We were created in God’s image

“So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them (Genesis 1:27).”

We were created to be unique

“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be (Psalm 139:14-16).”

In Christ, we are made new

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here (2 Corinthians 5:17)!”

We were born to stand out

“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven (Matthew 5:13-16).”

Lord, I confess there are times I accept the ways of the world for comfort or convenience.  This hinders your light from shining in dark places and blurs the distinction between myself and the rest of the world.  Help me to walk in wisdom so that my actions and words are always seasoned with salt and full of grace (Colossians 4:5-6). In Jesus name, Amen!

This is may be a difficult post for some to read, but the Lord has placed the subject on my heart. I will be ministering to myself as I write, and possibly also to some of you.

Most of us have probably heard the term “skeletons in the closet.” The phrase came to mind as I was watching a Criminal Minds episode with my teenage daughter.  The Season 9 Finale included a quote by Émile Zola that really did a number on my heart.  It speaks of the law of sowing and reaping:

“If you shut up truth and bury it under the ground, it will but grow, and gather to itself such explosive power that the day it bursts through it will blow up everything in its way.”

Sowing and reaping is a law of the natural world. Galatians 6:7  says,

“Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.”

Unfortunately, when I hear this phrase and verse my sinful heart is quick to think of the skeletons in someone else’s closet.  Sins committed against me.  But, when we choose to focus on the sins of others and not to deal with our own sin, that sinful root can grow within us and cause us to run far from the things of God.

“How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye (Matthew 7:4)?”

As followers of Christ, our heart’s desire should be to bring truth into the light.

“But everything exposed by the light becomes visible–and everything that is illuminated becomes a light (Ephesians 5:13).”

“Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves (1 Peter 2:16).”

Bringing truth to light involves confessing our sins to God and confessing our sins to others.

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).”

“Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective (James 5:16).”

When a brother or sister in Christ stumbles and falls, it also involves restoring that individual by speaking truth in love.

“If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would [an unbeliever] (Matthew 18:15-17),

“…speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ (Ephesians 4:15).”

Truth brings freedom. Scripture tells us in John 14:6 that Jesus is Truth.

“Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

As sinful human beings, it’s important to remember that we’re all doing life on an even playing field. Not one of us is without sin (Romans 3:23); however, In Christ, we have been set free from the bondage of sin. Confessing our sins to God and to our brothers & sisters in Christ helps to hold us accountable and build community.

“But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life (Romans 6:22).”

“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:1-2).”

The Lord may be teaching you the hard way, through the natural law of sowing and reaping, that there are consequences for sinful behavior.  Don’t let this set of circumstances cause you to become critical and judgmental. Instead, allow it to bring you closer to God.  Let it be an opportunity for God to increase your faith and learn to hear His voice.  God will forgive us of our sinful ways. He will heal us and restore our relationship with others and with Him, but first, we must allow truth to come into the light.

“Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free (John 8:32).”

Lord, I thank you for the finished work of the cross. Shower us with the liberating truth of the gospel and your life-breathing grace. Help us to trust and treasure you above all other things.  Give us a heart that is quick to repent when we are wrong and forgive when we are sinned against. In Jesus name, Amen!

 

“And so, troubled soul, the “much tribulation” will soon be over, and as you enter the “kingdom of God” you shall then see, no longer “through a glass darkly” but in the unshadowed sunlight of the Divine presence, that “all things” did “work together” for your personal and eternal good.” 

—Arthur W. Pink

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it (John 1:1-5).”

“This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us (1 John 1:5-10).”

Thank you, Lord, for sending your Son to cleanse us of all unrighteousness. Let me not be so quick to point out others faults that I am too busy to repent of my own sin. Help me to look to you as my only source of light when the darkness of this broken and sinful world starts to close in. Shine in me so brightly that those around me see only you.  In Jesus name, Amen!