Solomon tells us that “a happy heart is good medicine and a cheerful mind works healing” (Proverbs 17:22, AMP ). God undoubtedly has a sense of humor; we need only look at some of the animals He created (it’s hard not to smile at the sight of a hippo, a monkey, or a puppy). Or think of some of the married couples you know: don’t you think God was smiling at the wedding as He looked ahead to the interaction of the wildly different personalities that will be living together?Posts Tagged ‘sin’
love covers many sins
In this meditation from By Faith Alone, Martin Luther considers 1 Peter 4:8, “Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.”
Here, Peter builds upon a passage from the book of Proverbs: “Hate starts quarrels, but love covers every wrong†(Proverbs 10:12). And this is what Peter means: If you don’t restrain your sinful nature and desires, you will easily become angry with others. You will be unable to forgive others easily. So make sure you curb your evil desires. Then you will be able to love and forgive others, for love covers sin.
humility and grace: free from “not”
8th in a series on humility
Last Thursday’s meditation on rest and peace was just what I needed. In the midst of seeking to grow in humility, I was wearing myself out trying to do it myself. It seemed like I was trusting God, because in difficult situations, I was praying, “Holy Spirit, help me not to say the wrong thing.” That sounds good, and it got me through the people problems, but it took a toll on me.
That subtle focus on not is the problem. It’s harder to keep yourself from not doing one thing than it is to do something else; as I’ve noted elsewhere, not doing is an anti-goal. Living out the prayer “Holy Spirit, I will speak when you show me what to say” requires less effort than does the constant monitoring of “I want to say this; is it the wrong thing? What about that? Is that wrong?” A not focus requires vigilance; we become gatekeepers of our thoughts, words, and actions…
the loving gaze of Christ
In her book The Open Door, Frederica Mathewes-Green writes about coming under the gaze of Christ, letting ourselves be known in the way that David describes in Psalm 139…
marked with an X
One area of prayer that I know I need to grow in is prayer for the nation, or more broadly, prayer for our culture. I’m a U.S. citizen, but through the Internet I can easily read the blogs of writers in the UK, Africa, Australia, anywhere in the world. And likewise, I can be influenced by thought and materials from anywhere. It’s a given — almost a cliché — that we live in a global culture, but it behooves me to consider this influence and extend my prayer to cover all the peoples and nations that can and do impact my life.
Through the kind of confluence that the Holy Spirit is so good at creating, this need for broader prayer was brought into sharp focus this morning. Let’s see if I can bring together the various threads and make it into a whole…
it’s good to feel bad
There’s a reason we don’t want to recognize our woundedness and sin and inconsistency. It hurts. It points a finger. It reminds me that I’m less than perfect. It makes me — oh, horror! — feel bad about myself. And as a culture, we don’t like to feel bad about ourselves.
Undoubtedly some will disagree, but I think feeling bad about yourself is a prerequisite for true repentance. Only after I was confronted with my incredible sinfulness and my utter inability to make lasting change did I come to a full appreciation of God’s love, mercy, and grace. I was caught in an addictive cycle of sin that I couldn’t stop, no matter how much I wanted to. I was miserable, and I realized that I was not nearly so wonderful as I had always thought. At the moment I knew God loved me in the midst of my mess, I fully experienced His grace for the first time. To use Card’s words, I recognized my woundedness…
a passion for sin
Two nights ago, as I waited for my water to boil, I read the Celestial Seasonings Peppermint Tea box (the boxes always have a variety of quotes, and this one was new). On the back was a list from Life’s Little Instruction Book, Vol II. The first instruction pricked my heart: “Pay as much attention to the things that are working positively in your life as you do to those that are giving you trouble.” I realized that for the past week or so (probably much longer), I’ve been focused solely on problems, faults, and sins. Last night my friend Jeff shed some light on this. He pointed out that what set the Pharisees apart was their detailed analysis of sin….
leaving behind…
I started reading Anne Graham Lotz’s I Saw the Lord a few days ago. Lotz uses the word revival to describe what she hopes to inspire; I would use the word passion. She makes an interesting point that Isaiah preached before his famed encounter with God in chapter 6, but he became passionate after seeing the Lord on His throne. As a modern counterpart to Isaiah, Lotz offers the story of Carole, whose already good life was transformed by a new vision of God and the resulting new perspective on herself. Carole states,
Revival, for me, isn’t about leaving behind what the world has to offer. It’s about leaving behind sin so that I can embrace the richer life the Lord has to offer…
Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version ®, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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