Looking Towards the Future

Lately, I've been catching myself mourning sin more and more often. From day to day, I find that I am actively mourning not only my own sinfulness, but as I look upon the world that we live in I am repeatedly confronted with the pride, anger, bitterness, greed, envy and lust that seems to be ever present in the world. These principalities that are in direct conflict with God (Eph 6:12) are forces that cannot be avoided and must be reckoned with, but as the rest of this passage commands, we are to arm ourselves for battle with the divine everlasting armor of God. "Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God" (Eph 6:13-17 NIV).

Even in my interactions with others, the relational brokenness that is ever pervasive cannot be avoided. Whenever I begin new friendships, this brokenness glaringly reminds me of my own awkwardness and clumsiness and lack of social graces. The part of me that forgets how to walk and talk at the same time. But, once again I am comforted by Scripture that tells me that the Holy Spirit, who lives within me (Rom 5:5) is also continually cultivating His good and righteous fruit within me. "But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. (Gal 5:22-23a NLT). It's when I forget to seek the strength and power of the Holy Spirit to help me overcome my own brokenness and the brokenness of others that I lose hope and walk around defeated and alone.

So, as this year comes to a close and we once again have before us the opportunity in the coming year to press more deeply into the passions that pulsate within us. Let us remember that through our enduring and intimate relationship with Jesus, we are empowered with what we need to persevere through the trails that lay before us as we pursue those God given yearnings within our hearts that call out to us and urge us to make an impact for the Kingdom of God. "For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love, and of self-disciple" (2 Tim 1:7) and that those who overcome are given "the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God" (Rev 2:7).

Sacred Companions

"If I am to have a place of stillness at the core of my being, it will only be because I have learned to offer hospitality to the Spirit (47)."

We live in a world that glorifies the defiled image of God in people. The more outrageous, obscene, even offensive you are, the more attention you receive, both good and bad. This world thrives on lewdness, sex sells. We live in a pornographic world where porn stars are icons and pimps and gangsters are emulated. You may think these examples are extremes, but the truthness of this reality has impact a whole generation. This world operates from a use or be used mentality, in order to get anywhere in life you have to either climb over someone or step on them. Where is the redemption in that?

If we like it or not, this defiled image is at the core of who we are, that is reality. Jesus describes this perverted core when He talks about what makes a person 'clean or unclean:" "For from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly (Mark 7:21-22)." But, it is exactly in this place, our sinful hearts, that we can offer hospitality to the Spirit of the living God. When a person gives their life to Jesus, the Holy Spirit takes up residence in that person's heart and begins to transform them by restoring and redeeming our defiled image. He becomes a new creation (2 Cor 5:17).

The Holy Spirit is the guarantee of our inheritance of eternal life (Eph 1:14), a deposit of what's to come (2 Cor 1:22) which is to one day be in Heaven with Jesus. The more time we spend in showing hospitality to the Holy Spirit, the more of eternity we will experience in our day to day lives. Now, in order to show hospitality to someone we need to be present with them and in order to be present with them we need to be attentive to them. So, this practice of hospitality towards the Spirit means our spirit is actively present with the Spirit's presence in our everyday lives which means we are taking the time to be attentive to Him. Because it's only when we are paying attention to the Spirit are we then able to respond to the Spirit.

Repentance vs. Relief

The last verse of the book of Judges does a good job in summing up the book as a whole, "In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes" (ESV). The Israelites are continually doing what was right in their own eyes (21:25) which to say the least seriously damaged their relationship with God. Now there comes a time when the Israelites are in over their heads (once again) and begin to cry out to God to rescue them (10:15). They even get rid of all their foreign gods (10:16). But, this seeking of God has suspicious motives and the question arises: "Is there any real repentance here or are the Israelites only seeking relief from their distress?"

When I begin seeking God for relief from distressing sin, I have to ask myself this same question: "Am I seeking relief from the consequences of my sin for my own comfort because it has made my life unmanageable or am I truly repent for it?" which provokes another question, one that more precisely targets the underlying issue: "If the sin stayed manageable would I have even sought out God?"

I'm reminded of Paul's words in 2 Corinthians 7:10 "Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death." Worldly sorrow comes when we are only sorry for the consequences of our sins or that we got caught. When we don't get our way or what we covet or are caught with our hand in the cookie jar we sink into despair, bitterness (anger), maybe even paralysis. We sink into the murky depths of self-pity because worldly sorrow is self-centered. There is no forgiveness for admittance of guilt (being caught), only confession which involves submission.

Conversely, godly sorrow happens when a person realizes what they have done is wrong (sinned) regardless of the consequences of their actions and the need to make things right. "This is godly sorrow—one that recognizes the wrong committed and then does everything within its power to repair the damage. Simply put, godly sorrow is constructive" (2 Corinthians, IVP Commentary, 1996). Godly sorrow is active and forward moving. It is others-centered which includes God. Godly sorrow must involve mourning the destructive nature of sin both towards God and towards others.

But, "only God can empower people to change their ways. Only God can save people from the way sin imprisons them and paralyzes them. Only God can help us turn away from sin and seek salvation" (1 & 2 Corinthians, Life Appl. Commentary, 1999). We live in a world that is temporal. For lasting change, for eternal change, God must be the primary mover because He alone is the eternal Creator who is the transformer of lives (2 Cor 5:17) "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"