Tense words

God has forgiven us: past tense for future offense.

I first thought of this phrase a year ago at the end of last summer here at camp. I was trying to figure out why this truth is important.

So here's my thought process. Christ died for our sins. All of them. He forgives us at the point of our salvation (Colossians 2:13-14 And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;). He blots out that which we have done and forgives us.  And yet we still are instructed to confess our sins for the purpose of obtaining forgiveness. (1 John 1:9 but if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness) The aforementioned passage is clearly speaking to saved people based on context.


So how do we combine confession with full assurance of our secured salvation?

It really all boils down to a relationship. Our Christian life is not just a quickie "fire insurance" experience. It is an ongoing daily relationship built on love and gratitude.  Unfortunately, though we have been saved and gloriously redeemed, we still sin. Most of us on a daily basis. Most of us more often then that, even!

The problem is a lot of us struggle with this. How can I be saved and still do bad things? Maybe I didn't really get saved that first time.

And then begins a cycle of doubt, "re-salvation", good feelings, doubt, "re-salvation", good feelings.....

But our salvation is not based on us. We are saved. God has saved us and forgiven us from our sins.  However, our relationship with God suffers when we sin. When we lie to our parents, we are still their child, and yet there are still consequences. They no longer trust us and the relationship has been damaged.

John 10:28-29 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any [man] pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave [them] me, is greater than all; and no [man] is able to pluck [them] out of my Father's hand. 

No man means no man... not even you can cause you to lose your salvation.

Because of Him,
Missa

♪♫ I don't need anything......... But You ♫♪

What do we need to have everything?  What will satisfy us?  When will we be perfect?  When have we achieved the dream life?

I've been thinking a lot about Colossians 2:10 "and ye are complete in Him[Christ], which is the head of all principality and power."

It's easy to fall into the trap as a Christian to become all consumed with "what's next". If only I had ..... that car, that job, that boyfriend/girlfriend, the latest electronic, or whatever it is you or I may want, then I could be content.  But the thing is, you will never be content if you are continuing to dwell on "what's next". There will always be something new, and until you rest in the contentment of knowing Christ.

Now that is a very good thought indeed, but, alas, although the above is definitely something taught in Scripture (see Exodus 20:17), that's not exactly what this passage means. Consider the context:

For I would that ye knew what great conflict I have for you, and for them at Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh;
That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ;
In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
And this I say, lest any man should beguile you with enticing words.
For though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the stedfastness of your faith in Christ.
As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him:
Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.
Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.
For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.
And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:

Colossians 2:1-10


I propose that completeness is God, is completeness in His wisdom and knowledge. Our insufficiency is never more manifest when compared to God's all-sufficiency.  We have direct access to Him through prayer. "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him." James 1:5

I was speaking with a friend at lunch, and he told me how he was learning that one must be aware of one's insufficiency, and at the same time be willing to minister.  It seems that one is either aware of their inefficiencies or ministering, not both. But that's not the point of the Christian life, to be forever bobbing on highs and lows spiritually. When we get saved, we must humbly admit that we are insufficient, and accept God's grace freely offered to us.  Now, as we live and thrive in this new life, we must continue to "...walk humbly with our God"  (Micah 6:8)

 Complete in Thee

(Aaron Wolfe)

Complete in Thee! No work of mine
May take, dear Lord, the place of Thine;
Thy blood hath pardon bought for me,
And I am now complete in Thee.

Refrain:
Yea, justified! O blessed thought!
And sanctified! Salvation wrought!
Thy blood hath pardon bought for me,
And glorified, I too, shall be!

Complete in Thee! No more shall sin,
Thy grace hath conquered, reign within;
Thy voice shall bid the tempter flee,
And I shall stand complete in Thee.

Complete in Thee—each want supplied,
And no good thing to me denied;
Since Thou my portion, Lord, wilt be,
I ask no more, complete in Thee.

Dear Savior, when before Thy bar
All tribes and tongues assembled are,
Among Thy chosen will I be,
At Thy right hand, complete in Thee.

Because of Him,
Missa

That I May Know Him

At the beginning of the summer, during one of our meetings, someone threw out the term “knowing God” and that just brought a huge slew of questions:

Why do I want to know God?

If we have all eternity with Him, does it really matter?

Does it matter if I don’t want to know Him? Other than being ungrateful, I mean.

I had been meditating on this off and on for six weeks, and hadn’t really come to a definite conclusion other than that I knew I wanted to know Him more, and I am completely insufficient in my knowledge.

But during this morning’s staff renewal message, I hit upon the answer, or at least the first part of the answer.  I’m pretty sure I’ll be learning more and more of the answer.

1 John 4:19 We love Him because He first loved us.

Philippians 3:8-10  Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for Whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but dung, that I may win Christ, and be found in Him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death.

We should want to know Him because He loves us, because we are nothing without Him, because He is working in us by His power. Knowledge of God is the highest goal in a Christian’s life. It is a continuing unending goal. I wonder if even with all eternity it is even possible for us begin to comprehend the mind of God, and how He works all things together.

And consider 1 Timothy 4:8 For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.  Knowing God and allowing that knowledge to change us, gives us a glimpse of that life which is waiting for us in heaven. We can develop our body, but in all honesty, our body will die, and it is our soul which will continue on.  I know people who spend hours daily at the gym, building up  something that has a chronic condition of decay which all suffer from, and which cannot be reversed.  We shouldn’t neglect the temple of God, but can we  put at least as much effort into growing spiritually?

I’m not there yet. I have not attained, but God is working in me, both to will and to do His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13)

Because of Him,

Missa

Splinter Stories

Wow. I've been here at camp for 5 weeks now.  Sometimes it seems like we just got here.... and then it feels like I've been here forever.

God is good.  I am constantly amazed by His sustaining grace, His guiding grace, His humbling grace to me.  I don't deserve it, I haven't earned it. He loves me, and that is all I need. Now and forever.

I'd like to share with you a little story about His teaching grace.

The week before last was crazy, loud, insane, explosive, and crazy. Did I mention it was loud and crazy? The junior camp was humongous with over 120 kids. And my church was here, which meant I was willing to risk harm to my eardrums by braving the rabid mob.

But the kids were not a group. They were individuals. Each with a story, personality, and decisions to make of their own.

On Thursday evening, the preacher challenged the lot of them about complaining.  One of the girls in my prayer partner's cabin had been a magnet for splinters. She could walk down a concrete sidewalk surrounded with brick buildings and still get a splinter.

Well, in the middle of the sermon, kinda as a joke, kinda not, the preacher mentioned how instead of saying ouch and complaining if you got a splinter during the trek to the lake, to instead think 'Ok, God, what are you trying to teach me by this? Oh, and thank you for the splinter.' Well the little girl I told you about came out during the invitation along with another girl from the cabin. I counseled both of them about the decision and they both prayed for God to help them and they both ended their prayer with

"Oh, and thank you God for splinters."

The next day, while cleaning up something, I walked past those two and they ran up to me and told me that they thanked God for splinters that morning.

They got it. They truly understood and got the decision. And they convicted me.

How many times do I allow the minor irritants to bug me? Or do I ignore the teaching God has for me through them?  It could be anything: splinters, my siblings, my parents, a dirty bathroom, or my alarm clock. I'm still working through it, and I won't be perfect for a while, but...

Thank you God for splinters

And loud campers.

Because of Him,
Missa