As I have been studying what it looks like for others to walk through healing after abortion, I’ve begun to see common responses to abortion and common effects abortion has on women and men. I’ve learned that in order to protect ourselves from the pain of past traumatic experiences, we use certain defense mechanisms to act as a wall, boundary, or simply a way to avoid the issue. And this isn’t just for abortion, but any kind of past hurt or offense. In any case, understanding how we respond to past hurts can help us to look past the wall we set up and face the reality of the impact the event had on our hearts. If this doesn’t happen, I’m sure it’s difficult to actually walk through healing. We need to get real with what’s going on. It is also easy to see how some of these defense mechanisms could spread and effect our relationships with others and with God.
Here are some examples of common defense mechanisms: Repression (subconsciously forgetting the event), Suppression (choosing to forget or not to think about the event), Rationalizing (justifying our reasons for the choices we made), Total Denial, Minimization (denying the importance of what occurred), having another baby to make up for the one lost, Bargaining, Blaming, Anger, and Avoidance. As I read through these, I had to take a good like at my own life and ask myself how it is that I address past hurts. Do I get angry? Do I justify my sin? Do I avoid responsibility or minimize how much I’ve hurt others? In all of these, we try to deal (or not deal) with our problems independently, and are walking in unreality, looking for some kind of false protection or security. Eventually, they may lead to other hurts, depression, anxiety, anger, heaviness, and poor relationships. In what ways do you deal with hurts and offenses.
I loved reading in Daniel Anderson’s book, “Christ-centered Therapy,” about the difference between an independently managed life and a life lived under the Lordship of Christ and the transforming power of the Holy Spirit. He shows that the fruits of the Spirit mentioned in Galations 5:22-23 are the opposite of what comes from trying to manage our problems in an unhealthy way ourselves, according to the flesh. The fruits of the Spirit are love (the character of God) , joy (the antithesis of depression), peace (the antithesis of anxiety), patience (the antithesis of anger), kindness (instead of blame), goodness (instead of justifying our wrongs), faith (as opposed to hopelessness, unbelief, or fear), self-control (not having to deny or suppress).
So let’s allow God to search our hearts and show us any wicked way in us. Allow him to show us how we deal with our hurts. Any area where we are independently trying to deal or not deal with past hurts, let’s them in the hands of Christ and allow the Holy Spirit to renew our minds and transform our hearts. He is the best Healer, the best Counselor, and He makes all things new. Let’s allow Him to break down the walls we’ve built up in order to protect ourselves. He will heal and restore us.
Friday, January 9, 2009
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
I thought these songs were very interesting. They were both very popular songs when they came out. I remember hearing both of them on the radio. I never realized that both these songs are about the songwriters' experiences with abortion. Both of these songs reflect fairly well the kind of difficulties and hurts that those who have experience abortion face. Allow these secular songs to give you a heart for others who are experiencing this. And it's not just women. I found it interesting that the writers of these songs are both men.
Ben Folds- Brick
6 am day after Christmas
I throw some clothes on in
The dark
The smell of cold
Car seat is freezing
The world is sleeping and
I am numb
Up the stairs to her apartment
She is balled up on the couch
Her mom and dad went down
To charlotte
Theyre not home to find us
Out
And we drive
Now that I have founds someone
Im feeling more alone
Than I ever have before
Chorus
Shes a brick and Im drowning
Slowly
Off the coast and Im headed
Nowhere
Shes a brick and Im drowning
Slowly
They call her name at 7:30
I pace around the parking lot
Then I walk down to buy her
Flowers
And sell some gifts that I got
Cant you see
Its not me youre dying for
Now shes feeling more alone
Than she ever has before
Chorus
As weeks went by
It showed that she was not fine
They told me son its time
To tell the truth
And she broke down and I broke
Down
cause I was tired of lying
Driving back to her apartment
For the moment were alone
Shes alone
And Im alone
Now I know it
Chorus
The Verve Pipe- The Freshmen
When I was young and knew everything
And she a punk who rarely ever took advice
Now I'm guilt stricken
Sobbing with my head on the floor
Stop a baby's breath and a shoe full of rice no...
I can't be held responsible
Cause she was touching her face
I won't be held responsible
She fell in love in the first place
(Chorus)
For the life of me I cannot remember
What made us think that we were wise and
We'd never compromise
For the life of me I cannot believe
We'd ever die for these sins
We were merely freshmen
My best friend took a week's
Vacation to forget her
His girl took a week's worth of
Valium and slept
Now he's guilt stricken sobbing with his
Head on the floor
Thinks about her now and how he never really
Wept he says
I can't be held responsible
Cause she was touching her face
I won't be held responsible
She fell in love in the first place
(Chorus)
We've tried to wash our hands of all of this
We never talk of our lack in relationships
And how we're guilt stricken sobbing with our
Heads on the floor
We fell through the ice when we tried not to slip
We'd say
I can't be held responsible
Cause she was touching her face
And I won't be held responsible
She fell in love in the first place
(Chorus)x2
For the life of me I cannot remember
What made us think that we were wise and
We'd never compromise
For the life of me I cannot believe
We'd ever die for these sins
We were merely freshmen
(SECOND TIME)
we were merely freshmen
we were only freshmen
Ben Folds- Brick
6 am day after Christmas
I throw some clothes on in
The dark
The smell of cold
Car seat is freezing
The world is sleeping and
I am numb
Up the stairs to her apartment
She is balled up on the couch
Her mom and dad went down
To charlotte
Theyre not home to find us
Out
And we drive
Now that I have founds someone
Im feeling more alone
Than I ever have before
Chorus
Shes a brick and Im drowning
Slowly
Off the coast and Im headed
Nowhere
Shes a brick and Im drowning
Slowly
They call her name at 7:30
I pace around the parking lot
Then I walk down to buy her
Flowers
And sell some gifts that I got
Cant you see
Its not me youre dying for
Now shes feeling more alone
Than she ever has before
Chorus
As weeks went by
It showed that she was not fine
They told me son its time
To tell the truth
And she broke down and I broke
Down
cause I was tired of lying
Driving back to her apartment
For the moment were alone
Shes alone
And Im alone
Now I know it
Chorus
The Verve Pipe- The Freshmen
When I was young and knew everything
And she a punk who rarely ever took advice
Now I'm guilt stricken
Sobbing with my head on the floor
Stop a baby's breath and a shoe full of rice no...
I can't be held responsible
Cause she was touching her face
I won't be held responsible
She fell in love in the first place
(Chorus)
For the life of me I cannot remember
What made us think that we were wise and
We'd never compromise
For the life of me I cannot believe
We'd ever die for these sins
We were merely freshmen
My best friend took a week's
Vacation to forget her
His girl took a week's worth of
Valium and slept
Now he's guilt stricken sobbing with his
Head on the floor
Thinks about her now and how he never really
Wept he says
I can't be held responsible
Cause she was touching her face
I won't be held responsible
She fell in love in the first place
(Chorus)
We've tried to wash our hands of all of this
We never talk of our lack in relationships
And how we're guilt stricken sobbing with our
Heads on the floor
We fell through the ice when we tried not to slip
We'd say
I can't be held responsible
Cause she was touching her face
And I won't be held responsible
She fell in love in the first place
(Chorus)x2
For the life of me I cannot remember
What made us think that we were wise and
We'd never compromise
For the life of me I cannot believe
We'd ever die for these sins
We were merely freshmen
(SECOND TIME)
we were merely freshmen
we were only freshmen
Vision for 2009
Sorry it has been so long since our last post. We will try to be more consistent. I will try to update our blog at least every Wednesday. It has been an incredible experience living in Washington D.C. this year. I am thankful for all of my brothers and sisters on the Youth With A Mission team Remnant. They have taught me so much about prayer and intercession, and all the while they were discipling me through the way they live their lives.
Everything is changing for 2009. As our team has sought the Lord, many of us felt pulled in more specific individual directions, but also not to end the team. To more room for God to do what He wants in our own lives and in the team as a whole, we have decided to spread out for a few months and gather together again in Washington D.C. in March 2009.
God has launched a vision in my heart to put together a mobile team to travel around the country with a production to offer hope and healing to those who have been effected by both abortion and miscarriage. Our society often minimizes the significance of losing an unborn child. But as mothers and fathers, our hearts do love and bond with our unborn children, even if its subconciously recognizing that his/her life was valuable, precious, and made in the image of God. Just like other forms of loss, it is important to walk through a healthy grieving and healing process. With the guilt and shame often associated with abortion, there are a whole lot of people who haven't walked through this process of grieving and healing in a healthy way. I want to recognize these people's loss and the pain that they are in by creating a opportunity at Church for them to begin this process. It will be like a memorial for the unborn, but will also teach and talk about the effects of abortion and miscarriage on women and men.
Our family will be in Ohio until March, putting this production together. We are already learning so much about post-abortion healing. We are studying, reading, meeting with Pregnancy Centers and pastors in order to be prepared to take others through this healing process. We will also be doing fundraising, connecting with supporters, writing the production's teachings and dramas, and putting together the audio and video. Let us know if you have good ideas concerning this vision. Pray that the Holy Spirit speaks to us and breathes on this production. Pray for the right connections, relationship, and finances to come in. We are definately in need of God's grace and provision. God bless.
Everything is changing for 2009. As our team has sought the Lord, many of us felt pulled in more specific individual directions, but also not to end the team. To more room for God to do what He wants in our own lives and in the team as a whole, we have decided to spread out for a few months and gather together again in Washington D.C. in March 2009.
God has launched a vision in my heart to put together a mobile team to travel around the country with a production to offer hope and healing to those who have been effected by both abortion and miscarriage. Our society often minimizes the significance of losing an unborn child. But as mothers and fathers, our hearts do love and bond with our unborn children, even if its subconciously recognizing that his/her life was valuable, precious, and made in the image of God. Just like other forms of loss, it is important to walk through a healthy grieving and healing process. With the guilt and shame often associated with abortion, there are a whole lot of people who haven't walked through this process of grieving and healing in a healthy way. I want to recognize these people's loss and the pain that they are in by creating a opportunity at Church for them to begin this process. It will be like a memorial for the unborn, but will also teach and talk about the effects of abortion and miscarriage on women and men.
Our family will be in Ohio until March, putting this production together. We are already learning so much about post-abortion healing. We are studying, reading, meeting with Pregnancy Centers and pastors in order to be prepared to take others through this healing process. We will also be doing fundraising, connecting with supporters, writing the production's teachings and dramas, and putting together the audio and video. Let us know if you have good ideas concerning this vision. Pray that the Holy Spirit speaks to us and breathes on this production. Pray for the right connections, relationship, and finances to come in. We are definately in need of God's grace and provision. God bless.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Justice, Mercy, and the Role of Intercession (Part 3)
Christ is the Ultimate Intercessor
The first case of bloodshed in the Old Testament was in the Story of Cain and Abel. Cain burns with jealousy over God’s acceptance of his brother Abel’s offering and not his own. In his anger, he murders his brother. In Gen 4:10, God says, “What have you done? Your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground!” God loves and values Abel so much that there is a lingering injustice that results from his death that cries out, demanding the justice of God. God’s justice will not allow him to ignore the crime. If just the blood of one innocent life taken cries out to God demanding justice, what does God hear due to the injustice of abortion worldwide? What does that sound like? What does that do to His heart?
Just as God looked for a man to stand in the gap in the Old Testament, he sent his son, Jesus Christ, to stand in the gap on behalf of man in the New Testament. He conquered death, bearing the weight of the sin of the world and rising from the grave victorious. Christ is the ultimate intercessor, who took on the penalty of the sin of the world and made a way for God to be both just and merciful at the same time. It is through Him that we are found righteous, and because of Him that we are reconciled. In Hebrews, Paul talks about this perfect sacrifice in relationship to the Old Testament:
“For you have not come to what could be touched, to a blazing fire, to darkness, gloom, and storm, to the blast of a trumpet, and the sound of words. (Those who heard it begged that not another word be spoken to them, for they could not bear what was commanded: And if even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned! And the appearance was so terrifying that Moses said, I am terrified and trembling.) Instead, you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God (the heavenly Jerusalem), to myriads of angels in festive gathering, to the assembly of the firstborn whose names have been written in heaven, to God who is the judge of all, to the spirits of righteous people made perfect, to Jesus (mediator of a new covenant), and to the sprinkled blood, which says better things than the blood of Abel” (Hebrews 12:18-24.)”
Praise God that the blood of Christ speaks louder than injustice. The grace and mercy God can give through Christ, the ultimate intercessor, is enough to cover our sins. We no longer find our righteousness through the law, but through Christ. We are able to live righteously not by our own strength, but by the power of the Holy Spirit who transforms us and Christ that live inside of us. “For through the law I have died to the law, that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ; and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Galations 2: 19,20).
With Christ inside of us, empowered to stand against sin in the strength of the Holy Spirit, we become a revelation of the character of God to the world, a light to the world. We get to be like Christ to the world. Paul says in Philippians 1:21, “For me, living is Christ and dying is gain.” It is good for the world that he was alive as a testimony to it because Christ lives through him. Christ death and resurrection was enough to atone for the sin of the world, but through Christ living in Paul, the work of the cross is applied to whatever situation God leads him to. He is applying the victory of the cross in his own life, and bringing victory and grace through the spreading of the Gospel.
Similarly, we are called to represent Christ to the world. He lives inside of us and as we yield our hearts to the leading of the Holy Spirit, it is no longer us that is serving, praying, teaching, prophesying, or loving, but Christ in us. We know that “…the One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world” (1 John 4:4). And in Colossians 1:27, “God wanted to make known to those among the Gentiles the glorious wealth of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” So as we humble ourselves here in D.C., we recognize that our authority in prayer comes from the power of Christ living in us and through us. We are applying the victory of the Cross to the sins of America, calling forth the plans and purposes of God in our nation. Jesus says, “If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it” (John 14:14). God, end abortion and send revival to America. Amen.
The first case of bloodshed in the Old Testament was in the Story of Cain and Abel. Cain burns with jealousy over God’s acceptance of his brother Abel’s offering and not his own. In his anger, he murders his brother. In Gen 4:10, God says, “What have you done? Your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground!” God loves and values Abel so much that there is a lingering injustice that results from his death that cries out, demanding the justice of God. God’s justice will not allow him to ignore the crime. If just the blood of one innocent life taken cries out to God demanding justice, what does God hear due to the injustice of abortion worldwide? What does that sound like? What does that do to His heart?
Just as God looked for a man to stand in the gap in the Old Testament, he sent his son, Jesus Christ, to stand in the gap on behalf of man in the New Testament. He conquered death, bearing the weight of the sin of the world and rising from the grave victorious. Christ is the ultimate intercessor, who took on the penalty of the sin of the world and made a way for God to be both just and merciful at the same time. It is through Him that we are found righteous, and because of Him that we are reconciled. In Hebrews, Paul talks about this perfect sacrifice in relationship to the Old Testament:
“For you have not come to what could be touched, to a blazing fire, to darkness, gloom, and storm, to the blast of a trumpet, and the sound of words. (Those who heard it begged that not another word be spoken to them, for they could not bear what was commanded: And if even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned! And the appearance was so terrifying that Moses said, I am terrified and trembling.) Instead, you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God (the heavenly Jerusalem), to myriads of angels in festive gathering, to the assembly of the firstborn whose names have been written in heaven, to God who is the judge of all, to the spirits of righteous people made perfect, to Jesus (mediator of a new covenant), and to the sprinkled blood, which says better things than the blood of Abel” (Hebrews 12:18-24.)”
Praise God that the blood of Christ speaks louder than injustice. The grace and mercy God can give through Christ, the ultimate intercessor, is enough to cover our sins. We no longer find our righteousness through the law, but through Christ. We are able to live righteously not by our own strength, but by the power of the Holy Spirit who transforms us and Christ that live inside of us. “For through the law I have died to the law, that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ; and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Galations 2: 19,20).
With Christ inside of us, empowered to stand against sin in the strength of the Holy Spirit, we become a revelation of the character of God to the world, a light to the world. We get to be like Christ to the world. Paul says in Philippians 1:21, “For me, living is Christ and dying is gain.” It is good for the world that he was alive as a testimony to it because Christ lives through him. Christ death and resurrection was enough to atone for the sin of the world, but through Christ living in Paul, the work of the cross is applied to whatever situation God leads him to. He is applying the victory of the cross in his own life, and bringing victory and grace through the spreading of the Gospel.
Similarly, we are called to represent Christ to the world. He lives inside of us and as we yield our hearts to the leading of the Holy Spirit, it is no longer us that is serving, praying, teaching, prophesying, or loving, but Christ in us. We know that “…the One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world” (1 John 4:4). And in Colossians 1:27, “God wanted to make known to those among the Gentiles the glorious wealth of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” So as we humble ourselves here in D.C., we recognize that our authority in prayer comes from the power of Christ living in us and through us. We are applying the victory of the Cross to the sins of America, calling forth the plans and purposes of God in our nation. Jesus says, “If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it” (John 14:14). God, end abortion and send revival to America. Amen.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Justice, Mercy, and the Role of Intercession (Part 2)
Dominion and Authority
Man holds an important responsibility given to him by God. To some degree, we have been given authority over the earth. “Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness. They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, all the earth, and the creatures that crawl on the earth’” (Genesis 1:26). One of my favorite teachers suggests that one way that we are created in the image of God is that, just like Him, we are creators as well. God has given us the paint, but we create the painting. God has given us a mind and a body, but God has given us the freedom to make choices, or rather to create our choice. He has created the earth but puts us in charge of it with the freedom to choose to care for or neglect it. We have been given authority over our own choices and are mandated to operate in love and stewardship of God’s creation. Knowing God’s desire and purpose for us to rule over the earth, a heart yielded to Him can result in a beautiful cooperation in which we get to partake in the governing of the world. In combination with a heart enslaved to sin, however, authority can be a very dangerous thing. God honors the authority structures he sets in place, and as such, our abuse of our authority hurts ourselves, others, and ultimately God.
After their deliverance from Egypt, Moses is meeting with God on Mt. Sinai, but the Israelites below have built a golden calf as an idol to worship (Exodus 32). God tells Moses that he is going to destroy them, and start over a new nation through Moses. But then Moses intercedes on Israel’s behalf, remembering God’s promises and desires for them as a nation. Because of his intercession, God has mercy on Israel. Moses has submitted his life and heart to God. He has yielded the authority he’s been given on the earth to the heart of God. God can use a heart like that to lead and to change a nation. When the authority God has given to man is submitted back to be in line with His will, He can freely move and work on the earth and still honor the authority structures he set up. God can work with and through Moses to lead Israel back into His plans and purposes. But there hasn’t always been such submission in the history of Israel.
In Ezekiel 22:23-31, God presents a case against Israel, listing the offenses of their rebellion. Because of God’s great love for the world and his plans for Israel, He cannot allow them to continue on in sin and rebellion. His justice cannot let it go on. But unlike the golden calf incident, this time there is no intercession. “I searched for a man among them who would repair the wall and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land so that I might not destroy it, but I found no one. So I have poured out my indignation on them and consumed them with the fire of My fury. I have brought their actions down on their own heads” (vs. 30, 31). If only someone would have submitted the authority given to them back to God, maybe He wouldn’t have had to bring his judgment. Maybe God could’ve worked with them and through them to mercifully restore his plans and purposes for Israel.
This is the heart of intercession. When our lives are yielded to the heart of God and the authority He has given to us is laid back at his feet, God’s plans to work with and through us in the governance of the earth can be fulfilled. The beauty of relationship manifests between the heavens and the earth, and we create along with God the fulfillment of His dreams. Intercession is not just the words in a prayer, it is a yielded heart. And this is my desire, that whatever authority God has given me may be submitted back at his feet, and He can use me for whatever means He sees fit to call forth His purposes on the earth. It’s no wonder that prayer is so powerful, and that Jesus says to pray, “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” Let the dreams of God live through your yielded heart.
Man holds an important responsibility given to him by God. To some degree, we have been given authority over the earth. “Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness. They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, all the earth, and the creatures that crawl on the earth’” (Genesis 1:26). One of my favorite teachers suggests that one way that we are created in the image of God is that, just like Him, we are creators as well. God has given us the paint, but we create the painting. God has given us a mind and a body, but God has given us the freedom to make choices, or rather to create our choice. He has created the earth but puts us in charge of it with the freedom to choose to care for or neglect it. We have been given authority over our own choices and are mandated to operate in love and stewardship of God’s creation. Knowing God’s desire and purpose for us to rule over the earth, a heart yielded to Him can result in a beautiful cooperation in which we get to partake in the governing of the world. In combination with a heart enslaved to sin, however, authority can be a very dangerous thing. God honors the authority structures he sets in place, and as such, our abuse of our authority hurts ourselves, others, and ultimately God.
After their deliverance from Egypt, Moses is meeting with God on Mt. Sinai, but the Israelites below have built a golden calf as an idol to worship (Exodus 32). God tells Moses that he is going to destroy them, and start over a new nation through Moses. But then Moses intercedes on Israel’s behalf, remembering God’s promises and desires for them as a nation. Because of his intercession, God has mercy on Israel. Moses has submitted his life and heart to God. He has yielded the authority he’s been given on the earth to the heart of God. God can use a heart like that to lead and to change a nation. When the authority God has given to man is submitted back to be in line with His will, He can freely move and work on the earth and still honor the authority structures he set up. God can work with and through Moses to lead Israel back into His plans and purposes. But there hasn’t always been such submission in the history of Israel.
In Ezekiel 22:23-31, God presents a case against Israel, listing the offenses of their rebellion. Because of God’s great love for the world and his plans for Israel, He cannot allow them to continue on in sin and rebellion. His justice cannot let it go on. But unlike the golden calf incident, this time there is no intercession. “I searched for a man among them who would repair the wall and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land so that I might not destroy it, but I found no one. So I have poured out my indignation on them and consumed them with the fire of My fury. I have brought their actions down on their own heads” (vs. 30, 31). If only someone would have submitted the authority given to them back to God, maybe He wouldn’t have had to bring his judgment. Maybe God could’ve worked with them and through them to mercifully restore his plans and purposes for Israel.
This is the heart of intercession. When our lives are yielded to the heart of God and the authority He has given to us is laid back at his feet, God’s plans to work with and through us in the governance of the earth can be fulfilled. The beauty of relationship manifests between the heavens and the earth, and we create along with God the fulfillment of His dreams. Intercession is not just the words in a prayer, it is a yielded heart. And this is my desire, that whatever authority God has given me may be submitted back at his feet, and He can use me for whatever means He sees fit to call forth His purposes on the earth. It’s no wonder that prayer is so powerful, and that Jesus says to pray, “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” Let the dreams of God live through your yielded heart.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Justice, Mercy, and the Role of Intercession (Part 1)
I would like to share a little about what I have been learning, but it is too much to write in one blog. Instead, I am going to divide it into several different parts to make it more manageable and easier to read. Stick with me! Eventually, the principles I am setting up will come together. Keep an eye out for updates.
Unconditional Love, Conditional Forgiveness
Jesus' death atones for our sins, and offers us forgiveness and restoration with God. His perfect life laid down is a suitable sacrifice to satisfied the conditions of justice (equal penalty to the value of the loss due to the crime). This forgiveness is given freely, but that does not mean that there are not condition for which this forgiveness can be received. In fact, it would be unloving and foolish for God to remove consequences for those who insisted on continuing on in rebellion and sin.
Imagine you are in a court room and a trial is going on. The prosecution lays out the evidence, and it becomes apparent that the defendant is a mass murderer and there is no denying it. Even the defendant confesses to the crimes without remorse, claiming that if he is released, he will continue to commit murder over and over again. Wouldn't it be foolish for the judge to release the man and to claim that it was the most loving thing to erase the penalty of his crime? Other valuable lives would be at risk with this evil man on the streets. Individuals would face death for the forgiveness of one man who wasn't even sorry or willing to change.
In this same manner, God is not foolish. Jesus has freely given us His life and taken our penalty upon Himself, but that does not give the world a free ticket to continue on in rebellion and sin without consequence. God is still a righteous King and Judge. He always desires to give mercy over judgment, but he is not foolish. He will only do so when we have given Him the freedom to transform our lives through our submission to His Lordship and the work of the Holy Spirit. His forgiveness is given freely. Jesus willingly laid down His life, but God's justice will not allow us to continue on in rebellion (as individuals or as a nation). He values us and the lives of those whom our sin affects too much to let it go on. Hallelujah that we have a God who is willing to defend and fight for those He loves.
Paul explains in Romans 6 that the grace shown through Christ glorifies God, but that this grace is not a license for us to sin. "What should we say then? Should we continue in sin in order that grace may multiply? Absolutely not! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Or are you unaware that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore, we are buried with Him by baptism into death, in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too may walk in a new way of life" (Romans 6:1-4). Jesus and the apostles taught that we must repent and turn to the Lord as conditions for salvation. Peter says in Acts 3:19, "Therefore, repent and turn back to the Lord, so that your sins may be wiped out so that seasons of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord." God's forgiveness comes to a willing heart that has made Him the Lord and the Boss of their life. And even though we all come to Christ selfishly at first (how could we otherwise?), we must submit ourselves to His Lordship, recognizing His right to our life. This isn't to say that if we struggle with sin, God won't forgive us. It has to do with the condition of the heart, the recognition of the Lordship of Christ, and a willingness to submit to His authority. So let us all bow down and yeild our lives to the transformation of the Holy Spirit. With a willing, submitted heart, He will bring revival to my soul. If we do this together, He will bring revival to the nation, for it will truly be loving for Him to give mercy rather than judgment.
Unconditional Love, Conditional Forgiveness
Jesus' death atones for our sins, and offers us forgiveness and restoration with God. His perfect life laid down is a suitable sacrifice to satisfied the conditions of justice (equal penalty to the value of the loss due to the crime). This forgiveness is given freely, but that does not mean that there are not condition for which this forgiveness can be received. In fact, it would be unloving and foolish for God to remove consequences for those who insisted on continuing on in rebellion and sin.
Imagine you are in a court room and a trial is going on. The prosecution lays out the evidence, and it becomes apparent that the defendant is a mass murderer and there is no denying it. Even the defendant confesses to the crimes without remorse, claiming that if he is released, he will continue to commit murder over and over again. Wouldn't it be foolish for the judge to release the man and to claim that it was the most loving thing to erase the penalty of his crime? Other valuable lives would be at risk with this evil man on the streets. Individuals would face death for the forgiveness of one man who wasn't even sorry or willing to change.
In this same manner, God is not foolish. Jesus has freely given us His life and taken our penalty upon Himself, but that does not give the world a free ticket to continue on in rebellion and sin without consequence. God is still a righteous King and Judge. He always desires to give mercy over judgment, but he is not foolish. He will only do so when we have given Him the freedom to transform our lives through our submission to His Lordship and the work of the Holy Spirit. His forgiveness is given freely. Jesus willingly laid down His life, but God's justice will not allow us to continue on in rebellion (as individuals or as a nation). He values us and the lives of those whom our sin affects too much to let it go on. Hallelujah that we have a God who is willing to defend and fight for those He loves.
Paul explains in Romans 6 that the grace shown through Christ glorifies God, but that this grace is not a license for us to sin. "What should we say then? Should we continue in sin in order that grace may multiply? Absolutely not! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Or are you unaware that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore, we are buried with Him by baptism into death, in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too may walk in a new way of life" (Romans 6:1-4). Jesus and the apostles taught that we must repent and turn to the Lord as conditions for salvation. Peter says in Acts 3:19, "Therefore, repent and turn back to the Lord, so that your sins may be wiped out so that seasons of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord." God's forgiveness comes to a willing heart that has made Him the Lord and the Boss of their life. And even though we all come to Christ selfishly at first (how could we otherwise?), we must submit ourselves to His Lordship, recognizing His right to our life. This isn't to say that if we struggle with sin, God won't forgive us. It has to do with the condition of the heart, the recognition of the Lordship of Christ, and a willingness to submit to His authority. So let us all bow down and yeild our lives to the transformation of the Holy Spirit. With a willing, submitted heart, He will bring revival to my soul. If we do this together, He will bring revival to the nation, for it will truly be loving for Him to give mercy rather than judgment.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
The Call
It was truly an incredible experience to be a part of The Call on Sat. August 16. We stood alongside 70,000 other believers to fast and pray for twelve hours for God to end abortion and send revival to America. I was expecting this gathering to look more like a festival, considering there was live music and jumbotrons. But to my surprise, it was truly a day of self-sacrifice, laying down our comfort to seek the heart of God. My friends, Jason and CJ from Ohio were with me, but it was clear that they didn't just come to see me. They came to hear from God and move the heart of heaven. The heart behind The Call is this: When a nation is in crisis (as ours is in its allowance of abortion), the only hope and response we have is to appeal to God together, through prayer and fasting. As one body, we sought the heart of God, asking for his mercy on our nation. We spent a significant amount of time repenting and praying for God to move in different areas of our lives, including the friends, families, and churches were had relationships with. It brought joy to my heart just to think of how many people were being restored to God and being freed from all sorts of sin and bondage on this one day. The message was clear. We absolutely need God to move. Let's continue on in the spirit of The Call together, laying down our lives and our rights for the sake of seeing his Kingdom come as one body! Jesus, I plead your blood over my sins and the sins of my nation. God, end abortion and send revival to America.
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