Groanings Too Deep For Words

My friend Larry died yesterday.

It was sudden and unexpected. If you are reading this, stop now and pray for Larry's wife and family.

I never know what to say when I get the news that someone I know has died. Usually, anything I say will only make things awkward.

I have known Larry for a good many years. We didn't get to spend time together as often as I would have liked, but the time that we did spend together was wonderful. Larry was one of those rare people that gave you the feeling that you had always known him, even if you had just met.

My wife met him for the first time a few years ago when he and his wife came for dinner at our house. She instantly loved him.

It is sometimes an overwhelming feeling when searching for the words to speak to the families of those who have passed when words are far too clumsy a thing to express the cries of the heart. I can pray for them, but there too, words are not enough.

The Apostle Paul offers some comforting words in his letter to the believers in Rome.
"Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words." (Romans 8:26)

Larry Oden was a dearly loved brother in Christ and a great man.

Love Or Lies

I once said to God, "I love you."

Seems like a perfectly reasonable thing to say to God. I mean, He is our Father, after all. The only problem is that God doesn't view "I love you." as casually as we often do. (Isaiah 29:13)

Jesus answered me before I ever said it. He answered me before I ever existed.
He said that if I loved Him, I would do what He says. (John 14:15)

He gave a commandment to us before He left. He said that we should love each other so that the whole world would know who we are. (John 13:34-35)

I've been learning a hard lesson. I've been learning that love is not a feeling. Love is a choice. It is an act of will. We are emotional creatures with a fallen nature. We often cannot control how we feel about certain things or toward individuals. A choice, a conscious effort, has to be made to love someone.

It is very difficult in our current circumstances to love certain people who make it difficult to love them. There are people who will go out of their way to embarrass others in front of people in order to make themselves look smart or witty. Then there are those who think they know everything. We all know people like these.

When I say "...our current circumstances..." I mean our state of mind. We must guard our minds continuously. We must don the helmet of salvation and hold high the shield of faith. (Genesis 4:7, Galatians 5:17)

We are at war. People often talk about spiritual warfare as if it is a metaphor for some of life's challenges. Make no mistake...it is real. The way wars are won is by taking away the enemy's will to fight. Don't let that happen to you. Stay on guard. Trust in the strength of the Holy Spirit to help you love that person.

There is a lesson that I learned from reading about an incident involving the Apostle Paul and his friend Barnabas and Barnabas' cousin John Mark.
In a nut shell, Paul and Barnabas had a falling out over John Mark.
(Acts 13:13, Acts 15:37-39)

Paul, it seems, didn't care for John Mark. But there is a really neat progression through Paul's letters. He got over it, and made the decision to love John Mark anyway. (Colossians 4:10, 2 Timothy 4:11)

Be careful about the condition of your heart before you say "I love you." to God. John warns us about doing that. (1 John 2:9, 1 John 4:20) This is the lesson I've been learning.

Father, help me to obey you. Help me to love others with a pure heart so that I can tell you that I love you.

Fire, Anyone?

I've been thinking a lot about something the prophet Jeremiah said.

Jeremiah was enduring some very heavy persecution. His life had become a living nightmare. He was saying what he was told. The more he spoke, the worse it got.

He said something that caused a stirring in my soul. (Jeremiah 20:7-11)

He didn't want to keep making life hard for himself, but he couldn't help it. God's words were like a 'fire shut up in his bones' (Jeremiah 20:9). He couldn't hold it in. Wow.

In my own life, I want this to be the case. There are times when I know I need to speak and say nothing. I need to take a stand on an issue or share my faith with someone who is in desperate need of Christ Jesus, yet I say nothing.

There should be in my heart a burning like a fire shut up in my bones. I should hear the prompting of the Holy Spirit and obey. I should know it's time to speak and not be able to hold it in. Even if it makes life hard for me.

Father, thank You for the examples You give us in Your Word. Thank You for putting Your Holy Spirit in me. Please help me to be still and listen. To take the focus off of myself long enough to hear You, and to speak when it is time.

God is AWESOME!

Our Living Hope

It is Easter again.

The years seem to be moving by so much faster now. I suppose that's a sign of getting older.

All these years (not that I'm all that old), all these Easters. I am amazed every time. When it is time to sit down and really think about why we celebrate Easter. The hope that we were given.

Jesus willingly went through what He did. The humiliations, the beatings, the false accusations, the insults...He took it. He had the power, the whole time, to pronounce judgement on all the earth. He could have stopped it at any point. Legions of angels at His command. All He had to do was say a word. He could wipe us out of existence with a thought.

He did not. He took it. He was our whipping boy. He was not compelled or coerced. He layed down His life voluntarily.

He did it because of the fact of His love for us. (John 3:16)

He layed down His life. But wait....there's more.

He took it up again. He took away death. (John 10:14-18)

Now, He sits at the right hand of the Father. He holds out hope for all who will believe.

For those of us who believe, He has taken away all reason for fear of anything...even death.

God is AWESOME!

In Other Words

I have learned a few Latin phrases over the years.
My favorite one is, 'Simul Iustus et Peccator'. It means 'at the same time just and sinner'.

It's basic meaning is that we have no righteousness apart from Christ Jesus. He is our righteousness.

In Christ, we are able to stand in the presence of the glory of God with no wrong in us and instead of trembling with terror in His presence, we are able to stand there with great joy. (Jude 1:24) Wow! Because of Jesus, we are able to approach the Throne of God with confidence. (Hebrews 4:15-16)

The reason I named my blog 'Beyond All Reason' is because a Holy God loves me. A fallen, sinful man. (Romans 5:8) It's just beyond all reason that He should love me. But He does.

He adopted me and invited me to call Him Daddy. (Romans 8:15 Galatians 4:6)

God is AWESOME!

Have Mercy

There is a book out there that I think every Christian should read. It is called 'The Holiness of God' by R.C. Sproul.

This book moved me to a deeper appreciation of God's mercy.

Dr. Sproul sited three major examples of God's justice. These three examples may cause people to consider how harsh God seems and to say that His actions aren't 'fair'. But if we pay attention to scripture, then the very last thing we want is for God to be 'fair'.

He is the Creator of all things. He is the Giver of life. He will have mercy on whom He has mercy (Romans 9:15-16).

The three examples were:
1) (Leviticus 10:1-2) The sons of Aaron when they submitted an unauthorized offering. In the book of Leviticus, God is very specific about how He wanted the priests to go about their work.

2) Uzza the Kohathite (1 Chronicles 13:6-10). Uzza was from the tribe of Levi, and a son of Kohath. The Kohathites were NEVER to touch the holy things.
(Numbers 4:4-15)

3) Ananias and Sapphira. You can read about them in Acts 5:1-10.

As Christians, we are to have a deep reverence for God. He is Holy. He's not your buddy. He's not 'The Big Guy' or 'The Man upstairs'. He is the Most High God.

In his letter to the Philippians, Paul said to "...work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." (Philippians 2:12-13)

He wasn't saying that we have to work for our salvation, he was saying that we need to live in reverence for God, and be obedient. We need to abide in Christ.

For a true believer, salvation is not at stake. Rewards, however, are a different story. If we do not live in obedience and reverence, and hold God as holy, we may miss out on some things in Heaven.

Moses missed out on a big thing because of his disobedience. He didn't get to enter the land that God had promised Israel. All those years leading Israel. All those years living in obedience. Just that one time Moses did not act in reverence, but out of arrogance and anger. He lost that giant reward.

Of course, we know Moses didn't lose his 'salvation'. We know he went to heaven. He was there on the mountain with Jesus and Elijah (Matthew 17:2-3).

God is a Holy God. He is a just God. And praise His Holy Name! He is a merciful God.

I want His mercy. I don't want His justice. He owes mercy to no one. He chooses mercy for us.

There are those who would stand and shake an angry fist at God, demanding He give them what He owes them. I fear for them, because they will recieve it.

God is AWESOME!

Partners in Crime

It's so good to have friends. We all have that one friend. The one we love dearly, above the other friends. The one we know that we can trust with anything.

In my case, there are several men of great integrity who I would feel comfortable confiding in. Who I feel very encouraged by.(Proverbs 27:17)

I feel honored when someone thinks enough of me to trust me with something. When someone comes to me and tells me something in confidence. They trust me.

It seems to me, that as followers of Christ Jesus, we should be able to trust each other with our burdens. We're supposed to, anyway(Galatians 6:1-2). There is no one who is better than anyone else(Romans 3:23). We all struggle with sin (Genesis 4:7; Romans 7:19). I suppose that is why the writer of Hebrews urges us not to forget to assemble ourselves together(Hebrews 10:23-25).

It is important to know that there are others who are enduring the same kinds of struggles that you are. It's encouraging to know that there is someone who understands what you are going through.

We're not supposed to go to church just to sit there once a week and coldly mouth the words of God. Our gathering together is supposed to be meaningful. It is for fellowship and for encouragement.

In finding community with others who struggle just as much as we do with sin and have endured the same difficulties in life, we lighten our load and are encouraged to keep going. We are able to move forward in a much more meaningful worship of our God. He is the One who established this system of community in the body.

In our fellowship, God reveals more of Himself and gives us a deeper understanding of who He is.

God is AWESOME!