Forgiven and on the transformation journey.

   
    Do you want to be perfect? Some doctrines teach we can be free from all sin. The definition of perfect includes such notions as flawless, without fault, essential in all detail, lacking in no requirement and possessing supreme moral character. In every age there are cults which promise perfection. In Paul's day the Greek Mystery religions enticed people to join in secret rituals to become superior to normal people in knowledge, spiritual experience, and moral attainment.  This desire to claim perfection and a superior state than regular folks is a popular illusion.
     Scientology is a modern cult cloaked in secret teaching only for insiders. The leaders isolate members on 6 month cruises to immerse them in hidden doctrines. This group claims to help people achieve immortality and a superior plane of existence. They target wealthy and famous celebrities who already tend to believe the illusion of their own superiority. It is very expensive to be involved and no one can question the authority of the supreme leader. It is not based on science, but upon the science fiction writings of L. Ron Hubbard. We must be aware of cults of perfection which only inflate the ego and fill us with arrogance.
     In Philippians 3:12 the Apostle Paul addressed perfectionism. The early Christians were being enticed by the Mystery religions. Paul denies he will ever be perfect. He compares himself to a runner in a marathon race. A runner never finishes the race until the course is over.
We never arrive in this life at a complete level of spiritual attainment or knowledge. We will only arrive when we pass from this human life into the presence of our Judge and Redeemer.
      In Matthew 5:48 the Lord Jesus does call upon us to be perfect as our Heavenly Father. This Greek word also used by Paul means to be fully grown up in our adulthood. This is the call of God to keep growing in wisdom, understanding, service and courage as long as we have life.  I can never become perfect. I am a forgiven child of God who is called to be fruitful and faithful. In the power of the Holy Spirit we can find strength to grow to forgive all people and not just react to their hurtful actions.
      As followers of Christ we have the summons to become like our Creator Father. This is a journey of growing in insight and self awareness.  The closer we come to Christ the more we are aware of our flaws, limited knowledge and faults. Instead of growing arrogant with spiritual progress we become humbly conscious of our need for His mercy. This is good news. We do not need to pretend to be more than we are. The Lord accepts us where we are if we have a willing spirit to serve Him and to be transformed by His grace. The Lord wants us to do our best daily to stay connected to Him.
As humans we will make mistakes, blunder and sin in spite of our best intentions. In His mercy we pick ourselves up and learn even from our wounds and sins. We are not called to be perfect in the way of this world such as Scientology. We are called to love mercy, practice kindness and walk humbly with our God. We can let go of this terrible burden of perfectionism right now. We are forgiven and on the journey of transformation to become a better person.
     

What is the cost of having it all?

    Our Lord's great test is recorded in Luke 4:1-13. What is temptation?  One definition is "to entice to do wrong by promise of pleasure or gain."  To entice is ,"to attract artfully or by arousing hope or desire." These dynamics remind me of the way Jesus was promised all the power, glory and riches of earthly kingdoms if  he would worship Satan. This is a huge temptation. Who would not desire unlimited wealth and power?
      Satan promises immediate gratification of our desires, sensual pleasures with no responsibility, fast and easy money.  Is this what our society means when it talks about having it all?
Power, money and sensual pleasure are all good creations of our Heavenly Father. Human desires are given by God in His creation. If we put these desires above the moral commands of God then we get in trouble.
    Satan promises us all our physical and ego desires will be satisfied if we will only worship him.  Worship is, "extravagant respect or admiration for or devotion to an object of esteem." In this regard some people worship the "Almighty Dollar".   Satanic rituals are not required to worship the Devil.  To be devoted to the Evil One is to practice deceit, admire his attitude of rebellion, and believe his promises.  Worldly people show in their behavior the belief they will gain more in life from Satan than from obeying the Lord.
    We worship Satan when we trust that he will reward us more than the Heavenly Father. Who has the most fun and satisfaction? Satan never created even one pleasure, all he does is distort and ruin our pleasures. Satan's big illusion is that success is delivered by following his practices. This means we will lie, cheat, steal, manipulate, con, threaten and defraud others to get what we want. It matters not who we hurt. Does the end justifies the means? Winning at all costs compromises our souls.
     Jesus refused by quoting Deut. 6:13, "You shall fear the Lord and serve him only." The context of this verse is to warn us about serving idols who will destroy us. We can forget the source of all our blessings is the Lord.  We can be blinded by our affluence and forget our Creator.  Jesus shows us that a humble devotion to our Heavenly Father is where true success and fulfillment as a person are found.
     Maybe Jesus was thinking of this time of tempting when he warns us, "For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" Matthew 16:26.   Jesus took the road of obedient self sacrifice so that we could gain forgiveness of our sins and eternal life.  He gives us true wealth and abiding riches.

The Journey of Transformation

      As we grow in knowledge and understanding of the Scriptures in worship and small groups remember though that religious education is not an end in itself. The goal of our study, prayers and fellowship is behavior transformed to be like our Lord.  In our humanity we will never fully arrive! But by seeking transformation we can make progress.
     In our spiritual journey we move from one polarity to the opposite. This direction from the negative to the positive is life long.  We are not transformed just by cleansing our soul of the negatives. We must replace them with positive choices and energy.
     Here are a few  ways we all can observe our progress in transformation. If we are honest we will admit we need more movement toward the positive virtues. Let me suggest the following tensions and directions.
      Each of these polarities  we can let go of the negative and move towards positive actions: from greed to generosity, from being controlled by fear to courage, from sexual lust to respectful honor, from bitter anger to merciful forgiveness, from a victim outlook to creative responsibility for happiness, from pretending/hiding to an honesty about who we are, from worry and anxiousness to more confident trust in God, from procrastination to an active fulfillment of present duties, from indifference to a caring effort to help the suffering, from self-pity to a joyful engagement with the present moment, from partiality and prejudice to kindness towards all people, from despair over past sins to peaceful awareness of forgiveness, from arrogant pride to humble awareness of need, from condemnation of others to compassion, from dictating to others to learn acceptance and service.
     This is a tall order for our fallible and frail humanity. The strength for such a journey comes not from within ourselves. It comes from keeping our focus on the teachings and mercy of Christ. As we focus our attention on Him then His Spirit changes us from within.
      2 Corinthians 3:18 gives us hope of being changed into better people as we keep the Lord first in our life,  "And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this come form the Lord , the Spirit". As we experience the transformation of the Spirit by investing in positive choices we will grow reflect the light of Christ in our world. We need not stay stuck in the negative past.

The Emancipation Proclamation

     The Emancipation Proclamation of Abraham Lincoln is 150 years old.  Luke 4:14-30 is the timeless emancipation proclamation of Jesus. He announced that he came to bring deliverance from captivity. To be a captive reduces our humanity where free choice is very difficult. In it we are confined and held under control. A captive is kept from becoming his unique self. Jesus wants to deliver us from this oppression.
     How can we be enslaved? Our liberty can be stolen by drugs, alcohol, pornography, sexual addiction, materialism, excessive fearfulness, or peer pressure. These destroy our potential and positive life direction. In  active discipleship Jesus can rescue us from self destruction.
     Social and entertainment media can capture us. If we allow every waking moment to be consumed by face book, texts, e-mails, sports news, political stories and TV we have no time left for prayer, exercise, worship and Bible reading.  It is an illusion that electronic media is more important than  feeding our soul. At the  2007 Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates said that his goal is to have our attention constantly, " Our ambition is to give you connected experiences 24 hours a day. The minute you get into the kitchen, look at that refrigerator, pick up that phone, hear the alarm clock tell you about traffic, whatever it is, we want you to have the information that you're interested in".  We are offered an endless connection with a barrage of  information over load. Even when I fill up the car there is a TV monitor on the pump that shouts latest news and sales pitches.
      We can make room in our schedule to enhance and feed our connection to our Lord. The tech world can be used to serve our Divine Master if used wisely. It is a danger to be controlled by social media  without being aware of it.  The slaves President Lincoln addressed were painfully aware of their oppression. We can be enslaved to destructive ways without awareness we are on the road to destroy  health, happiness, future and family.  A reckless and careless life doesn't demonstrate liberty.  A clueless and negative waste of time and potential brings despair.  Jesus aks us to stay connected to Him so we can grow in freedom that brings us peace and joyful accomplishments.
      For us to grow in freedom of positive purpose we need to stay close to God. Jesus warned that if we are not connected to His grace we will be as useless as a branch broken away from a life giving grape vine. "Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine... apart from me you can do nothing". John 15:4-5.
     After the slaves were freed by President Lincoln they learned quickly the necessity to work  hard to stay free. We also must be vigilant to grow in the Lord's liberty. This is a life long journey to keep watch over our hearts that we do not permit ourselves to be mastered by love of money, the tech world, or the moral wildness of our society.    Like Moses led his people from slavery to freedom our Lord yearns to deliver us from guilt, shame, and  meaningless into a life of joy and fulfillment.  He promises us, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." John 8: 31-32.  Do you believe you can be freed from the oppression of past guilt and failures? The Lord can lead you to true liberty if you will keep following His teaching. If we keep connected to our Divine Master we will not be enslaved to evil desires that war against our soul.





































gives peace!

Who Do You Belong To?

     In the musical, "Oliver", he is an orphan on the streets of London in the tough years of Dicken's novel.  He is rescued from hunger and given shelter by a a member of a gang of young thieves ruled by an older man named Fagan. The gang welcomes Oliver with a warm song, "Consider yourself well in, consider yourself one of the family, we have taken to you quite well, its clear you are going to belong!".  Sadly Oliver finds out  that he must pick pockets and steal purses to earn Fagan's room and board!
    The need to belong is a strong part of our humanity. When I was a prison chaplain at higher security it was common for prisoners to join a gang for safety.
The gangs were  based upon color,  city of origin, or ethnicity. They were Black Gangster Disciples, Latin Kings, Dirty White Boys, Mexican Mafia, or Hells' Angels. The gangs never did provide the safe place promised. Marked as a member of these violent  exclusive groups made an inmate a target for violence.
     The Gospel of Jesus answers our need for belonging. In 1 Corinthians 12: 13 it says, "For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body - Jews or Greeks, slaves or free - and we were all made to drink of one Spirit."  When we accept Jesus as Lord and Savior we become part of the world wide body of Christ.  This is a positive family of encouragement and teaching in righteousness. How different than gangs of negative energy bent upon the destruction of others. How different than gangs of deceit and violence to promote power.
      The body of Christ is found in the Upper Room Devotional each day. Members of Christ's body witness from African, Europe, Russia and Asia. Brothers and sisters share from all races and economic classes. It gives me joy to know the one Spirit of our Lord has baptized all these people of different languages to know His forgiveness.. When we feel alone in our decision to follow Jesus may we remember we have a family in Christ world wide. Our secular culture rejects the Lord and his holy moral laws. Find strength to know we are part of an international family which seeks to please God. In Christ we belong to the Kingdom of God which is everlasting and always relevant. In Christ we belong to a family of wisdom and positive examples to guide us to our eternal home.
     Who do you belong to? A political party? A racial group? An ethnic group? Of course we have these human identities but if made an idol they can bring division and hate. May we choose our greatest loyalty to the one body of Christ and to the one Spirit of Love who includes all different kinds of people who are disciples of Jesus.
    

Claiming the New Name

     Isaiah 62:2 says, "and you shall be called by a new name.that the mouth of the Lord will give."
What is your name? Who are you? The name we identify with can have power to control our actions.
When I was a prison chaplain many inmates had a prison name such as snake, kung fu, killer, gangster, bank robber,or slick. Their behavior in violent and devious ways which earned them the name. In a prison gang sometimes the leader gave a new name to a new person. The power to give a name suggests ownership and authority.
      The good news of Christ is His power and authority to give us an eternal name which fits our true identify in Him. Isaiah 62:4 says that in Christ we will no longer be called, "Forsaken" but instead we are called, "My Delight".  The prison names all tell of a forsaken life which is going no where but down. The name of "My Delight" means the Lord is overjoyed, carried away, and thrilled to call you His child. 
      Maybe this is what Jesus meant in Luke 15:7, "I tell you, there will be more joy in Heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance." The Lord takes delight when we turn away from selfishness to practice generosity, from lust to show respectful kindness, from arrogance to admit we need His wisdom, from bitter revenge to show forgiveness. This is the journey of life in the power of Christ who lives within us through His Spirit. He gives us power to overcome impulsive reactions and mindless attractions.  The path of life united in the Spirit of His resurrection is to chose to take the high road and the compassionate way.
Repentance means to share in His death each day as we face temptations to make reckless and foolish decisions. We must also die to the temptation of self-righteousness when we compare ourselves to others and entertain the illusion we are better than other sinners and really do not need the Savior's help. This is the arrogant self-delusion the religious leaders of Jesus time refused to surrender. When we are doing our best each day to die to sin's control and choosing instead to do God's Will the Lord gives us the name, "My Delight".
      The Lord promises to give us a new name if we walk with him in the path of repentance.
Our name and identify in Christ is lasting. Worldly titles and names given by others will all pass away. The Apostle John in his letter of First John 2:16-17 speaks of our abiding identity in Christ, "for all that is of the world-the desire of the flesh, the desire of the eyes, the pride in riches-comes not from the Father but from the world. And the world and its desire are passing away, but those who do the will of God live forever."  Remember that no matter what the world may reject you and call you worthless, in Christ you are a child of the King. Like the old gospel song says, "There is a new name written down in glory and it is mine!"
    
    

The Transformation Offered by our Lord in Baptism

      The baptism of Jesus recorded in Luke 3:15-22 impressed me how the Lord wants to energize us in this sacrament. Baptism is not magic. One inmate claimed he was baptized by seven different churches before his incarceration! Multiple  times this ritual is administered or in what forms guarantee a person will be rescued from destructive choices or behaviors. Baptism is misused by churches to claim they alone have the doorway to heaven.  Leaders proclaim that if a person was sprinkled, poured upon, or not immersed in their formula of words it is no good.  The age of baptism can be used against a person. If baptized as an infant or child some  teach that it doesn't count.  We must be careful not to be arrogant with the mystery of baptism. Methodists accept the validity of baptism done by other churches knowing that the Lord uses many different means to touch the heart.
     We all should be baptized. This is the Lord's command in Matthew 28:19-20.
This is a way we say "Yes" to the Lord's call to adopt us as dearly loved children.  In Ezekiel 36:25-27 baptism is described as the Lord sprinkling us with pure water to cleanse within and to change our hearts from stone to a "heart of flesh".  As a prison chaplain for 24 years I experienced inmates who had cold, hard hearts with no mercy. They were marked with tattoos of the skull and cross bones with the words, "Ice Man" on their arms.  Yet a few men sought the Lord in baptism to change their hateful hearts and developed a heart of love and forgiveness!
       In prison ministry I have baptized men by immersion and pouring water over the head.
In  Methodist churches I have baptized infants and adults with sprinkling. Some I immersed in cold waters of a Spring filled creek.  The important matter is the dedication of the parents or the adult being baptized. This is a public declaration of the commitment to follow Jesus. It is the beginning of a conversion of the heart by the Spirit. As a sacrament we believe the Holy Spirit touches our hearts in baptism in any way. We do our part by giving our best honest intentions to God to mean business about serving Him.
     The new direction of baptism needs to be acted upon! Paul said in Romans 6:1-4 to ponder this  commitment to stay away from an easy attitude towards sin. "We have been buried with him by baptism unto death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life". (Verse 4). We enter His death for us by turning away from a selfish and prideful lifestyle. We enter into the power of His resurrection by practicing prayer, group worship, generosity, self-control, and humility.  We exchange the "self-life" to experience the "Christ in me life".  We  never attain the full power of His resurrection but are given a special supply of His Spirit to keep us ever growing in transformation into His likeness of moral integrity,courage, creativity and compassion. As a true sacrament the Lord blesses us in baptism when we experience it with a willingness to change and to serve.
     If you are reading this post and want to pursue the Lord in baptism please contact me for discussion.  The Lord wants to bless you in taking a stand for Him.