Is there any good in failure and sin? Although the answer is NO, there is a bright side. To really know God, you need to fall, fail, and sin. Then you have an opportunity to know God’s true character of forgiveness and love (note: We are all sinners. Some acknowledge it, others ignore it and fake spirituality.).
Those who don’t fail (or think they don’t), have an unrealistic view of life. They become judgmental and angry at those “sinners” who can’t get their act together.
We surely don’t want to encourage sinfulness and Failure, but we know that times of dryness, failure, and sinful backsliding are surely damaging. Yet God can turn everything around and bring complete restoration (Hos 3:4-5).
Your thoughts?
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Several years ago I was driving through the streets of Bangalore with a friend from Mumbai. He was astonished at the sight of several cars making illegal turns, in full view of the traffic police! The police went about their jobs as if nothing unexpected is happening. He remarked that “this would never be tolerated in Bombay-immediately they would be stopped and fined.” My response to him was “hey, this is a free country-we have freedom from the law.”
Several weeks after that incident, I was astounded at the sight of a policeman accepting bribe in the middle of an intersection. The truck was attempting to make an illegal turn, but the traffic police stopped them. They continued to attempt the turn, when the policeman walked in front of the truck with his handout, blowing his whistle signaling them to stop. Finally, a man nonchalantly stepped out of the passenger side of the truck, and put some money into hand of the policeman. The policeman turned around as if he saw nothing, and the truck made the turn. The area was full of vehicles and people, and it was done with no shame, guilt, or hesitance. It was Just “part of the job.”
Paul said in Galatians 5:13, “you, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge in the sinful nature, rather, serve one another in love.” In the natural realm, freedom is misused so often that it has almost become the norm. In the spiritual realm, Paul is encouraging believers to use spiritual freedom with responsibility.
No longer are we bound to the sinful nature. We have been freed from the clutches of sin. Now, we are free. This freedom was free to us, but not cheap. Jesus paid dearly on the cross. It is our responsibility to use our freedom in a way that brings glory to God. Others should observe our lives and say, “look, they are not bound like we are. They are really free!”
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You saw it with your own eyes, heard it with your own ears. So has others. There is no doubting the evidence. What will you do?
They are wrong, rebellious, and clearly at fault! We feel justified in our judgement. And surely we are not as bad as they are. Its kind of a good feeling when others fall in their sinfulness. Our “feel good factor” rises a few points. This causes us to push further with our judgement of others.
Mary carried the clear evidence of sin against God, society, and the one she was about to marry. What more evidence would one want? But Joseph wanted to show some grace by putting her away quietly, rather than making a big ruckus. Was it forgiveness? No, but to some extent he was showing grace.
But God intervened and gave his explanation for the evidence. Now the evidence could be seen from a new perspective. Same evidence, different perspective.
So be considerate and merciful of others even when there is evidence for judgment. God has the last word (Matt 1:19-20).
Your thoughts?
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***Sign up for my devotional thoughts on Blog by Alexi This blog is a reflection on life as it comes. Sometimes it comes with great joy and delight and at other times it hits us in the face with conflict and agony. It’s a journey through life and journey through the scriptures to guide us.
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When my mother suffered terribly for several years with cancer, I heard some shocking comments like this: “It’s a shame and disgrace to God’s name that your mother is suffering with Cancer.” There were some people who felt that when we suffer, it makes God look bad and less people will follow him.
Maybe this is a conclusion that is logical and in the minds of many. But only a few would share such thoughts with others. Still, it is there in the minds of many.
But when Jesus suffered in the cruelest way possible, a Roman soldier made a public proclamation about him that was astounding: “Truly this was the Son of God!” (Matt 27:54) Then further: “Certainly this man was innocent!” (Luke 23:47)
Suffering can bring confusion, but it also brings clarity. Certainly that Roman soldier had heard about the claims of Jesus being the Son of God, the Messiah. Although these designations may have not made sense to him as a non-Israelite, he recognized a sense of divinity in Jesus.
On the cross, when one of the criminals mocked Jesus, the other one said: “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” Somehow, throughout the whole ordeal of suffering, this person understood the innocence of Jesus. Maybe the innocent suffer differently than the guilty.
In addition to that recognition, faith was expressed by this criminal as well. He said: “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Then Jesus affirmed him with these words: “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise” (Luke 23:39-43). His response was not just a fleeting interest in Jesus. Rather it was faith that was genuine enough to bring salvation.
None of us desire suffering in any way. But when we do, it’s good to remove fear and trust that God’s name will be glorified. It’s not a problem for unbelievers to know about our sufferings. This is part of life here on earth, and we have God with us as our comfort and strength. Then in the end, God will be glorified.Your thoughts?
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They tried to understand him, but they couldn’t. Sometimes they found him at the synagogue teaching and conversing with scholars of his day. But at other times, he hung with the “marginal” crowd that others would never want to be seen with.
But why was he doing this? It’s understandable when people reach out for some benefit they would receive; even if that benefit is received indirectly. Some see some financial benefit by connecting with people on the margins. Others look for popularity among the general public as they are viewed as “compassionate” toward the suffering.
For Jesus, none of these benefits caught his attention. He truly responded from a selfless goal as his mission was to die for these people. I suppose there is no deeper level of selflessness than to die for others.
The religious leaders of his day experienced their greatest confusion ever. They were truly intrigued with their discussions with this unique rabbi. He captivated them as he shared his wisdom. But since he connected with people of ill repute, their own reputation was endangered. There was nothing they could do but to distance themselves from him.
But Jesus would not flinch from his target. They attacked, argued, and threatened him, but he continued in his task of loving and reaching out to the unwanted of his day. The officials viewed his work as rebellious and unacceptable, but that would not move him – he remained determined. Throughout his life, this was his reputation.
Then in death, his legacy continued. He was crucified between two thieves – more misfits from society. The prophet Isaiah said that in death, he “was numbered with the transgressors” (53:12).
Now, Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father interceding for misfits and sinners like me.*Your thoughts?
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*(Romans 8:34).
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Helping people in need can be a daunting task. Once you make yourself available and begin to help, everything changes. Gradually, people begin to gravitate towards you with their needs. This is what you set out to do, but you struggle with reality of the life you live.
How do you help others when you struggle so much with life? For me, I wonder how I continue to teach and write as I find my difficulties to be such a challenge.
How do I find the balance?
Where is the balance?
What balance?
If I could just get over the struggles and become free from such things, I think I can be more effective in helping others.
But will I be more effective? Can I help others better? Can I teach and write more effectively? These thoughts are often just a thought, and not reality.
These struggles make up our life. The “crunch” of life that we feel on a daily basis is as much a part of life as the simple, easy, and fulfilling things.
It’s the crunch that enables us to help others. It’s the crunch that feeds our words as we teach, write, and do all that we do to help. There is no other way but to live life and face it with all its difficulties.
The Bible is clear that God comforts us in our difficulties so we can help others. The apostle Paul said: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God” (2Cor 1:3-4).
So keep reaching out to others with your feeble hands. God’s comfort will flow through you to others.
Your thoughts?
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Life seems to be a rat race running after those things that will make our life better, easier, simpler, and hopefully normal. That struggle puts us in more of an emotional dilemma than we can imagine.
As we consistently pray for the sick, we see there are so many struggling with stress and unresolved issues from the past. Most of these come from unmet expectations about life, and others struggle with unresolved issues from the past.
We have an ideal in our minds about how life ought to be. That ideal is determined by various factors such as media, friends, and family. Our striving for these ideals puts us right in the middle of a rat race where we don’t belong.
When God comes, there will be a day that redefines what we consider to be normal. What we know about the various effects of nature such as light and darkness, cold and heat, summer and winter, and all other factors will be redefined by God. It will be a unique day, and God will be king of all. (Zech 14:6-9)
So what about your unmet expectations of life? Unresolved issues and questions? Let’s reevaluate the value of these things in light of the future where God redefines everything. He will be king of all.
Your thoughts?
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When we listen for God’s voice, we have the option of following him. But when we fill our hearing with lots of noise, our ears are too full to filter out the voice of God.
For this to effectively take place in our lives, I believe there are three things that are important.
First, increase our exposure to God’s voice. Make reading and meditation of God’s word a regular practice for everyone in the home including the smallest children. If they do not read yet, read the Bible to them. When they are just learning to read, have them read the first verse of the chapter, and you read the rest of the chapter to them.
Fill your home with music that exalts God and his ways. Set the tone in the home with music and praise to our God. Be jealous for God and don’t allow other voices to have more importance.
Second, develop a mindset of obedience. Make it firm in your mind that you are a man of God, that you are a woman of God. Once that identity is firmly set in your mind, you will be more apt to have a mind of obedience. Sure we have our freedom and independence as human beings. But we choose to obey because God is our everything.
Third, be intentional about obedience. One step toward this is to begin a simple process of daily writing down something that impacted you during your daily reading of the Bible. Write down even a sentence that you feel God has spoken to you. In the midst of your struggles, it may be something related to what you are facing. Just the process of recording your interaction with the word of God will greatly impact your thinking. Write that down on a small card and keep it in your pocket so you can look at it throughout the day. Put in in your phone as a constant reminder.
Once you begin doing these things on a regular basis, God will begin to impact your thinking, your behavior, and your responses. The environment in your home will begin to shift focus.
The people of God at the time of Zechariah were struggling to build the temple of God. It was left unfinished for a long time. But God wanted them to listen to his voice. He said if they would listen for his voice, he will bring people to help them build. But the key was listening and obeying God’s voice.
Listen for the voice of the Lord. He will bring you help to move forward. (Zech 6:15)
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It was too private to let anyone else know. His reputation would be completely shattered. His disciples would surely be confused and scattered. It would endanger his entire mission.
Throughout his entire life, this secret desire remained within him. It haunted him to no end. During those times when he spent entire nights in prayer alone with his Father, I am sure this desire came up as a topic of discussion. Probably a good part of the night was spent struggling over this one desire.
Then finally, several hours before his crucifixion, he went with his disciples to the garden of Gethsemane. He poured out his heart to his Father. When his heart became heavy, he took Peter, James, and John and went further away to pray. But as the evening progressed, he could stand the pain no longer. He had to open up the pain of his desire to his Father. So, he went further away from even these three to pray.
He cried out in agony…maybe not because of the torture that he was about to endure. The real agony was regarding this secret desire; the desire to disobey his Father. Doing anything against the Father’s will was completely out of the question. He knew that. He was fine with that. But still, deep within him, this desire remained.
But he never gave in to that desire. He held on and submitted himself to the will of the Father. That was his advantage above everything else. Although he could never share this with even his closest disciples, he felt free to share it with his Father.
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The things we hold dearly seem to grip our hearts more than we can imagine. Sometimes I wonder about the dilemma of the “Rich young man” before Jesus (Matthew 19:16-22). He really wanted to follow Jesus, but there was something that gripped his heart more than his desire to follow Him.
Unfortunately this young man’s wealth had a grip on his heart. But isn’t this the case with many of us? If not money, it’s something else of importance. We want to follow without any limits, but there seems to be something that pulls us back.
Maybe the young man came to Jesus with a desire to help Jesus using his wealth. He probably felt a genuine desire to help with the expenses of Jesus and his disciples. Maybe he had political intentions in the coming kingdom that Jesus talked about. Maybe he recognized Jesus as the Messiah and truly wanted to be his follower.
When Jesus asked this man to sell all he had and give to the poor, he just couldn’t bring himself to do that. Jesus didn’t even ask him for a tithe of the proceeds. He was to simply get rid of everything. But those things had a firm grip on his heart.
What if the man obeyed and began selling off his possessions? As each item of value was sold off and the proceeds given to the poor, his heart would be torn. One by one, each transaction would tear up his insides. Everything he valued in life, and those things that gave him significance would be torn away.
His friends and family would probably desert him. They would either think he has gone crazy or is simply going through some weird phase in life. But clearly, he would lose friends, status, recognition, and those things that would be seen as valuable in society.
By the time the last item is sold, he would be stripped of everything in his heart. More than the material “stripping” that would happen; his heart would be stripped of the things that have a hold on his life. The problem was not his wealth. The problem was his heart that held on so tightly to the things of this life.
Then, when he comes to Jesus, he would come completely broken and empty. At that point, he would be able to receive all that Jesus has for him as a disciple. His heart would be open to the transforming work of the one he follows.
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