Lifted Above the Ladder of the Law
Getting back in the swing of things today after our break. Thank You, Father, for the blessing of walking and conversing with a brother in Christ! Bless him, Father!
Romans 5:18-21 (<<click here to read the passage)
This last weekend, my goal was to begin getting our outside Christmas lights and decorations up. In the yard barn behind our house, I have a large tote full of those things. The tote is stored in the back end of the barn up on a loft of sorts (it’s not like a farm barn – it’s just a building to store the zero-turn, ladders, outdoor tools, etc.). Well the plan was to pull the tote off the loft (it wasn’t crazy heavy) and pivot to slide it over the back of the zero-turn, on which I was standing to get ahold of the tote. Everything was going fine until I went to pivot, for as I started to turn my center of gravity was a bit too much forward, so the tote was going to drop. Well, by the time I let go of the tote, I was no longer able to retain my balance so I toppled on top of the tote, which had fallen between the zero-turn and the hose cart and large trash receptacle. I wasn’t hurt but ended up in a really weird position. My left foot/leg was still in the seat of the mower and the rest of me was on the tote. I was able to free my foot/leg but there was nothing to grab hold of to get myself up. I had to text Massey for help getting up!
I wish I had been as quick to realize my predicament in my spiritual walk. I have shared before that I struggled for years. I would do OK for a while and then I would stumble…other times I would fall flat on my face! If I had been smart I would have gotten help to get the tote down but just as in my spiritual walk, I thought, “I can do this myself!” I don’t think I was being arrogant or overly prideful, I just figured I didn’t need help – plus I didn’t want to bother anybody.
Spiritually speaking that’s a terrible idea! After many stumbles and all-out face plants, I have learned that the only way to avoid those things is to not go it alone. I absolutely have to call on the Holy Spirit for help…many times to carry me! He is the only means for me to have victory!
I tell you study Bibles can be a great asset in our understanding of Scripture. As I read through the study notes on this passage, I was impacted by this one paragraph in particular. I truly believe it sums up my own life experiences! (I had to read it through twice for it to really sink in. 🙂)
As a sinner, separated from God, you see his law from below, as a ladder to be climbed to get to God. Perhaps you have repeatedly tried to climb it, only to fall to the ground every time you have advanced one or two rungs. Or perhaps the sheer height of the ladder seems so overwhelming that you have never even started up. In either case, what relief you should feel to see Jesus offering with open arms to lift you above the ladder of the law, to take you directly to God! Once Jesus lifts you into God’s presence, you are free to obey – out of love, not necessity, and through God’s power, not your own. You know that if you stumble, you will not fall back to the ground. Instead, you will be caught and held in Christ’s loving arms.*
*Life Application Study Bible New Living Translation
Nov 29th, 2022, Tues, 12:38 pm
Who We Are vs. Who We Were Created to Be
It was so nice having a buffer break day! Thank You, Father, for the wherewithal to get so far on my preparation for Sunday. May our time together here and now be productive as well. Amen.
Romans 5:12-17 (<<click here to read the passage)
Doesn’t pretty much everyone struggle with not living up to the expectations of who we can be? Some of us strive to live up to the expectations of others. Many others find it hard enough to overcome their own expectations. They are driven from deep within, not without. Neither group has it easy. I really don’t know which is worse, to be driven by others or by ourselves. And when I think of “driven”, I think of someone driving a horse as hard as they can, to the point where the poor creature is driven to death.
Often the goals before us are attainable with hard practice, dedication, and hard work. But there are times when no amount of effort on our part can accomplish the end result we desire.
A friend of mine has a child who loves basketball. They have worked and worked to be able to play on a team, but despite all of their efforts and hours of practice, they just don’t have what it takes to play at the level they want to play. They still participate, but unfortunately, it is less of an experience than their heart desires.
This is a challenge to write because of the fine balance in the whole thing. Some simply don’t want to accomplish anything but the absolute bare minimum – and they are perfectly content with that. Being a “C” student is fine with them…”Just get me out of here!”
Looking at who we are from a spiritual perspective is a challenge as well. Many in the world are content with who they are. But I would dare say that when we enter a relationship with Christ, for those who pursue that relationship at least, we realize that there is much more! Sin blocks our potential on so many levels. It keeps us bound to the mundane, to the things of this world that are empty and void. Reaching for the things of Christ’s Kingdom opens up a vast realm of possibilities! My Life Application Study Bible states, “Sin is a deep discrepancy between who we are and who we were created to be.”
Creation is of God. It was perfect and whole when God brought it all into being from nothing. And Genesis 1 tells us that God saw that it was good. But we along with the sin that Adam invited into the world have tainted it. We have brought suffering and pain to all of Creation including ourselves…and we are slaves to it. We, of our own strength, cannot break free.
Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, so death spread to all people [no one being able to stop it or escape its power], because they all sinned. v12 AMP
We are who we are…but we all have the ability to become who we were created to be!
Adam is a type of Him (Christ) who was to come [but in reverse—Adam brought destruction, Christ brought salvation]. v14b AMP
Jesus Christ reversed, He undid, what Adam set into motion and that which we continue – every single one of us! – to perpetuate! Some of this world are who they are and they do whatever they want to do. But there are those whose heart’s desire is to follow and be and live like Jesus! That is what we all were created to be!
Lord Jesus, please show us what we can be. May we be set afire with enthusiasm to pursue limitless goals and reach the seemingly unreachable heights of Your glory. Amen and amen!
Nov 28th, 2022, Mon, 7:29 pm
Cat On a Railing
Well, Father, today’s been different – beyond church this morning, not my norm. But things were accomplished, and we had an enjoyable night of food and fellowship at the church decorating. Thank You for Your blessings!
********
I often see cats sitting on railings along my bus route. On decks, on porches, they are just perched there eyeing the world around them. I’m sure they’re scoping out for mice or birds or some other tasty tidbit and the height gives them a distinct advantage. Believe it or not, I think we could learn something from that.
Oft times we develop tunnel vision. Or maybe we’re more like horses with blinders. All we see is what is right before us. We’re not very good at seeing anything beyond that. Granted many of us are doing good to keep just enough ahead of the things that clamor for our attention to retain our sanity. Anything else added to our load and we might just lose it!
But what if we changed our perspective? Instead of just focusing on our own lowly lives, and exclusively honing in on our interests, what if we took a higher road? What if we trained our hearts and minds to watch out for those in need? I’m not excluding those who obviously need help, but what if we began to notice the unnoticeable? …the wallflowers of our society?
Sometimes they deliberately set themselves apart. Remember, in school, those who never really sat with anyone but made a point of finding a seat in a far-off corner, alone and interacting with no one? The older we get the better they’ve become at blending in with the scenery. They don’t bother anyone and they, at least on the outside, don’t want anyone to bother them.
There are some out there that truly don’t want people to interact with them and work very hard at keeping it that way. But many people crave…they yearn for human interaction. They might freak out a bit if someone did speak with them, but they’d love to have a friend…someone to talk to and laugh with.
Interestingly enough, I believe that there are those with whom we interact on a regular basis who are social and interactive but they are hurting, they are lonely and nobody sees it.
Think about Zacchaeus. He buried himself so deeply in his chosen profession, that he became an outcast. Granted he wasn’t a nice person and took advantage of others, often taking far more than his fair share so as to line his own pockets… with an evil grin on his face to boot!
One day he heard that Jesus was in town and he so wanted to see Him. Being short in stature, he got creative and climbed a sycamore-fig tree which gave him the height advantage he desired. All he wanted was to see Jesus. I don’t think that in his wildest dreams he ever would’ve thought that Jesus would see him, much less call him down and want to eat with him, but that’s exactly what Jesus did!
Interestingly enough, Zacchaeus perched himself high in the tree but it was Jesus who saw to the heart of Zacchaeus’ issues. He saw his loneliness. There was probably nothing that Zacchaeus withheld from himself, but Jesus saw His need…his true need.
Jesus saw past exteriors and masks. And with the Holy Spirit in our lives, we can, too.
Lord Jesus, may we train ourselves to see the world around us with Your eyes. May we learn to be sensitive to Your leading and to be brave and strong enough to act upon it. Fill us, use us. Amen.
Nov 27th, 2022, Sun, 8:24 pm
Hope Unexpected!
Father, gratitude is much too small a word to express how I feel about all that I was able to accomplish today! May it be to Your glory! Amen!
********
Today, the first day of Thanksgiving break, cleaning and cooking, and I’ve been sitting at the computer all day. I’ve worked through Sunday’s sermon, picked out the hymns for the service, and amazingly enough just wrapped up my PowerPoint for the sermon!
I had an illustration to conclude the sermon, and I liked it very much, but I struggled to find a picture to go with it. You’d think a picture of an old woman and young boy sitting on a park bench would be easy to find…but it wasn’t! I found a few with them wearing masks…a couple with them eating ice cream…and one holding cellphones. They weren’t going to work – I really wanted one with them sharing chocolate.
Then I saw one with a boy sharing a Twinkie…actually there were three different shots of the same characters. I was curious and clicked on one of them and it led me to a YouTube video…and it was amazing! It was the entire illustration dramatized, except it involved Twinkies instead of chocolate.
The video is entitled, Eating Twinkies with God. This week’s sermon is from Luke 4:18, and is entitled, HOPE UNEXPECTED – Bringing Good News to The Poor. [Feel free to join us on Beulah UMC’s (Mt. Vernon, Ohio) Facebook page!]
As followers of Christ, we are called to follow His example in reaching out to and meeting the needs of the poor and downtrodden. It’s not just throwing money at them, but it just might be a matter of getting down and dirty. We need to be putting much more effort into making a real difference in our world. Jesus did, and it is our calling to do the same.
This is a pretty short post but if you’d like to hear more join us this Sunday in person or online. It will also be posted on my YouTube – Pastor Thom.
Enjoy Eating Twinkies with God!
Nov 23rd, 2022, Wed, 7:34 pm
Happy Thanksgiving!
On this special day that we set aside for giving thanks, I want to express profound gratitude to each and every one of you. Some of you have been faithful followers from day one, and we have added many along the way. And of course, there are a whole slew of others who pop in now and again or are drawn by pictures and find something much more. May you and yours readily find God’s great blessings on this day and the days to come. And never forget you are MoreThanUseless!
Happy Thanksgiving!