Coffee

“...if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; 

behold, the new has come.”  2 Corinthians 5:17

This verse has always bothered me. I want to change the words to:

“If anyone is in Christ he begins to be better.” Or,

“If anyone is in Christ his behavior is perfect.”

According to this verse, at the moment of salvation something happens.

The old passes away and the new comes. At salvation I looked the same 

and I don’t think my behavior changed. The triggers that made me mad were

still there.

God told Adam and Eve that if they ate from a certain tree they would surely

die, but they did not die for another 900 or so years. Did God tell the truth?

Yes, because something deep inside of them died, that something called  

spirit; no longer could they walk and talk to God in the Garden. That dead

part of them has been passed down through the generations. No amount of

good works, nice thoughts, or successful living can change it. This is why

the law of Moses was fundamentally flawed in terms of salvation. BUT, 

when we accept into ourselves what Christ did for us on the cross, that dead 

thing comes alive! From this point on, no matter what our behavior, 

we ARE a new creation.

What does this have to do with coffee? Plenty! But you will have to wait

until tomorrow’s post. 

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The Man Had Tears In His Eyes

Sometime ago I met a man who had grown up in an Orthodox Jewish

home. He had burned out on the law in his twenties so when he heard

the good news that Jesus had paid the whole price, he came to trust in

Jesus as his Savior. He carried a worn New Testament with him but it 

was the book of Galatians that was dogeared. When I asked him what

verses he liked he shared this with me:

“For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written,

‘cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book

of the law and do them.’” Now it is evident that no one is justified before

God by the law for ‘the righteous shall live by faith.’ But the law is not of

faith, rather, ‘the one who does them shall live by them.’ Christ redeemed

us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us--for it is written

‘cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree--’”  (Galatians 3:10-13)

These verses are indeed amazing but I could not see why this man had

tears in his eyes as he shared them with me. I did not “get it” at the time. 

I thought that he was a nutty, uneducated individual who did not yet 

understand how much work it took to be a Christian! Inside I questioned

his faith.

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Performance

Moses was the lawgiver--laws he could not keep.

Jesus is the law fulfiller--He fulfilled the law, all of it, the whole thing.

To Fulfill means: To accomplish; to complete; to perform what is 

required.

Jesus said this to his disciples in the Sermon on the Mount:

“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.” Matthew 5:11

Since my blog on Moses I have wrestled with what Jesus accomplished

for us on the Cross and how to bring it to you, the reader. As Christians

we have heard the words but do we embrace the gift of a fulfilled law?

Jesus performed what was required in the law, so I do not have to perform 

to get God’s OK. THIS IS HUGE!

“For Freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm, therefore, and do not

submit again to a yoke of bondage.”  Galatians 5:1

Moses

We have been looking at a Psalm of Moses over the past few weeks.

He is the man who got the Ten Commandments that no one has been

able to keep--including Moses!  I wonder what it was like for the 

Israelites when Moses explained things?

“God says you have to obey all of these laws exactly!” 

“No excuses!”

“You better get it right the first time because you don’t get a second

chance!”

“If you fail to keep the whole law, God will be angry with you.”

The penalty for NOT keeping all of the Commandments was death--

unless there was a blood sacrifice, but the blood of animals did not blot 

out the sin, only covered it. No one knew for sure if he would be accepted

by God and whether they had done enough to win His pleasure. What a 

mess!  

I hear Christians today wondering if they have done enough to please God. 

Has nothing changed?

Clouds of Glory!

Last evening I was outside watering and my eyes traveled 

toward the light above me. The billowing clouds were radiant

with reflected light from the sun. The golden colors shimmered

and changed over the next 90 minutes. I have never seen a 

sunset that continued to flow in beauty for this long. The last

half hour found me sitting and drinking in God’s glory. The huge

cloud above was laced with gold, but the center of the cloud was

translucent in color. How can I describe it? I could also see light 

from the hidden sun streaming up and away across the sky above

the cloud. Lightning flashed inside of the cloud and I could not help but

think of the soon return of our Lord.

“Behold, he is coming in the clouds...” (Revelation 1:7)

“...then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds 

with great glory.” (Mark 13:26)

“Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together

with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air...”

(I Thessalonians 4:17)

By the way, as I was watching the sky I suddenly realized that I

was being watched. A Hummingbird was poised just in front of

my face, and, for a few seconds I looked right into her tiny face.

Last evening was quite a show! And, it was free. I had the sense

that my Papa God was showing off just for me! He does that, you

know.

The Finish Line

We are coming down to the finish line. I never intended

to do a “superficial” meditation on this psalm, but it has

unfolded in my own time with God. I use the term, “superficial,”

because I have truly only scratched the surface but pray that

you, the reader, will read it yourself and receive additional insights.

“Let your work be shown to your servants,

and your glorious power to their children.”

“Let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us,

and, establish the work of our hands upon us;

yes, establish the work of our hands.”

Ps 90:16, 17

How often I rush past His work with hardly a glance. My mind

tends to wander as a walk, drive, or water the garden. I miss the

majesty of the clouds at sunset, or how the light filters through 

the trees in the early morning. His glory is manifested all around

me, but I need Him to reveal it to me. 

Question: How important is it that our children and grandchildren

embrace the glorious power of their creator God?

I like the next verse and how the psalmist asks that God’s beauty,

or favor rest upon him. It appears that God is the giver, but not 

necessarily seen by the recipient.

Verse 16 mentions God’s work and verse 17 deals with man’s work,

or in personal terms, my work. I am made in God’s image and deep

in my heart I want my work to be eternal not just temporal in scope.

God needs to be the One who gives my work meaning and the fact 

that Moses repeats it twice indicates how important this is to him also.

He Satisfies My Soul

“Satisfy us in the morning with your

steadfast love,

    that we may rejoice and be glad all

our days.

Make us glad for as many days as you

have afflicted us,

    and for as many days as we have seen

evil.

(Psalm 90:15,16)

Out of the cry of the soul comes the realization that

God and God alone can satisfy--come what may.

True peace never comes out of circumstances, 
but turning toward God provides satisfaction 
in the midst of the circumstances. God’s sovereignty 
is hidden within these verses. No, God does not afflict, 
but He permits it. The important thing in these verses 
is that God can give joy and gladness in the midst of pain; 
in the midst of evil.

My Dear Papa, 

I love You, because You first loved me! You were satisfied 

with me at my birth before I did anything to give You love. 

In these verses I am reminded that circumstances do not 
have to determine my emotional state. Lately I have been 
looking at what I don’t have in my life instead of looking at 
what I do have--YOU. So, this morning I sit with You. 
I am so grateful for this blog which calls me back each 
day to the place where I can focus on You instead of 
circumstances and say with all my whole being,

“You satisfy me!”

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