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Here… have some poison…

/ Chris Courtney / Leave a comment

“Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” – Ephesians 4:31-32 (ESV)

If I offered you a bowl full of poison and a spoon, would you sit down and eat it?  Of course not!!  But, consider this… every grudge we hold, every ounce of unforgiveness, every little drop of bitterness is poison.  It rots our souls and kills us spiritually. 

Here is the problem, at it’s heart.  We have a relationship with God because Jesus came to earth to act as the propitiation for our sins.  Propitiation is a big word – a legal term – that means, through the act of forgiveness performed by Jesus Christ on the cross for all of us, our status is changed from utterly guilty to innocent.  Not only forgiven, but cleansed.  Our record is expunged in God’s eyes.  The Lord holds no grudge, bears no memory of the wrongs each of His children has committed against Him.

When we refuse to forgive somebody, when we choose to bear a grudge, we are not walking in the light of Christ.  In fact, we are doing just the opposite.  We are choosing to walk away from Jesus.  Every act of revenge – even what we think is the smallest word of unkindness uttered about somebody we feel bitterness toward – takes us farther from God. 

Don’t think God takes (un)forgiveness this seriously?  Think again.  Think back to the Lord’s Prayer, which you have probably repeated, and truly think about this one line:

“And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors” (Matthew 6:12).  (Or, if you’re more comfortable, “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”)

Jesus goes on to explain, “For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Matthew 6:14-15, ESV).  That’s pretty serious stuff.  That means our forgiveness hinges on whether we choose to begrudge others and harbor bitterness.  Is it worth it?

Unforgiveness does more harm to the one holding the grudge than the object of the anger.  It blocks us from giving and receiving love and grace. If we think about people we have known in our lives, who were the most miserable?  Those who couldn’t let go of the wrongs they felt had been committed against them.  Letting go can be tough.  But forgiveness isn’t merely a matter of passively saying, “OK, I forgive you.”  True forgiveness is a willful act of not only forgiving the debt, but forgetting that it is owed to you.  Forgiveness is choosing to put down the bitterness that poisons your spirit – indeed, your very being.

We are called to be “rooted and grounded in love” (Ephesians 3:14, ESV).  This leaves no room for bitterness and unforgiveness.  Jesus equates hatred with murder – says they are one and the same.  In Christ, there is life.  If you are feeling unforgiveness toward anybody, go to the Lord.  Ask for strength and grace to help you through, and revel in the sweet release of forgiveness.  Feel love and mercy swell up in your soul and bask in the joy of the glory of the Lord!

Watch Out For That Car!

/ Chris Courtney / Leave a comment

 “ ‘All things are lawful for me,’ but not all things are helpful. ‘All things are lawful for me,’ but I will not be enslaved by anything.” – 1 Corinthians 6:12 (ESV).

“ ‘All things are lawful,’ but not all things are helpful. ‘All things are lawful,’ but not all things build up.  Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor.” – 1 Corinthians 10:23-24 (ESV).

Grace frees us from the Law, but that doesn’t mean we are free to sin.  Grace frees us by changing our view from feeling compelled to follow the letter of the Law to wanting to love others and naturally following the Law thusly.  We are no longer motivated to simply avoid punishment.  Love now guides us to grace, because our minds and hearts are set on Jesus Christ and following the entirely selfless model He presented us. The Law (as laid out in the Old Testament) is a set of precepts designed to guide and teach us right from wrong.  Grace (as presented throughout the New Testament) is more a natural law – God’s non-legalistic way of doing things.

Not only that, but when we follow God’s precepts in love, we walk in wisdom.  Living a wisely-guided life benefits not only us, but others in our lives.  Wisdom and love equip us in our walk with Christ, enabling us to set a Godly example for others.

Look at it like this.  By law, pedestrians have the right-of-way.  However, one would not want to intentionally step out in front of a moving vehicle.  Why?  Even though it was permissible, walking into the path of a speeding car is definitely not “helpful” – to the pedestrian or the motorist.  The “natural law” of physics trumps the traffic regulations. 

By acting in wisdom and love, we put the betterment of others before ourselves.  It is important that we set the right example – for others and ourselves.  We never want to lead someone astray by our actions.  For example: you’re going out to eat with a friend.  You order a beer with your dinner.  Did you just sin by drinking one beer?  Not necessarily.  However, what effect is that one beverage having on your witness?  What if your friend interprets your actions as a green-light to overindulge?  It is far better to do without the indulgence that to risk leading someone to harm or offense.  Your witness as a Christian and your love walk are far more important.

“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved.” – 1 Corinthians 10:31-33 (ESV). 

Exercising our Faith

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It is a telling moment, one I believe to be both literal and symbolic.  Such is the importance of the event that it is the one miracle all four gospel writers recorded.  And it speaks volumes about the ability of God working through our lives.  It is the miracle of the feeding of the five-thousand, recorded in Matthew 14:13-21, Mark 6:31-44, Luke 9:10-17 and John 6:5-15.

Applicable lessons abound from the passages, ripe for gleaning.  For the sake of brevity, I will pluck only one for now: if we only look to our abundance – our understanding, our gifts, our treasure – we will miss out on what God wants us to do in our lives.  We need to see things as Christ does: through eyes of faith.

Let’s assess the situation in Luke, the most succinct of these four passages.  The crowd had gathered, and Jesus had taught and healed them.  They marveled. 

And they lingered.

And they needed to be fed.

As if Christ wasn’t aware that these folks may need physical nourishment at the end of a long day, the disciples tell Jesus, “Send them away!”  (I’m always taken aback at the temerity the twelve disciples so often display.  But that’s another lesson…)

How does Jesus reply?  “You feed them.”  Eventually, “feeding” the flock would be there job anyway (read John 21:15-19, which is really still another lesson altogether, but…).  Their response was predictable: “You’ve got to be kidding, right?  Five loaves and two fishes for five-thousand people.  And not a supermarket in sight.  Anyone else see a problem here?”

Jesus saw no problem at all, because He saw with eyes of faith.  All the disciples were looking at was their ability.  They were limited by what they could logically see.  But Jesus wanted to stretch their faith.  He instructed the twelve, gave thanks to the Father, which always goes hand-in-glove with faith.  (See there?  Yet another lesson.)

Faith is a stretch.  But faith is exactly what God wants from us – expects from us.  If all we ever do is rely on ourselves to get things done, we are limited.  Crippled even.  Faith is like a muscle.  It requires exercise to grow strong, even just to maintain.  Left unworked, muscle begins to atrophy.  The same is true with faith.

What’s limiting you in doing what God wants you to do?  Do you believe He would expect something you and not equip you for the task at hand?  Step out in faith with gratitude for the wonderful work God has planned for you, not concerned about results or success, but joyful that the Lord is being glorified through your faithfulness.  And many more than you can imagine just might be fed from your hand.

The Stability of Certainty

/ Chris Courtney / Leave a comment

Life is uncertain.  The news brings that fact into high relief on a daily basis (which is one reason I am personally avoiding watching the news these days, which is tough for an infojunkie like myself.  But that’s another story…)  If there is one thing people desire – crave – it is some stability in life.

Our problem is one of perception.  Our circumstances are all our reasoning minds see.  And, as faulty humans, our perception is faulty as well.  That is because, unlike God, we are not omniscient.  We only know what we know (and often what we know is wrong as well).  We can see the situation we’re in, but we can’t always see what the outcome will be.  Or, worse yet, we see a negative ending to our situations.

Let’s face it: we can’t control many (if not most) of the circumstances that come our way.  Now here comes the good news: we don’t have to be in control!  We can put our trust in God and rest secure that, no matter what comes our way, He is in control and working on our behalf, for “we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them” (Romans 8:28, NLT).

We tend to look at our circumstances, rolling over the troubles in our minds as they build and build and build into a mountain of worry and despair.  The solution is a change of mind: instead of focusing on life’s uncertainties, we need to focus on God.  Let go of the doubts and fears that paralyze us and put our faith in our source of stability – God, the One Who never changes:

“Whatever is good and perfect comes down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.” – James 1:17 (NLT)

Jesus promised us tribulation in our lives.  But He also gave us a solution to our malaise: “Take heart, because I have overcome the world” (John 16:33, NLT).  When we live by faith in God through Jesus Christ, we find our source of stability and peace in life.

Sufficiency in Service

/ Chris Courtney / Leave a comment

“And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.” – 2 Corinthians 9:8 (ESV)

Doing nothing is easy.  We can give ourselves all sorts of reasons not to move forward.  “I could never do that.”  “I’m not good enough.”  “I just don’t see how God could use me.”

If you have been feeling that gentle nudge to serve God in some capacity, don’t let excuses stop you.  Don’t worry about how well you will do.  It is God Who provides the results, so get busy!  Plug in and go about the business God is calling you to do.  Follow the prompting of the Holy Spirit.  Don’t let “I can’t” be a reason for not serving the body of Christ.  It is by the grace of God that we live and serve, not by our own power. 

Be obedient to God.  If what you are doing is His will, you will find His grace there.