An excellent choice

In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone. The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Peter 1:5-8)

Moral turpitude is a big way of saying a person exhibits behavior that is CONTRARY to the standards set forth by law, a community, or God. When someone has a problem with their behavior that is contrary to these standards, they're exhibiting behavior that may be vile, shameful or even corrupt. God's plan is for us to grow in his grace - to develop a moral standard that matches his standards. He took great pains to lay out those standards for us in scripture. Are we taking as great of pains to live according to those standards?

Moral excellence is possible, but one must submit to the inner working of the Spirit of God. So many times, often without even thinking, someone will say they have been 'trying' to live differently - to make better choices. What they are really saying is that they haven't really given the full control of their life over to Jesus and as a result, they continue to struggle with choices that are CONTRARY to God's commands. The command is to 'respond to' God's provision - because he provides all we need in order to live according to those standards.

The command is not to 'try' and 'try again' - it is to respond to his grace, lean into it, and trust him to finish the work he began in us when we said 'yes' to Jesus. God's grace requires a response - one lays down their agenda or plan for how things might 'work out' and listens, responds to, and delights in God's plan for how things WILL work out. Grace is embraced, not 'worked out' by a constant trial and error method. The moment we ask God for grace to face a temptation, what do you think he gives us? The strength to resist it, walk away from it, and embrace a different set of actions that align with his plan for our lives.

Moral excellence isn't a set of rules we must keep. It is a heart response to grace, embraced over and over again until our behavior no longer is motivated by what once drug us down into the pit of sin. It is a continual choice to allow grace to embrace those weaker areas of our lives until one day, sometimes without us even realizing it has happened, we are no longer struggling to resist those temptations. Just sayin!

Reputation Aside

Later, Levi invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners. (There were many people of this kind among Jesus’ followers.) But when the teachers of religious law who were Pharisees saw him eating with tax collectors and other sinners, they asked his disciples, “Why does he eat with such scum?" When Jesus heard this, he told them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.” (Mark 2:15-17)

Have you ever noticed that sentence in this passage before? "There were many people of this kind..." What a way for people to 'label' other people. "Those people" - that is a label, isn't it? They didn't 'measure up' to the standards being imposed upon them - much like you and me on occasion. They didn't 'follow the rules' some of the time - like us rule-breakers. They didn't always know what was right, much less do it - very much like some of us, huh? Yet, Jesus' opinion of 'those people' was different - he put reputation aside in order to minister to the need that was obvious, as well as the need that wasn't as apparent.

The ones who followed Jesus knew their reputation. They understood that they 'didn't measure up', but perhaps that is why they sought Jesus out. They might secretly have desired to 'measure up', but they just didn't see how they could. Much like us, they knew they had a need deep within for 'something more', but they might not have realized where their need could be met until they heard about Jesus. They may have looked at every other option (alcohol, prostitution, service to the Roman government, and even thievery), but come up lacking. That is until they met Jesus!

Society can 'label' people - not always realistically or with rational standards. Those labels can follow individuals for years, making it seem impossible to ever be 'seen' differently. Jesus put his reputation aside in order to help those with a reputation put theirs aside once and for all. This should be good news for those of us who haven't always 'done right' in this world. I am the first to admit I needed a 'reputation overhaul' when I came to Jesus. Jesus doesn't see our reputation and turn the other way. He sees the one trapped by that reputation and embraces them anyway. Just sayin!

Challenge Accepted?

He was despised and rejected— a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care. Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins! (Isaiah 53:3-4)

We often hear this passage quoted on Easter. It carries the message of a Messiah - the rejection of the one who would come to save us from our sins and restore our relationship with God the Father. Yet, do we hear the real message of this passage? "And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God..." We thought...just how many things do we get wrong when we think one way, all the while forgetting there could just be a different perspective we aren't privy to at all? God gave this prophecy so many years before the Messiah came, yet many missed it because they 'thought' one way and refused to see Jesus as the redeemer of all mankind.

Our weaknesses he carried - our sorrows weighed him down. He didn't go to the cross because he was evil, or there was any guilt with which he could be condemned. He went to the cross carrying a burden too great for any one man and more misery than any of us could ever endure. In the most literal sense, he took our place that day. He stood in for us as the perfect sacrifice for the most awful of sinners - bearing all our sins and weaknesses - none of his own. Probably the saddest part of this passage: "He was despised...and we did not care." We were being given the greatest gift of all time and we didn't care!

We may try to look the other way, but Jesus stands before us today and asks us to look his way. To see the tremendous gift of his love and grace. To do more than 'note it' as a nice thing to do, but to acknowledge our need of both his love and his unending grace. What will you do with the message of Easter today? Will you embrace it, or will you remain 'uncaring' and 'untouched' by it? The choice is yours, but I challenge you to embrace it! Just sayin!

It isn't always new - it could be unused

Get the word out. Teach all these things... Teach believers with your life: by word, by demeanor, by love, by faith, by integrity. Stay at your post reading Scripture, giving counsel, teaching. And that special gift of ministry you were given...keep that dusted off and in use. Cultivate these things. Immerse yourself in them. The people will all see you mature right before their eyes! Keep a firm grasp on both your character and teaching. Don’t be diverted. Just keep at it. Both you and those who hear you will experience salvation. (I Timothy 4:11-16)

There is much to be learned, much more to be incorporated into our lives, and way more to we can become consistent in practicing than most of us really want to admit. I always say it is a good day when I have learned something new. It might just be a clever way to recycle some object into a newly purposed item for my home or garden, or something more academic which I can use over and over to solve problems. As I go about the day "learning" new stuff, when and where I choose to use this newly acquired knowledge is entirely my decision. Just because I get exposed to a truth doesn't mean it is of use - at least not until I am willing to believe it, act upon it, and stand in it fully. This is often where we fall short in the realm of moving from "learning" to the place of making the stuff we learn impact our daily practical life. A lot of times, we don't need new truth - we just need to bring out the stuff we have learned some time ago, dust it off and put it into fresh use in our lives!

The best opportunity to learn comes when we see an example of how it is we are to do something. I am self-taught in a good many things. Unfortunately, this means a lot of trial and error. It I don't put any new knowledge into regular and consistent use, we have just tucked it away without really mastering it. We often treat God's truth this way. We get exposure to it, even have someone willing to live as an example of that truth right in front of us, and then we do nothing more than "tuck it away". We have just fallen short of really "learning" the truth. How are we 'taught'? Most of the time, we find learning occurs more cy what is 'caught' than what is 'taught'. What we speak is important. What we choose to remain silent about also speaks volumes. Choosing words well, using them to encourage, building up each other unto full maturity, this is proper use of our words. Choosing words which correct may also be throwing someone a lifeline. As important as other things are in our lives, our words have to match our walk. Any amount of disconnect between what is spoken and what is lived out gives those who look upon our lives a "mark" far from mid-center at which to aim with their own actions and attitudes.

Our demeanor matters. This is nothing more than how we conduct our daily business. We can look all "put together" and "self-righteous", but when the chips are down, how we walk out the truth we proclaim to live by becomes apparent. Our behavior has to register true to the words we proclaim, otherwise the message comes across "mixed" and "impure". Genuine love looks outside of what one can "get" from a relationship and looks at what one can "give" into the relationship. There is this desire to lay it all down for another, no strings attached, not to get something from them, but because it matters that they get something instead. Our example for this is none other than Christ himself - having it all, he laid it all down, not because he had to, but because he wanted to see us get back into close relationship with God!

We get this idea of faith all trumped up in our minds and think it is something we "attain" rather than something we receive as a gift from God. We don't "pump up" faith - we have faith built in us. Faith comes by hearing - hearing by the Word of God - hearing the Good News of God's love for us and his grace toward us. What we choose to do when we hear truth determines if our faith will grow, or simply wither away. We can embrace or reject it. We can stand upon it or walk away from it. Our faith in the midst of moments of decision is based on whether we will believe what we hear! Most think of integrity as the "honesty" or "trustworthiness" of an individual. When integrity is evident, there is "unity" within the parts. A life put together by grace's touch is a testimony of vast proportion. Grace affords the means to "pull together" what life has made a mess of and when you look upon how truly awesome this "put together" life is when it is genuine, you see the beauty of God's grace in action.

We discount our ability to teach another - thinking we don't possess the "book learning" or the "theological knowledge". No amount of book learning can substitute for words which speak peace into a troubled life, reaching out to draw in those who have been rejected by others, and then living out life together with them each and every day. All God ever asks of his kids is to live as examples of his grace - pure and simple. We might "shelf" truth for a while, but when we finally bring it down of the shelf and dust it off, beginning to put it into practice in our lives, we are on a journey which will begin to speak volumes to those looking on. Just sayin!

Eagerly Embraced

Yes, all the things I once thought were so important are gone from my life. Compared to the high privilege of knowing Christ Jesus as my Master, firsthand, everything I once thought I had going for me is insignificant—dog dung. I’ve dumped it all in the trash so that I could embrace Christ and be embraced by him. I didn’t want some petty, inferior brand of righteousness that comes from keeping a list of rules when I could get the robust kind that comes from trusting Christ—God’s righteousness. (Philippians 3:6-9)

As I have now taken the next step in my life known as retirement, I have been looking back over the years and there is one thing I know for sure - I did a whole lot of striving for things that really didn't produce as much as they promised along the way. That isn't to say I didn't accomplish good things along the way, but I am free now to look back at some of those times when I was merely spinning my wheels on stuff that really wouldn't matter much to anyone, much less to God. I think we all have those things that we now look back on as not really all that important, but hopefully you are able to look at all those things that left an impact, as well. We will leave an impact of some sort - don't we want it to be the best it can be? There are indeed things we all thought were so important that we now willingly lay down in pursuit of the things Christ has intended for us. All that stuff that we believed would bring us 'significance' may one day be gone - what will we be left with in the end?

Embrace Christ and be embraced by him - there is more significance found in that embrace than any other thing we could pursue in this lifetime. To embrace means we receive gladly - there is a sense of eagerness in taking what we receive in that embrace. Have you ever embraced someone who didn't really want your embrace? They get all stiff, pulling away slightly, not really enjoying the close contact - right? It is though they become like stiff boards. I wonder how many times Christ has reached out to us in eager embrace only to find us a little like 'stiff boards' - not really returning his warm embrace of grace, but rather choosing to pursue other things than a close relationship with him. We all probably lose our way at times, don't we? We see those arms open wide to us, but we really don't 'enter into' that embrace at that moment. Instead, we choose our own way, chasing after what will amount to nothing more than 'dung' in the end.

Everything else is 'inferior' to knowing Christ and being fully embraced into his grace-hold. A Canadian educator is known for reminding us that we 'don't go through life, we grow through it'. (Eric Butterworth) Too many times we merely 'go through life' allowing life to do what it will around us and sometimes even to us, but miss out on so much in the moment because we are doing life apart from Christ's direction. We choose our own destinies, but when that destiny doesn't 'pan out' like we hoped it would, what do we do then? Some just choose a new path, going fool-hardily along that path as though it will be the one to fulfill them. All I have to say is, "Stop - don't take another step along that path!" Why? It won't produce the results you desire for those results are only found in being fully embraced by Christ's grace. Our treasure and our reward is not found at the end of the rainbow - it is found in drawing near the heart of the one who holds all treasures and rewards in his hand. Just sayin!