A Life Worthy

Be Thou my wisdom and Thou my true word

I ever with Thee, and Thou with me, Lord

Thou my great Father; I thy true son

Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one

Whence cometh thy wisdom, Beloved?

Sorry…I got a little caught up in the whole Thee and Thou business.

The question, however, is still valid—where do you get your wisdom?  Do you look to the world, with its political leaders and life coaches and self-help gurus?  Do you watch T.V., and adopt the attitudes and mores of the celebrity set?  Do you listen to the prevailing opinion of society, and claim it as wisdom?

Because you know that the wisdom of the world is foolishness to God, right?

Like the first verse of this hymn, this one asks God to do more than provide.  It asks him to be.  Be wisdom in me.  Be truth in me.  You see, wisdom and truth aren’t just tools that you can get from God and go off and use on your own, like some sort of spiritual ratchet set.

Though I do find that concept intriguing…

Wisdom and truth come from, and are used in, relationship with the Father.  As we grow closer to him, we grow closer to the source of all wisdom and all truth.  They sorta seep into us, like vitamin D when you’re out in the sun.  They become part of us.  Walking in wisdom and truth then becomes as natural as, well, as walking.

I must admit, I still walk with two left feet and a bit of a stutter step, but I’m working on it.

What about you, Beloved?  Are you spending enough time with your Father to soak in his wisdom, his truth?

Make the time today.  I know you’re busy, but he’s worth it.

So are you.

Happy Friday, Beloved

If I rebuild what I destroyed, I prove that I am a lawbreaker (Galatians 2:18)

I gotta admit, this verse puzzles me.  On the one hand, it seems clear enough.  If I offer to replace the broken window, it’s pretty compelling evidence that I broke it. If I fix the side mirror on your car, it kinda proves that I’m the one who sideswiped you.   If I say, “I’m sorry,” it shows that I did something wrong.

Usually.

Unless I’m battling deep-seated guilt and feelings of low self worth.

Which I’m not.

I’m sorry.

Anyway, the point is on the other hand. Christ does not fit this pattern.  He did not destroy.  He was not a lawbreaker.  In fact, he rebuilt that which he did not destroy.  He rebuilt what I destroyed.  

He rebuilt what I destroyed.

So, I’m not exactly sure what Paul is getting at.  He seems to place this verse here as proof for his previous statement, that Christ does not promote sin, but I’m having trouble seeing the connection.  I’m left with the thought that my pathetic attempts to fix my relationship with God under my own strength are simply more proof that Pride is still very much at work in me.

But seriously…what do I know?  If you’ve got a better handle on this verse, please oh please chime in.

Happy Wednesday, Beloved.

We who are Jews by birth and not “Gentile sinners” know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ (Galatians 2:15-16).

The Jews, of all people, should have known better.

For hundreds of years, the Jews had gone the “Earn your way to Heaven” route.  The pattern they had grown up with–sin, feel guilty, sacrifice, feel better, work hard, fail, sin–it didn’t work, and the Jews who had come to Christ knew it didn’t work.  IF it had, they wouldn’t have needed Christ.  And yet here they were, trying to stuff the endless grace of the Father into a musty sack of old traditions.

Why would they do that?

I dunno, Beloved.  Why do you?

Happy Monday, Beloved.

Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ. (Galatians 1:10).

I like to be liked.

Is that so very bad?  

I had a friend once upon a time who seemed to delight in being obnoxious for Christ.

Seriously

He approached every nonbeliever as an enemy combatant.  When he witnessed, it was less like teaching than taunting:

Do you follow Jesus?

No?  Why not?

Don’t you realize that if you die without Christ, you’re going to hell?

What do you mean, you’ll think about it?  You could die tonight!

As I write this, I can hear the edge in his voice.  Still makes me twitch.

Beloved, you are an ambassador, and ambassadors tend to accomplish more if people like them.  So, yeah, it’s good to be liked.

But

Being liked is not your goal.  It’s more of a byproduct of being a Godly person.  If at any point along the journey you have to pick between pleasing people and pleasing God, (and you will), well…

Exactly

Be winsome, Beloved, but not wimpy.  Stand firm for him.

Happy Thursday.

Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ (Galatians 1:7).

The people Paul was referring to were called the Judaizers.  They thought that all Christians should follow the Law–basically the rules and rituals observed in Old Testament-style temple worship.  (Yes, I know they didn’t call it the Old Testament, but we do, so shh.)

Anyway, they were basically telling the Galatians that Jesus’ death was not enough.  They needed to follow the rules to obtain and maintain their relationship with God.  The moment they did this, of course, the Judaizers threw grace out the window and reduced Christianity to yet another “Work your way to God” religion.

Paul called that perversion.

Did you think of any “haftas” yesterday?  Take them into your prayer time today.  Ask God to show you whether you are attempting to put your efforts on the level of his grace.  It may not even be on purpose.  There can be a fine line between working to earn his love and working out of the love that already overflows.

So, you know, think about it, pray about it…but don’t stress about it.  That’s just you trying to control things again.

You are adored, Beloved.

Happy Tuesday