I’m going to be brutally honest and tell on myself…
When I was a kid I used to love to hear someone get up and give their testimony. Mainly because I am a good Baptist girl who has grown into a good Baptist woman and I’m nosey. Now, before you grab your ladder to climb your high horse, watch out for that speck in your own eye! Let’s face it, as women we love, I mean lurve, a good story don’t we? It seems that all of our senses are heightened when we are on the verge of an important piece of information. I do want to clarify. I’m not talking about mean-spirited, dragging -someone’s- personal- life- through- the- mud –for- the- purpose- of- my- own- satisfaction story. There is a difference between gossip and nosiness, although the two usually run close together so be careful! Anyway, I’m talking about people giving their life stories, finding out the details of an engagement or news of a long awaited pregnancy. I just love the details. Lord help me, I am detailed down to the ridiculous. My poor husband has learned over the years to trade in the common “yes” and “no” answers for more adjectives and run on sentences..he’s a good man and he’s worn down!
Anyway, back to testimonies. One thing that always intimidated me was that I never felt like I had a really GOOD testimony. I would hear these people talk about serious drug addiction, alcohol abuse, eating disorders and all manner of prodigal living and think to myself, “Well, I’ve just been saved, that’s all.” It almost seemed like the more grievous the sins, the closer to God! So, whenever someone would ask me to give my testimony I would get very uncomfortable because I wasn’t sure what that was. I didn’t have a great story. I hadn’t been a homeless runaway with any addictions and tattoos in unmentioned places. I had been a Pastor’s daughter that was raised in church and saved at age 5. Then it dawned on me, most of these stories were glorifying the sin and drawing attention to self instead of God.
From there, I began to really think about the word testimony. Most of the time when we hear the word testimony we think bio with a little bit of Jesus on the side. You know, my name is Stephanie, I am thirty-something years old, I am married to Kraig, two kids etc; However, the literal translation of the word testimony is “witness or bearing witness.” The word testify and testimony can also be translated, “someone who has personal and immediate knowledge of something.” That’s when the Holy Spirit gently pressed in on me, “your testimony is your witness to the truth of the gospel in your life!” So, basically, how does my life witness to the truth of Jesus? The reality is that according to scripture, we are all totally depraved and wayward before the cross. There is a wonderful saying that brings this home, “It’s all level ground at the cross.”
So, it really doesn’t matter what my sins were before the cross; it matters that they are forgiven in Christ. The glorious reality of the gospel in my life is what takes place AFTER salvation. You know what? That’s when it gets good! That’s when you hang on the edge of your seat to see the unspeakable mercies and indescribable grace of a Savior who continues to shut our mouths in awe! So, for the record, I’m going to give you a brief testimony as a witness to the truth of the gospel in my life by saying this, “Jesus me who I am NOT!”
“I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus, that in everything you were enriched in Him in all speech and all knowledge, even as the TESTIMONY concerning Christ was confirmed in you, so that you are not lacking in any gift, awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will also confirm you to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians 1:4-8
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Jesus plus....
It once was said, I believe, by A.W. Tozer, that “what we think of God reveals more about us than anything else.” When I begin to ponder the glories of Jesus I feel totally inadequate to write words that do Him justice. He is like a diamond of the highest quality that reflects light from each facet. Just when you think that you have studied the diamond thoroughly, you turn it, only to find a thousand new prisms to delight in! Indeed Jesus is the Jewel of Heaven. He is our inheritance that Peter says is “imperishable, undefiled and unfading”. Why should we think that if earthly treasures such as gold, silver and material possession do very little to satisfy us for any length of time that our eternal inheritance would be made of the same substance? We look at our eternal inheritance through fleshly, sinful desires and believe the lie that the things that we crave that are passing away will somehow delight us for all eternity. As the apostle Paul has said, “May it never be!”
The thing that will keep us satisfied for all eternity is “much more precious than gold.” It has more facets of beauty than any jewel brought forth from nature. In Colossians it states that “in Christ Himself..are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” Jesus is the fullness of God in bodily form and He is enough to satisfy for all eternity being our Living Water, the Bread of Life, the Light of the World, the Good Shepherd, the True Vine, the Way, the Truth, the Life and the Resurrection. These are all of the “I Am” statements that Jesus proclaimed about Himself. In Himself he provides for our physical needs, our emotional needs and our spiritual need!
Often times I fall into the trap of looking forward to all of these things. I look ahead to eternity and think of how wonderful it will be when all of my needs have passed away because I am in the presence of God. I fail to remember that Jesus is my inheritance now. He is “I Am” not “I Will Be”. I am grieved for all of us when we aren’t satisfied with being able to say, “Jesus is enough.” I find myself shrinking back from offering Jesus alone to hurting people. I petition the throne of God for Jesus and ...(fill in the blank). I feel that it is petty or belittling to only have the simple answer of the gospel and the instruction of scripture to guide those with complex issues and tangled webs, deep hurts and real fears. I search within myself to find pithy sayings, practical application and a quick-fix for all of their problems.
“Just Jesus? People need more than just Jesus. They need counseling, more money, a better job, a husband, physical healing, a vacation. If I could just give them this…and Jesus then everything would be okay.” Oh, that we would think bigger thoughts of the God we serve. The God who SPOKE the world into being, the God who created and ordained the life of every human who has ever lived, “having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation.” The God who holds our very breath in His hands (Daniel). The God who created us knowing we would fall and determining to create us anyway. The God who while we were still sinners sent His Son to die for us that we might be reconciled to Him. The God who was sinned against, who was offended and yet provides a way to pay the debt for us… to Himself, by the gift of Himself in the person of Jesus Christ. Do you get that? Let the weight of that fall on you because it is a great weight.
We owed a debt to God and HE made a way for the debt to be paid to Himself by Himself. Would that alone have been enough? But He gives us Himself as our inheritance FOREVER. Our hearts should sing! Our souls should rejoice! Our obedience should be with gladness of heart!
The cross of Christ, the gospel of Jesus and the weight of His glory should cause all things to seem trivial in comparison. And yet, it doesn’t. It doesn’t for me. It doesn’t for most of us who claim the name of Christ. We have made God very small. We have made Him only able to secure for eternity but unable to change our lives now. We have compartmentalized His power and looked to other created beings as the answer to all of our problems. We look to men to satisfy our longings as women. We look to jobs to affirm our worth as men. We look to our parents to make us complete people. We look to our doctors to make us well. We look to counselors to fix our problems. We look to the government to secure our finances. We look to ourselves for strength. We only look to God for what comes later.
Lord, forgive us! Show us all that you are and all that you have done! Satisfy us through Jesus alone! Forgive us for when you haven’t been enough. Convict us for thinking that you are not sufficient for every problem, trial, temptation and circumstance.
Psalm 104
Bless the LORD, O my soul! O LORD my God, you are very great! You are clothed with splendor and majesty, covering yourself with light as with a garment,
stretching out the heavens like a tent.
He lays the beams of his chambers on the waters;he makes the clouds his chariot;he rides on the wings of the wind; he makes his messengers winds,
his ministers a flaming fire.
He set the earth on its foundations,so that it should never be moved.
You covered it with the deep as with a garment;the waters stood above the mountains.
At your rebuke they fled;at the sound of your thunder they took to flight.
The mountains rose, the valleys sank down to the place that you appointed for them.
You set a boundary that they may not pass,so that they might not again cover the earth.
You make springs gush forth in the valleys;they flow between the hills;they give drink to every beast of the field;the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell;they sing among the branches.
From your lofty abode you water the mountains;the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work.
You cause the grass to grow for the livestock and plants for man to cultivate,
that he may bring forth food from the earth and wine to gladden the heart of man,
oil to make his face shine and bread to strengthen man’s heart.
The trees of the LORD are watered abundantly,the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.
In them the birds build their nests;the stork has her home in the fir trees.
The high mountains are for the wild goats;the rocks are a refuge for the rock badgers.
He made the moon to mark the seasons;the sun knows its time for setting.
You make darkness, and it is night,when all the beasts of the forest creep about.
The young lions roar for their prey,seeking their food from God.
When the sun rises, they steal away and lie down in their dens.
Man goes out to his work and to his labor until the evening.
O LORD, how manifold are your works!
In wisdom have you made them all;the earth is full of your creatures.
Here is the sea, great and wide,which teems with creatures innumerable,
living things both small and great.
There go the ships,and Leviathan, which you formed to play in it.These all look to you,to give them their food in due season.
When you give it to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.
When you hide your face, they are dismayed;when you take away their breath, they die
and return to their dust.
When you send forth your Spirit,they are created,and you renew the face of the ground.
May the glory of the LORD endure forever;may the LORD rejoice in his works,
who looks on the earth and it trembles,who touches the mountains and they smoke!
I will sing to the LORD as long as I live;I will sing praise to my God while I have being.
May my meditation be pleasing to him,for I rejoice in the LORD.
Let sinners be consumed from the earth,and let the wicked be no more!
Bless the LORD, O my soul! Praise the LORD!
The thing that will keep us satisfied for all eternity is “much more precious than gold.” It has more facets of beauty than any jewel brought forth from nature. In Colossians it states that “in Christ Himself..are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” Jesus is the fullness of God in bodily form and He is enough to satisfy for all eternity being our Living Water, the Bread of Life, the Light of the World, the Good Shepherd, the True Vine, the Way, the Truth, the Life and the Resurrection. These are all of the “I Am” statements that Jesus proclaimed about Himself. In Himself he provides for our physical needs, our emotional needs and our spiritual need!
Often times I fall into the trap of looking forward to all of these things. I look ahead to eternity and think of how wonderful it will be when all of my needs have passed away because I am in the presence of God. I fail to remember that Jesus is my inheritance now. He is “I Am” not “I Will Be”. I am grieved for all of us when we aren’t satisfied with being able to say, “Jesus is enough.” I find myself shrinking back from offering Jesus alone to hurting people. I petition the throne of God for Jesus and ...(fill in the blank). I feel that it is petty or belittling to only have the simple answer of the gospel and the instruction of scripture to guide those with complex issues and tangled webs, deep hurts and real fears. I search within myself to find pithy sayings, practical application and a quick-fix for all of their problems.
“Just Jesus? People need more than just Jesus. They need counseling, more money, a better job, a husband, physical healing, a vacation. If I could just give them this…and Jesus then everything would be okay.” Oh, that we would think bigger thoughts of the God we serve. The God who SPOKE the world into being, the God who created and ordained the life of every human who has ever lived, “having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation.” The God who holds our very breath in His hands (Daniel). The God who created us knowing we would fall and determining to create us anyway. The God who while we were still sinners sent His Son to die for us that we might be reconciled to Him. The God who was sinned against, who was offended and yet provides a way to pay the debt for us… to Himself, by the gift of Himself in the person of Jesus Christ. Do you get that? Let the weight of that fall on you because it is a great weight.
We owed a debt to God and HE made a way for the debt to be paid to Himself by Himself. Would that alone have been enough? But He gives us Himself as our inheritance FOREVER. Our hearts should sing! Our souls should rejoice! Our obedience should be with gladness of heart!
The cross of Christ, the gospel of Jesus and the weight of His glory should cause all things to seem trivial in comparison. And yet, it doesn’t. It doesn’t for me. It doesn’t for most of us who claim the name of Christ. We have made God very small. We have made Him only able to secure for eternity but unable to change our lives now. We have compartmentalized His power and looked to other created beings as the answer to all of our problems. We look to men to satisfy our longings as women. We look to jobs to affirm our worth as men. We look to our parents to make us complete people. We look to our doctors to make us well. We look to counselors to fix our problems. We look to the government to secure our finances. We look to ourselves for strength. We only look to God for what comes later.
Lord, forgive us! Show us all that you are and all that you have done! Satisfy us through Jesus alone! Forgive us for when you haven’t been enough. Convict us for thinking that you are not sufficient for every problem, trial, temptation and circumstance.
Psalm 104
Bless the LORD, O my soul! O LORD my God, you are very great! You are clothed with splendor and majesty, covering yourself with light as with a garment,
stretching out the heavens like a tent.
He lays the beams of his chambers on the waters;he makes the clouds his chariot;he rides on the wings of the wind; he makes his messengers winds,
his ministers a flaming fire.
He set the earth on its foundations,so that it should never be moved.
You covered it with the deep as with a garment;the waters stood above the mountains.
At your rebuke they fled;at the sound of your thunder they took to flight.
The mountains rose, the valleys sank down to the place that you appointed for them.
You set a boundary that they may not pass,so that they might not again cover the earth.
You make springs gush forth in the valleys;they flow between the hills;they give drink to every beast of the field;the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell;they sing among the branches.
From your lofty abode you water the mountains;the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work.
You cause the grass to grow for the livestock and plants for man to cultivate,
that he may bring forth food from the earth and wine to gladden the heart of man,
oil to make his face shine and bread to strengthen man’s heart.
The trees of the LORD are watered abundantly,the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.
In them the birds build their nests;the stork has her home in the fir trees.
The high mountains are for the wild goats;the rocks are a refuge for the rock badgers.
He made the moon to mark the seasons;the sun knows its time for setting.
You make darkness, and it is night,when all the beasts of the forest creep about.
The young lions roar for their prey,seeking their food from God.
When the sun rises, they steal away and lie down in their dens.
Man goes out to his work and to his labor until the evening.
O LORD, how manifold are your works!
In wisdom have you made them all;the earth is full of your creatures.
Here is the sea, great and wide,which teems with creatures innumerable,
living things both small and great.
There go the ships,and Leviathan, which you formed to play in it.These all look to you,to give them their food in due season.
When you give it to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.
When you hide your face, they are dismayed;when you take away their breath, they die
and return to their dust.
When you send forth your Spirit,they are created,and you renew the face of the ground.
May the glory of the LORD endure forever;may the LORD rejoice in his works,
who looks on the earth and it trembles,who touches the mountains and they smoke!
I will sing to the LORD as long as I live;I will sing praise to my God while I have being.
May my meditation be pleasing to him,for I rejoice in the LORD.
Let sinners be consumed from the earth,and let the wicked be no more!
Bless the LORD, O my soul! Praise the LORD!
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