The Gateway

July 9, 2019July 3, 2019 | lindamowles

St. Louis, Missouri, boasts the Gateway Arch which stands at the Mississippi River as a testament to the pioneering spirit of the people approaching the eve expanding West.

the Gateway Arch rises up behind the new glass entrance — Gateway Arch National Park. Photo courtesy of StudioBrookes.

Founded by the National Park Service in 1935 to commemorate Thomas Jefferson’s vision of a transcontinental United States, the Gateway Arch National Park (formerly known as the “Jefferson National Expansion Memorial”) stretches from the Old Courthouse to the steps overlooking the Mississippi River. In between, the Gateway Arch rises high, a bold monument to the pioneering spirit.

Today, the Gateway Arch celebrates the diverse people who shaped the region and the country. The dreamer, Thomas Jefferson, negotiated the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, doubling the size of the United States. The explorers, Lewis & Clark, and their Shoshone guide Sacagawea, scouted the new territory and mapped a route to the Pacific Ocean. The challengers, Dred and Harriet Scott filed suit at the Old Courthouse for their freedom from slavery, and St. Louis suffragette Virginia Minor sued for women’s right to vote. The Finnish-American architect Eero Saarinen designed the stainless-steel monument that honors them all.

gateway arch 1 — Picture taken while I was visiting the arch.

The graceful arch is based on the catenary curve, that is the shape made by a free-hanging chain when held at both ends. When speaking of his design, Saarinen said, “The arch symbolized the gateway to the West, the national expansion, and whatnot.”

A view of the Gateway Arch reveals over 43,000 tons of concrete and steel that arc 63 stories high into the Midwest sky. Since its completion in 1965, the tram ride in the monument has taken millions of visitors on the trip to the top to enjoy stunning views stretching up to 30 miles to the east and west.

Much more information about the arch is available at the National Park Service website. (www.nps.gov/jeff/index.htm)

The Gateway Arch, of course, is not the only way to the West. It is certainly a wonderful monument to those who made the trek through difficult terrain with less than ideal circumstances and comforts. But, today, there are many ways to get to the West from the East, in addition to going through the Gateway Arch.

Such is not the case in a matter of significantly more import than physical travel. I am speaking of our ultimate destination for eternity.

We know that we are finite creatures, born in space and time, and that we were created from dust and, given enough time, we will return to dust after our death.

In Scripture, the Holy Bible, Jesus says that He is the gateway to heaven. That is, that no one can come to the Father Almighty, God, the Creator and Sustainer of all things, except through Jesus Christ, God’s Son.

“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

John 14:6

Unfortunately, today there are many who assert that there are a variety of “ways” to get to heaven or to please God. However, Jesus’ words do not equivocate. There is no quibbling. There is no suggestion that any other “way” is possible or effective if we want to go to heaven where the Father resides. Jesus simply and clearly said that He is the only way to the Father.

Good works are not sufficient. Giving money is not sufficient. Being hopeful that the balance will tip in your favor is not sufficient. Nothing is sufficient because everything other than what Christ did on the cross is based on our own abilities. The problem is that we are all sinners and we are dead in our sins. We can do nothing to aid ourselves or to move ourselves toward heaven. We are dead.

If a person is dead, he cannot do anything for himself. If he is to have life, an outside force must operate to give him life again. He can’t summon up the strength to get life, he is dead.

“but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.“

Romans 5:8

Praise God. He loved us even though we were sinners, we had been disobedient to His law. While we were sinners, before we could do anything to assist in our salvation, Christ died for us. He accomplished all that was necessary to pay for our sin.

Jesus Christ, however, rose from the dead. He conquered death and sin.

“We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him.“

Romans 6:9

Because He died and rose again, He is capable to rescue us from our sins, and He will do so if we have faith in Him.

“because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.”

Romans 10:9-10

If is for this reason that Jesus could tell His disciples, that He was THE Way, THE Truth and THE Life … there is none other

There are many gateways to the Western part of the United States, but there is only one way to heaven, no matter where you live or who you are.

The Way is Jesus. He is the way to eternal life. Come to Him if you have not already done so and claim Him as your Savior and Lord of your life. If you have already come to Him, praise His name. Thank Him for the life that He has given you, now and forever more.

Father, we praise your name for the love that was expressed to us through Christ’s life and death, and for your mighty power in raising Him from the dead so that we could claim Him as our Savior and Lord. Thank you Father, thank you Lord Jesus, and thank you Holy Spirit for quickening our hearts and bringing us to yourself.

Attitude – What is yours?

July 2, 2018July 1, 2018 | lindamowles

The story is told that an old man was wearing a shirt that sported the following sentence: “I am not 80 years old…I am sweet 16 with 64 years of experience”. That is an example of ATTITUDE. There are all sorts of variations on that theme, but recently I saw a marque sign at a motel that was unique, and it made me laugh. While I don’t think it really had anything to do with the motel, I loved the sign, drove around the block to see it once more, and then took a picture of it so I would remember what it said:

Sign - winter fat gone — “My winter fat is gone, now I have spring rolls!”

You may have heard that before, but I had not. I think it illustrates an attitude that does not bemoan circumstances, rather it acknowledges facts and moves on.

The reality is that we all have things about ourselves that are less than flattering, perhaps some more than others, but each of us is held captive by some negative comment made by others that has shaped our own image into a false image which we cannot seem to overcome.

Beloved, the eternal reality is that Jesus Christ loved us when there was NOTHING to love. We were sinners through and through. Adam determined that way back when he ate the forbidden fruit, and we have been under that original sin curse ever since. We have no beauty in us, even the good things that we do are marred by sin and self-interest, by pride and arrogance, and by disobedience of God’s law.

Paul said it this way:

“For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person–though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die–but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Romans 5:6-8

Let those words sink into your heart and into your mind … God loved us while we were sinners. But He could not leave us as sinners because of His holy justice. So, He sent Christ to die for us. Christ paid our debt on the cross. We no longer have to struggle to try to please God because that has already occurred. We just need to claim Christ as our Savior and Lord, and we then live a life that is in conformity with His Word.

That means that the false image that plagues you today is washed away by the blood of the Lamb of God. What does God see when He looks at you? We know what He sees because His Word tells us:

“Come now, and let us reason together,” says the LORD, “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”

Isaiah 1:18

In referencing what the Lord Jesus did for us, Paul says this about God sending His Son:

“For our sake he [God] made him [Jesus Christ] to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him [Jesus Christ] we might become the righteousness of God.”

2 Corinthians 5:21

For those in Jesus Christ, God sees the Lord’s righteousness when He looks at us. We are covered in the robes of our Lord and His righteousness. No false image, no trying to be good enough, no sin and no fear of God because He has given His Son to be our Savior.

“The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs–heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.”

Romans 8:16-17

So, what should be our attitude? Paul, farther along in the same chapter, supplies the thrilling answer:

“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”

Romans 8:37

Many people want to be a conqueror, but we are more than merely conquerors … we are children of the Sovereign, Almighty, Creator, Omniscient, Omnipotent, Omnipresent GOD, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Attitude – it should not be arrogant because we are children of the King, rather it should be that of our Lord Jesus Christ. We should be servant to all because we are nothing more than sinners, saved by grace. For that we should be eternally thankful. So, what is your attitude?

Father, please forgive me when i have let the opinions of other men and women dictate what I think of myself. Give me the strength and courage to look only to You for my meaning, worth and value. Enable me to think in terms of eternality rather than earthly, and let me remember that my true value is seen in terms of Jesus and His righteousness.

–

ATTRIBUTES OF GOD – LOVE

March 30, 2018March 28, 2018 | lindamowles

Scripture says that God is love.

“Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.”

1 John 4:8

We know that there are three primary words for love in the New Testament that enrich its meaning in Scripture beyond what our English translation can provide.

First is Eros from which we derive erotic, or romantic love, sexual and physical; it is a love that desires to possess for personal benefit.

Second is Phileo from which we get Philadelphia and philanthropy, words that mean companionship and friendship.

Third is Agape love. This is the New Testament Greek word that describes God’s love for us. Agape love is the result of a decision that commits itself to the well-being of the beloved regardless of the condition or reaction of the one who is loved, and it is the type of love that comes from God.

God loves His creation, and more than the creation generally, God loves His people. Moses expressed it like this:

“It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the LORD set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the LORD loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.”

Deuteronomy 7:7-8

In other words, God’s love is not dependent on anything that we have or any action that we have taken. It is not dependent on our position in society or the status of our bank account. Indeed, we have nothing that God has not given us, and we can give Him nothing that he needs … He loves us because He is love.

The amazing aspect of this attribute is that it is complete, unconditional and everlasting love. A. W. Tozer (1897 – 1963) said this about God’s love:

God’s love is measureless. It is more. It is boundless. It has no bounds because it is not a thing but a facet of the essential nature of God. His love is something He is, and because He is infinite, that love can enfold the whole created world in itself and have room for ten thousand times ten thousand worlds beside.

The Apostle John elaborates on this incredible attribute of our marvelous God when he says:

“In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. … We love because he first loved us.”

1 John 4:9-11, 19

And now we come to the crux of the matter. John said it well – “God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him.” This week, known by many as Passion Week, we have prepared for Easter Sunday, the day we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. It is truly a day of joyous celebration for the Christian.

But, before we can properly arrive at Sunday’s celebration we need to ruminate upon the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary, the Friday night when sin thought it had triumphed over mankind. This is the supreme example of God’s Agape love.

For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person–though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die, but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.

Romans 5:6-10.

We, who were wallowing in our sin and were deserving of nothing but death and judgment from a holy God, were granted righteousness and full pardon from the judgment that our sin surely deserved when Christ died for us. His sinless life, His death on the cross, and His powerful resurrection from the dead provides us with His righteousness because He took our sin and paid for it with His precious blood on the cross.

That, Beloved, is Agape love. We don’t have to get clean before God will love us. We don’t have to do anything before God will love us. The Holy Spirit said it through Paul’s writing: “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” This is the example of divine, Agape, love for a being that can offer nothing … it is supreme love that is contingent not on the person being loved but on the nature of the One doing the loving.

This is the love that our Lord exhibited when He took our place on that cross. It is the love that is evident when Jesus, suffering mightily on the cross, prayed for the soldiers who, even as He spoke, were dividing His clothing among themselves:

“”Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments.”

Luke 23:34

Love is a principle of action rather than of emotion. It is a purpose of honoring and benefiting the other party. It is a matter of doing things for people out of compassion for their need, whether or not we feel personal affection for them.

J. I. Packer, Concise Theology, p. 182.

This love that has been extended to us deserves our response in love extended back to God and then to others.

Jonathan Edwards (1703 – 1758) was a Puritan theologian, pastor, and devout Calvinist, whose conversion centered on his coming to the realization that God is sovereign over all things. In the book Charity and Its Fruits, Edwards calls love the “sum of all Christianity”. And he renders the following exhortation:

A Christian should at all times keep a strong guard against everything that tends to overthrow or corrupt or undermine a spirit of love. That which hinders love to men, will hinder the exercise of love to God… If love is the sum of Christianity, surely those things which overthrow love are exceedingly unbecoming [to] Christians. An envious Christian, a malicious Christian, a cold and hard-hearted Christian, is the greatest absurdity and contradiction. It is as if one should speak of dark brightness, or a false truth!

May we relish in this glorious attribute of our holy God – Love. And may we honor and glorify the embodiment of that love in Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who endured unimaginable horror on the cross as He absorbed all our sin in Himself so that we could be called the children of God, all on the day we call Good Friday. And may we live in the power of the Holy Spirit so that we glorify God through compassion and loving kindness as we share the good news of Jesus Christ and the glorious message of hope through His resurrection which we celebrate on Easter Sunday.

Sovereign God, I praise You and glorify You as only You are worthy of adoration. Thank You for the love that has been expressed through the sacrifice of Your Son so that my sin has been paid for and my debt extinguished through His righteousness. I bow in humble obedience to You, my Lord and Master.

WHAT IS GREATER THAN ALL OUR SIN? GRACE

January 30, 2018January 25, 2018 | lindamowles

When we understand the character of God, when we grasp something of His holiness, then we begin to understand the radical character of our sin and helplessness. Helpless sinners can survive only by grace. Our strength is futile in itself; we are spiritually impotent without the assistance of a merciful God.

God’s grace is the bestowal of blessing that is neither earned or merited. God’s grace is extended to us totally because of Christ’s death on the cross. He took the death that we sinful creatures deserved so that we could live our life in and through Him.

The Hebrew word for “grace” means favor, acceptance, kindness.

In Genesis we read God’s description of the wickedness on the earth and of His intention to destroy all creation.

“So the LORD said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.” But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.”

Genesis 6:7-8 KJV The English Standard Version of this verse says “Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.” But Noah found grace, favor, before God and Noah and all his family, as well as the creatures of the earth, were saved from the all-consuming flood that arose by God’s power.

In the book of Exodus, God, Himself, includes grace as part of His nature when He was speaking to Moses.

“The LORD descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,”

Exodus 34:5-6 (KJV) and (ESV)

In Psalms 145:17 we read:

“The Lord is righteous in all His ways, gracious in all His works.” (KJV)

“The Lord is righteous in all His ways, kind in all His works.” (ESV)

While the word “gracious” is not used often in the New Testament with reference to God, the word “grace” is used over 100 times when speaking of God’s actions toward His children.

For example, Paul in his letter to the Romans uses the word “grace” often.

“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,”

Romans 3:23-24

“Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Romans 5:20-21

The writer of Hebrews says:

“Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

Hebrews 4:16

The demonstration of God’s grace towards us comes in different ways. There is the grace that God shines on the elect and wicked alike; this is called “common grace”. The word “common” does not denote that the grace is cheap or ordinary. Rather, this grace provides all of mankind blessings that are non-eternal, such as health, good weather, prosperity, rain, etc. In fact, life itself is a gift of common grace. He does not have to give life to any one, no one can demand it from Him, and He can take it when He pleases. Indeed, sinful man deserves nothing but death.

Then there is that special grace which God demonstrates toward those whom He chooses to be His people, just as He did with the children of Israel. We read in the book of Deuteronomy these words of God:

“For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the LORD set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the LORD loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.”

Deuteronomy 7:6-8

This sign is outside the “Minister’s Treehouse” in Crossville, Tennessee.
Jesus shed His blood for You and me.

God chooses His children not because they are more powerful, wise, intelligent, charismatic, pious, handsome, or any of the other characteristics that we would consider important in selecting someone for some specific honor. Rather, He chooses His children simply because that is what He chose to do.

This grace is amazing for it relies not at all upon us, but solely upon God and His providential will. Our adoption as children into His family is not based on any service or good we are capable to render. The enormity of this grace is impossible to comprehend, but our reaction to it should be bowing ourselves at the feet of the Lord in praise and rejoicing for His pleasure in granting us salvation.

The hymn “All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name” encapsulates the response we should have to this grace of our loving Father. Listen as The CenturyMen present this hymn on their album The CenturyMen Silver Anniversary, Disc 2.

May we crown Him Lord of All as we praise Him for paying our ransom from the fall, not because of any merit that we have, but because of His abundant grace toward us.

Father, there are no words to express our gratitude for the gift of Your grace. Lord Jesus, we fall before You and praise Your name for Your paying our ransom so that we could be relieved of the debt of sin and come to You now, and forevermore.

EVIDENCE OF FAITH

November 18, 2016November 16, 2016 | lindamowles

We need rain! In East Tennessee we currently have multiple fires burning sending smoke into the air in a spreading blanket of contamination across the area. While we have needed rain for several months, it was only of passing general interest.

I drafted this post before the air quality alerts went into effect and the need for significant rain became obvious on a daily basis. The initial focus of the post is rain, but its application relates to faith in all areas of our life. May it be a blessing and a challenge to you, my dear Reader.

A friend sent me a modern parable that goes something like this:

It was especially dry, and the village needed water but no rain was in the offing. In response to the situation, all the villagers decided to pray for rain. On the day of prayer, all the people gathered and prayed, but only one boy came with an umbrella. That’s FAITH.

This parable reminds me of an Old Testament story illustrating faith. There had been no rain in the land as a judgment by God on the people and evil King Ahab, and this act of judgment was to be relieved only by Elijah’s word. I Kings 17. After winning the challenge between Baal and God on Mount Carmel, the people repented of their sin in going after other gods, and they said that the Lord would be their Lord.

Thus, the prophet prayed for relief from God’s judgment. After petitioning God for rain, the following discourse occurred between Elijah and his servant.

And he [Elijah] said to his servant, “Go up now, look toward the sea.” And he [the servant] went up and looked and said, “There is nothing.” And he [Elijah] said, “Go again,” seven times. And at the seventh time he [the servant] said, “Behold, a little cloud like a man’s hand is rising from the sea.” And he [Elijah] said, “Go up, say to Ahab, ‘Prepare your chariot and go down, lest the rain stop you.'”

1 Kings 18:43-44.

rain-in-mississippi — A massive rain storm in Mississippi. Rain is visibly falling in several places as we were heading toward the storm.

Elijah sent his servant to look for the rain cloud … 7 times. And, that 7^th time the servant saw “a little cloud like a man’s hand”. Although no rain had yet fallen, Elijah told the servant to go tell the king to get ready to run now, otherwise you will be stuck in the mud because of the rain. That’s FAITH.

What is scriptural faith? In the Bible, the writer of Hebrews describes faith as follows:

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. … And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him.

Hebrews 11:1, 6.

It is not faith in everything that comes along, nor is it a blind faith that has no foundation. Your faith is misplaced if you sit in a small plastic chair for it will collapse under the weight of a 250 pound person. Clearly, the amount of your faith is not in question — you acted on your faith by physically sitting down. The problem was that the object of your faith was seriously deficient.

Faith in God, the omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient Almighty God, the Creator of the Universe, the Lover of our souls, and the foundation of our salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord is the faith that provides peace, support, and salvation. Faith alone in God, through Christ Jesus, is the path to eternal life.

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me”.

John 14:6.

Paul testified:

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”

Romans 1:16-17. Note, the King James Version of verse 17 uses the more familiar language “The just shall live by faith.” The meaning of the two translations is the same – God justifies and declares us righteous through our faith in Jesus Christ.

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through Him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

Romans 5:1-2.

Jesus repeatedly told persons during His ministry that the faith of those He healed had made them well. For example:

Jesus turned, and seeing her He said, “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And instantly the woman was made well.

Matthew 9:22

Then He touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith be it done to you.”

Matthew 9:29

And He said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.”

Luke 17:19

These people had faith that Jesus could heal them, an event that had not occurred but was to be in the future. Because of their faith in Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God, they were healed so that God would be glorified. It was at that point that their faith became a reality.

So, when you pray, do you have faith that you will receive an answer to your prayer? The answer may not come immediately, and it may not come in a form that you expect; but there will be an answer. David understood that God would answer his prayer according to God’s steadfast love and faithfulness.

But as for me, my prayer is to You, O LORD. At an acceptable time, O God, in the abundance of Your steadfast love answer me in Your saving faithfulness.

Psalm 69:13

Praise God that He is faithful, that He abounds in steadfast love. He is in control, He is the Almighty God, and He will respond to the prayer of faith in His time and in His way.

By the way, do you know where your umbrella is?

Father, I pray that I would have more faith so that I would be the one who brings the umbrella when prayers are raised up for rain. I pray that my prayers would not just take up my time but that they would come before you in your majesty and power. And, I pray that I would not be faint when the answer seems to be so long in coming; may I trust in your unfailing love and mercy and may I rest in your grace, through Christ my Savior I pray.

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, No. 9, JOY, Part Three

June 10, 2016 | lindamowles

JOY – EFFERVESCENCE EVEN IN CHAOS

PART THREE

Last week we looked at Paul and Silas as they praised the Lord while they were in prison, locked down in stocks. Then we considered the early Christian church as they experienced joy even in horrific persecution. Now, let us think about joy, depression and what we have to be joyous about in 2016!

What does Scripture say?

Recall that the basis for our joy is the work of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

John 16:33.

Because of His victory, the real basis for our inexpressible joy is that, as believers in Jesus Christ, our names are written in heaven! For this reason the prophets, apostles and even Christ Himself command us to rejoice and be glad.

We are not to rejoice in great acts that are accomplished here, even if they are done in the power of the Lord. See Luke 10 where we read that the disciples returned after going out to minister to others in the power of the Lord, and they did marvelous things. While they were telling Jesus of the results of their mission, I envision Jesus smiling, perhaps nodding His head, and then He issued this warning:

“Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

Luke 10:20

We are told to be joyful in both the Old and New Testaments. For example, in 2 Chronicles 29, that King Hezekiah took action and restored the service of the house of the Lord that had been neglected for many, many years. In the next chapter, the King sent couriers to all the people inviting them to come to Jerusalem and keep the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread in celebration of the worship of the Lord. Scripture tells us:

And the people of Israel who were present at Jerusalem kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with great gladness, and the Levites and the priests praised the LORD day by day, singing with all their might to the LORD. … So there was great joy in Jerusalem, for since the time of Solomon the son of David king of Israel there had been nothing like this in Jerusalem.

2 Chronicles 30:21, 26.

In the Psalms we are repeatedly told to be “joyful in the Lord.”

Then my soul will rejoice in the LORD, exulting in his salvation.

Psalm 35:9

Rejoice in the LORD, O you righteous, and give thanks to his holy name!

Psalm 97:12

Not just the Psalmist speaks of joy — Isaiah describes joy in Isaiah 61:10:

I will greatly rejoice in the LORD; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

In the New Testament, in Philippians 4:4, Paul says:

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.”

Here, joy is so important that Paul repeats himself, in the same sentence!

God does not like doubt and dejection. He hates dreary doctrine, gloomy and melancholy thought. God likes cheerful hearts; His very work in freeing us from the bondage of sin is evidence that joy is His desire. Notwithstanding this truth, we need to pause and recognize the reality of depression. Remember that despondency is not the fruit of the Spirit. It can come from many things — satanic temptation, unbelief, some harbored sin, or perhaps indigestion or a medical condition. The fruit of the Spirit is Joy not depression..

Beware! Don’t set too much store by your own feelings as evidence of the grace given to you. The fruit of the Spirit is joy but you may not at this moment be conscious of joy. We are saved by faith in Jesus Christ through the Word of God which is a sure testimony to the work of Christ for us. That is what we should trust, not emotions or feelings.

God is sovereign, and He is in control. He sends both prosperity and adversity, for His purposes which are often unknowable to us. Don’t let the adversity take way your confidence in God.

In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider: God has made the one as well as the other, so that man may not find out anything that will be after him.

Ecclesiastes 7:14.

C. H. Spurgeon noted:

Precious as the fruit is, do not put the fruit where the root should be. Please do remember that joy is not the root of grace in the soul, it is the fruit and must not be put out of its proper position. “The fruit of the Spirit is … joy” and it is brought forth in believers not alike in all or at all times, but to all believers there is a measure of joy.

Spurgeon who himself struggled with depression, also said:

Constantly looking within you own self instead of looking alone to Christ is enough to breed misery in any heart. Do not covet the counterfeit of earthly joy. … The Spirit of God is not barren … If he be in you, He must and will inevitably produce His own legitimate fruit, and the fruit of the Spirit is … joy. We experience Heaven’s joy even here, on occasion, … and we can say with David “happy is that people, whose God is the Lord.” (Psalm 144:15)

How does this apply to my daily life?

What prompts this joy in the Christian?

The ways that this Joy is touched in your heart are innumerable, but here are just a few suggestions that you might want to consider. You likely will be able to come up with others and, when you do, praise the Lord for His grace and send a comment letting us know how He brings Joy to you.

The Christian is joyful because she is certain of her pardon for God has told her that she is not condemned as she is accepted by God for she is justified by faith.

Joy comes when we hear the Word in worship. See Isaiah 52:7. Think about Israel and the celebration they had when their worship was restored! Do you long to worship, to celebrate the Lord’s Supper, to study and hear the Word? (Just a note: the reason people grumble at long sermons is because they do not feed on them. Very seldom do the hungry gripe at having too big a meal!)

Joy comes when we think of God Himself.

“More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.”

Romans 5:11.

The Psalmist asks in Psalm 8:4: “What is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?” God, Himself, answered that question 2000 years ago when He made it possible for us to spend eternity with Him through Christ our Savior. That is way more than merely “mindful”!

God’s Joy is an abiding sense of happiness – an emotional pattern that enables Nehemiah to write “the joy of the Lord is our strength.” (Nehemiah 8:10)

The musical offering below is from the Silver Anniversary Concert of The Centurymen, Buryl Red, conductor. Listen to “Joyful Joyful We Adore Thee” and let the Lord’s joy envelop your heart and mind. Then let the Holy Spirit fill you with joy as you go through your day.

Put Jesus first. Follow His commands. Rest in the joy of His Word. Worship Him. Listen to the Helper, the Holy Spirit as you face difficulties, and have confidence in your salvation through Christ’s atoning work on the cross for your sins. Remember your reconciliation with God the Father through Jesus Christ our Lord. His Joy will come!

Next week we will begin our study of Peace.

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.

Fruit of the Spirit, No. 4, Love, Part One.

May 6, 2016 | lindamowles

When I started this study, I thought that the first fruit, love, would be simple to talk about. You know, sending people cards when they are ill, preparing casseroles when there is a need … all those things that we do under the name of love for our fellow man. However, as I searched Scripture about what the fruit of the Spirit of love was, I had to rethink my definition … I pray that you will see that Agape Love is way more than casseroles and cards!

What does Scripture say?

We know from 1 Corinthians 13 that love is a gift of the Spirit, and Paul calls it the greatest of all the gifts.

So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

1 Corinthians 13:13.

But love is not only a gift of the Spirit, it is also the first fruit of the Spirit that Paul identifies in Galatians Chapter 5.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

Galatians 5:21-22.

Therefore, you might not have been given love as a gift of the Spirit, but you still must exhibit love because love is also the first fruit of the Spirit which is resident in you because the Holy Spirit is within you. In short, love is the only virtue that is both a fruit and a gift of the Spirit.

In considering the singular word “fruit”, the Wycliffe Commentary on Galatians says that this “tends to emphasize the unity and coherence of the life and the Spirit as opposed to the disorganization and instability of life under the dictates of the flesh.”

ORANGE - LOVE — LOVE – WAY MORE THAN CASSEROLES AND CARDS!

You will recall that we are using the orange as a representation of the fruit of the Spirit. Each believer has the entire fruit because the Holy Spirit resides in her heart. Therefore, each believer has each segment of the fruit. Here we are considering love.

So, what is Love?

We know that there are three primary words for love in the New Testament that enrich its meaning in Scripture beyond what our English translation can provide. First is Eros from which we derive erotic, or romantic love, sexual and physical; it is a love that desires to possess for personal benefit.

Second is Phileo from which we get Philadelphia and philanthropy, words that mean companionship and friendship.

Third is Agape love. This is the New Testament Greek word that describes God’s love for us. Agape love is the result of a decision that commits itself to the well-being of the beloved regardless of the condition or reaction of the one who is loved: this is the love that comes from God. One who is nice, compassionate, and even charitable, may be exhibiting a kind of love but, if these actions come from a non-believer, it cannot be Agape love.

Jonathan Edwards said in Charity and Its Fruits:

The Spirit of God is a Spirit of love, and when the former enters the soul, love also enters with it. God is love, and he that has God dwelling in him by his Spirit, will have love dwelling in him also.

Love is resident in the believer, in a way that the unregenerate person cannot understand or experience, simply because the Holy Spirit indwells the believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. And, God the Holy Spirit is love. Jesus promised to send us the Comforter, the Paraclete, the Teacher Who would guide us as we live our lives as witnesses to Jesus’ power and glory. It is this Spirit that resides within us and it is this Spirit that transforms us into the image of Christ.

The person who is loved may not accept the love, they may not appreciate the love, and they may even despise the one offering the love; but the decision to love is unabated by the response or rejection from the one who is loved. It is for this reason that Agape love cannot be produced by us on our own nor is it resident in our spirits absent the presence of God through faith in Christ Jesus.

The supreme example of Agape love is described by Paul when he said:

For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person–though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die, but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.

Romans 5:6-10.

We, who were wallowing in our sin and were deserving of nothing but death and judgment from a Holy God, were granted righteousness and full pardon from the judgment that our sin surely deserved when Christ died for us. His sinless life, His death on the cross, and His powerful resurrection from the dead provides us with His righteousness because He took our sin and paid for it with His precious blood on the cross.

That my beloved is Agape love. Love for a being that can offer us nothing … supreme love that is contingent not on the person being loved but on the nature of the One doing the loving.

It is the love that our Lord exhibited when He took our place on that cross.

It is the love that is placed into our hearts by the Holy Spirit when He indwells us at our conversion.

How does this apply to my daily life?

The Wycliffe Commentary on Galatians also notes that the singular use of the word “fruit” may be “intended to point to the person of Christ, in whom all these things are seen in their perfection. The Spirit seeks to produce these by reproducing Christ in the believer.” Paul says later in Galatians:

“It is always good to be made much of for a good purpose, and not only when I am present with you, my little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you!”

Galatians 4:18-19.

So, how should I respond to this love? First and foremost, remembering what God did for us should bring us to our knees in humble thanksgiving and in renewed dedication to do His will and work in our world.

Second, this love should influence our desire to be in God’s Word and to pray in praise, thanksgiving, supplication and adoration.

Listen to this vocal offering of the song How Deep the Father’s Love for Us as sung by Damaris on her album entitled The Heart of God and think how it reveals Agape Love:

In future posts we will consider various aspects of this love! For now, bow before our God and thank Him for loving us and calling us to Himself. Then, consider whether your life exhibits a self-sacrificing love for God and then for others.

THANKSGIVING DAY IS FOR MORE THAN TURKEY!

November 23, 2015 | lindamowles

In his Thanksgiving Day address to the country in 1963, President John F. Kennedy said:

“Let us therefore proclaim our gratitude to Providence for manifold blessings–let us be humbly thankful for inherited ideals–and let us resolve to share those blessings and those ideals with our fellow human beings throughout the world.”

Indeed, Thanksgiving Day is a time for us to remember the many ways that we have been blessed during the past year.

In years gone by, the traditional day was celebrated with the best china, glassware, linens and, of course, the best food that the family could afford.

It was also a time for the family to gather, from various parts of the city, state, or country, to celebrate together.

When I was a child, we went to my Great Aunt and Uncle’s home for the dinner. It was a special time when relatives from another state would come and the cousins would sit at the “children’s table” in another room. Now that I am a parent and grandparent, I realize this is what you did so the adults could have a grand conversation which was uninterrupted and without hassle, usually about those who sat at the “children’s table”. The children liked it because we did not have to sit and be quiet!

Even in our home today, the Thanksgiving Day meal is more formal and “dressy” than the normal fare that we consume the other 364 days of the year.

The Thanksgiving Day meal table set for celebration.

Of course, in school we learned that the Thanksgiving meal was in celebration of the harvest and of the bounty that the country afforded the Pilgrims. So, in keeping with the “bounty” part of the holiday, we have food that is a traditional part of the celebration as well as a few new things to try. One year I tried a recipe of acorn squash with raisins, brown sugar and a number of spices cooked in the slow cooker. To quote my Beloved, “This is a keeper!”

In our home, although there are other foods prepared, the centerpiece of the meal is the turkey, all bronzed and tender. I recognize that it is not too good from the turkey’s point of view, but I know that it is exceptional for the family’s enjoyment.

The holiday turkey ready to go on the table!

Before eating, we “say grace”, a time when we thank the Lord for the manifold blessings that he has provided for us, focusing primarily on the food we are about to eat!

Then, after gorging ourselves with the meal, we visit and talk about what we are thankful for. Often the list includes friends, family, health and frequently the children will add thanks for their toys, pets, good grades at school, etc.

Often, while the ladies are cleaning up the kitchen, the children and gentlemen will go in the backyard for the holiday football game. For the grandparent, there is no tackle, but for the elementary school child the adult will not be penalized when he is picked up off the field, as long as a hug follows and the descent to the ground is not a drop.

Family playing football after holiday meal.

Holiday traditions and stories are important to keep us together and to define who we are. Traditions and stories play a critical role in our life before God as He states in His Word.

For example, the Passover Meal is a time when the story of the Exodus is retold each year, even today, thousands of years after the event. Scripture admonishes us to teach our children about God’s acts in our life.

The act of thanksgiving is described and discussed often in the Scriptures. The Old Testament described the peace offering that was made to God in thanksgiving in Leviticus 7.

In 1 Chronicles 16:7 we read that David appointed that songs be sung in thanksgiving to God.

“I will praise the name of God with a song; I will magnify him with thanksgiving.” – [Psalm 69:30]

Psalm 50:4 tells us to:

“Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and perform your vows to the Most High,” [ESV]

Scripture tells us that “grace” is more than just saying a quick prayer before the meal, although grace and thanksgiving are frequently paired. In 1 Corinthians 1:4, Paul states:

“I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you.”

Paul is giving thanks to God for the grace given to the Church in Corinth, a church that he established, counseled, and nurtured.

I remember learning the term G-R-A-C-E by the phrase “God’s riches at Christ’s expense.” But, grace is so very much more than this trite phrase defines.

Grace provides us with God’s love. Paul says: “and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.” 1 Timothy 1:14
Grace enables us to do the will of God. 1 Corinthians 12:4-6 tells us: “”Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone.”
Grace provides forgiveness of sin. “Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more,…” Romans 5:20
Grace enables Christians to love others. “We love because he first loved us.” I John 4:19.
Grace provides us with the opportunity to fellowship with God. “”Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God’s grace, which was given me by the working of his power…. This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him.” Ephesians 3:7, 10-12.

I pray that we are thankful daily not just for the material blessings we have from our Father but also for the grace given to us by the Lord. We should think about this marvelous gift of grace from God and include it with humble gratitude in our prayers of thanks to God our Father.

Father, we thank you for your love that you extended to us while we were yet sinners, before we could even think of loving you. Thank you for Jesus Christ and His sacrifice on our behalf, and thank you for the Holy Spirit who indwells us and is transforming us into the image of your Son. Thank you for our country and the freedom to worship that is provided. We pray that our leaders and those in authority over us would look to you, Father, for wisdom, guidance and discernment as they lead us in these difficult times. Thank you, Father, for your presence and for your mighty hand.