Do Not Grow Weary

“Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time, we shall reap if we do not grow weary.”  Galatians 6:9

The dictionary definition of “lose heart” is: “to begin to feel that one cannot do something that one has been trying to do: to become discouraged”^1; or, “to stop believing that you can succeed”.²    The Microsoft dictionary chooses these synonyms for “lose heart”: “become despondent, become demoralized, give up, give in, lose motivation, and falter.”

This is certainly, I am quite sure, something all of us have experienced at one time or another.

The word “weary” means: “exhausted in strength, endurance, vigor, or freshness.”³

It is easy to see how losing heart is the beginning of growing weary, and how they go hand in hand.

Hebrews 12:3 tells us, For consider Him (Jesus) who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself so that you may not grow weary and lose heart. 

But I love the Message version of Hebrews 12:3 even better: When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again item by item, that long litany of hostility He plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!”

It is so easy for us to want to throw in the towel, yet we are reminded to think about the endurance Jesus had when he was beaten beyond recognition for no reason other than loving and healing people.

When I find myself feeling like I want to give up, I am reminded of Ezekiel. God has not ever asked me to lie on my left side for 390 days, eating bread made over dung, and then another 40 days on my right side as well (Ezekiel 4:4-16). I can’t even begin to picture this kind of endurance. If I am asked to be patient for one day, I find myself starting to lose heart. I try and imagine myself as Ezekiel, and then, almost like magic, the right perspective kicks in. I am then easily able to reframe my thoughts and feelings accordingly.

Some days, I feel more like Esau, trading away all that I am for a bowl of stew. The Message version of Hebrews 12:16 says, Watch out for the Esau syndrome, trading away God’s life-long gift in order to satisfy a short-term appetite.  You well know how Esau later regretted that impulsive act, and wanted God’s blessing – but by then it was too late, tears or no tears.

So, how do we keep ourselves from losing heart?

There are some amazing scriptures on which to meditate when we find ourselves growing weary.  Here are a few to get you started:

A cheerful look brings joy to the heart, and good news gives health to the bones.  Proverbs 15: 30

A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.  Proverbs 17:22

When a man’s ways are pleasing to the Lord, he even makes his

enemies live at peace with him.  Proverbs 16:7

Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.  Proverbs 16:24

Better a dry crust with peace and quiet than a house full of feasting with strife.  Proverbs 17:1

The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe. Proverbs 18:10

A man’s spirit sustains him in sickness, but a crushed spirit who can bear?  Proverbs 18:14

The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but victory rests with the Lord.  Proverbs 21:31

Do your best, prepare for the worst – then trust God to bring victory.  Proverbs 21:31 (Message)

Do not make friends with a hot-tempered man, do not associate with one easily angered, or you may learn his ways and get yourself ensnared.  Proverbs 22:25

As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.”  Proverbs 27:17

O Lord, how many are my foes!  How many rise up against me!  Many are saying of me, God will not deliver him.  But you are a shield around me, O Lord; you bestow glory on me and lift up my head.  To the Lord I cry aloud and He answers me from His holy hill.  I lie down and sleep; I wake again because the Lord sustains me.  I will not fear the tens of thousands drawn up against me on every side.  Psalm 3:1-6

Many are asking, who can show us any good?  Let the light of your face shine upons us, O Lord.  You have filled my heart with greater joy than when their grain and new wine abound.  I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety. Psalm 4:6-8

Why is everyone hungry for more?  More, more they say.  More, more.  I have God’s more-than-enough, more joy in one ordinary day than they get in all their shopping sprees.  At day’s end, I’m ready for sound sleep, for you God have put my life back together. Psalm 4:6-8 (Message)

The Lord is my light and my salvation – whom shall I fear?  The Lord is the stronghold of my life – of whom shall I be afraid?  When evil men advance against me to devour my flesh, when my enemies and my foes attack me, they will stumble and fall.  Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then will I be confident.  One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek:  that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.   For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock.  Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me; at his tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy;   I will sing and make music to the LORD.  Hear my voice when I call, O LORD; be merciful to me and answer me.  My heart says of you, "Seek his face!" Your face, LORD, I will seek. Do not hide your face from me, do not turn your servant away in anger; you have been my helper.  Do not reject me or forsake me, O God my Savior. Though my father and mother forsake me, the LORD will receive me. Teach me your way, O LORD; lead me in a straight path because of my oppressors.  Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes, for false witnesses rise up against me, breathing out violence. I am still confident of this:  I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.  Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.  Psalm 27

Psalm 30:5 – For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.

My soul is weary with sorrow; strengthen me according to your word.  Psalm 119:28

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Matthew 11:28

Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous fall.  Psalm 55:22

I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace.  In this world you will have trouble.  But take heart!  I have overcome the world.  John 16:33

Ephesians 6:11-14a – Put on the whole armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.  For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.  Therefore, put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground and after you have done everything to stand, Stand firm then...

He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.  Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.  Isaiah 40:29-31

Jeremiah 31:25 – I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint.

Of course, there are many more, but what else can we do when the angst seems to overpower the truth?

Breathe in the promises. Connect with the Holy Spirit to show you what areas of stress need your attention.

The greatest gift you can give yourself, however, is to stop creating expectations as to what you think should be the outcome. Instead, allow the Spirit of the Living God to minister to your soul, and to bring in the perfect peace of Jesus.

If you are having trouble with this, please seek Godly counsel, because this is NOT God’s plan for your life. Do not let the enemy steal any more from you.

You can also contact me, and I would love to pray with you to see the deliverance that is waiting for you!

www.lindaslocke.com

lockel@woh.rr.com

¹ https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lose%20heart

² https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/lose-heart

³ https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/weary

Stuck or Learning to Trust?

I am feeling still very stuck. I know in my heart of hearts that I have the mind of Christ. I know that I am able to bring every thought captive unto the obedience of Christ. I know that I am dead to sin and that my life has already been crucified with Jesus. I know that I carry with me the almighty God. I know that I am His precious princess warrior. I know that He loves me beyond what all of my years of education could ever help me to even possibly understand.

Yet, here I sit amidst the muck of feelings that I can’t seem to shake.

I have much to be grateful for. I am blessed more than words can express. I see how Papa has poured His favor on me so many times that I can’t even recall all of them.

Then why the blues? Why am I feeling impatient and angsty? Why am I feeling like I am stagnant and not doing enough?

I know how to replace my wrong thoughts with gratitude. I know how to choose to think according to God’s Word. I know how to ask the Holy Spirit for guidance.

So why am I stuck and feeling like I am somehow doing something wrong.

I am beginning to more fully understand how the enemy has established a larger foothold with the little stuff.

This is why, in Matthew 6:19 it says, Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rest destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.

See, it’s the little stuff. A moth is a tiny creature that is barely noticed. Rust appears slowly and takes time to corrode.  The thief comes to steal, kill and destroy. But he is clever and we are not to be ignorant of his devices.

When big things come, it is second nature to jump into Papa’s arms and to stay there through the storm. But the little stuff insidiously creeps up—without notice.

Just as it takes time for a tiny moth to ruin a sweater or some rust to eat away a car panel, tiny droplets of forgetting who I am add up to a giant mud puddle of old-man nature without me even noticing.

It is time to reclaim my inheritance. I no longer have that nature. It was nailed to the cross. I have no desire to take it back.

I will not allow the small stuff to suck away the promises that Christ accomplished. Otherwise, He died in vain.

Thank you, Holy Spirit, for teaching me how to see through the eyes of Jesus. I am learning each day just exactly what it means to trust.

Limits

            A friend just ended up with two little girls whose mother passed away. Being the only family available, she and her husband opened their heart and home to these darling cherubs. Their own children are mostly grown with the youngest finishing high school and the oldest in college, so of course she has none of the baby things needed when littles are around. It is touching to see how people have been responding with clothes and toys and food.

            I was praying about how I could be of help, and I knew right away that I was to pay for daycare for a few months. Knowing this would be rather costly was not even a concern as I am currently stepping into how to be a financial blessing to people, even though my own cash flow is not as I would like it. I figured the problem wasn’t mine to worry about where the funds would come from. I messaged her and her husband to let them know that their daycare expenses would be taken care of for two months. Of course they were thankful, but also shocked.

            The next day, my friend was posting on Facebook about how worried she was about paying for daycare. I immediately began to private message her about my promise that I’d already made to pay the cost for two months or until she got the assistance for which the girls would most likely be eligible. She said, “It’s too much to ask.”

            My response to her was that she didn’t ask. I also quoted to them something I recently heard, “God’s will is God’s bill.”

I have still been troubled by this all day. She sought prayer over social media, yet when prayers were answered, limits were added. I am sad, and rather surprised about the fact that it is often so hard for people to allow God’s love and blessings to flow without adding our own boundaries. Ephesians tells us that He will do “exceeding, abundantly above all that [we] can ask or think,” and yet here was my friend already deciding an amount within her comfort level in receiving from a gift that was definitely well-below what God wanted for her situation.

How many times do we do that? We ask for God’s divine intervention, and when He wants to lavish His amazing grace and favor, we say, “Oh, no! That’s too much!” I’m sure He is laughing at us every time we do that, but I also am sure He is hoping we will learn to ask, expectantly, with arms open-wide to receive all that He wants to pour into us.

I will continue to lift my friend in prayer as she and her family learn to receive God’s blessings. It certainly is a good lesson for me as well!

Accident

I was the first to arrive on an accident scene yesterday. There were several lessons I have learned through this emergency.

First, I am still surprised at how long it took me to realize that what I was seeing was an accident. Arriving just after, I did not see or hear the impact at all. The other oddity was that the damage to both vehicles was completely hidden from my perspective. The only thing that finally dawned on me that this was indeed an accident was that one of the cars had a deployed airbag. But having never actually seen one before might be why it took even a few more seconds to register what was really going on.

I immediately tried to use my Bluetooth in my car to call 911. When I directed Siri to dial 911, she asked me which number I wanted to text, and provided a long list of strange numbers. Grabbing my phone, I tried to manually make the call, but of course with a touch screen, there are several hoops to jump through. Turn on the phone, push in the verification code; find the phone icon; find the keypad; then dial. Hard to do when hands are shaking! Finally, after what appeared to be many minutes, I finally reached the 9-1-1 call center. I was giving information and somehow we became disconnected. I attempted to call back multiple times, in between checking on the two ladies involved in the accident. It seemed that each time I tried to call, my phone locked up. Needless to say, by this time, I was feeling rather inept at getting help.

Afterwards, a friend told me to put 9-1-1 in as a contact named Emergency. Now I know!

The lady in the middle of the intersection did get out of her car. She was crying, and seemed disoriented. When she looked at her car, she burst into tears again. Together, we went to the car with the deployed airbag. The lady in that car seemed to be okay, but was also disoriented. The first lady said, “you ran that stop sign!” The second lady apologized, and attempted to get out of her car. I noticed that her hand was bleeding. I asked her if she was all right. She said that her chest was hurting. I tried once again to call 9-1-1 to no avail, and then they called me back. I told the dispatcher that this lady was complaining of chest pains. They said a squad was on the way. 

As the three of us stood in the middle of the road, I asked them if I could pray. Both of them grabbed me and held me very tightly. Not knowing if I was going to hear disinterest or contempt, it was in this moment that I knew I was in the right place for a reason. As both of these ladies held me with all of their strength, I felt nothing but pure gratitude. Here we were, for just a minute, to think only about the One who was with these precious souls. The One who protected them and kept them from more serious injury. I prayed not only for their well-being, but I thanked God for sparing them, and for walking with them through all of the stuff that lay ahead (insurance claims, car replacement, etc.).

A police officer arrived and again told me that a squad was on the way. After a few more minutes, I decided that my car was now a potential problem and it was best to get out of everyone’s way. I left, thinking what a blessing it was to be able to pray with two very distraught ladies.

Bringing peace into a chaotic situation is so fulfilling, and today, I am grateful to be used once more.

One Bad Egg

            For the past two years or more, I have had the same breakfast almost every morning—two fried eggs and Ezekiel bread or English muffin with honey and cinnamon.  An even more delicious addition has been a supply each week of farm-fresh eggs from a family at our church. Nothing like cage-free eggs and at no cost at all, either. They have just decided to give of their abundance and it has been such a blessing. I have been ever grateful for this non-stop supply of  fresh, wholesome eggs.

            One morning, I was fixing my breakfast, as usual, and I thought I noticed an odd odor. I thought to myself that perhaps these eggs were older than I had realized. When I sat down and took my first bite, I knew right away something was wrong, but I went ahead and ate several more bites before I realized I was eating a bad egg.

            I don’t blame my graciously generous friend, of course. It could happen easily to include an egg that had sat out too long. From the outside, it would be impossible to tell the difference.  About six hours later, I knew that I had made a terrible mistake. I am very grateful for my colloidal silver that I always have on hand, so this story doesn’t have too horrible of an ending. I definitely needed this amazing germ-killer, for sure!

            What has happened since, however, is that now – every egg I crack into my pan is suspect. I am sniffing, and wondering if there might be another bad egg. I am now overly cautious because of one misstep. The part that is most puzzling is that I have eagerly gobbled up hundreds of these eggs over the past year or so without a single thought of concern. And now, after this one incident with one bad egg, I am changed. I am no longer carefree in my preparations, but diligently inspecting, testing, sniffing, praying with concern, and even expecting that maybe I will find another bad egg.

            This led me to think about the other “bad eggs” in my life. An unthinking, unkind word from someone, and now I measure all things said against my own beliefs about my self-worth. An act of selfishness that put me in state of confusion, and now I see that I often seem to expect selfishness from others. A loss suffered that has kept me from opening freely.  There are more bad eggs, but they are few and far between. I realize that I have had many more healthy, delicious and wholesome “eggs” in my life, and yet it is so easy to focus on the few bad ones.

            Stephen Covey said that for every withdrawal from someone’s emotional bank account, there needs to be seven to ten deposits made. I think with my bad egg experience, I am seeing that sometimes it takes even more. 

            What “bad eggs” have you allowed to overshadow the blessings in your life? I am asking the Holy Spirit to reveal to me where I might be limiting the goodness of God because of those few and far between “bad eggs.”  I don’t want those limiting negatives to ever outweigh the abundant blessings in my life. Won’t you join me?           

Positive Confessions

           Today, I just needed to be filled with the best inspiration ever created—God’s matchless Word! Here are fifty positive confessions from scripture. Of course this is just a beginning! May you join me, dear reader, taking them to heart and allow them to fill your soul with the truth of your purpose and calling in Christ.

1.     I pursue peace and the building up of others (Romans 14:19).

2.     I receive good things from God when I am grateful (I Timothy 4:4).

3.     I always have a way out of trouble (I Corinthians 10:13).

4.     I can bring every thought into obedience (II Corinthians 10:5).

5.     I am forgiven of my sins as I confess them and am cleansed (I John 1:9).

6.     I ask with right motives in prayer (James 4:2-3).

7.     I resist the devil and he flees (James 4:7).

8.     My prayers avail much (James 5:16).

9.     I patiently endure suffering because I am called for this purpose (I Peter 2:20-21).

10.  I am hospitable without complaint (I Peter 4:9).

11.  I cast all my anxiety on the Lord (I Peter 5:7).

12.  Because of my faith, I apply moral excellence which leads to knowledge, which leads to self-control, then perseverance, then godliness, then brotherly kindness, then love (II Peter 1:5-7).

13.  God rescues me from temptation (II Peter 2:9).

14.  I am not a slave to sin (Romans 6:6).

15.  I am not condemned (Romans 8:1).

16.  My mind is set on the spirit and I have life and peace (Romans 8:5-6).

17.  Nothing can separate me from God’s love in Christ (Romans 8:39).

18.  I am more than a conquerer (Romans 8:37).

19.  I renew my mind and am transformed (Romans 12:2).

20.  I am not wise in my own estimation (Romans 12:16).

21.  I understand spiritual things (I Corinthians 2:14).

22.  I am washed, sanctified, justified (I Corinthians 6:11).

23.  I am aware of the manifestations of the spirit and I know how to use them (I Corinthians 12)

24.  I don’t water-down the Word of God (II Corinthians 2:17; 4:2).

25.  I am a living epistle (II Corinthians 3:2).

26.  I will walk in the spirit and do not carry out the desires of the flesh (Galatians 5:16).

27.  I have nine fruits of the spirit (Galatians 5:22-26).

28.  I will not lose heart in doing good (Galatians 6:9).

29.  I am called to humility and gentleness with patience, showing forgiveness to others in love (Ephesians 4:2).

30.  I am kind, tenderhearted and forgiving as I have been forgiven (Ephesians 4:32).

31.  I walk in love (Ephesians 5:2).

32.  I am subject to my husband (Ephesians 5:22).

33.  I am strong in the Lord and have the whole armour of God (Ephesians 6:10-17).

34.  God is working in me for His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13).

35.  I can do all things without grumbling or disputing (Philippians 2:14).

36.  The peace of God guards my heart and mind (Philippians 4:7).

37.  My mind dwells on things that are true, honorable, right, pure, lovely and of good repute, and I practice these things (Philippians 4:8-9).

38.  I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Philippians 4:13).

39.  God supplies all of my needs through the riches of Christ (Philippians 4:19).

40.  I walk in a manner worthy of the Lord; bearing fruit in good works and increasing in the knowledge of God (Colossians 1:10).

41.  My mind is set on things above—not on the earth (Colossians 3:2).

42.  In whatever I do, I work heartily for the Lord and not to please others (Colossians 3:23).

43.  I speak to please God and not others (I Thessalonians 2:4).

44.  I seek after what is good for others (I Thessalonians 5:15).

45.  I pray without ceasing (I Thessalonians 5:17).

46.  I give thanks in everything (I Thessalonians 5:18).

47.  I receive all things with gratitude (I Timothy 4:4).

48.  I have no fear, but power, love and a sound mind (II Timothy 1:7).

49.  I watch over my heart (Proverbs 4:23).
50.  I commit my works to the Lord (Proverbs 16:30).

A Two-In-The-Morning-Friend

I have been without a two-in-the-morning friend for far too long. Now don’t get me wrong—I have lots of friends. I know there are many who care deeply about me, but none are two-in-the-morning friends.  A two-in-the-morning friend is one that you would not hesitate to call in the middle of the night—especially if you had an urgent need. It takes a very close relationship to be a two-in-the-morning friend.

I first realized that I was without a two-in-the-morning friend about fifteen years ago. My husband had many health issues that would frequently send us to the emergency room and then usually also for a hospital stay. One time, when our son, Sam, was about seven, I needed to get my husband to the hospital right away. He was bleeding internally from too much blood thinner. This turned out to be a four-day hospital stint. Seven years old is too young to leave home alone, and there I was—looking at the clock and seeing that it was too late to call any of my friends. I just couldn’t do it. Names of five or six friends immediately came to mind, and had it been 10:00PM, I would not have hesitated to call for help. In fact, just a few weeks before this, we had a rush to the hospital at 11:00PM, and I called someone to help out with Sam without a moment of concern.

It’s another story, however at 2:00AM.

When someone is a two-in-the-morning friend, you know that they would be upset if you DIDN’T call them to be a support. I found myself in a position where I felt like I had no one close enough to me to bother in the middle of the night. I grabbed our son with a blanket and pillow, and drove to the hospital where my husband’s cardiologist worked. It was about a forty-minute drive. Of course, Sam was back to sleep, so I left him in the back seat and locked the doors. I about wore out the walkway between the emergency room station and the parking lot that night to keep checking on our son.  By the time they had determined that my husband needed admitted, a nurse realized that I had a child in the car. She offered to make a bed for him in the ER, but I planned to go home and get Sam ready for school so that I could come back and give my full attention to my husband.  

I was sad that I didn’t have a two-in-the-morning friend, but because I worked sixty hours a week as an elementary principal, I did not have any more time to cultivate the close relationship I desired—a two-in-the-morning friend.

That was a pretty good excuse while I working full-time, however, I have been retired for over two years now. I still do not have a two-in-the-morning friend.

So I am pondering why this is.

The friends that I have are not retired. They lead very busy lives, and some of them still have young children at home. We are in different seasons, and I understand why there isn’t time to cultivate a deeper relationship. I truly do.

But, the gaping hole is still there. Here I am, fifteen years later, and still without a two-in-the-morning friend. I have several friends who are very close to my heart, but they have moved a far distance away. So while, they WOULD be a two-in-the-morning friend, if they lived here, it’s not much of a help when I need them in the flesh during the middle of the night.

Some days it feels very lonely.

Some days, it feels very sad.

Now that I have time to build a deeper relationship with someone, I find myself in a place where the right person just hasn’t entered my life yet.

I am still expectantly waiting for my new two-in-the-morning friend. It will be a happy day when that role is filled once again.

Living a Life That Matters Part 2

            I think one of the hardest parts of knowing that you matter in this life is being able to face your own self. I have spent my entire life trying to undo the damage from a poor self-esteem.  It would be easy to blame those years of  wasted efforts and energy I spent hating myself on everyone else in my world, but the reality is that this was just where Satan wanted me.  There were circumstances that made it difficult for me to feel loved, but the dark reality is that Satan had a grip on me, and he almost won the battle. 

During my junior year of high school, I was suicidal for many months. I had several escape routes planned that no one knew about, because I did not want my parents to have to bear the burden of my suicide.  I had a variety of ideas in mind that would look like an accident, and I spent FAR too many hours plotting my death so that it would look like a tragic accident, not as though I thought so little of my life and my need to live. 

That year, we did a musical, Carnival, and I was the assistant stage manager.  Some lyrics from a song from that show have long stuck in my brain, because they so describe my need to believe that SOMETHING about me mattered in this life. The song is sung by an embittered, handicapped puppeteer named Paul.   He had been injured, and walked with a limp, and was angry at the entire world about it.  He became attracted to the newest addition to the cast, young Lili.  She, however, was smitten by an arrogant, but handsome man, Marco the Magnificent, who lacked integrity, and used women for pleasure and then tossed them aside like empty candy wrappers.  Paul was angry and difficult to be around, however, his true, loving feelings came out through his puppets.  Lili becomes very attached to the puppets, not realizing that the hateful Paul is also the kind and caring heart behind the darling new friends she has made in the puppets. While Paul wrestles with his feelings, he sings:

I’ve got to find a reason

For living on this earth

I’ve got to find a reason

For taking the space I take

Breathing the air I breathe

There’s more to this there’s more to me

Something in me that needs to

Do more than suck the breath from life

Like moss and leaves and weeds do

Holding up my head

Holding down a place

Being worth a name

To go with my face

I’ve got to find a reason

For living on this earth

Something to want

Something to be

Somehow to say,

I am me!

            I sang that song over and over again that year that I was 16, because like this puppeteer Paul, I too had felt that life had not given me a fair shake.  I really believed that there had to be more out there.  I didn’t want to just “suck the breath from life,” I had to know that somehow my life mattered. 

Knowing That We Are Traveling the Right Road

Someone once said, “Life's journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting ‘holy smoke’ what a ride!”  I guess I would have to say, that this would not have been my preferred mode of travel, but it certainly describes the journey that I have lived.  And now looking back, I cannot imagine a life of routine, and always knowing what is coming next.  It would be nice to have SOME clue about the turns in the road that come upon us without a warning, but nevertheless, it is truly the uneven, crooked path that makes life interesting.

Remember when we looked at Ephesians 1:4?  Let’s look at that verse again!  It says,

            “just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and blameless before Him in love.

             Notice that this verse starts with, “just as.”  That is a comparison, so we have to look at the verse before this one to catch the context.  And in Ephesians 1:3, it says, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.  I bet you missed a very important word in this verse!!  See, it says “who HAS blessed us!”  “Has” is PAST tense.  In other words, God already did it.  It has already been taken care of.  So if God has already blessed me with every (notice it says EVERY!) spiritual blessing, then why am I not living that way?  And there is a caveat.  It says that “we SHOULD be holy and blameless before Him in love.”  The word “SHOULD” implies that there needs to be some effort on my part.  Well, THAT is an understatement.  Why just turn on prime time TV any given night, and it is easy to catch a glimpse of much that is completely Un-holy and full of blame --  Sex, drugs, murders, homosexuality, just to name a few.  I don’t think we can find a show on television these days that doesn’t touch on at least ONE of these areas.  So, needless to say, being holy and blameless is not an easy task.  Yet, we are called to do that, and not only to be holy and blameless, but to do so “before Him in love.”  Wow!!  That is a lot to swallow!

I don’t for one second believe that God has called us to be pious, wimpy Christians who use religiosity as a means to look holy and blameless.  I could wear dresses in dark clothing covering most of my body, and never play cards or dance or touch a drop of alcohol, but none of these things in of themselves makes me holy nor blameless. I could live in a sparse room and give all I had to serve others, but even total servitude in of itself does not make me holy and blameless. How do we become holy and blameless?  Well, the answer is still in Ephesians.  We have to keep reading!!

            “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace, which he lavished upon us.  In all wisdom and insight He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which he purposed in Him.”  Ephesians 1:7-9 

            This part says that through Christ, we are redeemed, and we are forgiven.  Hoo boy, isn’t that a good thing!  I know I sure wouldn’t be holy and blameless on my own!!

Then let’s look at Ephesians 2 where it says that we are “dead in trespasses and sins,” (verse 1) and that while we formally walked according to the world and the prince of the power of the air (meaning Satan, in verse 2), and that we did indulge in the desires of our flesh, (verse 3), but because God loved us so much (verse 4), even though our sins make us dead (verse 5) He seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus (verse 6).  And verse 7 is so awesome, because it tells us why: 

            In order that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. Ephesians 2:7

             So basically this is saying that even though we are screw-ups, and God KNOWS we are basically screw-ups, He makes our sins dead in Christ, and has seated us already with Him in Christ.  So what makes us Holy and Blameless?  Nothing --  except the blood of Christ, and our decision to believe it.  Isn’t that just simply amazing? 

Now this does not give us permission to live a worldly, God-less life, and expect Him to just not notice, however, we do not have to live in a state of sin-consciousness because God already took care of that at the cross.