Weary (part 8):  Faith Proved Genuine

Rest for the Weary (part 9):  An Eternally Significant Question

Rest for the Weary (part 10):  Who?

Rest for the Weary (part 11):  Why?

Rest for the Weary (part 12):  What?

Rest for the Weary (part 13):  But I’m Not Jewish

Rest for the Weary (part 14):  In a Dry and Weary Land

Rest for the Weary (part 15):  Pride and Fear

Rest for the Weary (part 16):  No Rest

Rest for the Weary (LAST PART!!!):  For the Joy Set Before You

Other somewhat relevant entries…

Speaking of Weary

Just Trying to Be Real

Knowing Our Hearts

I Need You

Resting in the Shadow of the Cross