MIRRORS AND REFLECTIONS

April 20, 2018April 18, 2018 | lindamowles

Did you ever go to the circus or perhaps an arcade “fun house” when you were a child, or perhaps you took your children or grandchildren? If so, you may have seen the mirrors that you walk past which create a deformed reflection of yourself. Remember?

One wavy mirror reflected a very T A L L you, while the next wavy mirror reflected a very short you. The next mirror, the one that I hated, reflected a chubbier version of yourself. As a child, I understood that I did not look like what the mirrors showed, and I also understood that I would not change my shape that fast. But, there was always a little something tugging at my self-image – what if the mirror really showed me how I looked to others?

Mirrors are fun. I recall our grandson making faces in the mirror when he was a small child.

Mirrors can confuse your pets as well. When we first introduced Cuddles to our home, she barked at each window and mirror, apparently thinking that there was another dog in the house.

If you look at the picture carefully, you will see her eyes reflected in the center of and at the bottom of the dresser’s center section of the mirror. Even today, several years after coming to the house, she will look in a mirror and stare, cocking her head and watching that the dog in the mirror does the same thing. Funny to us, but sometimes scary to her.

Mirrors are not the only things that provide reflective images.

USED Mirror lake (C) — I love this picture of Mirror Lake, taken with a sepia tone filter.

We can see ourselves reflected in the still waters of a lake or pond. But, while rivers have the same water that is found in the lake, the river is running, and the surface of the water is not calm, so the reflection is not visible.

Scripture talks about images and reflections. We say that we want to know what God is like, but we cannot see Him because He is Spirit. But, we have seen what God is like. We have seen Him in Jesus Christ, our Lord. In speaking of Jesus, the writer of Hebrews says:

“He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for [our] sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,”

Hebrews 1:3

Jesus is the visible, earthly presence of the holy God, Father Almighty. He, Jesus, holds all power and authority in heaven and on earth, and He is our Savior. The mirror of Jesus Christ is not wavy nor is it fuzzy. Jesus is the exact imprint of God in physical, visible, touchable form.

Our problem is that we are mortal, made of dust. But because of Jesus’ death and resurrection, He has enabled us to be transformed into His image.

“Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.”

1 Corinthians 15:49

“For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.”

Romans 8:29

“And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”

2 Corinthians 3:18

This transformation does not occur all at one time … we still bear our carnal, earthly nature even after we have been saved from our sin by the gracious love of our Lord and Savior. For example, Paul, writing to the Corinthians, says:

“Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.”

1 Corinthians 13:12 [New Living Translation]

Our growth in Christ and our transformation into His image takes place as we study His Word, as we worship with other believers, as we hear His Gospel proclaimed, as we obey His voice, as we pray and intercede for others, as we live a life in conformity to the commands of our Head, the Lord Jesus Christ.

How do I know that this will take place? Scripture tells me that I need to be a doer of the Word and not a hearer only.

“For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.”

James 1:23-25

So Beloved, do you look into the mirror of Scripture and see what it says, then going home and forgetting what you have seen? Or, do you look into the mirror of Scripture and persevere as you do that which you have seen and heard, as you serve the Lord in humility and in love, as you praise Jesus Christ and His Father for your salvation and for your life in grace, as you praise the Holy Spirit for His presence in your life and for His guidance as you are transformed into the likeness of Christ?

Now is the time to repent and be justified by your faith in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. Look into the mirror of His Word and allow the Holy Spirit to transform you from the man/woman of dust into the man/woman in the image of Jesus Christ.

Father, I pray that Your Spirit would transform me into the image of Your Beloved Son, so that I can be a witness to others of His love and mercy, of His atoning sacrifice, of His serving nature as He did all that You asked of Him. I pray that I would look into the mirror of Your Word and see where I am lacking, and then do that which Your Word directs so that I will grow into the likeness of my Lord.

THE END AND THE BEGINNING!

March 13, 2018March 8, 2018 | lindamowles

There are many things that come to an end during our life on this whirling planet.

Babies wearing diapers. Many a mother thinks that day will never ever, ever, ever come, but it does (unless something horrific intervenes).

The end of the work day. Again, there are times that even that seems to be far off in the distant future if the assignment you are working on is difficult or unbelievably boring. But even that day does, in fact end, at the appropriate time.

One thing that occurs like clockwork (please pardon the pun) is the ending of the day.

Sunset along I 40 4 — Driving westbound on Interstate 40

Heading west on I-40, we can see the sun setting behind the mountains with the beautiful colors lighting up the evening sky. This was the sunset one evening when we visited the family in Virginia.

There are times that God’s creation is simply too beautiful to describe. Pictures certainly do not do justice to the glory that shines out from God’s world.

Sunset and clouds 2 — Setting sun with clouds

We know that God created the sun and the moon – it says so in Genesis:

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. … And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night–and the stars. And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.”

Genesis 1:1, 14-19

The Psalmist says it this way:

“Yours is the day, yours also the night; you have established the heavenly lights and the sun.”

Psalm 74:16

Ocean sunset with lighthouse (C) — Ocean with far distant shore

In our world of technology and scientific data, we have analyzed, digitized, and categorized the sun, the clouds, the atmosphere, the solar flares, and all kinds of things that I don’t even know. We have studied and drawn, recorded and photographed the sun in our effort to understand it, and we have gone a long way from our forebears who pointed and said “bright!”

But in my little corner of the world, at sunset, I look in the sky and see the hand of my Father, painting a particularly beautiful picture for me to see as I head into the evening hours of the day.

Many are so much more scientific and analytical than I am. They can explain so much about things of nature and of our world. It is my prayer that we all would stop and look at what God has given us, cherish the view, lock the mental picture into our minds, and then thank Him for His unfathomable love and mercy.

When the day is over and the sun is running its course to the other side of the world, they are awaking to the warmth of its rays. “Good evening” to you is “Good morning” to someone else!

The end, thus, is really also a beginning!

I doubt that the little caterpillar in this picture ever would think that he would be transformed into a beautiful butterfly.

The truth of the matter is, however, that the caterpillar must get into his cocoon and shed the body that had restricted him so that the transformation can take place. Rather than crawling along in the dirt, the butterfly can soar incredible distances, looking down on the land that he used to call home. The caterpillar’s end was also its beginning.

For us, when we are relieved of our mortal shell, our physical body, we will be transformed into our eternal bodies, glorious and without blemish.

“Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.””

1 Corinthians 15:51-54

Billy Graham said this in the years prior to his death:

Someday you will read or hear that Billy Graham is dead. don’t you believe a word of it. i shall be more alive than i am now. i will just have changed my address. i will have gone into the presence of God.

The end is not really the end … rather, what we think of as the end is actually just the beginning.

Father, I thank You for giving us the example of nature in Your marvelous creation. The setting of the sun where I live is the end of the day, but it is the beginning of a new day elsewhere on this whirling globe. The “death” of the caterpillar is just the transforming work so that it can be a butterfly. Our physical death is simply the shedding off of our mortal bodies into the eternal body that You have prepared for us. Thank You for Your steadfast love and for calling Your children to come to You from every corner of the earth.

GOD WITH US NOW, NOT JUST AT CHRISTMAS

June 23, 2017June 14, 2017 | lindamowles

Jesus had fed the 5,000, had healed the sick, had cast out demons, yet the Pharisees demanded to see more signs, more miracles — show us a sign and we will believe! Matthew 12:38. It as if they thought that Jesus would deliver a sign upon demand! How foolish of them, we say; how arrogant could they be, we say; how could they treat the Son of God like that, we say!

Are we not like them? We demand that God would resolve our financial difficulties, perhaps by God letting us win the lottery. We demand that God would miraculously take the disease away, on our immediate timetable, of course. We demand that God intervene and solve all our problems when we try to buy a new house or car, although we have not financially prepared for the purchase. Just one more sign!

Our God can do these things, of course. He is omnipotent so there is nothing that He is powerless to accomplish. But we miss out on His presence if we simply look for Him in a massive display of His power on our behalf. We forget that He has given the believer in Jesus the gift of life, both here and for all eternity, through the death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ our Lord. Talk about massive display of His power! We forget that He is with us, in fact He is in us through His beloved Holy Spirit.

Flower garden in Maine from Bette — A flower garden along a lake in Maine

We see evidences of God’s presence everywhere we look, if only we use our heart’s eyes. A beautiful array of flowers, a stunning scene along the lake, an encouraging word from a friend that comes just when we needed it, a gentle rain or glittering rainbow, or provision He makes for our needs when we cannot see any possibility ahead of us.

The Pharisees did not need to see additional signs as evidence for them to believe in Him – Jesus had provided sufficient evidence that He was who He said He was. He had healed the sick, raised the dead, responded to questions in ways too deep for these “thinkers” to understand.

They didn’t need additional signs, and neither do we. In short, we don’t need to seek spectacular displays of God’s work to know that He is the Savior. The most spectacular display possible occurred 2000 years ago when Jesus Christ died the death that was rightfully ours and then when God raised Him from the dead.

“But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.”

1 Corinthians 15:20 ESV

He is with us today, we don’t have to wait for Christmastime to realize this.

“Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you.”

2 Timothy 1:13-14 ESV

Oh that we would know that the Holy Spirit is resident within us, and that we would realize that we have “God With Us” in a way that those who lived prior to Pentecost could not imagine. We don’t have to wonder where He is, nor do we have to go to a specific church or place to pray. He is with us 24/7 and there is nowhere we can go that is outside His reach.

Read Psalm 139 as you ruminate on how all-embracing God’s knowledge of you is.

We need never shout across the spaces to an absent God. He is nearer than our own soul, closer than our most secret thoughts.

A. W. Tozer (1897-1963)

I pray that each of us will have open eyes to see His presence in our lives each day.

Father, You are Lord of the Universe, King of Kings, Creator of All, and You are the Lover of my soul. Forgive, I pray, when I am so besieged by the difficulties, trials and concerns of the day that I fail to see Your hand, active and working in each of those situations. Forgive, when I expect spectacular evidence of Your involvement in my life even though I ignore Your Word or the reminders that You provide in the chirp of a bird, in the sound of the wind, in the rustling of the leaves, in the antics of woodland creatures or the family pets. Thank you Father for Your constant presence through the Holy Spirit. May I be more sensitive to hearing Your call as You work in my life today.

THE PERFECTION OF GOD, PART 2

May 30, 2017May 28, 2017 | lindamowles

Oregon picture perfect mountains

In the prior post we considered the perfection of God and the reality that His perfection extends to each of His attributes. Perfect beauty, perfect love, perfect mercy, perfect wisdom, perfect justice, perfect power, etc. Further, God’s perfection has always existed and it will continue to exist even after the end of time. He is perfect and nothing will change that condition.

Recall, too, that which the medieval theologians said of God: they used a phrase which may be translated as “the most perfect being”, the Latin phrase “ens perfectissimus”.

Today, we want to consider God’s perfection as it compares to our own.

Jesus is the second person of the Trinity, which is composed of the Father, the Son [Jesus] and the Holy Spirit. We believe that Jesus was fully divine as part of the Godhead. We also believe that Jesus was fully human, just as you and I are human, but He had no sin.

Jesus, the incarnation of God, said:

“You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

Matthew 5:48 ESV.

In His human nature, He lived a perfect life because He fulfilled the law in each and every aspect of it. Therefore, He was the sinless sacrifice that atoned for the sins that we have committed. Because Jesus lived this perfect life as a man, He fulfilled His own commandment to us that we should be perfect as God, our heavenly Father, is perfect.

Paul, in his letter to the Romans, describes our condition in which our mind and heart want to follow God and do His commandments but our flesh refuses and chooses to sin instead.

“For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.”

Romans 7:18-19 ESV

“Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.”

Romans 7:24-25 ESV

Paul answered his gut-wrenching scream in verse 24 with his thanks as expressed in verse 25 – Jesus Christ is the One who can rescue us from this dilemma. Clearly, because of sin we cannot even be considered a little bit good in God’s eyes, certainly not “perfect”!

In the letter to the Philippians, Paul talked more about perfection, and said:

“Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

Philippians 3:12-14 ESV.

Paul recognized that we are not, nor can we on our own be, perfect. Even the apostle had not attained perfection; but he pressed on toward this goal because he belonged to Jesus Christ. Our victory over sin is through Jesus Christ who did live that perfect life which we regularly fail to accomplish. Not only did Jesus live a sinless life, He died on the cross and was raised from the dead on the third day. He vanquished sin and death and He has promised to do that for us, for those who believe in His name and accept Him as their Savior.

Paul, here, was referring to Isaiah 25:8, when he told the Corinthians that perfection did not belong to us, but to the One who conquered sin and death:

“O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

1 Corinthians 15:55-57 ESV

The quintessence of perfection belongs to God, the Father Almighty because He is perfect: simply put, perfection is just one of His attributes. Indeed, it is because of His love for His people that we even get a glimpse of perfection in this fallen world. Thank Him for giving us His Son, through whom we can be counted as righteous, or as perfect, before the holy eyes of our Almighty God.

Praise Him that He loves us so much that Jesus Christ lived a perfect life among us sinners so that we could be transported to heaven and live in His perfect righteousness there!

Father, when we consider Your attributes and realize that You are perfect, in all things, we can only bow in humble reverence that You would consider us at all. When we remember that You sent Your Son as our Savior, the only response we rightfully can offer is one of repentant obedience, gratitude, and devotion.

WORTHY IS THE LAMB

April 11, 2017 | lindamowles

Often at Christmas time we hear Handel’s oratorio Messiah with the announcement to Mary and the shepherds. “For unto us a child is born” and “Glory to God in the highest” and then the oratorio moves into the second and third parts with prophesies of the coming Messiah and affirmation that the Redeemer lives and is worthy to receive all power, and honor and glory. All the words are taken directly from Scripture.

The Messiah is really the story of Christ throughout His life with the focal point being His rejection, suffering, death and resurrection. It is, therefore, properly considered at this time of the church year, when Jesus’ passion, His sacrifice and His resurrection is center in our collective minds.

In Part II we are directed to “behold the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world”. This is a direct quotation of John 1:29, the words of John the Baptist in reference to Jesus Christ.

Then the alto sings Isaiah 53:3.

“He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.”

After describing the misery that the Lord would endure for our sin, the chorus vividly describes mankind, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way, and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” Isaiah 53:6 ESV

The tenor presents the crucifixion and resurrection, after which the choir erupts into a chorus describing heaven when Jesus defeats death and sin. “Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.” Psalm 24:7 KJV

The oratorio continues by describing the mission of the Lord’s people, going into all the world preaching the gospel and then by telling of the rebellion to that Word. “Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?” Psalm 2:1 KJV After questioning why, the soloists reveal the Lord’s response to mankind’s opposition:

“He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. … Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”

Psalm 2:4, 9 KJV

At this point we hear the famous Hallelujah Chorus, proclaiming the power of the Lord God and that God’s kingdom will reign forever and ever. This too is from Scripture, specifically from Revelation 19:6.

“And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.”

It is at this point that the audience rises in honor of the majesty of the music and of its message. For many of us, this is the crescendo of the oratorio.

After a recent presentation Parts II and III of the Messiah, I found it interesting to think about the placement of the Hallelujah Chorus. It is not at the end of the work, rather it comes immediately after describing God’s prevailing power over man’s revolt against Him and His Anointed One. This should be encouraging for each of us.

The Chorus certainly praises God for His authority over mankind, for the strength of His kingdom, in recognition of His power and of the inviolate guarantee that things that He has ordained will, indeed, come to pass. His providence will not be thwarted by anything that man or any other created being can do. In short, God wins! Hallelujah!

But, this is not the only instance of praise in the oratorio.

Part III of the oratorio begins with the soprano singing “I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth.” Job 19:25. These words should bring praise to the lips of every believer in our Lord.

The substitutionary atonement of Jesus is told when the choir sings “since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” 1 Corinthians 15:21-22.

And the hope of everlasting life is described when the bass sings “Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed–in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 NKJV

The final song is one that is sung in heaven: “saying with a loud voice: ‘Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and riches and wisdom, and strength and honor and glory and blessing!’” Revelation 5:12 NKJV

Not only should we sing Hallelujah because God defeats sin and evil, we should continue our praise and worship of our God and of His Son by acknowledging and praising Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, for His work on the cross, for His atoning death and resurrection for us, for He alone is worthy to be praised.

Here is a presentation of the song “Worthy is the Lamb” as found on the album Glory to the Holy One, words by Dr. R. C. Sproul and music by Jeff Lippencott.

I am including the text of the words for your reference:

The veil of heaven opened wide
The scene was clearly set
John saw a scroll writ either side
Where seven seals were met
With booming voice the angel said
To now unseal the scroll
But none was found to meet the task
Not even one lone soul

Refrain

Worthy, worthy, worthy is the Lamb
Worthy, worthy is the Lamb who was slain

Convulsed with tears and broken heart
John’s hope was now assailed
“Weep not,” the elder counseled him,
“A Lion has prevailed!”
No lion came to take his claim
No beast of royal reign
Instead there stood a bloodied Lamb
Like one who had been slain

Refrain

Ten thousand times, ten thousand more
The host of heaven cried
All blessing, honor, glory, and pow’r
To Christ, the Lamb that died

Refrain

Christ the Lamb, who was slain

Father, during this time of the year when we consider the Passion of our Lord, I can do nothing other than fall at the foot of the cross in recognition that He has taken my sin upon Himself and I have nothing to bring other than a broken and contrite heart. May my life reflect praise for my Lord and my King to whom all glory and honor belongs.

ERADICATION OF FREEDOM

February 28, 2017February 27, 2017 | lindamowles

We were traveling through East Tennessee doing errands and found ourselves in Morgan County, near the Frozen Head State Park. I have heard of this park for years but had never visited the location, so we took the opportunity to do so. The park was beautiful and we were very glad to have taken this side-trip.

frozen-head-state-park-trees-forming-arch-2 — Frozen Head State Park, Morgan County, Tennessee.

However, on the way to and from the park, we passed the Morgan County correctional facility.

morgan-county-correctional-institution — Morgan County Correctional Facility, Morgan County, Tennessee

As we drove by, we could not help but notice the “razor wire” in multiple layers that surrounded the facility.

morgan-county-correctional-institution-3 — Morgan County Correctional Facility, razor wire surrounding facility.

The sight put me in a somber, introspective mood. Being incarcerated and seeing the outside world but not being able to get to it would be terribly difficult. I have had occasion to work with female prisoners in various facilities and I believe that it is fair to say that life there is hard, both physically and emotionally.

While I have not been in jail, I have experienced a period of time when I could not move off my bed. Many years ago, I was in a body cast that ran from my head to my left knee. I was immobile in bed, unable to move my body, for over 7 months. I gained some measure of “freedom” when the leg part of the cast was cut off and I could sit up and walk again, while wearing the body part of the cast. All in all, the cast experience was almost 14 months.

My experience was not pleasant by any means, but even on my darkest days, I knew the time of my inactivity was limited. I had an end date when the cast would come off and I could, slowly, return to normal activity for a 10 year old.

That is not the case for many of those incarcerated in the jails of our country. There is no certain end date for their release to the outside world.

As bad and as dreary as that scenario is, there is one scenario that is far worse. We know that Adam and Eve disobeyed God and were cast out of the Garden of Eden because their union with God was broken by their disobedience. And, as a result, Adam’s descendants live in sin.

According to Strong’s Lexicon, in Hebrew, the root word “sin” is the Hebrew word חַטָּא chaṭṭâʼ, khat-taw’; that refers to “a criminal, or one accounted guilty:—offender, sinful, sinner.” Generally speaking, to sin is to miss the mark; to violate God’s law thereby bringing judgment on yourself. In short, disobedience is the crux of sin … we disobey God’s law and we all must pay the penalty for it. Sin is the ultimate bondage and enslavement for all mankind.

The first time the word “sin” is stated in Scripture is found all the way back at the beginning. In Genesis 4:7 we read God speaking to Cain after his offering was not accepted by God:

“If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.”

Genesis 4:7 ESV

Shortly after these words were spoken, Cain did not rule over sin. Rather, he gave in to it and murdered his brother Abel.

Scripture talks of sin as putting us in bondage.

“For the sin of their mouths, the words of their lips, let them be trapped in their pride. For the cursing and lies that they utter,”

Psalm 59:12 ESV

“The iniquities of the wicked ensnare him, and he is held fast in the cords of his sin.”

Proverbs 5:22 ESV

In the New Testament, Jesus told those who were feeling free because of their status as children of Abraham:

“They answered Him, ‘We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin.’”

John 8:33-34 ESV

We, in the modern world, intrinsically know the truth of these statements from Scripture. Notwithstanding the bravado from the thrill of repeated criminal activity or from the high brought on by illicit drugs, when the excitement is gone, what remains is the sure awareness that we have done wrong, that is, we experience guilt. Whether we want to admit it or not, we know that we have violated God’s law.

We don’t have to be imprisoned in a jail with razor wire to be in bondage. We might be a slave to drug or alcohol addiction. We might be a slave to smoking or overeating. Sin can even be hidden in respectable clothing … it can come in the form of gossip or malicious speech, both of which can be subtle but dangerous addictions. It can come in the form of doing good things for others for the purpose of praise and glory to you, instead of doing those same things for the glory of God. Any time we rob God of the glory that is properly His, we have committed sin. And, the more often we sin, the more sin becomes our master.

How do we get out of the razor-wire confinement imposed by sin? We look to the One who took our sin on Himself. We must repent and cling to the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. He has paid the price for our sin. We don’t need to keep sinning because He has broken its power over us. Paul says it like this:

“For the death He died He died to sin, once for all, but the life He lives He lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.”

Romans 6:10-14 ESV

“The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

1 Corinthians 15:56-57 ESV

Listen as the Centurymen sing the beautiful hymn “All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name” from their album The Centurymen Silver Anniversary,

The power of Jesus’ name is the answer to the bondage of sin. While sin eradicates, obliterates, and otherwise destroys our freedom, the Lord Jesus Christ has broken sin’s shackles and replaces that bondage with freedom in Him. Praise His Holy Name!

Father, I thank You that Your Son has conquered death and sin; that He died so that Your children could have freedom from sin and could live with You eternally. I praise Your Holy Name!

ARE YOU YOKED?

February 13, 2017 | lindamowles

Although Jesus is not here physically right now to teach us, we are not left to wonder what He said while on this planet. We have His words recorded in Scripture. One of His commands is found in Matthew 11:29:

“Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.””

Matthew 11:29-30 ESV

We in the modernized world are not necessarily familiar with a yoke or being yoked together. The yoke was the symbol of hard work. Yokes were used to control working animals, and sometimes they were put on the necks of slaves or prisoners. A yoke could be made for one animal pulling a plow or threshing board alone, but it was often made to link two animals together as they worked.

The American Heritage Dictionary defines a yoke as a crossbar with two U-shaped pieces that encircle the necks of a pair of oxen, mules, or other draft animals working in a team.

You will recall that, prior to His ministry, Jesus was raised with, and presumably worked alongside, His step-father Joseph who, being a good Jewish parent, would have been responsible for teaching his son a trade. While Scripture does not say that Joseph was a carpenter, we can presume that this was what Joseph did since Scripture says that Jesus did this type work. See Mark 6:3 [ESV] where we read:

Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon?

Furthermore, it does not stretch the imagination to think that Joseph, and likewise Jesus, made yokes to be used on the animals in the area. They would most certainly have been familiar with the needs of the farmers and would have taken care to make the yoke strong while at the same time making it smooth so that it would not hurt or injure the animal that was going to be lashed to it.

When the farmer wanted to train a young ox to pull a plow, he did not put the young animal in a single yoke attached to the plow. The animal would not know where to go and it would not understand the direction of the farmer. Nor would he put two untrained animals in the same yoke – they likely would be unmanageable and the field might be ruined.

Rather, the farmer would yoke the young ox together with an old, experienced ox. The older ox would have had long experience serving the farmer and he would know the voice of his master, obeying the directives being given. The young ox could feel the authority of the older animal through the yoke that bound them together, and the young ox could, thereby, also learn to obey the commands of the master.

Because He knows His children, He has made the yoke to be the exact size and strength that will be needed for each of us; no man’s yoke is too hurtful or punishing. And, Jesus is further saying that He is yoked together with us. He is able to teach us through the yoke. We cannot go anywhere without Him. He guides us because we are together with Him. He prevents us from going astray by nudging us back into the right way. And, He is ready to keep us from falling because He is yoked to us and His strength will carry us when we cannot do so on our own.

The believer is working in tandem with Christ in service to our Father, and this is something that only happens in a life of faith. Being yoked with Christ means being a disciple of Christ and having the mind of obedience that He had.

The obedient life does not equate to lying on a bed of roses. No “prosperity gospel” here! Rather, the life to which you are called as a disciple yoked to Jesus may mean missions in a far country; it may mean reaching out to the neighbor beside you. It may require you to take steps of mercy toward someone who has hurt you in the past, or it may mean an illness, loneliness or some other hard situation to endure.

When your yoke is difficult, remember Jesus endured humiliation, torture and death on the cross. He experienced unimaginable horrors not because He deserved them but because we deserved them. He felt the pain of sin and rejection by God because that is what we would have experienced if it were not for His sacrifice. But that is not the end of the story, praise the Lord!

“But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. … But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ.”

1 Corinthians 15:20, 23 ESV

Jesus Christ was raised from the dead and lives, today, in Heaven where He sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. Because He lives, we too shall live. He is the Victor over death and hell. He has endured so that He could save His people. This is the One who is yoked with you. He is able to do all that we need to bring us to God as His children

We often try to serve God in our own strength by doing things our way. On our own we don’t know how to do God’s work. Rather, we need to learn God’s ways somehow and we can do so by being yoked together with His Son, Jesus Christ. He will teach us what it means to obey our Master through the direction that the yoke can give to us.

When we obey Him, the yoke will be easy and the load light. Then, our soul will be able to rest even while we work for God.

Father, when I try to run off on my own to do what I think is “your work”, please let me feel the pull of the yoke of Jesus Christ to bring me back to Your will. Enable me to serve You in the power of Jesus Christ, through the Holy Spirit and in accordance with Your direction and Your will.

I DIDN’T DO IT!

October 25, 2016October 21, 2016 | lindamowles

“Who … me? I didn’t do it!” Ever hear anyone say that? Have you heard your young children say that? Did you ever say that?

Birthday cake on face (C) — Yummy Birthday Cake – I didn’t mess it up!

It is a common thing to hear, especially when there is some disaster that just happened and your young children are all standing around pointing fingers at each other and exclaiming, almost in unison, “I didn’t do it?” even as the incriminating evidence is still sticking to their fingers!

Recently, our granddog Haley was exploring the backyard when she apparently decided to get up close and personal with something that had run under the house. We don’t know what attracted her undivided attention, but that is the only reason we can imagine that she pushed her way through the latticework so that she became imprisoned under the porch.

When she did not come back in the house when we called for her, our grandson found her looking out through the latticework and he had no idea how to get her out. The place she pushed through was blocked from the other direction, so she was literally stuck there.

After trying various things to retrieve her, we broke some of the slats and, ultimately, after a good bit of tugging, it folded down so she could walk out unscathed. Here is a picture of the broken lattice with her laying on the porch with that “Who, Me?!! I didn’t do it” look!

haley-and-the-porch — Who … me? What did I do?

This is virtually the same thing that Adam and Eve told God, way back long ago when they were in the Garden of Eden.

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.'” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.”

Genesis 3:1-4.

So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.

Genesis 3:6-7.

But the LORD God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

Genesis 3:9-13.

Adam — “Who, Me? Don’t blame me … I didn’t do it … the woman you gave to me did it!”

Eve — “Who, Me? Don’t blame me … I didn’t do it … the serpent deceived me!”

Me – “Who, Me? Don’t blame me … I didn’t do it!”

You — …

Finger pointing began millennia ago when Adam pointed to Eve, she pointed to the serpent and God said “Out of the Garden!” Genesis 3:24. No matter what you want to call it, the Bible gives a name to any disobedience to God … SIN.

We read of sin in the very next chapter of Genesis where God accepts Abel’s offering but rejects Cain’s. God says in Genesis 4:7: “If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.”

Did you know that according to a computer word search of the English Standard Version of the Bible, the words “sin”, “sins”, “sinned”, “sinning”, “sinful”, “sinner” and “sinners” are used a total of 423 times.

In other words, “sin” is an important concept to God because it reflects our direct disobedience to His commands. It reflects our refusal to obey Him which, in effect, puts us where God should be. And, it will bring the same punishment on us as it brought to Adam and Eve – we will be cast out from God’s presence because a holy God cannot and will not countenance a sinful creature in His presence. Judgment is the only response to our sin just as Adam and Eve experienced expulsion from the Garden.

The Westminster Confession of Faith says this about sin:

Every sin, both original and actual, being a transgression of the righteous law of God, and contrary thereunto, doth, in its own nature, bring guilt upon the sinner, whereby he is bound over to the wrath of God, and curse of the law, and so made subject to death, with all miseries spiritual, temporal, and eternal.

Westminster Confession of Faith, Chapter 6.6.

However, in Romans 5:19 we read that there is hope for sinful man:

For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.

This promise is reaffirmed in 1 Corinthians 15 we read:

For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. … Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit.

1 Corinthians 15:22, 45.

Again turning to the Confession of Faith, we read:

Man, by his fall, having made himself uncapable of life by that covenant, the Lord was pleased to make a second, commonly called the covenant of grace; wherein he freely offereth unto sinners life and salvation by Jesus Christ; requiring of them faith in him, that they may be saved, and promising to give unto all those that are ordained unto eternal life his Holy Spirit, to make them willing, and able to believe.

Because of Jesus Christ, we can be made alive and have a life-giving spirit. Because of Jesus Christ and His death on the cross, He became sin for us. Because of God’s grace, we can be clothed in Jesus’ righteousness, thereby becoming acceptable to God through His blood shed for us.

Haley looked at us as if saying “Who me? I didn’t do anything wrong!” She well may have been following her nose and not paying attention to what she was doing.

But that same line of thought does not apply to you and me. We do know what we are doing and many times it is sin – it is direct disobedience to what God wants us to do – and that is enough to cut off our relationship with God, forever. We need to find help outside ourselves, and that help was sent from God in the God/man Jesus Christ, who lived a sinless life and who took our sin on Himself, who died and was buried, and who rose again to life evermore.

Praise the Lord that He saves us through His sacrificial death as an atonement. Thank Him for His obedience to God the Father, and thank God for His mercy and grace that was extended to us. Thank the Holy Spirit for His work in convicting us of sin and of sealing us to salvation through His power.

Praise His Holy Name!

Father, I pray that you would bless these words and that the readers would be encouraged, strengthened and renewed in their faith and focus on You.

FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT, INTRODUCTION, Series Post No. 1

April 15, 2016 | lindamowles

This is the first post in a series of thoughts about the fruit of the Spirit found in The Bible at Galatians 5:22-23. I plan to post this series each Friday, if the Lord grants it, and we will take time to think about what the Scripture says, and how it applies to my daily life.

I have used a number of references in preparation for this study, but throughout this study we will be specifically referencing Dr. R. C. Sproul’s teaching series Keeping in Step with the Spirit, CD Teaching Series; and Developing Christian Character, CD Teaching Series, both of which are available from Ligonier Ministries at http://www.ligonier.org. I will also make frequent reference to Jonathan Edwards’ sermons collected in the excellent book Charity and Its Fruits, available through The Banner of Truth Trust at https://banneroftruth.org/us/. Another reference that I have referred to in this study is the Westminster Shorter Catechism. This is an incredible reference for understanding our Christian theology, not just the fruit of the Spirit. I would encourage you to obtain a copy of the Shorter Catechism together with proof texts at http://www.pcaac.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/ShorterCatechismwithScriptureProofs.pdf.

WHAT DOES SCRIPTURE SAY?

The first question we need to ask is “Why study the fruit of the Spirit?”

We know that the Westminster Shorter Catechism teaches that the chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever. Catechism Answer Number 1.

The Catechism also teaches that God created man, male and female, “after His own image in knowledge, righteousness and holiness” with dominion over the creatures. Catechism Answer Number 10.

However, because of Adam’s fall, sin entered the world and all mankind lost the “knowledge, righteousness and holiness” that had been given to us at creation. Catechism Answer Number 18.

Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:22 says it this way:

For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.

No longer do we have the righteousness and holiness that we had when mankind was first created. But all is not lost. The Catechism again comes to our aid by explaining that sanctification is the work of God’s free grace by which we are renewed in the image of God and are enabled more and more to die to sin and live to righteousness.

Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

Romans 6:12-14

Paul continues to consider the Christian transformation in Colossians 3:10 where he says that we “have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator” and Ephesians 4:24 says that our new self was “created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”

So, how important is righteousness? God calls each of his children to righteousness. Remember the first catechism answer – our primary purpose is to glorify God … we do that through the practice of righteousness.

At this point, some are asking “what in the world does all this righteousness talk have to do with the fruit of the Spirit?” Listen to the words of Jesus.

Jesus prioritized the disciples’ concerns in Matthew 6:33: they were not to worry about what they would eat or wear — they were to “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness” and all the other needful things would be added to them. Jesus explicitly stated that our goal is righteousness.

In his book The Holiness of God, Dr. R. C. Sproul says “the goal of all spiritual exercise must be the goal of righteousness.” [i]

So, how do we know if we are growing in righteousness? Dr. R. C. Sproul continues to provide this answer:

The fruit of righteousness is that fruit that is exercised in us by the Holy Spirit. If we want to be holy, if we have a real hunger for righteousness, then we must focus our attention on the fruit of the Holy Spirit. [ii]

* * *

[The virtues listed in Galatians 5:22-23] are the marks of a person who is growing in holiness. These are the virtues we are to cultivate. … In this list of the fruit of the Spirit, the apostle gives us a recipe for our sanctification. … The fruit of the Spirit – that is where our focus must be. [iii]

HOW DOES THIS APPLY TO MY DAILY LIFE?

Martin Luther explained righteousness in practical terms by saying that “Every Christian is called to be Christ to his neighbor.” We understand this to mean that we should live our lives to conform to God’s will so that when people see us, they see the reflected holiness of Christ in our lives – people will see us reflecting Jesus’ love to others and, in so doing, they can see Him living through us.

We all sin every day, or more likely every moment of every day. But for the believer in Jesus Christ, that sin is covered by His righteousness and we are made children of God through His work on the cross. Therefore, we can follow our chief end, which is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever, by growing in righteousness. This is done by allowing the Holy Spirit to work in our minds and hearts so the fruit of the Spirit becomes recognizable in our life.

Our search for righteousness leads us directly to the Holy Spirit and the fruit that He promises to provide and grow in our hearts.

So, for now, I would challenge you to read Galatians Chapter 5 and focus on the comparison between the acts of the natural man and the acts of the believer in Christ Jesus who has the Holy Spirit working in her heart, specifically verses 19-23.

Blessings to you and I pray that you will continue to walk with me as we learn about the fruit of the Holy Spirit and as we mature in our transformation into Christian believers who speak and act as Jesus did and who share in the passions that Jesus had for the lost sheep and for the worship of His Father, the Almighty God.

——————–

[ii] Ibid., page 167.

[iii] Ibid, pages 169-70.