Let Jesus Deal with Sin
A wonderful day with my favorite gal in the whole world! It started with a visit to the doctor, but it went on to be a fun day running around. We made it a “vacation” day! Thank You, Father, for blessings beyond measure!
Acts 26:24-32 (<<click here to read the passage)
One of the biggest hurdles that Christians strive to get over is sharing the Gospel and all that it puts on the line, without being hateful, self-righteous, and loathsome in regard to those who do not know Jesus.
Paul did not shy away from boldly proclaiming the truth the some of the most powerful people in his world at that time. He said he obeyed what Jesus had commanded him to do. He preached to Jews and Gentiles alike that all must repent of their sins and turn to God—and prove they have changed by the good things they do. v20b NLT
The Amplified Bible puts it this way, they should repent [change their inner self—their old way of thinking] and turn to God, doing deeds and living lives which are consistent with repentance. v20b AMP
Sin is sin and repentance is absolutely necessary. But I don’t see condemnation. I don’t see hate, self-righteousness, or loathing. He knew he was speaking to sinners (Agrippa and his wife, Bernice, were brother and sister!) but he didn’t lay them out, speaking of their sin. Instead, he laid the truth out.
Paul proclaimed nothing except what the Prophets and Moses said would come to pass—that the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed) was to suffer, and that He by being the first to rise from the dead [with an incorruptible body] would proclaim light (salvation) both to the Jewish people and to the Gentiles.” vs22b-23 AMP
He desired to bring them to Jesus, and He – that is, Jesus, not Paul – would deal with their sin. And Paul came so close to making that introduction for verse 28 reads,
Then Agrippa said to Paul, “In a short time [and with so little effort] you [almost] persuade me to become a Christian.” AMP
It seems he was speaking sarcastically, but I’ve always held that there’s a little bit of truth in everything we say…whether we want to admit it or not. Agrippa could not escape the truth, he had heard it and understood. The only thing was he didn’t embrace and accept it.
Boldly share the truth of the Gospel with whoever will listen but leave the judging and turning…let Jesus deal with their sin.
(Regarding today’s picture: Jesus’ response to the self-righteous men judging a woman caught in the act of adultery – “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you? …Neither do I. Go and sin no more.” John 8:10-11 NLT)
Aug 15th, 2022, Mon, 9:03 pm
Step Out of the Shallows
Praise the Lord!
Yes, give praise, O servants of the Lord.
….Praise the name of the Lord! Psalm 113:1 NLT
********
A couple of weeks ago I quoted a prayer from a book a dear friend had loaned me a few years back and this week another dear friend brought me a copy! It was very thoughtful of her to do so, and I am eager to delve into its words once again.
(If you’d be interested in obtaining a copy, here is the title and it is linked to Amazon with all the particulars – The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions.)
******
I don’t know about you, but I far too often struggle with my humanity. I’ve gone for lengths of time in my life, with a clear vision of God before me and my greatest intent is to follow and abide in His presence and by his directives. But over time it seems my resolve softens, and those times are looked back upon fondly, yet not enough to move me to return to the determination I once espoused.
When I began journaling back in 2015, it was at a point of transition in my life. The mindsets that controlled me were worn and no longer fulfilling. It was like wandering through the shallows in my relationship with God, being unwilling to throw myself headlong into the depths of His love, wisdom, and mastery over my life. But at that point in my life, I had had enough and jumped in with all the vim, vigor, and resolve that I could muster. I believe it is time to do so once more.
I would pray that you would be moved to join me. Step out of the shallows with me, won’t you?
****
The preface of the book is challenging in and of itself but, today, we’ll look at the introductory prayer from which the book gets its name – The Valley of Vision. I would encourage you to not hurriedly read through it but to resolutely read each line. It might even be helpful to pray a prayer before you read it asking God to open your heart and mind to what He would have you glean from it.
THE VALLEY OF VISION
LORD, HIGH AND HOLY, MEEK AND LOWLY,
Thou hast brought me to the valley of vision,
….where I live in the depths but see thee in the heights;
….hemmed in by mountains of sin I behold thy glory.
Let me learn by paradox
….that the way down is the way up,
….that to be low is to be high, that the broken heart is the healed heart,
….that the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit,
….that the repenting soul is the victorious soul,
….that to have nothing is to possess all,
….that to bear the cross is to wear the crown,
….that to give is to receive, that the valley is the place of vision.
Lord, in the daytime stars can be seen from deepest wells,
….and the deeper the wells the brighter thy stars shine;
Let me find thy light in my darkness,
…………………thy life in my death,
…………………thy joy in my sorrow,
…………………thy grace in my sin,
…………………thy riches in my poverty,
…………………thy glory in my valley.
Aug 14th, 2022, Sun, 7:14 pm
Seek Out Those Silver Linings
[Those who fear the Lord] share freely and give generously to those in need.
….Their good deeds will be remembered forever.
….They will have influence and honor. Psalm 112:9 NLT
Acts 25:23-26:32 (<<click here to read the passage)
I found this illustration in a sermon this past week and thought it fit pretty well here.
A rabbi was walking in the country when he came across an old farmer working in the fields.
“How’s it going?” he asked.
“Terrible!” The farmer began to recite his litany of troubles
“The tomato crop failed this year.
..The apples had worms in them.
….The corn crop was a disaster
……Things couldn’t get any worse.
……..My kids were sick
……….My wife broke her arm
Nothing has gone well
..No signs of anything getting any better.
….Trouble on every side
……Can’t pay the bills. If I didn’t have bad luck, I wouldn’t have any luck at all.
……Things couldn’t get any worse. It’s been a terrible year.
God looked down and spoke to the rabbi and said, “If he thinks this is bad, wait until he sees next year!”
The rabbi continued down the road and came across the farmer in an adjoining field.
“How’s it going?” he asked.
The farmer replied, “Doing pretty good.”
The corn crop is not the best in the world, but it will give us a little money.
..The apples weren’t as good as last year,
but they sure made some good applesauce.
….My kids were sick but they’re doing better now.
……We paid off half the bills this year so I’m thankful for that.
……..We’re a happy family and we’ve got food on the table.
God said to the rabbi, “Well, if he thinks that’s good, just wait until he sees what I will do for him next year.”
Not every set of circumstances in which we find ourselves in life will be good ones. Often we are blessed with no complaints, but there are times of testing that come into our lives. We can choose to bemoan our circumstances, or we can choose to see the silver lining even amongst the clouds.
The first farmer saw the clouds but totally missed any silver linings that were probably there while the second farmer pulled into view the silver lining in all of his trials.
Paul could easily have lamented about his imprisonment. He could have complained about the unjust accusations of his Jewish adversaries. Towards the end of his “sermon”, he mentions his chains, but he didn’t grumble about them.
In this life, it is best to make the most of our circumstances. My Life Application Study Bible says as much of Paul.
Military officers and prominent city leaders met in the auditorium with Agrippa to hear this case. Paul saw this new audience as yet another opportunity to present the Good News.
It can be a hard-knock life but instead of putting all of our attention on the clouds, we should strive to seek out those silver linings. We should see those as opportunities to shine brightly through it all as ambassadors of Jesus as we share Him with those with whom we come in contact.
Aug 11th, 2022, Thurs, 9:14 pm
Meaninglessness vs. Hope
Father, thank You for the wherewithal to get through so much of my sermon today. I pray tomorrow, as well, is a productive day!
Acts 25:1-22 (<<click here to read the passage)
I thoroughly enjoy history! My family finds it of little interest…it doesn’t hold a lot of meaning for them. But I enjoy reading about it and watching shows about it, but one thing I struggle with is writing about Biblical history.
Now often I can find inspiration in the actions of the characters in the stories as they move along but, in Acts, for example, it has become difficult. These verses, in particular, are basically a historical record of what transpired between Festus, the Sanhedrin, Paul, and a tad bit at the end for King Agrippa II and his wife Beatrice.
A few different people are involved but overall, it is the same conflict. Even though a full two years have passed, the friction between Paul and the Jewish leadership hasn’t changed. Paul is still innocent, and the Sanhedrin are still out to kill him. Roman hierarchy is still unsure what to do about it all in that from their perspective, no civil or criminal crimes have been committed. As Festus puts it,
…instead they had some points of disagreement with him about their own religion and about one Jesus, a man who had died, but whom Paul kept asserting and insisting [over and over] to be alive. vs19
Festus was at a loss as to how to investigate these things… vs20 AMP
Almost 1000 years before Paul, “wise” King Solomon wrote,
“Everything is meaningless,” says the Teacher, “completely meaningless!”
What do people get for all their hard work under the sun? Generations come and generations go, but the earth never changes. The sun rises and the sun sets, then hurries around to rise again. The wind blows south, and then turns north. Around and around it goes, blowing in circles. Rivers run into the sea, but the sea is never full. Then the water returns again to the rivers and flows out again to the sea. Everything is wearisome beyond description. No matter how much we see, we are never satisfied. No matter how much we hear, we are not content.
History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new. Sometimes people say, “Here is something new!” But actually it is old; nothing is ever truly new. We don’t remember what happened in the past, and in future generations, no one will remember what we are doing now. Ecclesiastes 1:2-11 NLT
Can you relate? Solomon even with all of his wisdom, power, and wealth found life meaningless. From his viewpoint, there was no hope.
Paul had wisdom – true wisdom – yet he had no earthly wealth or power. But from his viewpoint, he had the only hope that mattered!
In Acts 25:19 Paul kept asserting and insisting [over and over] that Jesus was alive! When all is said and done human history will be found to be completely meaningless. Paul invested wisely and so are we if we keep asserting and insisting over and over that Christ is alive, for there, and only there, lies our hope!
Aug 10th, 2022, Wed, 8:56 pm
It’s Amazing!
…God said, “I am giving you a sign of my covenant with you and with all living creatures, for all generations to come. I have placed my rainbow in the clouds. It is the sign of my covenant with you and with all the earth. When I send clouds over the earth, the rainbow will appear in the clouds, and I will remember my covenant with you and with all living creatures. Never again will the floodwaters destroy all life. When I see the rainbow in the clouds, I will remember the eternal covenant between God and every living creature on earth.” Genesis 9:12-16 NLT
As we were on our way home from running some errands in Columbus, we ran through some light rain. Not a whole lot but enough to get things wet. Shortly after getting off of the interstate, Karen was the first to spot a rainbow! (They are so cool!) It was off to the right of the van so I couldn’t really get a good look at it, but when I made a sharp right-hand turn, I could see it in all of its glory! Initially, we could see the whole rainbow end to end in front of us and a lighter leg to its left as well! As we traveled home the right side faded from view, but the left side deepened it is vibrancy! It was magnificent!
In my admiration, I thought of writing about it but remembered writing about a rainbow I and my kids saw on my bus route a little over a year ago (see Promises, Promises). But this time my mind was going in a different direction. (There is no limit to what God can enlighten us to regarding his Word and creation!)
A rainbow is formed when light goes through water droplets in the sky. The droplets act as prisms that break the “white” light from the sun into seven distinct colors. From inside to outside, the colors of a rainbow are violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange, and red.
What amazes me is how long the droplets can consistently fall through the sky allowing the light to pass through them. Today’s rainbow lasted at least 10 minutes, whereas last year’s rainbow lasted for almost 40 minutes! It’s astounding!
But one very important thing…it is not happenstance! It’s not just science! It is a wonderful part of God’s creation!
God has made it in such a way that each part – the sun and the droplets of water – has to be in its particular place at just the right time and angle to bring it into being! Isn’t God amazing?!
But it’s not just the physical parts that are awe-inspiring. His promises are awesome, too! The promises of God in His word are numerous – the existence of the rainbow being just one! There are times when we are blessed by those promises because He loves us so. But I believe that sometimes there are promises that only come to fruition when we are in the right place, at the right time. God yearns to bless us, but we can be out of line with His will, determined to do our own thing, and miss out on the promises He wants to bless us with. Sometimes we just allow the world to distract us with all of its glitz and glitter, and forfeit the glory of God in the process.
I am so grateful that in His grace and mercy He continues to extend His blessing to us, but oh what we might see and experience if we would but yield ourselves to His loving will. Lord Jesus, may we see and yearn for Your abundant blessings! Amen!
Aug 8th, 2022, Tues, 9:41 pm