How can I be Transformed?

Paul tells the Roman Christians (and us) in his letter to them (Romans 12:2):
              'be transformed by the renewing of your mind...'

Frankly, sometimes that seems as difficult to me now as it did when I first read the words as a child.

Paul insists that our mind is the battlefield in our fight to resist being shaped by society around us and so God demands the 'renewal' of our mind. (One version writes these words as "Don't let the world squeeze you into its mold"!)

Michael Frost of The Navigators says this:

'When the Spirit renews our minds, all of life becomes an act of worship. That's because the Spirit not only opens our eyes to see who Christ really is, but also breaks our hearts to see who we really are...and when that happens, we find within ourselves that there's this growing and nurturing sense of the greatness of God and the beauty of God's love...all of life becomes charged with the presence of God, and we find ourselves wanting to offer more and more of our lives to God as act of sacrificial worship....as we steadfastly focus on Jesus, devoting ourselves as His students and disciples, the Spirit renews our thinking and our behavior, and we become more like Him. He actually transforms us into the image of  Son of God.'

I love these words. They help me understand the process. I love the idea that "all of life" can become "an act of worship." And our lives can be "charged with the presence of God" and we will want to give  more and more of ourselves to Him.  

That's what I want to happen to me.

Father, please transform me into the image of Your Son. Help me focus on Him and allow Your Spirit to renew my thinking and behavior. I love You and want so much to please You. Amen.

The Promise and the Oath - part 2

The LORD promised Abraham (Genesis 15):

"I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it."

But Abram said, "O LORD God, how am I to know that I am to possess it?"


How can I know for sure?


Abraham, in spite of what God had already done for him, still harbored some degree of un-faith.

In the verses before this, when God promised him numerous, countless descendants, Abraham, the text says, "believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness."

But now when it comes to the promise of the land, Abraham does not speak with such faith.

"How can I know for sure?" he asks.

This is even more telling when we notice that Abraham addresses God with His Yahweh/Covenant personal title - LORD. The Name above all Names that was synonymous with Faithfulness.

"Even though I know You are faithful and true to Your Covenant, I still need more proof," he seems to be saying.

This display of lack of faith might have made an earthly parent angry.

But God patiently and lovingly gives him a further act to assure him.

"So the LORD said to him, 'Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon.'

"Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not cut in half....

"As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him....

"When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram and said, 'To your descendants I give this land ...'"


The Oath

God told Abraham to prepare a sacrifice.

When men made a legal contract in Abraham's day,
this is the ceremony they held.

Today we write out the contract, take it to a notary
and get the signatures verified. Or take it to the court house to be filed. Or to an attorney for processing.

In those days they held this ceremony described here in Genesis (and referred to later in Jeremiah 34).

The sacrificial animals would be divided and the two pieces placed opposite each other on the ground.
(The small birds were not divided, but placed whole on opposite sides.)

Suppose one man was buying property, or live stock, from another man.

The one initiating the contract would quote the terms, the men  would join hands, and walk between the sacrificial pieces.

When they were finished the deal was done.

Both men participated in the ceremony. Both brought
something to the table - property to sell or funds to buy it.


But this ceremony was different.

Jehovah's contract with Abraham was unconditional.
He was chosen by God for His mission and blessing.

Abraham had nothing to bring to the table.

God was promising, making an oath, to Abraham.
Abraham's role was simply to believe.

So God performed the ceremony with Himself, and Abraham slept in darkness.

Hundreds of years later, there was another ceremony
at Calvary.

God gave us His unconditional oath to save us and bring us into His family, through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

There is nothing we can do to fulfill that oath. It's all in God's hands.

Abraham slept in a "thick and dreadful darkness" as God performed the ceremonial oath.

At the cross as Jesus, the Perfect Passover Sacrifice,
died, "there was darkness over the whole land...while the sun's light failed" (Luke 23:44-45).


Like Abraham, we have nothing to bring to the table.



 

What is more than a simple promise? - Part 1

When God made His promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for Him to swear by, He swore by Himself, saying "I will surely bless you and give you many descendants."

And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised.

Men swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument.

Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of His purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, He confirmed it with an oath.

God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us, may be greatly encouraged.
(Hebrews 6:16-18)


Notes:

1. There is no One greater for God to swear by. We go to court and swear to "tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth."

That's our promise.

And then we add, "So help me God." That's our
oath. Two elements: a promise and an oath.

2. Those are the two unchangeable (immutable) statements in which it is impossible for God to lie: His promise and His oath.

3. Why both? Why a promise and an oath? God doesn't need to give us both. His promise is all we need.

Because He wanted to make the unchanging nature of His promise clear to the heirs of His promise(everyone since Abraham, including us) and so that we may be greatly encouraged.

Two reasons: to make sure we understand clearly what God is doing and to encourage us in our walk with God.

I notice here how patiently loving and kind God is.

He anticipated how doubt would creep in and distract us. How unbelief would blind us from seeing God's work. How fear would cause us to take our eyes of God's promises.

He remembers who we are.....


Remember Abraham?


God promises him:

 Look up at the heavens and count the stars -- if indeed you can count them...so shall your offspring be.

Abram believed the LORD and he credited it to him as righteousness....

I am the LORD who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of. (Genesis 15:5-7)


But Abraham, who followed God from his homeland in Ur all the way to Palestine, had a moment of doubt.

He said,

O Sovereign LORD, how can I know that I will gain possession of it? (Genesis 15:8)


What other words in God's promise would convince him? What wasn't clear? What more could God do the reassure him?

I am so comforted the see that God didn't condemn Abraham for His response.

God didn't answer in anger and tell Abraham to just forget the whole thing - go back where you used to belong and I will get someone else to work with, He could have said.

Or, I will punish you for not believing Me! Just for your sin of unbelief I will not use you to further my Kingdom, to rescue my people. You are toast, Abraham, I can't count on you! Why don't you listen to Me?

No, God did not say anything like that. But what He did do was provide a way for Abraham to witness God's confirming oath.

By that oath Abraham could understand more clearly and be greatly encouraged that His faithful God was indeed going to fulfill His promises.

He had the promise - now he gets the oath!


The Oath - see part 2

Grace - Is It For Real?

How Amazing Is It?

"When my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered, I was senseless and ignorant. I was a brute before You. Yet I am always with You. You hold me by my right hand. You guide me with Your counsel and afterward You will take me into glory. Whom have I in heaven but You? And I have nothing on earth I desire besides You" (Psalm 73:21-25).

  Only by facing the darkness and ugliness within us are we able to receive the glorious grace of our loving Father.

  The deeper the darkness, the brighter the stars shine!

  And the more I recognize and admit my sin, the more His grace becomes a reality, instead of just an abstract theory or dream we sing about.

  And then it can cleanse me and shape me.

  Only when I see the depth of my sin will I be electrified by the wonder of His grace!

 And maybe the greatest wonder of all is that He will never let go of me!

(No one is so bad He is out of  reach of God's grace, and no one is so good he doesn't need His grace!)

Going It Alone

If you were meant to go it alone then God wouldn't have put so many good people in your life.

Some to walk ahead of you to light the way, and some to walk beside you to hold your hand.

And some to walk behind you, learning from your example.

Some to encourage you when you're feeling down, and some to help lighten the load.

Some to simply shine a smile in the middle of a gloomy day.

Some to celebrate with you and rejoice in your success when good things come. Some to comfort you when life's hardships and troubles come knocking at your door.

Some to enter your life for a season and some to be your friend and companion on much of the journey.

Some to help you up, and some who will be lifted up by you. Some to give to you and some who will receive from you.

Some to annoy you, to test you, to challenge you, to frustrate you. Some to show you your measure of patience, kindness and gentleness.


All to travel with you on this amazing, adventurous, joyous journey called life.