Shed your burdens

Several years ago in a "Men's Fraternity" study (Robert Lewis) we learned about unresolved issues that many of us insist on "packing" with us wherever we go.

Similarly, my wife and several dozen sisters in Christ spent a recent weekend focused on "Shedding Your Burdens, Receiving His Grace." The women visualized their unresolved issues as "bricks," with scriptural support and a graphic skit to drive home the point of our natural resistance to surrendering our load to the Lord.

The reality is that ALL have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. But it has never been God's desire for us to suffer under the weight of "bricks" such as guilt and fear.

Because of His grace, and the blood sacrifice of the Lamb of God, Who is Jesus the Christ, we are invited to GIVE OVER our loads and freely RECEIVE the unconditional, never ending love of the perfect Father.

I pray that someone struggling with the lie that he/she must first "clean up" before surrendering and receiving God's grace will finally see clearly that His invitation is simply to "come," warts and all.

I pray that someone who has surrendered his/her life to the Lord will speak the name of Jesus and claim His redemption when a demonic whisper suggests: "There is no way a perfect God could possibly love a phony like you."

Remember: "The thief (Satan) comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy." Jesus, on the other hand, "...came that we may have life, and have it in abundance!" (John 10:10)

Recall the words of Jesus Himself: "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." (Mattthew 11:28-29

Having to make hard choices

This is a message well worth your time, delivered by Pastor Wayne Barber of Albuquerque, New Mexico. Pastor Wayne builds his message around Judges 24, noting that we have only two choices in life: God or the flesh. He also notes that without the Holy Spirit, we have no capacity to deny the flesh.

We give thanks for His grace, for the blood of Christ that redeems us from all sin: past, present and future ... when we surrender our will and recognize Him as Lord of our lives. ("Victory is NOT us overcoming sin. It is JESUS overcoming US!")

Please pray, mama

It is my privilege to share this Facebook entry posted this week by my daughter, mother of two: I love God’s word! Two-year-old Jakie was clearly tired and cranky and now MAD! I pulled out my Bible study and we read what God’s word says about “anger,” and what His word says to do. I asked Jakie if he felt mad inside. He grunted, “YES!” I shared with him that sometimes I feel angry too, and sometimes I disobey God and act in my flesh and miss the mark. I SIN. I then feel sad in my heart that I chose the flesh and ask the Lord to forgive me. I talk to Him about what I said and did that dishonored Him and the other person. I told Jakie I usually cry because of my sinful behavior. He inched closer to me now. I read Galatians: “Walk by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh.” I asked Jakie if anger made him feel good inside and he yelped, “No!” I asked if he’d like the feeling to go away, and he quickly nodded his head. I told Him I love him and even more so, that GOD loves him and wants what’s best for him, so much that He sent His one and only Son to die in our place. Jakies eyes brightened: “Like when we watched the Jesus movie earlier! God sent JESUS for us. I want to pray. You please pray mama!” I prayed and my sweet blue-eyed Jakie’s heart was restored and he was ready to finish some Bible passages, SAY HIS PSALM and head for bed! God never ceases to cause me to stand in awe. He caused both of us to draw near to Him through the truth and power of His word! Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go, Even when he is old he will not depart from it.

Reflections of a godly woman

From my daughter's Facebook entry Tuesday, August 7, 2012: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life." John 3:16 To "believe" means, "to commit to one's trust." To trust in God is to yield your whole life to Him, to DIE to self. He wants the WHOLE of us! Believing is seeking His will through His word. It's is more than the lip service of talking about who we are. It's Christ IN US showing WHOSE we are! Should we not yield to His word and the work of His Spirit so that HIS life in us reflects the glory of HIS work in us? He is indeed our life. We as yielded bondservants no longer live for ourselves. HE lives IN US and we are called to yield to Him at all times and in all things. What a joy! Let us seek Him and HIS word, so that we are continually sanctified in HIM moment by moment, day by day. We are told through His word: "Do not be conformed to this world, but to be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect." Romans 12:2 Let us consider the COST, for Christ paid the debt on the cross and bore our shame. Let us abhor evil and cling to that which is good, acceptable and perfect: The KING OF KING AND LORD OF LORDS, ALMIGHTY GOD. For He is THE treasure! When sin and flesh rise, let us cling to the One who saves and confess our sin, as He is faithful and just and cleanses us from all unrighteousness! THE ONE true GOD gave His SON to conquer sin and death so we can live free. There is NO greater gift!

Rosenberg pays tribute to Chuck Colson

Chuck Colson Goes Home to be with the Lord
A dramatic conversion and an impactful life.

Joel C. Rosenberg
Washington, D.C., April 23, 2012) -- "I live everyday to the fullest because I live it for Christ," Chuck Colson liked to say. "And no matter what I do today....I'm going to do something to advance the kingdom of God. Does that make you fulfilled? You bet it does, and it gives you joy about living."

Charles W. Colson went home to heaven this weekend at the age of 80 after complications from a brain hemmorhage. What joy for him that he is now in the presence of his Savior for eternity, yet what a loss for the cause of Christ here on earth. Colson was, of course, President Nixon's lawyer, consigliere, and "hatchet man" during the Watergate crisis. He was convicted and went to prison for the crimes he committed in the White House. But he was then was dramatically converted -- "born again," as he famously put it, citing John chapter 3 -- by his newfound faith in Jesus Christ as his personal Savior and Lord. He was discipled by several older, wiser Christian men who loved him and helped him develop a love for reading the Word of God and for prayer and also helped him reorient his worldview from a secular worldview to a distinctly Biblical perspective.

Not long after his salvation, Colson founded a ministry called Prison Fellowship to serve some of the most unsavory and unlovable people in 100 countries around the world with the transforming love of Christ. Through Colson's ministry, thousands upon thousands of convicts have heard the gospel, heard about God's amazing love and grace for the lost, turned their lives over to Christ, had their lives completely transformed, and become evangelists, disciple-makers, and game-changers all over the world. What's more, many Christians have been moved to visit, love and serve prisoners in obedience to Jesus' words in Matthew chapter 25. Colson thus went from being a convict himself to becoming a remarkable force in Christendom who lived a life of tremendous impact.

"It won't do for us to just sit around in our sanctuaries, entertain ourselves, sing our 'happy clappies' and feel good about ourselves," Colson once said. "This is a time for the church to engage the world, and it has to be done through the church."

My interest in politics and my love for Christ in high school led me to read --actually, devour, with great fascination -- several of Colson's books, including Born Again which describes the remarkable story of how he came to Christ (my favorite), and Kingdoms In Conflict (which I believe is now out of print). I only met him once (during a booksellers convention we were both speaking at), but was moved by his story and inspired by his example. It was, therefore, a wonderful surprise when I learned several years ago that Colson had read "Epicenter," been intrigued by the conversions of millions of Muslims to Christ, and cited the book in one of his Breakpoint radio commentaries and newspaper columns called, "Why Muslims Convert: They Want Jesus Instead." The man loved great conversion stories, and loved to encourage believers to be used by the Lord to help convert others.

To his credit, he also sincerely loved Israel, was a true friend of the Jewish people, and encouraged Christians to love and bless Israel because of the teachings of the Scriptures. "Much of the world shrugged at this latest mass murder in Israel," Colson wrote in a 2008 column. "But we, as followers of Jesus Christ, can do no less than raise our voices in outrage for our elder brothers in the faith. Sound the alarm over the consequences if we pull out of Iraq. How many friends do you suppose we would have left in the Middle East if Israel is destroyed?"

Please pray for his family and team as they rejoice for him but mourn his passing and miss his presence. Please also pray that the Lord would use the media coverage of Colson's passing to share the gospel with many people who need to experience the same forgiveness and healing that Colson himself experienced when he met Jesus for himself in 1974.

Reflect God's glory

2 Corinthians 3:18"And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit."

Manna on the ground!

From Major W. Ian Thomas' book titled "The Saving Life of Christ (1961):"

"While Moses was away on the mountain speaking with God and receiving the law, Aaron yielded to the pressure of the people and, half naked in their shame, they worshiped the golden calf which he had made. What despair and what misgivings must have filled the hearts of the faithful few, and yet the next morning, mingled with the shattered fragments of those tablets of stone, which had been written upon with the finger of God -- there was manna on the ground! This is the amazing patience of God! This is a love that will not let you go!"

"Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound." Romans 5:20

"I will never leave you or forsake you." Hebrews 13:5

I give thanks, Father, that among the shattered fragments of my thoughts and actions apart from Your will, there remains Your Spirit in me. I give thanks that regardless of our departures from Your will, You are always faithful to Your beloved children, NOW and forever. Amen.