Knotty Wood

Craftsmen have a singular mind, focus, and attention to detail that produce some of the most wonderful pieces of work in history. Others, myself included, who are borderline ADHD find it difficult to concentrate too long on any one thing. Squirrel!

Craftsmen paint, sculpt, write, and build. My appreciation for their craft goes beyond the piece of work to the raw talent, the gift, that is part of who they are. They can hone their gift, but their abilities are intrinsic, and I am awed.

The workmanship is exact. The attention to detail demanding. You can tell the dedication and skill of the craftsman by the quality of his work. It is their signature.

Everything the craftsman produces has a purpose, whether to inspire or keep time, the craftsman expects something from his creation. Often if the piece doesn't meet his exacting standards he will destroy it, take it apart, and start over. Perfectionism dances within his DNA.

We are the workmanship of God, but instead of creating us from scratch He is recreating us. Instead of throwing the worn and broken out, He uses the raw material and creates something new. God's standard is perfection and He is constantly at work in us to confirm us to the image of His Son.

He is never satisfied, but patient. He is never finished, but is making us complete.  The challenge for God is like the wood worker who has a board full of knots. The more there are the more challenging the work. In God's case his works of art can be stubborn and rebellious. Yet, he continues to work refining and pruning.

We are his workmanship and we have a purpose that has been prepared with us in mind. Our purpose entails good works. Doesn't sound really exciting, but the opportunities are multitude. Every act, every moment, is filled with the possibilities of our purpose. There isn't one work, but scores.

The work for which we have been crafted is a part of who we are, therefore, we walk in them daily. Our lives revolve around our purpose and when we don't conform to them we will feel empty and lost. 

I am glad to be a workmanship of God, crafted in the image of His Son, designed for a glorious task. I have a purpose for which the words of God, "well done good and faithful servant," are full of meaning. I'm just saying...

No Room To Boast

"I can do it by myself!" The toddler demanded.

"Yes, you can." Replied the proud parent.

We admire independence and encourage self reliance. As parents we teach  our children to work hard and be responsible. Even the scripture teaches that maturity is more desirable then immaturity. We are told to grow up, stop drinking milk, eat solid food, and stand on our own two feet.

Is it any wonder that when it comes to our salvation that humans have a predilection toward working out their own salvation, and when Paul tells the Philippians to do just that there is confusion? 

There is a balance between self reliance and pride. What teen hasn't been left standing, scratching their head at their parent's statement, "we are proud of you, but be humble about it." 

We live in a can do society, and that is a breeding ground for cheating and dishonesty for those who can't do. The books are cooked, mistakes covered up, and laziness dismissed. The standards are lowered so that everyone can succeed. 

But what happens when the standard remains high, so high that no one can achieve it? What happens when our best will never be good enough? What happens when reconciliation with God is humanly impossible? One of two things.

First, man attempts to change the rules. His efforts become paramount. The nature of God is changed. A loving God wouldn't punish someone who really tries hard, so the standard is lowered. In the end you have a watered down view of a holy God who is secondary to the process of reconciliation. Man is the focus.

Or, when man is at his weakest, at his utmost vulnerability, a Holy God steps in to display the riches of his mercy, the immeasurable abundance of his grace, and provides a way that is not dependent of the objects of his love. The focus is on God.

The standard remains high, the Holy God remains just, and the accolades are turned toward the appropriate person. Salvation becomes a gift not a reward, and the recipient becomes grateful not proud. Even our faith is a gift; the insight to believe a product of the Holy Spirit.

Today I must go and produce something to be considered a valuable contributor of society. I am glad, relieved, ecstatic that I don't have to worry about the most important aspect of my life, my salvation. God has that taken care of for His honor and glory, and for that I am eternally grateful. I'm just saying...

"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast." Epesians 2:8,9

The Best Seat In The House

God delights in displaying the immeasurable riches of His grace. As I discussed in my blog "Undeserved" we experience God's grace daily, before we became followers of Jesus, now, and throughout eternity.

We are the recipients of His mercy and grace, and as the Aposlte says, we have been seated with Christ in the heavenlies so that in the coming age he may show us his immeasurable grace.

In this digital age we are able to archive some of the most mundane, embarrassing, and important moments of our children's lives. Rebecca and I have pulled out video of our children eating a chip off the bird infested ground, picking his nose, blowing up toy cars, lip syncing into a golf club, staring in the student play, concerts in the park, walking down the isle of graduation and their weddings. We can't get enough of them and we can't show them enough. We are proud parents (and now grandparents).

If you are a parent you have done this, if not you have experienced it. You are over at a friends for a nice evening when the conversation turns to the subject of children. "Oh, have I shown you the one where...?" Politely the saw no. You dig for what seems like hours to them, but only moments for you. Finally you find the video you have been searching for, and fumbling with the remote you display it for your guests. 

"Can you see it? Is it loud enough? You are not going to want to miss this." 

You move cushions out of the way, and you give them the best seat in the house, because you want them to witness the wonders and joys of your children.

"God has raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ, SO THAT in the coming age he might SHOW his immeasurable grace."

God has prepared us a place, next to his Son, the best seat in the house in order to show, make manifest, to reveal once again his wonderful Grace.

The archived experiences of God's grace will be played before us. We will understand the reason for the pain and the source of our joy. We will revel in God's sovereign will and marvel at his inescapable plan. We will weep over how we have been used by him and stunned by his mercy when we were obstacles. 

At its conclusion we will hear "I just wanted you to understand," and we will know him like he has known us. With tears in our eyes we will join the multitudes in the song of the lamb because we will have seen with our eyes and heard with our ears the great glory of our King. I'm just saying...

Undeserved

Grace is the unmerited favor of God. God is rich in mercy because he does not give us what we deserve. He withholds his wrath and judgment because He is a merciful God. Grace is the opposite side of the coin. It is receiving what we don't deserve. 

It is the lavishing of his love. 

It is reconciling us with himself. 

It is the bestowing of the Spirit. 

It is the giving of gifts. 

It is the protection of the armor. 

It is the hope of His coming. 

it is the preparation of a mansion. 

It is the wiping away of our tears. 

It is the deliverance from evil. 

It is making a way in temptation. 

It is the provision of our daily bread. 

It is the forgiveness of sin.

It is the world overcome.

It is the defeat of satan.

It is the compassion for the down trodden.

It is the father to the fatherless.

It is the sanctifying of our souls.

It is the the way, truth, and life.

It is the healing of our infirmities. 

It is the answers to our prayers.

It is the community of believers.

It is the encouragement of the saints.

It is the bearing of our burdens.

It is the ransom of His Son!

If God is rich in Mercy, its wealth pales in comparison to his Grace. He withholds one thing and delivers so much more. He displays his grace daily, and we are as undeserving. We are sinful and faithless; proud and ungrateful; obnoxious and uncaring; oblivious and unconcerned. Daily we struggle to remain on the straight and narrow path, and daily God displays his grace.

The scripture says that all good gifts come from the Father and that in trials he works them for good, for our sake and his glory. These, and much more, are the daily graces we receive. When we count our blessings we are brought back into focus for the wonderful relationship we have in Christ. 

We were saved by his grace, we are being saved by his grace, we will be saved by his unmerited favor.  I'm just saying...

What I Don't Deserve

Our inheritance is the riches of God, and what are His riches? Mercy.

Of all the monetary, physical possessions, and power the evil one offers, there is no more valuable inheritance then the mercy of God. Mercy is a reprieve from God's wrath, the pardon from His retribution.

We were once objects of this wrath, but his rich mercy has spared us. That is a coveted inheritance, that belongs to us.

It is born out of God's love. His mercy isn't pity, it's loving. It isn't capricious, it is deliberate. It isn't an afterthought, it is planned. 

Jesus said there is no greater love then for a man to lay his life down for a friend, but I am going to disagree with him. God has shown a much greater love, because while we were lost in our trespasses, while we wallowed in our sin, while we were servants of the evil one and enemies of God Christ died for us.

That is God's great love. He took us from death and made us alive. Alive to love. Alive to serve. Alive to worship. Alive to obey. Alive to follow. Alive to work hard. Alive to be content. Alive to wonder in the marvels of God. Alive to appreciate the beauty of God's creation. Alive to be grateful. Alive to show dead men the author of life.

It is easy to get wrapped up in the activities of dead men, the darkness of sin, the pursuit of the world, and the hatred that separates us. It is easy to follow the lust of the eyes, the pride of life, and the passions of the flesh. It is easy to look for the worst because it is all around us.

Buried beneath the rubble is the cross. Hidden, and now revealed, is the mystery of God's love. Tarnished and now gleaming for all to see is the beauty of his riches, the mercy we don't deserve, the love that is unfathomable, the life that is ours in Christ. I'm just saying...

I Am A But Man

I hope I don't offend anyone, however, I am a but guy. I love them, because every time I see one I know something is going to happen. Let me give you a couple of examples.

1. The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him.

2. “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. ’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,

3. You were by nature objects of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because if his great love.

Buts introduce contrast, sometimes they have a good result and sometimes a negative one, BUT they are always exciting.

We were objects of God's wrath, but God in his mercy and love does something about it. The Apostle lures us in with our fated condition and when there is no hope sets in front of us a contrast. 

You have no hope BUT God hasn't left you alone!

We deserved wrath BUT God has mercy!

We deserve condemnation BUT God has love!

We deserve judgment BUT God has compassion!

We are in sin without hope in the world BUT God sent His Son!

There are other contrasts that aren't as pretty. 

You strut in your pride BUT God will bring you low.

You think you are self sufficient BUT God will call you to account.

You chose to live in sin BUT God's wrath rests on the wicked.

You want to slide by BUT God's standard is holiness. 

Like I said, I am a but man. They point out our deficiencies and point us to the remedy. They provide contrast between the good and bad, the positive and negative, and the best and better.  I could have chosen any word to talk about today, BUT I chose this one. I'm just saying...

Like The Rest Of Mankind

We were once like the sons of disobedience, living according to the flesh, and indulging our passions and desires.

I have now been a believer longer then I was an unbeliever, but the memories of my former life have not disappeared. I became a follower of Jesus at the age of 17 and it would be easy to dismiss my former behavior as typical of adolescence. That would be only an excuse. I was driven by lust, selfishness, rebellion, lying, greed, and ungratefulness, and as my sister in law says, I was the good son. Change never comes easy, but the Holy Spirit worked in my life, bringing me to salvation and sanctifying me daily. The course of my life would be drastically different had I not heard and responded to the gospel.

The Apostle Paul was reminding the Ephesians, in chapter 2, where they had come from, that they once walked on the dark side, and that they were just like the rest of mankind -- objects of God's wrath. 

I can not boast about what I have not accomplished. I can not look down and judge others with whom I once walked. I can not condemn those who are already the object of God's wrath, I was too.

When I remember where I once lived I appreciate what God has done even more. When I remember my dark roots the light is more precious and my heart more pliable. When I remember that I, too, was an object of God's wrath I am slower to condemn and more ready to dispense mercy.  

Our past shapes our lives, but does not dictate its course. We chose to follow Jesus or not, live in darkness or light, remain objects of wrath or mercy. If this is not true the world is without hope and God's word is void. But God has kept his promise and the past remains so, and the once was and used to be's are footnotes on a fabulous journey of mercy and grace. I'm Just Saying...