The Law, The Gospel, and Love

Scripture tells us that the Law of Moses in the Old Testament shows us our sin.  The Gospel in the New Testament washes it away.  The Law as it was written on stone tablets could be destroyed. The Gospel brings new life to all who will believe and it is permanent. It changes stony hearts to ones of flesh.  

The Law serves as a mirror to show us who we really are if we are brave enough to take a peek. The image before us isn’t pretty, but it is truthful.  When we look at the Law, we face a list of requirements we can’t possibly meet without a blood sacrifice. Thankfully, we no longer need to search for a spotless lamb to be slaughtered.  God supplied our once for all Perfect Lamb in His Son, Jesus.

Sacrifice: A nine letter word meaning grace, freedom, sanctification,  justification, forgiveness, life, and most of all Love.

So, I asked myself – Does my life give evidence of a permanently changed life?  Probably not every moment of every day, but even on my worst day, I am His; sanctified and redeemed. I am changed. I am living proof, not because there is anything redeemable in me, but because of Christ Jesus my Lord.

Paul to the Corinthians:

2 Corinthians 3:3-9   And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, who has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. Now if the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at Moses' face because of its glory, which was being brought to an end, will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory?  For if there was glory in the ministry of condemnation, the ministry of righteousness must far exceed it in glory. 

Could there be any better news for you and me?  No. 

Matthew 5:17   "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them." 

Faulty Premise, Faulty Promise

I always look back on a project, a party, an endeavor, or event into which I put time and energy in order to gauge how it went as to success or bust. If I determine it a success, then I sleep with a smile in my heart and thoughts of how well it went because of my best efforts. If I surmise that it was a bust, then agony ensues with what should have been done differently and/or what improvements can be made next time. Neither is profitable in every circumstance.  More often than not, we gauge our successes by the results we wish for and if they are absent, then we wear the label 'failure' or so stamp the whole event.
Why must man center everything around himself? Why do we measure success by the world's standards - whatever they are? We hold in our heads what an outcome should look like and if ours is less than, then cursed be our time wasted and energy given.  But...what if we are getting it all wrong because we started with a faulty premise believing a faulty promise?
2 Corinthians 2:14-17  But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things? For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God's word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ. 
When we commit our efforts to the Lord, He leads in triumphal procession...no matter what we might think of the fruit borne from them.  He never promised we would be successful. He only asks that we be faithful and obedient. Thankfully, we may never see a report card indicating 'pass' or 'fail' or even a check mark that says 'project completed.'  We do not operate from an earthly realm, but from a spiritual one. Rewards are yet to come.
God sees the true outcome of all we do.  So, the next time you host a crowd, but your meal is overdone, take comfort.  The next time you speak/teach/share a testimony of any kind and you can't remember where a verse is found or the right words to say, take comfort. When your best is just not good enough, know that God has prepared the outcome you might never see.  The truth is...your best and my best will never be good enough. He takes our best, our least, our worst and turns it into what will bring Him the most glory.  Be comforted by that beautiful fact.
So, put the magnifying glass down.  Quit looking for anything redeeming in what you do.  Instead, enjoy the peace that comes from knowing He will take what you and I offer and give it more meaning than we ever could on our best day.
This passage speaks to those who minister the Gospel.  For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. 
The faulty premise of thinking that everything done well yields success is based on a faulty promise that says everything will turn out great if we do our best.
Jesus took all of our failures and sins.  Romans 8:27-28 is His promise to make them good.
And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 

 "What seemed to be defeat was actually victory.  

The Resurrection morning was Hell's gloomiest day." 

Sinclair Ferguson

Do Not Despair of Texas Winters

No snow in the southern part of the Lone Star State...but we have sand.  No frostbitten toes...but we have wet ones.  No frozen pipes...but we have salt water to chase us.
There is something about the beach that calls my name again and again.  I share that love with my loved ones as often as I can.  Mae had never been to feed the gulls or chase the water and have it chase her in return.  I think her delight was mine - as has been the case with all of my grandchildren.
The birds hovered above Luke's six foot five inch frame and gathered at our feet as we hustled to fill their demands for more food.  We took crackers along with leftover red and green chips from Christmas.  They would eat everything but the green chips.  They just lay there on the sand as if seaweed.
Memories are best captured with a camera - especially as I age and forget all too soon what happened yesterday, much less last month.  This was a great day.  See for yourself.

Nerds, Chess, and Kemah

My son Luke, his wife YuJueng (Julie), and daughter Mae are here for another day or two from Salt Lake City where he teaches music at the university. He and his brother Lee have been playing chess on the internet and recently took advantage of the opportunity to play in person. Luke also plays others from Russia, Holland, Germany, India, and S. Africa.
Nephew Levi was just as intense in watching. (Sorry for the blurry pic.)

The other night, while we were dining in a Chinese restaurant, he was playing Canada. His pensive look says it all.

Mae had finished her dinner and was taking pleasure in her chosen dessert - a box of Nerds.  She offered me a tiny piece.  I was humored by the analogy: nerds and Nerds. (Luke won, by the way.)

I intend to learn chess.  If he would stop long enough to teach me, I would learn from Luke, but then I am afraid he would see just how slow his mom is.
Afterward, we ventured to Kemah to shop and watch fireworks.

Happy New Year!  May the Lord's goodness and grace be so very real to you in the coming year. His steadfast love endures forever! Praise His holy name!

December Beach Madness

People from Ohio can make you do strange things. Two days after Christmas we ventured to Galveston to walk the beaches and pick up shells, but when the kids saw the water, it was a beckoning beyond resistance...and they responded.

The temptation was too much to bear and in they went.  'Only in Texas' is all I can say.  While they did spend a little time shell hunting, it proved to be fruitless for the most part whereas the sea promised delights and smiles galore. Bless their little wet bodies.  As far as I know, no one got pneumonia that day.

It was a super foggy day.

Ricky and TJ trying hard to catch up!

What do you mean 'don't get wet?'

Hi Grammy!

Happy New Year!