Yielding to God

It is necessary, when yielding to God, to yield completely to God.

There's a wonderful illustration of this in the 12th and13th chapters of Genesis.

"Now the LORD had said to Abram:
'Get out of your country,
From your family
And from your father’s house,
To a land that I will show you.'"
(Genesis 12:1)

God's instructions were clear, including the dictate to "Get out...from your family". But Abraham didn't yield completely to this command. He took both his father and Lot, and paid dearly for each offense.

He only got as far as Haran, which is halfway to Canaan. He could go no further until his father died.

How many times do we drag something or someone along on our way to pursuing what God has for us? Only absolute yielding will bring complete fulfillment of the promise.

And, as for Lot, strife arose between Abraham and Lot as they prospered. Abraham yielded to Lot (Genesis 13:7-9) and, after this yielding, God showed Abraham his inheritance:

"And the LORD said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him: “Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are—northward, southward, eastward, and westward; for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever."
Genesis 13:14-15

As long as we cling to what we think is ours, we won't realize what we are promised. We think we are prospering because of what we can cling to, when we are lacking because of what we aren't willing to yield.

It is the yielded spirit that gets the inheritance.

Yield to the Spirit of God. Hold, with a light touch, what you claim to be yours.

Discover as Abraham did that, when you yield, what He has for you is far greater.

Our Sinless Life?

Paul, in the ninth chapter of his second letter to the church at Corinth, is reminding the Corinthian churches of a gift they had proposed for the believers in Jerusalem. He ends this reminder with the declaration: "Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!" (2 Corinthians 9:15).

His reference to God's grace and the gift of Christ as "indescribable" is a powerful reminder to us of what was done to release us from our weighty sin.

There is much theological debate on original sin and on the subject of whether or not a believer can/should/must live without sin. I don't intend to resolve that debate. If the theologians have been (for centuries!) struggling with the apparent contradictory scripture on this subject, I can only conclude that this debate, like a parable, will serve to cause us to dig deep and examine the matters of our own heart.

If we side with those who say that a sinless life is necessary for salvation, perhaps our hearts demand an accounting of others' actions as we stand in judgment. Clearly, Jesus cautioned against this (Luke 6:37). This could serve to shame us in our own faults or lead us to pride. Many seem to fall (publicly) because of this stance. However, if we favor an acceptance of sin in the life of a believer, we settle for a lower nature. This liberality is dangerous, too.

I bear witness to the writings of one of Jesus' dearest friends, the Apostle John, in his discussion on the matter (1 John 2). He, at once, recognizes the pursuit of holiness as good while acknowledging our Advocate in the case that we fail in the pursuit.

At any rate, our gift to Him of a sinless life (however possible!) can never compare to the "indescribable gift" of His Son to us.

What Jesus Said, Jesus Meant - Turn the Other Cheek

^{Matthew 5:38} “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ ³⁹ But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. ⁴⁰ If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also."

We must accept the fact that what Jesus said, Jesus meant.

I don't believe there is any deep or esoteric message in this passage.

So many times we are RIGHT. But RIGHT-ness is not always the issue. We may feel like we deserve revenge, or to retrieve something that we have unjustly lost, but there is more at stake than that.

Jesus was calling us to a higher way of living. This translates into a daily discipline that includes disarming conflicts that we are entitled to win.

Consider disabling an argument that you should win - with love.

Proverbs 21:14 "A gift in secret pacifies anger,
And a bribe behind the back, strong wrath."

Win-Win

In our hyper-competitive society it seems there is a leaning towards every-day transactions becoming a battle, or at least a contest, that will result in a winner and a loser.

I see it over parking spaces, cash register lines, rights-of-way, government, purchases and, perhaps most tragic of all, discussions between believers.

This most essential community fabric - the family of God - needs to be preserved in one piece.

The concept of win-win must be held high here.

Consensus can be prized, not at the expense of what is right, but at the expense of one's own selfish desires. And consensus can be reached in a God-honored setting that acknowledges the worth of each person in the transaction.

The disciples disputed over their own greatness and were rebuked by the Lord (Mark 9:33-37). Instead of hearing their argument He set a child in their midst, endorsing the least to deflate the notion of the great.

The expression, "When we lift one another up we make progress at the expense of no one", is nowhere more true than in the family of God.

Take the time to lay down your self, your opinion, your preference, in favor of the glorious God-favored family.

A Soft Answer

Every once in awhile I get the opportunity of really putting scripture to the test.

It seems the scripture that has given me ample opportunity is this beautiful verse from Proverbs 15 (today's daily bread).

"A soft answer turns away wrath,
But a harsh word stirs up anger" (verse 1).

At some times I've intentionally given "a soft answer" and, at other times I've unintentionally given "a harsh word". And I can state with full confidence that this verse is true.

I like the number of times that we see Jesus respond with a soft answer or, perhaps, with silence. What an example He is for us of the Word Incarnate!

He came to show us God and, in that, showed us who we can be.

Thank God for the example of Christ in showing us that we are more than mere men, and that as James says of the way we err with our tongue, "My brethren, these things ought not to be so" (James 3:10). If they "ought not to be so" it must be possible to speak as Jesus did!

Let's not give up on a soft answer.

I'd love to hear testimony of when this worked for you. Will you share with a comment?

Oxen are Messy. Get one anyway.

Around my house we like to say, "you gotta' break a few eggs to make an omelette".

Solomon says it much better in Proverbs 14, verse 4...

"Where no oxen are, the trough is clean;
But much increase comes by the strength of an ox."

The point is this: You can keep things nice and tidy if you want. You can lead a simple life and not make any waves. You can stay home, watch TV and eat bon-bons all day and probably not make any trouble for yourself. But the increase will not be of the desirable type.

Or, you can get an ox. Things are gonna' get a little messy, but you'll get some real work done.

I believe this speaks to our partnership with God in advancing the work of the Kingdom. The only commission we receive in all of scripture is to “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature" (Mark 16:15). You need to leave the sofa to do that.

That gets a little messy, but do it anyway.

Sin and Forgiveness

God established laws and principles to guide us in proper relationship with Him. Violation of these laws and principles makes our relationship with Him impossible or, at best, meaningless.

Sin allures with attractive promises, but gives nothing good. It is never satisfied.

It is an aggressive and progressive disease (James 1:14-15) that is accompanied by a constant babel that leads us to become deaf to the voice of our own conscience. What was not OK yesterday becomes OK today. Sin "bends" us to a shape that accommodates more sin. One Hebrew word translated as "sin" actually means "bent".

Romans 6:23 makes it clear that the only satisfactory price for sin is death. Death and only death can answer sin. No one can pay and survive. In fact, although blood is necessary to reconcile sin, our own blood is not good enough. Otherwise, bloody execution of the guilty would satisfy their debt.

Only the shed blood of a perfect sacrifice is sufficient to cover sin. Jesus was such a sacrifice.

Matthew 26:28 "For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins."

Our acceptance and identity with His work settles our account. It is finished (John 19:30).

Another Hebrew root to the word "sin" is "turbulence". Isaiah makes reference to this in chapter 57, verse 20, "But the wicked are like the troubled sea, When it cannot rest, Whose waters cast up mire and dirt."

Forgiveness calms our personal storm, by allowing the proper relationship with our Father to be restored.

Free from guilt, we must be people who understand what has been done for us.


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