When He Says "Forever"

In the United States, statistics typically agree that one in two married couples will get a divorce. The percentage gets higher when we focus on those who have married for a second or third time. We embrace quick-fix, microwave solutions to problems that deserve greater attention–sexual intimacy on the second or third date, one-night-stands, broken promises. We are a culture indulging in reality television shows that promote men and women “hooking up” without acknowledging that sex creates a soul-tie; forever the two will be one in God’s eyes unless they repent and allow the delivering power of the Holy Spirit to create new life. The memories will always be there.

This is especially true in the church, where we swing on a pendulum between cheap grace and legalism. We either leap head-first into exciting our senses with the mindset of, “well, to the pure all things are pure” or we give each other a list of requirements tacked on to salvation that burden us more than what Jesus intended when He established a new covenant.

My point is not to make anyone feel bad; all of us have fallen short of the mark many times; I am simply trying to lay the foundation that most if not all of us have no real concept of “forever.” Instead, many of us exchange God’s version forever for Disney’s promise of a “happily-ever-after,” and wonder why life does not meet our expectations.

Without understanding that God’s “forever” is without reservation, without a pre-nup or safety escape clause, we cannot understand His heart in Psalm 4:3:

But know that the LORD has set apart for Himself him who is godly; the LORD will hear when I call to Him.

The phrase “set apart” here means “distinct, marked out, be separated, be distinguished” (Strongs H6395). God forever marks those who belong to Him. He knows them. They look different, not because of what they do in their own strength, but because He makes them look different.

Many of us have forgotten what it feels like to have someone jealously guard us (or, in turn, to guard jealously). While we do not want to hold others in a suffocating grip, sometimes our “open hand” is so open that we let our loved ones fall through the cracks.

This is not God’s way. He reserves us as a private garden belonging exclusively to Him. We are set apart, peculiar, reserved, guarded, distinguished, separated…His. Forever. We are pledged in marriage to a Lamb who will never back out on His covenant. He will always pursue, always guard, always love. He is never going to get tired of the chase, never going to give up, never going to get bored with us, never going to bewail the loss of “the mystery” that society screams women must keep alive to keep men interested. He’s never going to cheat on the relationship, and each new day will always be a new adventure.

This is His “forever.” When He said it, He meant it. He knows those who belong to Him, and He has been waiting patiently for His bride for thousands of years.

Have you said “yes” to Him?

here's to you

My apologies to all of you who regularly read my blog for the Scripture musings–this one is going to veer from my usual trend just a little. I saw a post by one of my mentors today that warmed my heart. She said:

…this saddens me…Men are commanded by God to “agape” their wives, (a complete and excellent love, as represented by the Father’s love for His Son). I hear very little of this and do not see it as a primary focus among Christian men. So many, satisfied with career success and academic achievement will see those pursuits burn up as wood, hay and stubble as they stand before the judgement seat of Christ.

Before you wonder why her statement brought me joy, let me explain that I smiled because God has truly blessed me with a man who daily shows me how much Jesus loves us through his maturity and wisdom when it comes to loving people. This week marks an anniversary of sorts–five months to the night when Jesus supernaturally placed love for him in my heart and set me free to embark on the most peaceful, joy-filled, sweetest year I can remember having. If you’re interested on a more theological study of God’s love, you might find this post from the archives a more interesting read. However, if you’re interested in spying on an open letter to an exceptional, God-fearing man (who may take weeks to find this…which is part of the fun!) read on. =)
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Love is patient….like the way you wait for me to exhaust a seemingly limitless supply of adjectives to describe a situation about which you are already aware. Have I told you how much I appreciate the way you just sit there and listen until I am finished? It means so much that you never interrupt me, even when you are probably tired of hearing details about a situation that isn’t really that crucial to begin with. And how about those six months you kept coming back and offering me unconditional friendship when I kept trying to drive you away?

Love is kind….like how you look for little things to do that communicate support. Case in point, how I came home yesterday and found all the magnolia leaves raked up in my back yard, and that beautiful orchid waiting on my doorstep. Or the way you have made it your business to track down the absolute best bug-deterring chemical there is to save me from spiders. Even beyond your delightful eye for romance, you love through serving and it blesses me constantly.

Love doesn’t envy…like how you have become my number one cheerleader. I know that when you offer a suggestion, you truly have my best interests at heart. You are such an example of how Jesus is a foundation of support for us with your quiet strength in my life. You encourage (and sometimes push) me to write and to spend even more time in prayer, and rejoice at the small conquests.

Love doesn’t boast…like how you are constantly giving to people and leaving me to find out from someone else. It has almost become a game to find out what beautiful, generous thing you have done for someone each week.

Love isn’t proud…like how you constantly point to the Lord in all achievements and endeavors. You don’t try to laugh off what you do with false humility; you answer with a quiet “thank you” and then go on to enumerate how the Lord has blessed and helped you in the process. You find greater value in hand-made gifts with sentiment than in expensive gadgets. You work harder than most people I know, and sometimes go underappreciated for all that you do because you don’t demand recognition or credit for your acts of service.

Love isn’t rude…like how I never hear you yelling at other vehicles on the highway or blistering someone with scorn for perceived stupidity. Like how you always say I am beautiful, even on those “self-doubting” days (especially on those days, come to think of it). Like how you never chastise me for how I feel, even when we both know I am going to decide my thinking is wrong within twenty-four hours. Like how you challenge me with soft-spoken questions instead of harsh reprimands.

Love isn’t self-seeking…like how you are quick to pray for anyone, whether you know them or not, without demanding that they know your name. The other day, I mentioned to you about some friends of mine who had lost their jobs, and your immediate response was, “I’m praying for them.” You live to serve, and I respect you so much because of that.

Love isn’t easily angered…like how you listen and respond calmly when we disagree. You have never insulted me as a person, never indicated that I was an idiot for believing something, never called me selfish or insecure, even if and when I probably deserve it.

Love keeps no record of wrongs…like how I never worry that you are going to throw some mistake from the past back at me. Ever.

Love doesn’t delight in evil but rejoices with the truth…like how you are quick to recognize an enemy attack and use your spiritual authority as head of our relationship to pray over me. You have zero tolerance for Satan’s efforts at deception, and are quick to counter his lies with the Word.

Love always protects…like how you have arranged to have the locks on all my doors changed. Like how you came over that night my outside light was mysteriously on (and the night I discovered I had left the front door unlocked all weekend) and walked through all rooms and closets. Like how you went to WalMart and bought new windshield wipers for my car and installed them without me even knowing you were there because I told you about how one fell off while I was driving down the road. Like how you make me walk on the inside of the sidewalk, how you filter things you have heard and don’t tell me things that could hurt me, how you apply yourself to think of ways to carry hurts for me. You have demonstrated this one over and over again.

Love always trusts…like how you never question my relationships with other people and you never demand to read my emails or text messages. And because of that, I delight in opening my life to you. When I can’t tell you something because it was shared to me in confidence, you respect my commitment to keeping my mouth shut and don’t pressure me to know. What freedom you give me.

Love always hopes…and our relationship is golden with hopes and dreams. Every day is a brand new adventure. Every morning I wake up and wonder what the first thing you will say will be.

Love always perseveres… Even when I told you (on numerous occasions) “we” would never be, that I didn’t “feel that way” about you, that I didn’t even want to “feel that way,” you never gave up hope. You didn’t pressure me and you gave me space, but you were always there supporting, cheering, dreaming, loving, waiting.

So I say again to you what I said the first time you told me that you loved me (and I wasn’t ready to say it back yet)…
–“I know.”

abominable reputation

Near the end of last week, I was listening to a sermon that referenced Luke 16:15. Jesus is talking to the people about the dishonest manager, who, through his shrewdness, canceled debts owed to his master and made friends with many people before he lost his job so that he would have someone to take him when he had nothing. He admonishes us to use our resources to live generously and make friends instead of constantly pouring all of our money into the latest gadget for ourselves.

The Pharisees did not appreciate His words, because they loved money; they mocked Jesus for suggesting that giving away was shrewder than hoarding away treasures in expectation of an economic crisis. It is at this point that Jesus turned to them and said (verse 15):

And He said to them, "You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God.

The word that arrested my attention in this verse was "abomination." Surely that was a little strong, wasn't it?

I went into the original Greek and discovered that this word was bdelygma, and is the same word to describe what Daniel called the "abomination of desolation" (Matthew 24:15, Mark 13:14). Furthermore, the word translates as "a foul and detestable thing," and more interestingly (to me, anyway), "of idols and things pertaining to idolatry."

Furthermore, the word that we translated "highly esteemed" is hypsēlos in the Greek; it means "exalted in honor" and refers to "to set the mind on, to seek, high things (as honours and riches), to be aspiring." So, Jesus said that that God sees the things we in our unregenerate state prize most highly on the same level as idolatry.

The Lord made this assertion in the context of man endeavoring to justify himself in the eyes of others. Although He specifically was referring to seeking financial honor, we often seek to justify ourselves in other ways. I've mentioned before that the hardest lesson for me is often keeping my mouth shut when someone has said something untrue or unkind about me. We also try to prove our "good person" status by seeking out opportunities to do works of charity for show, or even talking about a divine encounter with the Lord in a way that brings attention to ourselves. For example:

"Oh just let me tell you--God healed my foot this morning."

"Why, that's wonderful! Did I ever tell you He caused my leg to grow back three inches?"

"No, you didn't. But did you hear about the time He re-set the bones in my arm?"

...and so on. We seek to share in His glory, as if seeing the most miracles has anything to do with our own righteousness.

The devil tried to get Jesus to justify Himself in Matthew 4, saying again and again, "If you are the Son of God..." It's interesting that the last temptation he offered Jesus was on an exceedingly high mountain overlooking all the kingdoms of the world (Matthew 4:8). That word "high" is again hypsēlos to which we just referred as "highly esteemed." Satan took Jesus to a physical high place and offered to give Him a spiritual high place in exchange for His worship; Jesus, however, knew that to worship the devil in that place was bdelygma--abominable idolatry in the face of God.

The secret of being content in all circumstances (of which Paul speaks in Philippians 4:11) is two-fold; it involves being enthralled in the greatness of God on one hand, and losing all care for man's esteem on the other. The more I try to justify myself before other people (whether in arguing my position, gaining possessions, surrounding myself with "yes"-men rather than those who speak what I need to hear) the more offensive I smell to God; it shows that I care more about my reputation than I do about His glory.

Let's continue to make it all about Him.

Blessings!

Who You Are

They say You're bigger than we are--that to be able to shrink You down to our level with glib explanations would minimize the greatness of who You are. Does it sadden You, or anger You, or amuse You that we've made worship about us? Will we ever truly understand that it's always going to be about You? We jump up and down trying to grab Your eye, competing with our sisters for Your favor, naively thinking that will somehow give us greater standing in Your kingdom. Meanwhile, You look for the meek and lowly ones, just like Yourself.

Who are You, really? Who is the I AM who is so wrapped up with us that He would indulgently allow our self-absorbed lives to move about in uncaring oblivion of Your greatness? "i am....i am....i am" we insist, when, if we listen carefully, the hearbeat of creation is, "I AM....I AM.....I AM."

Recently You reminded me that we only know who we are when we see who You are. Too often, though, I spend my attention on myself in the vain effort to eclipse Your Son. You will not share Your glory (Stephen Venable's teaching blessed me so much this week--click here).

So let's make it about You today....one moment at a time.

Great is Your Name above all of creation. Holy and righteous, faithful and true, unchallenged in all of Your decisions, unequaled in all of Your splendor, You alone reign. Justice marks Your throne. Mercy is Your scepter. Love is the center of all You are.

You are He who is and who was; You were at the beginning, and You are beyond the end. From everlasting to everlasting You are established, King over the earth, sovereign majesty enthroned in glory.

Lion of Judah, Lamb who was slain, Morning Star, Root of David, Word who became flesh, meek and lowly One, Firstborn of the dead, You radiate splendor. You are the singing, dancing, laughing, shouting God. You never change. You never lie. You never sleep. You never fail.
You stand alone.

In You is all wisdom. You have inherited the greatest Name. Yahweh. Prince of peace. Lord of all. You have all authority, dominion, honor. You are without blemish. You are victorious in all You do.

You make the clouds Your chariot and ride on the wings of the wind. You thunder from heaven. You are good, gracious, compassionate--slow to anger, abounding in love. You are all that is holy, all that is kind, all that is beautiful.
You alone are God.

give me Your Name...

"What an idiot!"
"You're such a doofus!"
"Did you see that jerk just cut me off?"
"Why are you being so stupid?"
"Ugh--he's so annoying!"
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The pastor of the church I visited this past Sunday spoke on the tripartite nature of man. In the course of his sermon, he reminded us that everything we learn in life about the world, we receive through our five senses; everything we learn about God, He communicates to us through our spirit.

In the middle of it all, our souls seek identity, trapping our spirits in the fabric of self-consciousness. No longer are we totally God conscious, centered on His will (as Adam was in the beginning); instead, we are a product of the "I-will" oriented nature of Lucifer in Isaiah 14, which he passed along to Adam and Eve at the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The sense of self that was absent in Genesis 2:25 suddenly surfaced in Genesis 3:7, and we have been running around seeking identity ever since.

There are two identities competing to imprint themselves on our souls. There is an identity we receive through our physical senses from the world (reading magazines, watching television, listening to people around us), and the identity that God tries to communicate to our spirits. Hebrews tells us that the Word of God is the only thing that can cut through the self-focused nature of the soul to the spirit of man so that God can communicate from Spirit to spirit. What we read in the Word is truth.

Pastor Sino's message deeply resonated with something the Lord has been working in my heart for several months regarding identity. Revelation 2:17 promises that the one who overcomes will receive a new name from Jesus; and Revelation 3:12 promises the same man or woman that Jesus will give to him/her His new name. We thus exchange our identity for the one He gives to us, just like a woman who marries accepts a new identity by adopting her husband's name. People view her through the lens of her husband's name, for better and for worse.

The law of patents makes it clear that only the originator has the right to name the creation. We see this at work in numerous ways throughout daily life, from building names to virus strains and vaccinations. The same principal holds true in a spiritual sense. Only one time in scripture do we see that God relinquished His right to name all things; He gave this right to a man who was completely God-centered and God-focused before sin entered the Garden of Eden.

Therefore, when we take it upon ourselves to tell someone who they are without hearing the Lord's thoughts about them, we are presumptuously setting ourselves up in the place of God in their lives. The Lord uses people to communicate His heart and thoughts to other people, but we must always speak in line with His thoughts and His words about them. Just as a bridegroom does not take kindly to anyone insulting his bride, so the Lord will rage against those who deal with His Bride in any manner that is not tenderly loving.

This is why our words should heal, not hurt--why gossip is so dangerous to those who abuse others in the church (even behind closed doors); they invite the judgment of God on their lives for maligning the Bride He passionately desires. This is doubly true of those who dare to speak against His Jewish people (and since Jewish blood runs through the veins of many without their awareness of that fact, it's best to keep that in mind when talking about anyone).

With that in mind, I've started compiling a (by no means exhaustive) list of what God calls us. I welcome and request your input! I'll be updating as I discover more names... =) Bless you all!
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Who does God say I am?

1. Daughter (Matthew 5:9: Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.)

2. Blessed (Matthew 5:3-10: the beatitudes)

3. Beloved (Deuteronomy 33:12: "Let the beloved of the LORD rest secure in him, for he shields him all day long, and the one the LORD loves rests between his shoulders.")

4. Accepted (Ephesians 1:5-6: having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.)

5. Desired (Song of Songs 4:9: You have ravished my heart, My sister, my spouse; You have ravished my heart with one look of your eyes, with one link of your necklace.)

6. Precious (Psalm 72:14: He will redeem their life from oppression and violence; and precious shall be their blood in His sight.)

7. Beautiful (Song of Songs 4:1: How beautiful you are, my darling! Oh, how beautiful! Your eyes behind your veil are doves. Your hair is like a flock of goats descending from Mount Gilead.)

8. Lovely (Song of Songs 2:14: My dove in the clefts of the rock, in the hiding places on the mountainside, show me your face, let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely.)

9. Unique and perfect (Song of Songs 6:9: but my dove, my perfect one, is unique, the only daughter of her mother, the favorite of the one who bore her. The maidens saw her and called her blessed; the queens and concubines praised her.)

10. Fearless (Psalm 91:5-6: You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday.)
11. Satisfied (Psalm 17:15: And I—in righteousness I will see your face; when I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing your likeness.)

12. Friend (John 15:15: I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.)

13. New creation (2 Corinthians 5:17: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!)

14. Free (John 8:32: "Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.")

15. Loved by God (John 16:27: No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.)

16. Spotless (2 Corinthians 5:21: God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.)

17. Chosen (1 Peter 2:9: But you are a chosen people...; Ephesians 1:4: just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love; John 15:19: If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.) -- [I may be blogging about being chosen here in the next few weeks...]

18. Royal (1 Peter 2:9: ...a royal priesthood...)

19. Holy (1 Peter 2:9: ...a holy nation...)

20. Called out of darkness (1 Peter 2:9: ...who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.)

21. King and priest (Revelation 5:10: "And have made us kings and priests to our God; and we shall reign on the earth.”)

22. Enlisted soldier (2 Timothy 2:4: No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.)

23. Fruitful (John 15:16: You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.).....and bearing the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.)

24. Dead to sin (Galatians 5:24: Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.)

25. More than a conqueror (Romans 8:37: ...in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.)

26. In covenant and remembered (Genesis 9:15-16: I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.")

27. Blessed, especially when I bless Israel (Genesis 12:3: I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.")

more to come....