"Giving an account"

OK, maybe it’s just me, but years ago I recall someone teaching on Romans 14:12 and getting seriously scared about God. No, I’m not talking about the fear of the Lord that’s the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 1:7; 15:33). I’m talking about getting so scared of what He will do when we first meet “eye to eye” in Heaven that I obsess about every little thing here on Earth.

In case you haven’t already looked at the verse using the little popups, it reads in the ESV:

So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.

Add to that Matthew 12:36, which reads:

I tell you, on that day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak.

Mix well with tons of legalism, and you get one paranoid Christian!

Once again, though, chopping up the Bible into little bits and trying to piece them back together into what I call “Scripture Slaw” produces an inaccurate representation of God’s truth. Take a look at all of Romans 14 to get the context, as well as more of Matthew 12.

Consider †his: giving an account of what we did doesn’t remove God’s view of our lives as though we lived Jesus’ life.

We have no condemnation in Christ (Romans 8:1). Even though we still sin, God’s grace reigns. (That’s not a license to sin, though, as Paul addresses elsewhere in Romans, 1 Corinthians, and other letters.) The judgement those in Christ go through won’t include a stern-face God shaking His finger at us like naughty children, demanding we squirm as we try to given an excuse for the inexcusable, as we are shown our failures when our best wasn’t “good enough.”

This particular fear was something I have had for decades, I just recently realized. I don’t recall what false teaching I heard early in my days in Christ that supported this thought, but it has partially paralyzed me spiritually until recently.

Normally a “good blogger” would ask a question to engage comments from the readers at this point. All I’m going to do this time, though, is ask you simply to consider what I’ve said, and ask that you pass it on to those who might be stuck in the same trap as I’ve been. Also pray for them, and for me, for continued freedom from this paralysis of fear. Thank you.

Daredevil Evangelism

I have to share with you (with permission) an email my wife sent to our pastor today. First, let me set the stage a bit. My wife, Joy, underwent surgery this past Tuesday, June 28. That day & this morning she has been running a mild fever, hasn’t had much energy, has felt the pain of the incisions made, and has been constipated. (My apologies to those who just yelled, “TMI!” That detail is important.)

Let me let her describe what happened today:

Praising God that I'm doing GREAT!!!!! No more high temps praise God! I'm so excited because I had an awesome, awesome God opportunity today. This afternoon around 3:00 there was a knock at my door. I opened the door and it was two Mormon young ladies. I invited them in from the rain and the Holy Spirit took over from there. When the introductions were out of the way I began sharing my testimony of how God has grown me in my faith through trials.

As I shared with these ladies they told me they were amazed by the faith I had and the joy I showed in talking about Christ. I shared with them miracles God had done in my life also, but this was just the icebreaker. We started getting into God's Word and talking about how God knew us before we were born and how He already knew what His plans would be for us.

I shared with them Jeremiah 29:11 of how God knew the plans He had for us, of how He would prosper us and not harm us but give us a hope and a future. I went further to say as we seek Christ we will find Him. I shared how the Holy Spirit showed me how to apply this verse in my life. As I shared with these ladies I could sense in my heart that God was doing something.

We talked about Salvation how each person has a choice to accept or reject Christ's love and forgiveness that He paid by dying on the Cross. As I shared with these ladies about Hell I said it was never meant for Christians but it was for Satan, his angels and demons. Talking about Heaven I shared with them what you've been teaching on Sundays.

Before they left they asked if they could come by again I said sure. I was bold and told them I wanted to know how they came to know Christ. I also shared another important thing that you share so often it's not religion it's a relationship with Christ. I shared this several times as we talked. There so much more I could share but I'm praying for wisdom and guidance from the Holy Spirit through God's Word.

In part I’m reminded of Luke 12:11-12, where Jesus promises to provide what to say when we are in front of those who would judge us. I think more, though, of Proverbs 3:5-6.

What’s interesting here is that, under normal circumstances, Joy probably would not have been home when these two women came by. Only because she was recovering from surgery, and still had some ill side effects, was she at home.

Consider †his: You never know what circumstances God will use.

Several months ago I listened to pastor James MacDonald. I'm honestly no big fan of his style, but it was on a radio station I trust, so I listened. Besides, it was near the end of his particular segment. He mentioned in passing that he wasn’t interested in seeing someone’s stamp collection, but what that person was doing for Christ. I found him on Twitter, and asked him why he thought God couldn’t use a person’s stamp collection for His glory. The pastor’s response was that “God can use a horse’s ass,” but it’s better to use the right tools.

Apparently Pastor MacDonald doesn’t want to leave God open to using what He wishes to use.

God chose to use something that I thought was bad and undesirable for good instead.

Oh, and the TMI earlier? All of her symptoms, other than the expected tenderness of the incisions, disappeared shortly after these two ladies left.

Coincidence? Or God-incidence?

God's Timing, His Grace, and What Comes In-Between

When I first started this blog, I didn't want it to be about me. I wanted it to be about God. I wanted it to be about what I would discover in His Word.

Something got in the way, though, and only recently have I discovered what it has been.

Shortly after that I started reading a book by Anne Jackson, Permission to Speak Freely. The book's official release was yesterday, August 31, 2010, but I've had a copy, courtesy of Amazon.com, since around the 18th of August. This book has hit me square at the core of my being in so many ways and for so many reasons. I have said on Facebook and Twitter that it's required reading for every Christian.

But that's not why I'm writing this.

There's a couple of chapters in the book on the Prodigal Son. It relates to Anne's overall story, of course, but one paragraph just burst through every sense I have. I need to share it here:

Sometimes we've been churches that preach a grace up front for those who aren't Christians and grace at the end for those who follow the rules and are "good Christians," but we've tragically neglected the people in between. The truth is that none of us, even on our best, "holiest" days—the days we don't cuss or look at porn or yell at our spouse or at the idiot who cut us off in traffic—even our best days aren't holy enough to be looked at by God.

That's why there's the Cross. And that's why we all need it for both our brokenness and our righteousness.

I cannot express how close to home this is to me. For the past 4 years I've lived in fear that, even though I'd be in Heaven, that I had failed in so many "responsibilities" and "obligations" in life that I'd be the one who was saved "as if through fire" (1 Corinthians 3:11-15). I imagined myself as being the "bum in Heaven." I'd be clean, but where others had great mansions or rooms, I'd have a little shack at the bottom of the hill.

You see, I've blown many of the "responsibilities" I'd been told God imposes on us. I'm not a father, and according to a former pastor and Dennis Rainey, that's not God's will. My wife and I are under heavy debt, which is a bad thing. I could go on, but you get the idea. "Responsibilities" to me were negative things, not positive.

Well, I'm through that now, thanks to a wonderful friend who is closer than a brother to me. As Anne also points out in her book, sometimes the transfer from head to heart doesn't happen right away, and there's nothing we can do to force it. It took my friend to finish that transfer.

But why did it take almost 4 years to get this?

Consider †his: God is never late (2 Peter 3:9), but He can be "slow" by our standards. (See this link to a humerous but heavy article by James Watkins for some further insight.) His timing is perfect. That means that the 4 years it took me to comprehend the truth about His grace in my failures was for a reason! His grace is always sufficient for our failures and our transgressions ... even our open acts of rebellion at times (2 Corinthians 12:7-10). I was covered by His grace all the time! And now, after 4 years of numerous changes, trials, difficulties, discoveries, and finally healing, I can start to share some of this with my Facebook friends and here.

An immediate healing wouldn't have served His purpose, just like the man born blind in the Gospels had to remain blind for an untold number of years before he would be healed by Jesus (John 9:1-41). Even after his healing it was rough, but his faith was secure.

Why does God take His time? Because He knows better! No, that won't be enough for us at times, but that's OK; His grace is sufficient for that, too.