MORAL COMPASS

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MORAL COMPASS

In God's eyes we are all equal. But sin makes us unequal. As Christians, we are not better people, just unequal. Forgiven. Because we either believe and live like Jesus has redeemed us or we don't. And if we do, then He is our moral compass. And if we don't, our moral compass never stops spinning...no direction of right and wrong. That is the difference.

The problem is our culture has so muddied the reality of sin that we have gotten used to the darkness...not unlike dusk when the darkness gradually creeps in and we just accept it. If intended to reflect the nature of God, man is to be judged not by how he compares to other humans, but how he measures up to the Divine Standard. And remember God loves us for who we are, not for what we do. He also loves us as we are, not as we should be. We need to stop trying to measure up and start resting in the arms of His love. That doesn’t mean we don’t continue to live in a sinful state. Come on, if we’re honest with ourselves we still sin. What it does mean is that we must admit (confess) our sin, continually walk in forgiveness, and stop condemning ourselves! Romans 2:4 - “Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can’t you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin?” Oh the blessed mercy of God!

Here’s a prophetic verse, written about 600 years BC, that expresses God’s mercy and love in such a powerful way that expressed the heart of God back then, and was fulfilled in Christ Jesus: Zephaniah 3:17 — “For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.” Did you get that?!!! Yes…He’s alive. God’s not dead or some figment of some religious nut’s imagination! He takes delight in you…unconditionally! We should never fear coming to Him no matter how dirty we think our souls may be. He rejoices over you  and me with joyful songs! It’s as if God is singing love songs to us! Unfathomable but true! Crazy? No. Relentless? Yes! That is my Jesus! All proven over 2000 years ago on the cross of Calvary.

"For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him." (John 3:16-17) If we really believe in Him, we will surrender to His compass. And that, my friend, is neither political or religious.

LABELS

I’m sick and tired of “ists”: Leftists, rightists, extremists, lobbyists, political activists, Wall Streetists, Hollywood and media elitists, racists, abortionists, anti-abortionists, masochists, feminists, hedonists, nihilists, narcissists, atheists, religionists, animal activists, spiritualists, gay activists, and any other “ists” you can imagine. Frankly, I’m sick of all of it. What this world needs is more “Jesus-ists.” A people who live non-judgmental, unconditional lives of love, forgiveness, mercy, grace,  and compassion. And more people who are willing to “give up their own lives” and agendas for Jesus. When we look to Him, we will find the Truth. But it is so unfortunate that our own agendas blind us to the Master’s agenda of providing true peace, hope, love, freedom and reconciliation. Let’s stop making God in our own image and live lives conformed to His.

“The terrible thing is that our society, which pretends to be Christian, is in fact rejecting the word of God, enabled to do so by the all-pervading, suffocating noise of its own propaganda, able to make itself believe whatever it wants.” Thomas Merton

Matthew 10:34, 39 "Don't imagine that I came to bring peace to the earth! I came not to bring peace, but a sword…If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for me, you will find it.” Jesus

And yes...I'm an IDEALIST!

Torn Up Game Plan

Psalm 143:4-8 ⁴ I am losing all hope; I am paralyzed with fear. ⁵ I remember the days of old. I ponder all your great works and think about what you have done. ⁶ I lift my hands to you in prayer. I thirst for you as parched land thirsts for rain…⁷ Come quickly, LORD, and answer me, for my depression deepens. Don't turn away from me, or I will die. ⁸ Let me hear of your unfailing love each morning, for I am trusting you. Show me where to walk, for I give myself to you. 

Yes…I have felt like I have lost all hope, was paralyzed with fear, contemplated on the past, lifted my hands (and heart) in prayer, and thirsted for God. And yet it seems indeed like my depression deepens, my trust wavers, my patience thinned. I feel like I have no direction, no plan, no peace. Oh how I need a sense of His unfailing love. A waterfall of renewal. A submergence of trust. “SHOW me where to walk. I give myself to You.” 

I want God to show me where to walk but so often I feel like I turn off His GPS. I want to walk this journey on my own. Yet deep down I know my need for Him because I get lost so easily. I don’t give myself fully to Him. I give myself conditionally and don’t take up my cross daily to follow Him. I hate that about me. I know He has an awesome plan for me but I can’t see it. Not even glimpses. And that’s when the depression deepens. It’s all about trust. 

Then, a few days later I read this by Brennan Manning:

“Concretely, abandonment to the will of God consists of finding His purpose for you in all the people, events, and circumstances you encounter. If God tears up your beautiful game plan and leads you into a valley instead of onto a mountaintop, it is because He wants you to discover His plan, which is more beautiful than anything you or I could have dreamed up. The response of trust is, “Thank You  Jesus,” even if it is said through clenched teeth.”

God tore down my game plan…the perfect family, successful ministry, financial security. All of it gone. As if almost overnight. This isn’t self-pity (I know that all too well!) It’s just been the reality of my life in the past 6+ years since “Forgiven Ministries” was dissolved. It avalanched after that. It has been a long, hard, stressful road and through it all, I haven’t been very appreciating, so now…I thank you Jesus through clenched teeth and I lift my heart to you as King David did in Psalm 143:10-11 ¹⁰ Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. May your gracious Spirit lead me forward on a firm footing. ¹¹ For the glory of your name, O LORD, preserve my life. Because of your faithfulness, bring me out of this distress.

Poverty Stricken

“Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault. But you must continue to believe this truth and stand firmly in it. Don't drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good News.” Colossians 1:22-23

To believe this truth and stand firmly in it, I must be totally and absolutely emptied of self. Poverty stricken. I’ve known this theologically since I’ve been a Christian…almost 35 years. I’ve preached it, taught it, tried to live it but my meager attempts were all wrong. There was little room for grace. I was too hard on myself when I didn’t “live up to the expectations” of the religious people I was surrounded by. Even my own efforts to be good and do the right thing always came up short. I feel like I can never measure up. That is such a difficult place to be. I wasn’t standing firm in the truth that Jesus; because of His shed blood, sinless life, and taking on my sin; is the One whom all my righteousness is cloaked. I was living on my own merits….wearing my own “good deed doer” cloak. You would think after 35 years of this “knowledge,” I would have walked in the truth of His grace. NOTHING I do that is good will ever be good enough. The prophet Isaiah said it: Isaiah 64:6 We are all infected and impure with sin. When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags. And the apostle Paul said it: Romans 3:9-12, 18 “… for we have already shown that all people, whether Jews or Gentiles, are under the power of sin.  As the Scriptures say, ‘No one is righteous-not even one. No one is truly wise; no one is seeking God. All have turned away; all have become useless. No one does good, not a single one.’… They have no fear of God at all.’"

Now I am beginning to be free from the bondage of the cloak of “good deed doer.” Jesus dealt with my sin once and for all on the Cross. I am beginning to live in His grace…His righteousness…His freedom. Now this doesn’t mean I can do whatever I want and God will forgive me (of course He will!). What it does mean is that love is my motivation to wear His cloak. To live in His cloak and never take it off. Love others in this cloak (whether or not they love me). Judge not in this cloak. Serve others in this cloak.  Be gracious in this cloak. Be merciful in this cloak. Forgive in this cloak. Be compassionate in this cloak. Be thankful for all things in this cloak. Jesus’ cloak of righteousness will always be pure. And that frees me from becoming a people pleaser to live for an audience of One. I may get dirty, but His cloak is pure and righteous and holy and still covers me. The Father sees me in the righteous, blood soaked cloak of Jesus…no matter how smelly my undergarments may become.

Brennan Manning writes about this poverty: “The awareness of our innate poverty, that we were created from the clay of the earth and the kiss of God’s mouth, that we came from dust and shall return to dust, pulls away the mask of prestige, of knowledge, of social class, or of strength—whatever it is we use to command attention and respect…Poverty of spirit breaks through our human pretenses, freeing us from the shabby sense of spiritual superiority and the need to stand well with persons of importance…Poverty brings us to the awareness of the sovereignty of God and our absolute insufficiency. We simply cannot do anything alone. Any growth or progress in the spiritual life cannot be traced to our paltry efforts. All is the work of grace…I am convinced that without a gut level experience of our profound spiritual emptiness, it is not possible to encounter the living God.”