July 17 Chapters 6-9

So, when I turned to the first page of chapter six and I saw the title "Calling the Corpses" I thought 'wonder who he's talking about this time?'. I knew it wasn't me because I am still alive. Right? Boy was I wrong and in a big way! The focus of chapter 6 is on Romans 3:21-26 but we have to look back at the earlier verses to get the whole context. The gist of it is sin, a breaking of God's law, is bad...you remember the whole "throats are open graves and their tongues practice deceit" thing. But what the Jews and Gentiles alike were struggling with, as we do today, is that our golden ticket to forever paradise in our Father's castle comes in the form of wholehearted faith in Christ as Lord and Savior, not in upholding the law, not in maintaining every facet of the ten commandments. Lucado describes sin as the univeral problem and death as the universal condition. This sin that infects our lives is what rots our souls and renders us dead. This is what seperates us from God. Some choose to deepen the expanse by jumping in with both feet and splashing around in it. Others choose to lessen the great divide by confessing our sins to God and stretching out of our comfort zones to be who HE wants us to be. As Margie says, there is a 100 percent chance of death. Inevitable, unavoidable, death will come to our bodies whether they are old and worn or whether they are young and agile but what of our souls? I believe with all my heart and mind that our creatures, our beings were created with an inate desire to worship. God put in us a need to worship HIM. So what happens when we try to fill this need with something else? Think of the other basic needs; food, water, shelter, and love. So what if I come across someone who is in need of shelter...and I offer them some bologna. Can they make a house out of it? In case of a blizzard, could they wrap up tight in it and stay warm? Or what if someone is in need of food? They have the kind of hunger where it feels like your stomach might eat your right leg if you don't give it something soon. Imagine that starving person chewing on the side of a four bedroom. Tasty?? Filling???? Satisfying??? I don't think so. The person who refuses God or doesn't know him to begin with is not filled or satisfied, there is a constant yearning or longing for "something more". So we are the corpses only Christ is calling for us, He wants to fill us with His grace, mercy and love. Can you hear Him?
Chapter seven begins with a laughable scenario from Lucado's own life. It's all about the car insurance company cancelling his policy after he had proven he was a very worthy client. In other words, after racking up a few blemishes on his record he was kicked to the curb. Is that the standard operating procedure in heaven? You sin one too many times and God says 'it's been real but you're outta here'? No way no how! I loved the part in Lucado's book that says Salvation comes from heaven downward, not earth upward. It's not about what we do or did it is about what Christ did for us on the cross. Salvation has been offered and it is up to us to accept it. God wants to make us right with him. How do we do that? Some might see God's grace as an invitation to run willy-nilly. The willy-nilly runner says 'If God is going to forgive me then why not sin sin sin'? The reality is that if you truly accept Jesus as the Savior of your life then you will want to please him and you guessed it, not sinning is what pleases him. I love this paragraph "My eternal soul is under heavenly coverage, and Jesus isn't known for dismissing clients. He is known, however, for paying premiums and I'm paid up for life. I'm in good hands with him." So my question to everyone and to myself is this: How can we truly accept or even begin to understand God's forgiveness of our sins if we are not willing to forgive others of their sins?
The next chapter talks of the debt of sin. We tried for a minute to put a price tag on various types of sin. You know, how much should we charge for greed? How about envy? Adultery should carry a really high price. I know where the price tag is for greed, envy, adultery, malice, for murder, idolatry, and hatred. The tag hung on the cross. It died there. We are paid up even before we need it. Our sin debt has been canceled. Lucado says that "people accept Jesus as Lord before they accept him as Savior". I completely identified with this. In my mind Lord has always been LORD and Savior has been savior. But unless we accept both parts with equal excitement and reverence we are missing a big part. I love these verses from the MSG translation of Romans 4 "When everything was hopeless, Abraham believed anyway, deciding to live not on the basis of what he saw he couldn't do, but on what God said he would do". God said he would forgive our sins and give us eternal life. Let's just trust him to do what he said instead of trying to do it ourselves.
Chapter 9 starts out by recollecting the 95 MLB season. The professional players were complaining and demanding more money, they were refusing to play the game until their demands were met. So the owners decided to allow anyone who was willing and sometimes able to play in their stead. The result: there were players who played for the love of the game, players who cherished their standing with each other, with their fans, and with the people who served them, players who recognized the privilege they had recieved. So based on that brief description, are you a professional player who complains when things don't go the way you plan, who demands that your wants be met, who tries to bargain with the owner? Or are you a rookie who came willingly to the field not because of the fame and fortune but because you love the game, are you willing to play when and where the owner tells you, do you consider your position one of privilege? If we look at Romans 5:1-12 we find all the blessings that will be freely given if you come as the rookies did. Some of the highlights: Peace with God, no doubt about it he loves you and accepts you the way you are; A Place with God, walking hand in hand with Jesus into the throne room; Sharing in God's Glory, which is where we will begin our discussion next time.

Ladies,Thanks for coming today. I think we are off to a great start and I hope everyone is enjoying the book and the fellowship. If you couldn't be with us today, here is a recap (based on my non-existent capacity for memory)...First we reviewed the parable of river and we all agreed that the chart on page 8 and 9 was great. We mentioned that we can all identify with the various brothers at some point or another. We are reminded through this parable of the importance of educating the next generation with a tangible faith. One that we can draw on when temptation is near. We agreed that the image of the younger brother submitting to Firstborn and being carried back home is of great importance. We are not walking hand in hand but rather we are being carried all the way. Okay...how funny and up-to-date was the talk-show with Paul? I have often flipped through the channels to see some sensational mud-slinging show and wanted to tell them how wrong they were, and why, and who it's hurting. I think Lucado does a great job of illustrating that in Chapter 2. We agreed with the statement that "every broken heart, every unwanted child, every war and every tragedy can be traced back to our rebellion against God." How frightening the verses from Romans that start "God left them and let them go..., God left them and let them do..., God left them and allowed them to have their own worthless thinking." God is angry at the sin in our lives. He hates it and wants it gone...like the smoking biker your daughter brings home from college...He knows what is best for us and sin is NOT it. As Paul says in Romans 1:20...we have no excuse. God has laid it out plainly for us and there is no excuse for that behavior. How often can I hear my mother's voice saying those same words..(not to me of course but to my brother) 'it was wrong, you know it was wrong and you have no excuse, there is just absolutely no excuse for that' (most effective with left hand on hip while right hand is pointed and the guilty party shaking furiously).We loved the statement that "Creation is God's first missionary". Of course there is a God who loved us enough to create such a beautiful place for us to be stewards of while we are here. A big bang certainly couldn't have planned the fall foliage in the Blue Ridge Mountains or the glaciers of white blue ice in Alaska. Some people, as mentioned in chapter 3, who delve into the scientific realm see the explanation of cell division or photosynthesis as proof that no God exists but we argue that it should deepen your conviction of how awesome our God really his. He planned for each green leaf to go through that process. He knows all about mitosis and meiosis because HE made them happen. How can you believe anything else? Could it really just be random? And while were are asking dumb questions Are you sure the earth is round and not flat??? Just like the cricket, do we assume that since we can't see the creator that there was no creator?We are reminded that we were all created for God's purpose. Not to be a dentist, a singer, or a candlestick maker (although I hear there is a big demand for them these days), No we are created to worship the One who created us. Our worship should lead us to the desire to spread the great news of salvation and the great news that the world is not random...that we are not random. We have a purpose. I love when Lucado writes "They opt to be a human "doing" rather than a human "being". Who they are is what they do; consequently they do a lot." Isn't that how we feel? Where is my identity? How often do we introduce ourselves by stating our names and what we do, or whose mom we are? How about this? Hi I'm Susie and I'm a child of God. Okay so it might sound a little hokey but seriously isn't that how we should define ourselves. Put our faith on our nametag and wear it proudly. Next week we will be reading chapters 4 and 5. Hope you are enjoying the book.

Whew! That chapter 4 is some tough stuff! Today we discussed two chapters, one of which is a hard pill to swallow for a lot of us. "Godless Judging" even the title sounds ominous. Lucado begins the chapter by talking about Jeffrey Dahmer and his conversion to Christianity. We, like Lucado, struggle with this concept, that someone "as bad as Dahmer" can reap the benefits of heaven by repenting and putting his faith in Christ....after all he has done! Most of us have a Jeffrey Dahmer in our lives, maybe he didn't slice us up on the outside but he cut really deep, straight to the core, on the inside. We struggle with the "f" word...Forgiveness. How can I forgive so and so for this and that? It hurt so bad, it messed me up so I don't know which way is up, it left me not whole, broken. As I focus on what someone else has done to me, I tend to forget what I may have done to someone else. I also forget that Christ’s compassion on the cross is what mends the broken pieces of our lives, it is what binds us up and helps us face the next challenge. I make a comparison between my sin(stealing a penny candy) and their sin(robbing a bank at gunpoint). Mine wasn't so bad. I didn't even use a weapon! No one got hurt and boy did that candy taste good! Only God doesn't see it that way....sin is sin. (reminds me of the commercial Parts is parts)Surely I can ask for forgiveness for stealing that candy...no big deal right? God will easily forgive that. He has enough mercy to cover that little sin. But here is the good news, no matter how bad we mess up God has enough mercy to forgive us. He can forgive the bank robber packin a 757(okay I know that's a plane but I couldn't think of a gun name). If we repent and put our faith in Him, He will forgive us and wash away our sins. More good news, God, unlike homo erectus, does not compare us to them or them to us. That's why in Romans 3:12 we read, "there is no one who does anything good" because the only standard we are compared to is God himself. Lucado lists two reasons why God gets to do the judging, #1 We aren’t good enough. What a blow to the overgrown ego we carry around on our backs! He uses a moon jumping scenario to illustrate this point. God is the only one without sin, therefore the only one qualified to judge those who are sinful. We wouldn’t want the world’s worst ice skater judging the Olympics figure skating competition. We only want the best to judge us, so let’s leave that up to our Father in heaven. Reason number two is that “We don’t know enough”. I love the question “How can you dismiss a soul until God’s work is complete?” Maybe I should have some t-shirts printed up that say “Warning—Work in Progress”. God is still working on me and I am thankful that I am not being judged yet. We expressed our frustration about people in our lives who are making bad decisions and who don’t know God. But some of us are slow learners. It will take some people until their last breath to accept the reality that is salvation through faith in Christ. We have to wait patiently as God softens their hearts. It is not our time schedule, it is not how we would do it, it is not what we want for them. But then again, it’s not really about us and our wants. Natalie Grant sings “I thank God for another day, another chance to love the ones I love, to find my way”… and I say it’s another chance to live for God. All we have to do is ask for mercy and “by heaven’s grace we all receive it”.
Chapter 5 started off a little easier, on a day as hot as today I would jump in the boat with anyone who would have me just hoping for a glimpse of the water. Godless religion is often hard to spot. Some sin is loud and clear while other is sneaky and silent. Godless religion is one of those sneaky types. It is when we proclaim our faith not based on the merits of true faith i.e., trusting in God, having a PERSONAL relationship with God, and studying God’s word, but rather based on the symbolic evidence of faith like taking communion, being baptized, and carrying a bible. While those things are all fine and dandy without the other stuff, the deep stuff, the hard stuff, our faith is just surface level, not eternal. We don’t have to come from a long line of church-goers to be saved by grace. Paul is fussing at the Jews for trusting in a symbol rather than in their Savior. They saw their circumcision as a sign of superiority rather than submission. As Lucado says, the wedding ring is a symbol of love it is not the source of love. The cross on my necklace shows people that I believe in a risen Savior but if I take that necklace off does it mean that I no longer believe? My belief goes deeper than a necklace and my faith is more than a decoration. Sometimes these symbols come in the form of good works. There are some Marthas (read Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World) who do, do, do and do some more without stopping to be. Be with God, Be still with God, Be honest with God. Now don’t get me wrong we love a Martha who whips up a delicious dinner and is content to clean it up but what about the fellowship and friendship? Wouldn’t you be disappointed if you were asked to come for dinner and your host shows you to the living room and leaves you there. You look at the pictures on the wall, you test out the chair, you even take your sandal off to see if the carpet is really as soft as it looks. You are called to dinner, where you eat by yourself because your host is busy fixing dessert, and after dessert your host retreats to the sink to wash all the dishes. Now wasn’t that fun? Don’t try to do it all. Let God do God’s part. Now, we all have our part. I could bring the rolls and dessert next time so my host won’t have to worry with them. I’ll even offer to help wash the dishes. But next time let’s just talk, fellowship, spend some time together. Isn’t that what God wants? Put down your bible school materials, stop making a “To be Saved” list, turn off that TV evangelist and spend some time with God. What a difference it will make. (Of course this is not a charge to become a lazy bum, but we will get to that in a later chapter.) We also discussed how thankful we are that we can have a personal relationship with Christ. I am so glad that my faith doesn’t have to look like someone else’s. I have tried that and it is too exhausting. I was too busy watching what they were going to do next to see where Christ was leading me. ME. Yes God has an individual plan for each of us. Mine will look different from yours and that, my friends, is a good thing!