Freedom and forgiveness

Today: Jeremiah 32-34

It's Sunday. And it's the Fourth of July.

As a Christian and as an American, I'm celebrating two kinds of freedom today--the first is the freedom my ancestors bled for. They lived and died to protect the belief, "that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." The second? The freedom Christ lived and died for--that you and I and all of humanity can be freed from sin and death because of His sacrifice.

When I read today's passage, I was pleasantly surprised to see that it included some of God's history of giving freedom to His people. Here's what Jeremiah said:

'You performed signs and wonders in the country of Egypt

and continue to do so right into the present,

right here in Israel and everywhere else, too.

You've made a reputation for yourself that doesn't diminish.

You brought your people Israel out of Egypt with signs and wonders—

a powerful deliverance!—

by merely stretching out your arm.

You gave them this land

and solemnly promised to their ancestors a bountiful and fertile land.

But when they entered the land and took it over,

they didn't listen to you..."

Isn't that the story of humanity? When given freedom, we bind often ourselves to something--and often, it's some form of sin. We reject our Deliverer and real freedom for a cheap imitation of independence. The truth is, there's no such thing as independence--real freedom always depends on Someone (or someone) else.

In this passage, God talked about the consequences of His people's sin. But He did not leave them without hope--and He never leaves us without hope, either:

"This is God's Message,

the God who made earth,

made it livable and lasting,

known everywhere as God:

'Call to me and I will answer you.

I'll tell you marvelous and wondrous things

that you could never figure out on your own.'

I love the turnaround outlined in this passage--the preview of a comeback story. God promised that when His people reached out to Him, He would forgive and restore them--bringing a fresh dose of freedom to their lives:

"But now take another look.

I'm going to give this city a thorough renovation,

working a true healing inside and out.

I'm going to show them life whole,

life brimming with blessings.

I'll restore everything that was lost...

I'll build everything back as good as new.

I'll scrub them clean from the dirt they've done against me.

I'll forgive everything they've done wrong, forgive all their rebellions..."

Tomorrow: Jeremiah 35-37

When sin is a stalker

Today: Numbers 31-32

When my sisters and I were growing up, our parents always encouraged us to be honest and open with them by saying things like, "The truth always comes out." At moments while growing up, I thought it was a Christian parent's way of saying, "I have eyes in the back of my head."

But I think they were right: The truth always comes out...eventually. If it doesn't happen on this planet, God knows the truth and, for better or worse, it will come out in heaven.

In today's passage, Moses had an interesting discussion with a few tribal leaders who wanted to settle outside the Promised Land...but promised to fight and help the rest of God's people take possession of it. Here's what Moses said to them:

"If you do what you say,

take up arms before God for battle and together go across the Jordan ready,

before God, to fight until God has cleaned his enemies out of the land,

then when the land is secure

you will have fulfilled your duty to God and Israel.

Then this land will be yours to keep before God.
"But if you don't do what you say,

you will be sinning against God;

you can be sure that your sin will track you down.

So, go ahead. Build towns for your families and corrals for your livestock.

Do what you said you'd do."

Moses' words saying, "...your sin will track you down" are interesting. It's makes me think of sin as a stalker--a type of ninja detective on the hunt to capture people. Although through Christ's forgiveness, we can be free from the sin's eternal consequences (e.g. we can escape Hell), I think sin's ability to track people down does impact Christians.

One of the primary reasons is because there are natural consequences for sin. For example, if I lie to my parents, God still loves me and forgives me, but my parents may be hurt and have a hard time trusting me. If you had an addiction to drugs, God may still have a place for you in heaven, but you might have to overcome some challenges (rehab, relationship issues, physical effects) as a result of that addiction.

Another reason the stalker nature of sin impacts Christians? Guilt. I've met some people who carry guilt from sin they were involved in years ago. They asked God for forgiveness and He forgave them and forgot that sin even existed, but they continue to live in a guilty kind of fear, stalked by their past mistakes. I believe God would say to these people, "Shame off you!"

Lastly, sin can stalk our lives by throwing temptations at us. Luckily, we all have the power to say no to those temptations and/or we can try to avoid them entirely.

Although sin may be a stalker, it's important to know that for those who simply believe in Him and accept the gift of salvation, Jesus overcame the eternal consequences of our sin once and for all. And to top it off, He can help us to fight against sin and its power over our everyday lives--if we simply ask Him for help. God can help us walk in freedom and wisdom, doing our best to make decisions and live in a way that honors Him. We'll never be perfect, but at least we can try to knock out our stalker. I'm off to practice ninja moves... :)

Tomorrow: Numbers 33-34

Clean and unclean

Today: Leviticus 11-13

All right...did you stick with the reading today?

It was tougher than most, I'll admit. Lots of commands and instructions for defining clean and unclean food and people. Thankfully, today, most Christians do not live under the religious nature of these laws--thank God for the New Testament and Christ's fulfillment of the law!

A few things stood out to me today. First, how holy and perfect God is--and the big gap that separates us imperfect human beings from Him. Secondly, I was thankful for God's grace and gift of salvation that "bridges the gap," so our eternal destinies are not based on following laws or not. Jesus fulfilled the law and if you have chosen Him as the leader and Lord of your life, you can walk in the freedom of His forgiveness. Beautiful.

As I read this passage, I also thought of Jesus' work with people in the New Testament. For example, how He interacted with lepers. According to the law, lepers were unclean people--people to be basically banished from their homes and families. Lepers were outcasts. They couldn't DARE come close to a Temple or a priest after being declared "unclean."

Contrast that with Jesus--God Himself--who walked up and physically touched lepers to heal them. Quite a different picture, right? Before Jesus, the lepers really couldn't connect with people except those who were also deemed unclean. Jesus' care and His simple touch changed that. It first gave them dignity and kindness. Then it changed their health, social status, and their eternal destinies forever.

Tomorrow: Leviticus 14-15

My favorite

Today: Galatians 4-6

Today's passages included one of my favorite Bible quotes. Ever.

It's Galatians 5:6b--and I have to say that I think I like the NIV version better. It says simply, "...The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love."

It's very simple, but one of my favorites because it captures the idea that faith and love are always tied together...you can't really love God, a person, or even a company if you don't have some measure of faith in them. And if you have faith, it's demonstrated in your life through your love.

Throughout the book of Galatians, Paul is writing to people who have been drawn to listen to legalistic, rule-based religion (see "Mary Poppins faith"). But that's not what Christianity is about...it's about grace, love and freedom. However, Paul does a good job of explaining the balance between freedom and following God's instructions:

It is absolutely clear that God has called you to a free life.

Just make sure that you don't use this freedom

as an excuse to do whatever you want to do

and destroy your freedom.

Rather, use your freedom to serve one another in love;

that's how freedom grows.

For everything we know about God's Word

is summed up in a single sentence:

Love others as you love yourself.

That's an act of true freedom.

This portion of the passage provides a very high-level picture of a free life, grounded in God's guidance. What does that mean to your everyday life? To your everyday work?

Thankfully, Paul gives a bit more instruction to address those questions as well. Take a look:

Make a careful exploration of who you are

and the work you have been given,

and then sink yourself into that.

Don't be impressed with yourself.

Don't compare yourself with others.

Each of you must take responsibility

for doing the creative best you can

with your own life.

I think he's saying here that our lives our really a gift from God--our responsibility is to do the "creative best" we can (to be good stewards, if you will) of every aspect of our lives. That may sound like a tall order, but remember--you and I have been given freedom to make choices about our time, family, relationships, money, work, service and more. Some important questions? How is your faith expressed in love? And in the "creative best" of your life?

Tomorrow: Ephesians 1-3