Identity Theft

“I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. Therefore Jesus said again, ‘I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep.’ The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”
John 10:1, 7 & 10

In the age we live in, there is no doubt we have all been touched by some form of identity theft. Our email addresses and Facebook accounts get hacked and then our friends get inappropriate messages that appear to be from us. A number of years ago my mom’s wallet was stolen, credit cards were used, bad checks were written - it took quite a while for her to get that mess straightened out. Not to long ago, as I was doing some work on the computer, an email arrived from our credit card provider notifying us of a possible fraudulent charge - really how do people manage to get credit card numbers like that? The charge was made in New York while I was at my desk in California. It is no fun when someone steals our identity for their own financial gain. But I believe we lose our identities in other ways as well. 

In this week’s passages from John’s gospel Jesus uses the image of a real shepherd as opposed to the person who doesn’t have the key to gate and has to find another way into the pen. That person is up to no good - Jesus identifies them as a thief. That thief is really the prince of this world - the devil, trying to steal our identities. The world says we have to live up to what it thinks we should each be, how we should look, what we should do, what kinds of things we should have and if we get just the right combination of that stuff we will be successful and more importantly loveable. But Jesus basically says I came to make sure you know who you really are, that you have life in all of its abundance. What do we have to do to get that life? We have only to accept it - that’s what grace is all about.

Respected author, professor, pastor Henri Nouwen has said: “Jesus came to announce to us that an identity based on success, popularity and power is a false identity - an illusion! Loudly and clearly he says: ‘you are not what the world makes you; but you are children of God.’” “For God so loved…” (John 3:16). The apostle Paul is good at reminding us who we really are “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive in Christ even when we were dead in transgressions…” (Ephesians 2:4-5). Our true identity is found in Jesus Christ, it is not dependent on how we look, what we do, how much money we make or how much power we have - it is totally dependent on how much He loves us and the riches of His grace and mercy. Nothing we can do will make Him love us more or less, nothing will change who He sees when He looks at us. 

Sometimes we let the world steal our identity, sometimes we give our identity away because we haven’t allowed who we are in Christ to sink fully into the soil of our hearts where it can take root.

Do you know who you are? You are a child of God! 

A Prayer
Father - help us to know who we really are because of your mercy, grace and love. May Christ live in each of us so fully that the world can never steal our identity or that we would never give that identity away for something less than who we really are in You. In the name Jesus, we pray - Amen.

DIY Religion...Nah

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast.”
Ephesians 2:8-9

We live in a DIY world. There are DIY television shows, books and YouTube videos for just about every kind of task. Go to Home Depot or Lowes and you can take a free workshop for DIY projects. I’m pretty handy, I’ve painted a house inside and out, I can do simple plumbing and electrical repairs, I can change a tire or headlight bulb and I like doing those sorts of things. There are some diehard do it yourselfers who also think they can earn God’s love and a place in heaven if they just do enough good stuff or at least more good stuff than bad stuff. As for me, I know my DIY skills are not sufficient to restore the broken relationship with God. So when it comes to DIY religion I say nah.

Now, if we really wanted to go the DIY route to eternity there are plenty of religions out there that we can work our lives out in - just Google work based religions and you’ll find plenty to choose from. Interesting, that some of these have standards that seem so high you’ll never make it to their idea of heaven. In that case you can choose one that doesn’t have a heaven. Wait - work really hard and still possibly fall short or work really hard for absolutely nothing - neither of those sound particularly good to me, how do they sound to you?

In my study and research only Christianity is not suited for the do it yourselfer. God gets that we are not capable of living up to His standards on our own (remember in the beginning there was only one rule and Adam and Eve couldn’t follow it) and He understands we can’t restore the broken relationship and enter His kingdom by our own self help programs. So He’s taken care of it for all of us by sending His Son Jesus - to do the work, to pay the price, to restore the relationship and open the doors to the throne room of heaven. “This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:22-24).

In Christ Jesus we have been given an extravagant gift that we could never have earned, “not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace…” (2 Timothy 1:9). DIY religion? Nah. 

This week accept God’s extravagant gift of grace and scratch saving yourself off of your to-do list. 

A Prayer
Father - thank you for the gift of Your Son, a gift that gives us forgiveness, grace, favor and an eternity to look forward to. Forgive us for the times when we try to get back to you under our own power, leaving your gift on the shelf and just managing to muck the situation up even more. When it comes to living for you, help us to set aside our DIY mindset and rely fully on You. In the name Jesus, we pray - Amen.

There Is Always a But...

“They gave Moses this account: ‘We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit. But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large.’”
Numbers 13:27-28

The people had traveled a long way through the wilderness with the Lord leading the way. It hadn’t been easy, but everything they needed and even much of what they had wanted had been provided for them from the Lord. Now they stood on the edge of the land God had promised them, a land they knew was good, a land they were instructed to take. Instead of moving in and taking what had been promised they started with the “buts”. But there are giants there, but the cities are so strongly fortified, but they’ll squish like ants. They had plenty of “buts” to stop them from being and doing all that God intended for them to be and do. What happened? They wandered about in the wilderness for another forty years.

In our modern world, we have plenty of promises of the abundant life promised us by God and there are always buts getting in the way of who we are supposed to be and what we are supposed to do. But…I don’t have the money. But… I don’t have the time. But…I don’t want to be ridiculed for standing up. But… I am afraid to take the next step. But…my health will not let me. We can come up with an almost endless number of excuses in order to continue living in what we think is a comfortable situation - but we will be missing out on all of the amazing stuff God wants us to do, to see, to be.

Joseph ended up in prison before he became second only to Pharaoh. Jacob was permanently injured while wrestling with the Lord but eventually became who God wanted him to be. Esther was taken captive but became the Queen of Persia and risked her life to save her people. Paul was the greatest missionary ever known - even with poor health and terrible luck when traveling. Jesus sent people out to share the Good News with no money. 

What gifts have you been given? What do you know for certain the Lord wants you to do? What are the risks involved? What are the “buts” that are keeping you from obedience and abundant life?

This week think about what happened to the Israelites who let the “buts” control their hearts and minds. Then remember all that the Lord has provided for you in the past and decide to follow Him into the abundant life He has already promised You. There doesn’t always have to be a “but” in our lives. 

A Prayer
Father - forgive for the times when we see the good things you have for us just across the river but we let fear and other stuff get in the way. We let the “buts” of this world keep us from the wonders of Your kingdom. Help us each day to push those negative aside and to trust that you will indeed provide us will all that we need when we need it so that we can be and do all that You have promised us. In the name Jesus, we pray - Amen.

I Once Could See, But Now I'm Blind

“The god of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”
2 Corinthians 4:4

I am a pretty serious character. Oh I enjoy a good laugh, but it is not often that I have a witty come back for a given situation. However, last week’s “A Grazing Mace” offered a rare opportunity, and inspired this week’s title. I also suppose that if we could re-write this week’s passage, we might say that “the god of this age has blinded the minds of believers and unbelievers alike.” 

See from the beginning of time and throughout history mankind has been blinded by the world. Adam and Eve were made perfect and lived in a perfect place having perfect fellowship with the Creator himself - until that pesky serpent convinced Eve that she was blind and that disobeying God would allow her and Adam to really “see”. The reality was they had already been able to see what was really real and eating the forbidden fruit blinded them to that forever. 

John, writing to the church in Laodicea reveals the blindness of the people “You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked” (Revelation 3:17).

Saul, who would eventually become Paul, suffered from extreme soul blindness. Saul was blinded by his religious traditions, his education, his prejudices and he was further blinded by fear and hate. It took being literally blinded by a close encounter with Jesus on the Damascus road to really open his eyes to the truth of God and life changing grace and faith. 

In response to the interrogation of the religious leaders of the day a blind man whom Jesus had healed said: “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see” (John 9:25)! In Psalm 146 we read “the Lord gives sight to the blind, the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down, the Lord loves the righteous” (v. 8). 

What’s blinding you today to what is really real? Is it fear or prejudice? Is it the world’s idea of money, power and fame? Maybe you are being blinded by one of life’s many storms or the blows of this world’s grazing mace. The Scriptures reveal that the Lord, who is Christ Jesus, is the only one who can restore our sight, so that we see His glory and walk in His amazing grace.

His grace allows us to have faith and to have the blinded eyes of our souls opened to what’s really real. 

A Prayer
Father - thank you for the healing power of Your amazing grace. Open the eyes of our hearts Lord that we might see what You see - that we will see what is really real and be changed. Thank you that hearts that can see Your grace can walk in this world fearlessly and filled with love In the name Jesus, who makes the blind to see, we pray - Amen.