“In God, Heaven” -Ray Ortlund

Check out another great reminder from pastor Ray Ortlund:  “In God, Heaven“.

Here is a key thought:

For it is  not in heaven that we are to find God, but in God that we are to find heaven.

“Why we pastors, and all others, are here” -Ray Ortlund

A great thought from Pastor Ray Ortlund on why God’s love for undeserving creatures gives us profound purpose and reason for being here:

Why we pastors, and all others, are here

 ”The highest or most beautiful love is sacrificial love for the undeserving.”

Week off from Writing

Hi everyone,

thanks for visiting the site.  I am going to be taking this week (Dec. 14-18) off from devotional writing.  Check in for links to other great resources and then check back next week for some Christmas messages to help us focus on our beautiful Savior this season.

In Him,

Adam

About Marriage

I have been married to my wife for seven and a half years now and by God’s grace our relationship grows stronger year by year.  She is my great gift and blessing from God.  We have already weathered and continue to weather many storms in life that strain so many relationships (finances, family deaths and illness, etc), but these storms from the outside have only served to bring us together.  This is God’s grace to us, we surely are not perfect models of marriage.  That said, a commitment made to one another from the beginning guides us through; that is divorce is never an option, a threat, or a consideration.  It just isn’t, ever.  Why, because our marriage is not just me and my wife, it is a covenant made with God and meant to image God’s love for us.  By ourselves this kind of covenant may be broken.  With God, we lean on far more than ourselves to make it through.

It was said, ‘WHOEVER SENDS HIS WIFE AWAY, LET HIM GIVE HER A CERTIFICATE OF DIVORCE’; but I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for the reason of unchastity, makes her commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.  Matthew 5:31-32

Jesus does not allow human faults and failures to guide the desires of God for human marriage.  Because of the depth of our sin the idea of divorce was made a formalized process, but that in no way makes marriage a disposable commodity in our lives, or divorce acceptable to God.  God established marriage, man has corrupted marriage, yet there is great hope for every marriage.

Some Pharisees came up to Jesus, testing Him, and began to question Him whether it was lawful for a man to divorce a wife.  And He answered and said to them, “What did Moses command you?”  They said, “Moses permitted a man TO WRITE A CERTIFICATE OF DIVORCE AND SEND her AWAY.”  But Jesus said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment.”But from the beginning of creation, God MADE THEM MALE AND FEMALE.  FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER, AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH; so they are no longer two, but one flesh.  “What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.”  Mark 10:2-9

The gospel should make us look at our marriages differently.  Just as God gave everything to make us His bride and keep us His bride, we should do likewise in our marriages.  Sacrifice is necessary and will demonstrate the depth of commitment and love God has for us that we are supposed to reflect in our lives. 

Sadly, we have this ability to end a marriage over “irreconcilable differences”.  This is the depth of weakness in the human heart.  Jesus Christ reconciled us, the enemies of God who had no hope, doing what no man could do, to rescue this most vital relationship and restore us to God.  If that reconciliation is possible, than any human relationship can be saved and sustained in light of and by the strength of the cross. 

The key in all of this is the realization that God has joined man and woman together in marriage, so it is God who we lean upon to maintain the marriage.  As we view our marriages through the lens of the gospel we see clearly that our marriages are about so much more than ourselves.  Sacrifices must be made, just as Jesus made His, so marriages can and will glorify God.

A note for men

Gentlemen, have you ever heard it said that it’s okay to look as long as you don’t touch?  Maybe we like to imagine that our desires for someone other than our spouse is okay as long as it never results in actions taken?  Try asking your wife (or future wife) what she thinks of those ideas and see if she is okay with that….she won’t be.  God will not let us settle for being just average guys, content to think like the world thinks.  No, God wants us to be different men, better men, Christ-like men.

You have heard that it was said, ‘YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY’;  but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.  If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.  If your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to go into hell.  Matthew 5:27-30

The thoughts and intentions of our heart are known and judged by God (Heb. 4:12).  Sin does not wait to get measured by our actions, it is born within us and thus that lust for another woman condemns us just as much as the actions that may result from it.  Do you merely desire to be “just like one of the guys”?  Or, are you about being the best man God can form you to be?  How drastic will you get to pursue Christ-like purity?

Men, we have to be honest here, and I address men in this because it is one of our greatest battles; God is calling us to do whatever we have to for the sake of purity.  Religion allows your thought life to remain your own.  Christ sees through our lies and challenges us in our hearts.  Don’t try to hide from Christ.  To take Jesus’ thought on this, I would rather spend eternity with God having only one arm, than to destroy my marriage and blemish God’s glory for the sake of my lust.  We must be so much more than the world says we have to be.  It starts in our hearts.

So much of the counsel on this revolves around the immediate practical steps to take to remove as much potential lust from our lives as possible (internet filters, honest accountability, get rid of the laptop, etc), all of which are great ideas and immediate helps, but not long-term solutions.  But, let’s take it deeper.  Jesus goes for the heart, so let’s go there with Him.  As we pursue righteousness, we must agree with God that our lust is sin, just as if physical adultery took place.  We must listen to God (His word) and grow in Him, for as we do, righteousness replaces sin within us and purity grows.  We must pray often and pray hard for daily strength from Him.  We must learn to view all women as God’s daughters and creations of His who deserve every respect and every ounce of pure and Christ-like love we can offer.  Finally, we must cast our eyes always to the cross.  On that cross these sins were nailed with our Savior and He has overcome them.  We do not have to be mastered by lust, but rather we cling to a promise of hope and victory that Jesus purchased for us.

Brothers, let us be men that pursue first God’s kingdom and honor the women around us as Christ did while He was here.

Lust: Heart Adultery

God is more concerned about the state of your heart and mind in relation to Him than He is with your actions and lifestyle.  There is nothing we do externally and visibly to the world around us that does not originate from within us.  However, there is plenty going on in our hearts and minds that we hide by living differently than we truly are within.

You have heard that it was said, ‘YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY’; but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.  If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.  If your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to go into hell.  Matthew 5:27-30

Jesus always reserved His most direct and brutal criticism for the outwardly righteous and inwardly dead.  I do not want my Lord looking into my heart, where only He can see, and saying of me that I may keep the outside looking good, but inwardly I am far from Him.

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence.  Matthew 23:25

Lust is like that and lust requires desperate action to begin to remedy.  Especially for us men, it is imperative to recognize that our thought life condemns us, damages our relationships, and pushes God away, just as much as our actions.  We don’t have to sleep around to be adulterers.  How’s our heart?  Where are our thoughts?  Jesus is calling for radical change to flee the lusts that bring us down.  Ultimately, the change is from the inside out; taking the steps to cut off the mindset of permissible lust and replacing that with the pursuit of purity and holiness in the Lord.

“You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also.  Matthew 23:26

Sin blinds us and we allow too much of it to exist within us, thinking that the way we live outwardly matters most.  Jesus turns that thinking upside down and calls us to do the hard work on our hearts first and foremost, for then we live outwardly without hypocrisy.

Humility before an Opponent

Make friends quickly with your opponent at law while you are with him on the way, so that your opponent may not hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you be thrown into prison.   Truly I say to you, you will not come out of there until you have paid up the last cent.  Matthew 5:25-26

Let’s ask ourselves a simple question; are we humble enough to reconcile with an opponent,  or stubborn and prideful and willing to take the fall for it?  Pride tells us to battle to the bitter end, whether we are truly right or wrong.  Sometimes the things we battle others about are a matter of perspective and not crime.  Pride would take us to the courtroom, stubbornly upholding our side, weak as it may be.  Pride will see us sit in that prison cell, or work that community service with bitterness, resentment, and anger towards our opponent and when we are done, we will be no better a person, but probably worse.

On the flip side, humility guides us to the opponents view-point and seeks forgiveness for a wrong done.  Humility will heal a hurt before a hurt grows into a battle where everyone loses.  Humility will accept our fate at the mercy of another who has seen our repentant heart and given us grace.  Which path will we choose?

Remember too that this battle may never be waged in a court room, but even if it is only waged in your heart, you will endure the pain of paying for your pride for the rest of your life; bitterness is that strong a foe.  Hold no bitterness, but forgive and seek forgiveness, for then we reflect the Savior’s love for us.   Jesus was humble enough to be murdered for you and I, reconciling us with God before we are handed over for our crimes.  Will we be humble enough to reconcile with one another in light of that truth?

“Truly, truly, He said to us” -Ray Ortlund

Great thought from Pastor Ray Ortlund on his Christ is Deeper Still blog:

“The rabbis spoke from authority, Jesus with authority. . . . ‘Thus says the Lord’ is typical of the Old Testament, but Jesus’ characteristic expression is ‘Truly, truly, I say to you.’  The difference is significant.  Jesus appealed to no other authority as He spoke to men of the deep things of God.”

Leon Morris, The Lord from Heaven, pages 11-12, italics his.

Things Above

Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.   Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.  For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.  Colossians 3:1-3

I am convicted today by this call to heavenly-mindedness.  In light of this glorious truth (our life is hidden with Christ) and the call to set our minds on heavenly things, I offer some quotes that have spoken to my heart lately.  Remember, to set our minds on things above is a purposeful mental act of obedience and response to the overwhelming grace of God.  May we all focus on the Savior today.

“The worship of God is the gateway to freedom.” -Pastor JD Greear

“God is the only God who fulfills when you find Him and forgives when you fail Him.” -Pastor Tim Keller

“We conquer the power of the promises of sin with a superior promise.”-Pastor John Piper

“Idolatry is living on substitutes.” -Pastor Brad Bigney

May God bless you this day.

Our Offering

Jesus is addressing, directly, a Jewish audience, so the concept of offerings needed no explanation.  It was a part of the law and ordinance of God that was kept by faithful Jews.  So, on this side of the cross, knowing the final sacrifice was offered, by God, on the final altar of Calvary, what do Jesus’ words here speak into our lives?

Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering.  Matthew 5:23-24

It all goes down to our hearts, whether we are 1st century Jews, or 21st century Americans, Jesus’ message is unchanged. Our hearts must be right before God, or our worship is in vain.  Notice this section opens with the word “therefore”.  Always good to ask, “what’s the ‘therefore’, there for?”.  In light of verses 21-22, where we see that even the thought of unrighteous anger towards another person is equal to murder (sin has no scale, all of it condemns), then by consequence, we stand in deep hypocrisy if we dare approach the altar (our worship) with sin still smoldering within us.

The Apostle Paul helps us greatly in his opening to Romans 12:

Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.

Fixing our eyes on Jesus Christ and the implications of the cross makes one thing very clear, “It is finished”.  Jesus’ words from the cross ring in our ears as He completes the ultimate and final sacrifice for humanity’s sins.  Thus, we no longer offer cows and sheep, the only thing left for us to offer back to God is ourselves.  In light of the cross, the most we can give, insufficient as it is, is ourselves to the fullest.

So, as we consider Jesus’ words here in Matthew 5:23-24, it strikes me that I cannot stand before God in worship, giving praise to His name, seeking to serve Him with my life, if I allow sin to take hold within me, or know that I have wronged another person.  I am a hypocrite and my worship is in vain.  God calls us to more than lip service and meaningless motions.  He calls us to live and be different; to be living sacrifices.  Are you holding onto something against another person?  Does someone have something against you?    Do not offer your sacrifice in vain, but be reconciled to any and all, then come and give God the only offering we can give Him, our lives totally and completely.