"The moments when I truly live are the moments when I act with my whole will."
The moment that I live out what Christ has put in, living out everything that He is in me, then I live!
Oswald Chambers talks about human will as if it is a separate force, something that you and I can generate on our own.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
"Thy will be done," is a literal appeal. Jesus Christ in us, the Hope of Glory, is the same one who leads us to do all things. We walk in the Holy Spirit, and He leads us to practice all righteousness.
Context is key when evaluating the full import of certain scriptures:
"Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you." — James 4:8
James was one of the apostles called to minister directly to the Jews. Even the salutation in his general is directed to them:
"James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting." (James 1:1)
Yet throughout his letter, despite the rhetoric which consistently appears to emphasize works as opposed to faith, James never deviates from the Gospel of Grace.
"Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you." — James 4:8 It would appear that we would have to come to God on our own, but Paul writes explicitly that God came to us:
And John, another apostle who ministered specifically to the Jews, makes the same point ih His own Gospel:
For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." (John 1:17)
Paul cannot write it any more plainly about God's irresistible desire for us:
"But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)
Jesus came to us with grace and truth -- we do not have to strive to attain Him.
Then what does James mean, "to draw nigh" to God? This is a Hebraism, as God would call on His people to draw nigh to Him in faith!
Jewish phrases notwithstanding, David the Partriach asked for God to draw nigh to him:
"Draw nigh unto my soul, and redeem it: deliver me because of mine enemies." (Psalm 69:18)
In the New Testament, the writer of Hebrews explains very clearly to another audience of Jews that only through the grace of God through Jesus Christ are we able to draw nigh to God:
"Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.
"For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
"Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." (Hebrews 4:14-16)
We enter "boldly" -- how? By faith in the grace of God, by which we know we have everlasting redemption from sin.
Therefore, when James writes to his first audience to "draw nigh", he is not speaking of works, but of faith! We are to draw nigh unto God in faith, knowing that he already receives us and wants to believe in us as much as we believe in His grace.
In effect, our "drawing nigh" is one grand reception through faith, not a result of an overt act.
Friday, November 4, 2011
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Response to Chambers "My Utmost" "November 3"
I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. — Galatians 2:20
These words mean the breaking of my independence with my own hand and surrendering to the supremacy of the Lord Jesus. No one can do this for me, I must do it myself.
This is untrue. I cannot do anything apart from Jesus Christ (cf John 15:5)
How then are we transformed, how the is the "breaking of my independence" effected?
By the Holy Spirit working in us, which we make happen by our faith in Him, which is itself a gift of God for us (Ephesians 2:8-10)
We are called to believe on Him, we are called to rest in His grace. He works in us, and we work it out not by our own efforts, but in being led by the Holy Spirit.
"But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." (2 Corinthians 3:18) We look on ourselves, in effect, as Jesus Christ indwells every believer. As we look on Him, depending on His word, behold we are transformed more and more into the likeness of Jesus Christ, holy, blameless, and always led by the Holy Spirit:
"But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed." (James 1:25)
Living by grace is a "work for mankind", in that we are so prone in our fallen nature toward striving and working; yet from Adam and Eve to the present day, a life of reaching out for what we think we need as opposed to depending his "every good and perfect gift" has engendered nothing but strife and discouragement, whether in the pursuit of pleasure and flight from pain, or in the quest for righteousness through self-effort.
These words mean the breaking of my independence with my own hand and surrendering to the supremacy of the Lord Jesus. No one can do this for me, I must do it myself.
This is untrue. I cannot do anything apart from Jesus Christ (cf John 15:5)
How then are we transformed, how the is the "breaking of my independence" effected?
By the Holy Spirit working in us, which we make happen by our faith in Him, which is itself a gift of God for us (Ephesians 2:8-10)
We are called to believe on Him, we are called to rest in His grace. He works in us, and we work it out not by our own efforts, but in being led by the Holy Spirit.
"But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." (2 Corinthians 3:18) We look on ourselves, in effect, as Jesus Christ indwells every believer. As we look on Him, depending on His word, behold we are transformed more and more into the likeness of Jesus Christ, holy, blameless, and always led by the Holy Spirit:
"But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed." (James 1:25)
Living by grace is a "work for mankind", in that we are so prone in our fallen nature toward striving and working; yet from Adam and Eve to the present day, a life of reaching out for what we think we need as opposed to depending his "every good and perfect gift" has engendered nothing but strife and discouragement, whether in the pursuit of pleasure and flight from pain, or in the quest for righteousness through self-effort.
Zenga Zenga for the Believer
Like Charlie Sheen, now-deceased dictator Moammar Gadhafi loved to promote himself.
Believers in Christ need only depend on Christ in them to promote them:
Let's take Gadafi's "Zenga Zenga" speech line by line, and match it with comparable scripture:
"Inch by inch
house by house
building by building
alley by alley
person to person"
"These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not:
"But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." (Matthew 10:5-6)
This command to spread the Good News would then be broadcast over the whol world.
Jesus' last words:
"Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
"Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen." (Matthew 28:19-20)
The Gospel is for everyone, to all who are willing to believe. God wants the message to be spread to every person, everywhere. When missionaries share the Word, they are called to say in the homes in the community:
"And into whatsoever house ye enter, first say, Peace be to this house." (Luke 10:5).
Yet unlike Gadhafi, the missionaries were cautioned not to hope from home to home:
"And in the same house remain, eating and drinking such things as they give: for the labourer is worthy of his hire. Go not from house to house." (Luke 10:7)
Only when the disciples were ministering to each other did they visit one another from house to house:
"And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart." (Acts 2:46)
"Forward-Forward"
"Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:12)
"Revolution -- Revolution"
"And when they found them not, they drew Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city, crying, These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also;" (Acts 17:6)
Believers who preach the world are carrying on the Revolution that has been shaking the world since the Resurrection of the Savior.
"I have millions on my side"
"For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways." (Psalm 91:11) This line of David's Psalm prophesies of the Messiah, which Satan used to tempt Christ (cf Matthew 4:6), but this promise applies to all believers:
"Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world." (1 John 4:4
And
"For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith." (1 John 5:4)
Not from the inside, but from other countries
"And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed." (Genesis 12:3)
and
"And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice." (Genesis 22:18)
"From here I send a call to all the millions in the desert
"And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved." (Acts 2:21)
"For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call." (Acts 2:39)
From desert to desert the millions will march and no one will be able to stop them
"I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it." (Matthew 16:18)
"Hurry Hurry"
"Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest." (John 4:35)
"Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine." (2 Timothy 4:2)
Believers in Christ need only depend on Christ in them to promote them:
Let's take Gadafi's "Zenga Zenga" speech line by line, and match it with comparable scripture:
"Inch by inch
house by house
building by building
alley by alley
person to person"
"These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not:
"But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." (Matthew 10:5-6)
This command to spread the Good News would then be broadcast over the whol world.
Jesus' last words:
"Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
"Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen." (Matthew 28:19-20)
The Gospel is for everyone, to all who are willing to believe. God wants the message to be spread to every person, everywhere. When missionaries share the Word, they are called to say in the homes in the community:
"And into whatsoever house ye enter, first say, Peace be to this house." (Luke 10:5).
Yet unlike Gadhafi, the missionaries were cautioned not to hope from home to home:
"And in the same house remain, eating and drinking such things as they give: for the labourer is worthy of his hire. Go not from house to house." (Luke 10:7)
Only when the disciples were ministering to each other did they visit one another from house to house:
"And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart." (Acts 2:46)
"Forward-Forward"
"Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:12)
"Revolution -- Revolution"
"And when they found them not, they drew Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city, crying, These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also;" (Acts 17:6)
Believers who preach the world are carrying on the Revolution that has been shaking the world since the Resurrection of the Savior.
"I have millions on my side"
"For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways." (Psalm 91:11) This line of David's Psalm prophesies of the Messiah, which Satan used to tempt Christ (cf Matthew 4:6), but this promise applies to all believers:
"Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world." (1 John 4:4
And
"For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith." (1 John 5:4)
Not from the inside, but from other countries
"And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed." (Genesis 12:3)
and
"And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice." (Genesis 22:18)
"From here I send a call to all the millions in the desert
"And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved." (Acts 2:21)
"For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call." (Acts 2:39)
From desert to desert the millions will march and no one will be able to stop them
"I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it." (Matthew 16:18)
"Hurry Hurry"
"Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest." (John 4:35)
"Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine." (2 Timothy 4:2)
Strident Conservatives: The Reason Why
Some conservatives are blunt but caring:
Governor Chris Christie comes to mind.
Others are more confrontational, like Governor Paul LePage of Maine, who is not beneath cursing at reporters and stirring up strife among his party. He glibly tells President Obama in press and radio: "President Obama, go to hell."
LePage's confrontational conservatism most likely springs from a sense of inferiority. He suffered through a challenging and troubled upbringing, and by dint of hard work and self-effort he became a self-made man. Self-made men are always in trouble, though, having to cling on to everything that they worked for, always fearful of losing what they have worked so hard to earn.
There are a number of other loud-mouth types in conservative circles, individuals who have no problem calling people names, mocking their folly, taking on a confrontational tone.
The conservative agenda seems to attract a large number of loud-mouth demagogues.
Unlike liberals and communists, who rely on military or state force to make their opinions, conservatives and free market advocates stress the role of persuasion to make a point.
This may leave some conservatives very flustered.
Force of arms vs. force of words -- it would appear that the force of arms has the upper hand.
Compensating for the lack of force, many conservatives resort to belligerence and bellicose rhetoric to make their point.
Wisconsin Senator Joe McCarthy comes to mind, the Red-Hunter from Wisconsin. He demagogued the issue considerably, although some of his accusations were spot on, including his charges against the Communist sympathizer Alger Hiss, who was later cashiered for perjury.
Governor Chris Christie comes to mind.
Others are more confrontational, like Governor Paul LePage of Maine, who is not beneath cursing at reporters and stirring up strife among his party. He glibly tells President Obama in press and radio: "President Obama, go to hell."
LePage's confrontational conservatism most likely springs from a sense of inferiority. He suffered through a challenging and troubled upbringing, and by dint of hard work and self-effort he became a self-made man. Self-made men are always in trouble, though, having to cling on to everything that they worked for, always fearful of losing what they have worked so hard to earn.
There are a number of other loud-mouth types in conservative circles, individuals who have no problem calling people names, mocking their folly, taking on a confrontational tone.
The conservative agenda seems to attract a large number of loud-mouth demagogues.
Unlike liberals and communists, who rely on military or state force to make their opinions, conservatives and free market advocates stress the role of persuasion to make a point.
This may leave some conservatives very flustered.
Force of arms vs. force of words -- it would appear that the force of arms has the upper hand.
Compensating for the lack of force, many conservatives resort to belligerence and bellicose rhetoric to make their point.
Wisconsin Senator Joe McCarthy comes to mind, the Red-Hunter from Wisconsin. He demagogued the issue considerably, although some of his accusations were spot on, including his charges against the Communist sympathizer Alger Hiss, who was later cashiered for perjury.
God Loves Losers (So Don't Be Afraid to Lose It All)
The world's definition of success is to "make it."
Make it big, make it out for yourself, make it on your own, with everyone watching and adoring you "make it".
Abraham left country, kith, and kin to follow the Word of the Lord. (cf Genesis 12). One could say that he lost everything; but God rewarded him with a beautiful through his gracious wife. Through Abraham, God promised to bless all the nations of the world.
Joseph dreamed great dreams, that his family would all bow down to him. It did not start out that way. His brothers, in fury with jealousy, dispossessed their brother, faking his death and selling him into slavery.
Though rising to prominence in the house of his master Potiphar, Joseph was again betrayed, that time by a lecherous, frustrated housewife. In prison, he once again rose to prominence, overseeing the entire prison. After he interpreted the dreams for two of Pharaoh's disgraced servants, the one restored forgot all about Joseph. Yet in the fullness of time, Pharaoh summoned Joseph to interpret his dreams, then appointed him the Second in the Kingdom.
David the Shepherd King and his band of followers were considered "losers." They were a marauding band, disenfranchised people who has lost in every venture. Yet when they stuck with the shepherd boy, despised and rejected by his own brothers, they were promoted into the ranks of the greatest king of Israel.
David was anointed king, but he had to press against obstacles and conniving kings for seven years. At one point, he so despaired of being free, that he settled with the Philistines, harassing the nation of Israel with the enemies of God's people.
Yet who can compare to Jesus Christ Himself, who gave up His divinity to become one amolng His creation, bringing grace and truth to redeem falled man from the curse of the law, so that His creation could be one with Him. Having performed miracles and healing the sick, the people proclaimed Him Messiah, then within one week the crowds turned on Him, the One whom they though would restore the political Israel. Jesus gave up everything, suffering every indignity, shame, harm, and open humiliation, taking upon Himself the wrath of His righteous Father for the sin of mankind.
He gave up everything that every believer who trusted in Him for life and salvation would be blessed and made rich. If we are the apple of His eye, therefore, we do not faer the reproach of men, and we curse the folly of man's ill repute.
Where He has honored us, we therefore scorn the shame of man.
Paul wrote it best:
"What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31)
And
"Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us." (Romans 8:37)
We lose ourselves in Christ:
"For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God." (Colossians 3:3)
Through Him, with Him, in Him, in the same unity which Jesus prayed for in the Garden of Gethsemane:
"That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me." ( John 17:21)
So when Jesus tells us to give up all, we are not losers at all, but the greatest of winners:
"Then Peter said, Lo, we have left all, and followed thee." (Luke 18:28)
To which Jesus answers:
"And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the kingdom of God's sake,
"Who shall not receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting. " (Luke 18:19-20)
Losers? In Christ, we are winners who have everything secured for us in Christ!
Make it big, make it out for yourself, make it on your own, with everyone watching and adoring you "make it".
Abraham left country, kith, and kin to follow the Word of the Lord. (cf Genesis 12). One could say that he lost everything; but God rewarded him with a beautiful through his gracious wife. Through Abraham, God promised to bless all the nations of the world.
Joseph dreamed great dreams, that his family would all bow down to him. It did not start out that way. His brothers, in fury with jealousy, dispossessed their brother, faking his death and selling him into slavery.
Though rising to prominence in the house of his master Potiphar, Joseph was again betrayed, that time by a lecherous, frustrated housewife. In prison, he once again rose to prominence, overseeing the entire prison. After he interpreted the dreams for two of Pharaoh's disgraced servants, the one restored forgot all about Joseph. Yet in the fullness of time, Pharaoh summoned Joseph to interpret his dreams, then appointed him the Second in the Kingdom.
David the Shepherd King and his band of followers were considered "losers." They were a marauding band, disenfranchised people who has lost in every venture. Yet when they stuck with the shepherd boy, despised and rejected by his own brothers, they were promoted into the ranks of the greatest king of Israel.
David was anointed king, but he had to press against obstacles and conniving kings for seven years. At one point, he so despaired of being free, that he settled with the Philistines, harassing the nation of Israel with the enemies of God's people.
Yet who can compare to Jesus Christ Himself, who gave up His divinity to become one amolng His creation, bringing grace and truth to redeem falled man from the curse of the law, so that His creation could be one with Him. Having performed miracles and healing the sick, the people proclaimed Him Messiah, then within one week the crowds turned on Him, the One whom they though would restore the political Israel. Jesus gave up everything, suffering every indignity, shame, harm, and open humiliation, taking upon Himself the wrath of His righteous Father for the sin of mankind.
He gave up everything that every believer who trusted in Him for life and salvation would be blessed and made rich. If we are the apple of His eye, therefore, we do not faer the reproach of men, and we curse the folly of man's ill repute.
Where He has honored us, we therefore scorn the shame of man.
Paul wrote it best:
"What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31)
And
"Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us." (Romans 8:37)
We lose ourselves in Christ:
"For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God." (Colossians 3:3)
Through Him, with Him, in Him, in the same unity which Jesus prayed for in the Garden of Gethsemane:
"That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me." ( John 17:21)
So when Jesus tells us to give up all, we are not losers at all, but the greatest of winners:
"Then Peter said, Lo, we have left all, and followed thee." (Luke 18:28)
To which Jesus answers:
"And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the kingdom of God's sake,
"Who shall not receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting. " (Luke 18:19-20)
Losers? In Christ, we are winners who have everything secured for us in Christ!
Two and a Half Man: Aesthetic, Ethical, and the Grace of God
"Two and a Half Men" is a bawdy romp of a sitcom, one which dramatically depicts two very conflicting lifestyles.
Charlie Harper is a playboy who wins every play, gets every girl, and mires in self-absorbed, alcohol-soaked apathy and boredom.
Allen Harper is a milquetoast doormat who tries to play by the rules, but ends up getting played and ruled over.
The lives of these two men demonstrate the two spheres of existence, or stages of life, outlined by Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard.
Charlie Harper represents a man given over to the Aesthetic Sphere, a determined hedonist who pursues pleasures and flees from pain, dismissing every rule and responsibility to fulfill his own wishes.
Allen Harper represents a man in the Ethical Sphere, one dedicated to making it in society, playing by the rules of the community, getting married, settling down, and making something of his life in the service of others.
In every episode the CBS sitcom makes light of the two men's abject failure to find satisfaction in their lives, though the production is biased toward a life of unending pleasure (Charlie) as opposed to the pitiful fallout of a man always down on his luck, despised even by his own family (Allen).
Charlie makes lots of money, beds lots of women, gets in lots of trouble, has lots of friends, and seems to have a lot to laugh at. Yet his pursuits always turn up empty, and the one romantic interest that becomes serious so unnerves him, that he resorts only to living with the woman, chronically putting of marriage and family life.
Allen fails in every endeavor, striving to be good, ending up with bad, worse, and not worth mentioning. From his terrible divorce, to his failure to parent his own son, to his awkward appearance and attempts to meet other women, Allen personifies "loser".
According to Kierkegaard, the aesthetic life ends in abject boredom, a gnawing emptiness in the soul of the aesthete who is afraid to take on life, always hiding from commitment, always fearful of getting hurt, getting used, and getting nowhere form the void of a life of pleasure without purpose.
In contrast, the ethical life is impossible, and man's futile attempts to live by his own code of conduct or the code of society are doomed to end in failure. For a man to scrutinize every decision, limiting himself to the various and contradictory roles of other people or various rules and regulations, so afflicts a man that he collapses into an "ethical despair."
A human being cannot define himself by a pursuit of pleasure or a persistence in practicing goodness. He is designed for more than passing pleasures and rule-keeping
Jesus promised to his followers:
"I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." 9John 10:10)
Unlike the Aesthete, the Believer receives the eternal, ever-enriching "Zoe" Life -- everything else is mere "grasping of the wind." Instead, a believer allows the Holy Spirit (or "Wind" in Hebrew) to indwell and empower him. The Fruit of the Spirit includes Love, Peace, and Joy, all the things which seekers of pleasure never find on their own.
"Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire: this is also vanity and vexation of spirit." (Ecclesiastes 6:9) "Vexation of spirit" can also be translated "striving after wind."
Unlike the Ethical man, Jesus Christ fulfills the law for us, removing from every man who believes on Him the curse of the Sin Nature. Once a believer receives God's grace, the Holy Spirit guides a man to live righteously, more than fulfilling the law.
"But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness." (Romans 9:31)
But for the believer, Christ has done the following:
"For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." (2 Corinthians 5:21)
In Him, we are forever righteousness, no longer striving or having to strive in our efforts to be holy. Christ Himself becomes:
"But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption" (1 Corinthians 1:30)
Christ makes us wise, righteous, holy, and redeemed -- everything that the Ethical man desires but cannot obtain through His own efforts.
By grace, therefore, man is instilled with right feeling and right thinking, all a matter of right believing, believing on the grace of God accorded to man through the death of His Son Jesus Christ.
Charlie Harper is a playboy who wins every play, gets every girl, and mires in self-absorbed, alcohol-soaked apathy and boredom.
Allen Harper is a milquetoast doormat who tries to play by the rules, but ends up getting played and ruled over.
The lives of these two men demonstrate the two spheres of existence, or stages of life, outlined by Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard.
Charlie Harper represents a man given over to the Aesthetic Sphere, a determined hedonist who pursues pleasures and flees from pain, dismissing every rule and responsibility to fulfill his own wishes.
Allen Harper represents a man in the Ethical Sphere, one dedicated to making it in society, playing by the rules of the community, getting married, settling down, and making something of his life in the service of others.
In every episode the CBS sitcom makes light of the two men's abject failure to find satisfaction in their lives, though the production is biased toward a life of unending pleasure (Charlie) as opposed to the pitiful fallout of a man always down on his luck, despised even by his own family (Allen).
Charlie makes lots of money, beds lots of women, gets in lots of trouble, has lots of friends, and seems to have a lot to laugh at. Yet his pursuits always turn up empty, and the one romantic interest that becomes serious so unnerves him, that he resorts only to living with the woman, chronically putting of marriage and family life.
Allen fails in every endeavor, striving to be good, ending up with bad, worse, and not worth mentioning. From his terrible divorce, to his failure to parent his own son, to his awkward appearance and attempts to meet other women, Allen personifies "loser".
According to Kierkegaard, the aesthetic life ends in abject boredom, a gnawing emptiness in the soul of the aesthete who is afraid to take on life, always hiding from commitment, always fearful of getting hurt, getting used, and getting nowhere form the void of a life of pleasure without purpose.
In contrast, the ethical life is impossible, and man's futile attempts to live by his own code of conduct or the code of society are doomed to end in failure. For a man to scrutinize every decision, limiting himself to the various and contradictory roles of other people or various rules and regulations, so afflicts a man that he collapses into an "ethical despair."
A human being cannot define himself by a pursuit of pleasure or a persistence in practicing goodness. He is designed for more than passing pleasures and rule-keeping
Jesus promised to his followers:
"I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." 9John 10:10)
Unlike the Aesthete, the Believer receives the eternal, ever-enriching "Zoe" Life -- everything else is mere "grasping of the wind." Instead, a believer allows the Holy Spirit (or "Wind" in Hebrew) to indwell and empower him. The Fruit of the Spirit includes Love, Peace, and Joy, all the things which seekers of pleasure never find on their own.
"Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire: this is also vanity and vexation of spirit." (Ecclesiastes 6:9) "Vexation of spirit" can also be translated "striving after wind."
Unlike the Ethical man, Jesus Christ fulfills the law for us, removing from every man who believes on Him the curse of the Sin Nature. Once a believer receives God's grace, the Holy Spirit guides a man to live righteously, more than fulfilling the law.
"But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness." (Romans 9:31)
But for the believer, Christ has done the following:
"For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." (2 Corinthians 5:21)
In Him, we are forever righteousness, no longer striving or having to strive in our efforts to be holy. Christ Himself becomes:
"But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption" (1 Corinthians 1:30)
Christ makes us wise, righteous, holy, and redeemed -- everything that the Ethical man desires but cannot obtain through His own efforts.
By grace, therefore, man is instilled with right feeling and right thinking, all a matter of right believing, believing on the grace of God accorded to man through the death of His Son Jesus Christ.
Limiting Beliefs, Fixed Faith, and the Cure
In the body of Christ, believers are asking for more faith to do great things.
If we are in Christ, we do not have a "faith" problem:
"And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith.
"And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you." (Luke 17:5-6)
The apostles themselves asked Jesus to "increase" their faith, yet He refuted their demand, telling them that having faith, no matter how much, was enough to accomplish great things.
How is this possible?
"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me."
We have the faith "of the Son of God" in us -- We believers have God's faith in us!
Then what was the apostle's real problem? The Gospel of Matthew explains:
"Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out?
"And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
"Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting." (Matthew 17:19-21)
The disciples faced a dilemma: they could not heal a paralytic possessed with a demon. When asked why they could not, Jesus hit on the core problem: unbelief.
Unbelief is not a negative, but a positive, and existing force that works against our faith.
Unbelief is a powerful deterrent of God's will and work in our lives:
"But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." (Hebrews 11:6)
We cannot receive God's grace and all of its attending blessings without faith
(cf Ephesians 2:8-10)
In his self-help book "Self Matters", Dr. Phil McGraw talks about the power of tapes and limiting beliefs in a person's life. When at rest or facing difficult situations, we tend to generate a running dialogue in line with negative tapes and fixed beliefs that we have tended by habituation in the face of stress or the unknown. Condemnation is the root of all stress, all fear, all pathology in a human being, as Pastor Joseph Prince has outlined in his book "Destined to Reign"
The negative self-talk that human beings work with on a daily basis becomes so entrenched, to prominent, that it can easily color and distort a person's every waking moment. Those who have suffered abandonment, for example, may carry with them a sense of dread or self-worthlessness, a chronic plaguing sensation that weighs down everything that a person endeavors to accomplish. When a parent or a teacher tells a young person that they cannot excel in some endeavor, there is a pernicious possibility that the child may internalize that judgment into a limiting belief, which will dampen a person's resolve and enthusiasm to attempt anything.
Limiting beliefs, negative tapes emanating from the core of an individual, are very powerful, very damaging, and very elusive without proper consideration and attention.
Why must a believer care about limiting beliefs and negative tapes? Because they are all variations of unbelief, they very thing that thwarts the faithful effectiveness of Jesus' followers, both then and now.
How then does the believer counter these nasty habits of the mind?
"And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief." (Mark 9:24)
Here, the father whose child is afflicted with a dumb spirit, acknowledged his faith, his antagonistic unbelief, and the One who can heal his sorry state of mind as well as his child: Jesus Christ.
The Lord provided a specific spiritual regimen for combating unbelief:
"And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting." (Mark 11:29)
By prayer, we understand speaking the Word of God (which is Christ -- cf John 1:1) Whatever limiting beliefs or negative tapes have crept into our minds unknowingly, we fight them with the Truth of God's Word.
If we feel that our life is lacking purpose, we refer to scriptures like:
"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end." (Jeremiahh 29:11)
or
"The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way." (Psalm 37:23)
If someone is facing a trial or challenge, meditate on the following verses:
"There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love." (1 John 4:18)
or
"Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness." (Isaiah 41:10)
Need strength for a major challenge?
"Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us."
With our minds saturated with the eternal and unchanging Word of God, fasting from negative thoughts, limiting beliefs, damaging self-talk becomes easier. Indeed, we are called to evaluate the truth of the negative trains of thought in our mind, then resolutely ignore them:
"And Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh: For God, said he, hath made me forget all my toil, and all my father's house." (Genesis 41:51)
And
"Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old." (Isaiah 43:18)
and
"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." (2 Corinthians 5:17)
The last verse Paul wrote in the context of our complete reconciliation with God through Christ, who become sin itself that we would be made the righteousness of God in Christ (v. 21)
So, what limiting beliefs are you facing now in your life? Do you feel that you have no right to speak up for yourself? Are you unsure of yourself in a word besought with conflict messages which converge only in their stark opposition to the supreme majesty of Jesus Christ? Do you fear for the future, or do you care with you some hidden shame of condemnation from a loved one long since estranged or deceased?
We are not called to meditate passively on such lies. Rather, we are called to an active life of faith and expectation in God:
"Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent." (John 6:29)
This call to faith is more than mental assent that Christ existed and died on the Cross for our sin. Faith in the Son of God recognizes the infinite spiritual storehouse of blessings that await the believer who becomes a willing scribe of the Kingdom of Heaven, which dwells in us by the Power of the Holy Spirit. In effect, it means believing on Him, who lives and works within us!
"My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you." (Galatians 4:19)
and
"To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27)
With Christ in us, we have nothing to fear; there is not obstacle that cannot be surmounted. All things indeed become possible:
"Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world." (1 JOhn 4:4)
"What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31)
"I can do all things through him who strengthens me." (Philippians 4:13)
For the unbelief in your life, for the limiting beliefs, life scripts, negative tapes, and self-defeating self-talk in your life, there is no other cure than Christ in you through the Holy Spirit, who speaks the truth to every lie, who casts out all fear, who undoes the undoable and makes all things possible in the life of a believer.
Let Him help you with your unbelief today, and see what great things He works in your life!
If we are in Christ, we do not have a "faith" problem:
"And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith.
"And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you." (Luke 17:5-6)
The apostles themselves asked Jesus to "increase" their faith, yet He refuted their demand, telling them that having faith, no matter how much, was enough to accomplish great things.
How is this possible?
"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me."
We have the faith "of the Son of God" in us -- We believers have God's faith in us!
Then what was the apostle's real problem? The Gospel of Matthew explains:
"Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out?
"And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
"Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting." (Matthew 17:19-21)
The disciples faced a dilemma: they could not heal a paralytic possessed with a demon. When asked why they could not, Jesus hit on the core problem: unbelief.
Unbelief is not a negative, but a positive, and existing force that works against our faith.
Unbelief is a powerful deterrent of God's will and work in our lives:
"But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." (Hebrews 11:6)
We cannot receive God's grace and all of its attending blessings without faith
(cf Ephesians 2:8-10)
In his self-help book "Self Matters", Dr. Phil McGraw talks about the power of tapes and limiting beliefs in a person's life. When at rest or facing difficult situations, we tend to generate a running dialogue in line with negative tapes and fixed beliefs that we have tended by habituation in the face of stress or the unknown. Condemnation is the root of all stress, all fear, all pathology in a human being, as Pastor Joseph Prince has outlined in his book "Destined to Reign"
The negative self-talk that human beings work with on a daily basis becomes so entrenched, to prominent, that it can easily color and distort a person's every waking moment. Those who have suffered abandonment, for example, may carry with them a sense of dread or self-worthlessness, a chronic plaguing sensation that weighs down everything that a person endeavors to accomplish. When a parent or a teacher tells a young person that they cannot excel in some endeavor, there is a pernicious possibility that the child may internalize that judgment into a limiting belief, which will dampen a person's resolve and enthusiasm to attempt anything.
Limiting beliefs, negative tapes emanating from the core of an individual, are very powerful, very damaging, and very elusive without proper consideration and attention.
Why must a believer care about limiting beliefs and negative tapes? Because they are all variations of unbelief, they very thing that thwarts the faithful effectiveness of Jesus' followers, both then and now.
How then does the believer counter these nasty habits of the mind?
"And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief." (Mark 9:24)
Here, the father whose child is afflicted with a dumb spirit, acknowledged his faith, his antagonistic unbelief, and the One who can heal his sorry state of mind as well as his child: Jesus Christ.
The Lord provided a specific spiritual regimen for combating unbelief:
"And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting." (Mark 11:29)
By prayer, we understand speaking the Word of God (which is Christ -- cf John 1:1) Whatever limiting beliefs or negative tapes have crept into our minds unknowingly, we fight them with the Truth of God's Word.
If we feel that our life is lacking purpose, we refer to scriptures like:
"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end." (Jeremiahh 29:11)
or
"The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way." (Psalm 37:23)
If someone is facing a trial or challenge, meditate on the following verses:
"There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love." (1 John 4:18)
or
"Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness." (Isaiah 41:10)
Need strength for a major challenge?
"Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us."
With our minds saturated with the eternal and unchanging Word of God, fasting from negative thoughts, limiting beliefs, damaging self-talk becomes easier. Indeed, we are called to evaluate the truth of the negative trains of thought in our mind, then resolutely ignore them:
"And Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh: For God, said he, hath made me forget all my toil, and all my father's house." (Genesis 41:51)
And
"Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old." (Isaiah 43:18)
and
"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." (2 Corinthians 5:17)
The last verse Paul wrote in the context of our complete reconciliation with God through Christ, who become sin itself that we would be made the righteousness of God in Christ (v. 21)
So, what limiting beliefs are you facing now in your life? Do you feel that you have no right to speak up for yourself? Are you unsure of yourself in a word besought with conflict messages which converge only in their stark opposition to the supreme majesty of Jesus Christ? Do you fear for the future, or do you care with you some hidden shame of condemnation from a loved one long since estranged or deceased?
We are not called to meditate passively on such lies. Rather, we are called to an active life of faith and expectation in God:
"Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent." (John 6:29)
This call to faith is more than mental assent that Christ existed and died on the Cross for our sin. Faith in the Son of God recognizes the infinite spiritual storehouse of blessings that await the believer who becomes a willing scribe of the Kingdom of Heaven, which dwells in us by the Power of the Holy Spirit. In effect, it means believing on Him, who lives and works within us!
"My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you." (Galatians 4:19)
and
"To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27)
With Christ in us, we have nothing to fear; there is not obstacle that cannot be surmounted. All things indeed become possible:
"Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world." (1 JOhn 4:4)
"What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31)
"I can do all things through him who strengthens me." (Philippians 4:13)
For the unbelief in your life, for the limiting beliefs, life scripts, negative tapes, and self-defeating self-talk in your life, there is no other cure than Christ in you through the Holy Spirit, who speaks the truth to every lie, who casts out all fear, who undoes the undoable and makes all things possible in the life of a believer.
Let Him help you with your unbelief today, and see what great things He works in your life!
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Warren Furutani and Ethnic Studies
"The South Bay assemblyman was a student at El Camino College near Torrance when he joined protests against the war and funding cuts to education while advocating for ethnic studies classes at his school."
Do we need one more race-baiting politician convinced that minority students need to be suffused with ethnic self-aggrandizement in order to feel valuable and useful?
Ethnic students have done nothing but promote a horde of grievance industry driven voters who elect fire-eating politicians to pander to stirred up sympathies.
This pandering takes the form of government largesse to state universities hiring humanities professors whose coursework is in no way connected to the real world. Young people leaving post-secondary institutions with a piece of paper called a "diploma" are indoctrinated with layered mantras buffered by empty scholastic studies peer-reviewed by the same liberal myopia that gave rise to these grievance industries in the first place.
Rather than instilling any sense of pride, ethnic studies programs promote a sense of hopelessness in young people, convincing (or rather, conniving) them to believe that the world is a hostile, racist area, solipsistically determined to thwart their every effort to improve their lot in life. These programs also "teach" these "True Believers to Be" that only greater government intervention can effect a more fair society, based on the double-speak nonentities of "fairness" and "social justice".
The masses of recently graduated derelicts imbibed with such anti-rigorous rhetoric have taken to the streets, Occupying Everywhere, demanding a Peter-Pan existence at the hand of the state, subsidized by someone else's money, presumably the Rich White Elite Males who "dominate" Wall Street.
Such anti-intelligent (yet very intellectual) banter has demonized the hopes of many youth, still stuck in a moribund mode of self-pity, waiting for someone else to make everything better.
Such a mad manifest is in part the work of ethnic studies programs initiated by State Assemblyman Warren Furutani.
Do we really want more of the same sitting at the helm of local government, taking advantage of unjustified rage to justify the further encroachments of the state into our daily lives, frustrating economic recovery and undermining the individual ethic that makes possible the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness?
I hope that the voters of the 15th Council District in Los Angeles will ponder this matter before casting their vote next week.
Do we need one more race-baiting politician convinced that minority students need to be suffused with ethnic self-aggrandizement in order to feel valuable and useful?
Ethnic students have done nothing but promote a horde of grievance industry driven voters who elect fire-eating politicians to pander to stirred up sympathies.
This pandering takes the form of government largesse to state universities hiring humanities professors whose coursework is in no way connected to the real world. Young people leaving post-secondary institutions with a piece of paper called a "diploma" are indoctrinated with layered mantras buffered by empty scholastic studies peer-reviewed by the same liberal myopia that gave rise to these grievance industries in the first place.
Rather than instilling any sense of pride, ethnic studies programs promote a sense of hopelessness in young people, convincing (or rather, conniving) them to believe that the world is a hostile, racist area, solipsistically determined to thwart their every effort to improve their lot in life. These programs also "teach" these "True Believers to Be" that only greater government intervention can effect a more fair society, based on the double-speak nonentities of "fairness" and "social justice".
The masses of recently graduated derelicts imbibed with such anti-rigorous rhetoric have taken to the streets, Occupying Everywhere, demanding a Peter-Pan existence at the hand of the state, subsidized by someone else's money, presumably the Rich White Elite Males who "dominate" Wall Street.
Such anti-intelligent (yet very intellectual) banter has demonized the hopes of many youth, still stuck in a moribund mode of self-pity, waiting for someone else to make everything better.
Such a mad manifest is in part the work of ethnic studies programs initiated by State Assemblyman Warren Furutani.
Do we really want more of the same sitting at the helm of local government, taking advantage of unjustified rage to justify the further encroachments of the state into our daily lives, frustrating economic recovery and undermining the individual ethic that makes possible the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness?
I hope that the voters of the 15th Council District in Los Angeles will ponder this matter before casting their vote next week.
Asian Journal Publications and Vietnam Memorial
The Philippines has unveiled a memorial commemorating Vietnamese general Ho Chi Minh.
Could there be any great use and abuse of history?
Ho Chi Minh was a killer, a mass-murderer who hounded middle-class types fleeing Indochina after the fall of Saigon.
He decimated his nation's economy, persecuted political and economic dissidents, and caused the Vietnamese nation and people to stagnate for decades.
The Filipino people should not be celebrating so cold and cruel a Communist dictator.
Could there be any great use and abuse of history?
Ho Chi Minh was a killer, a mass-murderer who hounded middle-class types fleeing Indochina after the fall of Saigon.
He decimated his nation's economy, persecuted political and economic dissidents, and caused the Vietnamese nation and people to stagnate for decades.
The Filipino people should not be celebrating so cold and cruel a Communist dictator.
The One Work Needed -- Believe On Him!
"Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent." (John 6:29)
We are called to live a life of faith, not works.
Our works absent the Holy, indwelling presence and power of the Holy Spirit are filth rags:
"But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away." (Isaiah 64:6)
We in and of ourselves are dirty, unclean, not fit to be in the presence of the Almighty, All Holy God Most High. Our "righteousnesses" (lit. צִדְקֹתֵ֑×™× ×•ּ tzid·ko·tei·nu -- a a manifold plurality of good works ), our attempts to make ourselves clean, with our own means and efforts, only make us more dirty, as well as tired and frustrated with our own exertions.
Jesus has a better way for us:
"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
"Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
"For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-30)
We must come to Him in faith. We come to faith in God the Father through His Son Jesus Christ, for faith in ourselves, or even faith in faith will not accomplish anything.
When Jesus addresses His hearers who labor, he indicates those who are beaten, worn out, exhausted. Regarding heavy burdens, Jesus is speaking of those overloaded with the insurmountable burden of the Law, which man cannot fulfil in his own efforts. Jesus excoriated the Pharisees for this:
"For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers." (Matthew 23:4)
When Jesus offers to us His yoke, He is not asking us to die on the Cross with Him. That is a death, a sacrifice which only he could accomplish. Rather, He is inviting us to be led by the same power -- the Holy Spirit:
"And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness." (Luke 4:1)
We all can be led by the Spirit, of course:
"For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." (Romans 8:14)
and
"But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law." (Galatians 5:1)
In the Holy Spirit, we find rest for our souls:
"Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief." (Hebrews 4:11)
And notice how the writer of Hebrews points out the cause of falling from this unrest: unbelief.
By faith, therefore, in the Word of God, being led by the Holy Spirit, we can do all things.
We believe on Him, His Holy Spirit is conceived in us, and He achieves all things through us. What blessed reprieve from grief and toil; what blessed relief for every sinner who lets Christ dwell in him by faith.
We are called to live a life of faith, not works.
Our works absent the Holy, indwelling presence and power of the Holy Spirit are filth rags:
"But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away." (Isaiah 64:6)
We in and of ourselves are dirty, unclean, not fit to be in the presence of the Almighty, All Holy God Most High. Our "righteousnesses" (lit. צִדְקֹתֵ֑×™× ×•ּ tzid·ko·tei·nu -- a a manifold plurality of good works ), our attempts to make ourselves clean, with our own means and efforts, only make us more dirty, as well as tired and frustrated with our own exertions.
Jesus has a better way for us:
"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
"Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
"For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-30)
We must come to Him in faith. We come to faith in God the Father through His Son Jesus Christ, for faith in ourselves, or even faith in faith will not accomplish anything.
When Jesus addresses His hearers who labor, he indicates those who are beaten, worn out, exhausted. Regarding heavy burdens, Jesus is speaking of those overloaded with the insurmountable burden of the Law, which man cannot fulfil in his own efforts. Jesus excoriated the Pharisees for this:
"For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers." (Matthew 23:4)
When Jesus offers to us His yoke, He is not asking us to die on the Cross with Him. That is a death, a sacrifice which only he could accomplish. Rather, He is inviting us to be led by the same power -- the Holy Spirit:
"And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness." (Luke 4:1)
We all can be led by the Spirit, of course:
"For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." (Romans 8:14)
and
"But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law." (Galatians 5:1)
In the Holy Spirit, we find rest for our souls:
"Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief." (Hebrews 4:11)
And notice how the writer of Hebrews points out the cause of falling from this unrest: unbelief.
By faith, therefore, in the Word of God, being led by the Holy Spirit, we can do all things.
We believe on Him, His Holy Spirit is conceived in us, and He achieves all things through us. What blessed reprieve from grief and toil; what blessed relief for every sinner who lets Christ dwell in him by faith.
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