The Fools Exchange

For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.  For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.  Claiming to be wise, they became fools,  and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. 

Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. (Romans 1:20–25)

The passage above has always been for me one of the most heart breaking in the Bible. When I read the amazing true story of God's great love overflowing in creation of the heavens and the earth and his creation of people, not to subjugate and rule over but to set free and rule with -- to walk with him in the garden in coolness of the day. The garden, the people, the nature, all stamped with God’s divine nature and his eternal power. 

And then the story takes a tragic turn. The people who God made, made a fools exchange and traded the worship of the greatest and most loving artist for the worship of the art that he had made – to serve the things created instead of the creator of all things. And it broke God’s heart. 

It still breaks his heart today and every day. This fools exchange is repeated by each of us daily. Each of us, if we are honest, exchanges real worship for the worship of things. In the process we settle for a far lesser good, a far lesser fullness. And it breaks God’s heart, because it was not meant to be that way. You were not meant to be enslaved to things, but to be free to live and love and move. That is God’s plan. That is the life God calls you to. 

• What are the things you are exchanging for God? 
• What are the things that tell you they will provide ultimate fulfillment other than God?
• Have they lived up to their promises? 

God offers much, much more. He gives us the strength to move away from the things that enslave us to the life that sets us free. That’s good news. That’s the Gospel. God won, God fueled. It is the power of salvation to all who believe. 

Peace, hope and love

Doug

Good News!

I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.  For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”  Romans 1:16–17

It was great to have Keith Ferrin share God's word with us this past Sunday. I am thankful for Keith and the other folks who are and have been stepping up and helping me carry the load as I go through this season of radiation treatment. Thank you all for your prayers, they are birthed in the good news of Jesus, fueled by the power and the hope of salvation, both at a moment and as a process. 

I loved the challenge and the clarity of the Romans for our everyday life and all that we face. Keith summarized his points in his blog post, but I will do so here as well:

1. The Gospel is the Power of God. 

What greater power is there than God's, what greater freedom do we have than the knowledge that the power is his -- from him and to him. 

2. Salvation is an Event and a Process.

This amazing truth is not cause for dejection that I am "never going to get there," but freedom and courage that I do not have to wait until I "get there" to be used by God. I am saved by him (and all heaven rejoices). And then the realization of my salvation, the becoming who I already am in Christ, continues, fueled by him and with him. 

3. Salvation is for Everyone.

We needn't make the call as where people are in the process, but instead should rest assured that God has the hope for salvation in everybody. That frees us to be more like him and to live in the reality that he is at work before and after us in often invisible ways. 

4. God has Made me Righteous. 

One word: Grace. We cannot earn, nor can we repay. It is God's work that makes us righteous, his goodness that makes us good. So then, we are freed and empowered to move into Kingdom choices and actions based upon the nudging of the Spirit and upon our desire to live into our righteousness rather than a supposed score card of good and bad. We all have an internal scorecard to some degree or in some area. Rather than propel us to be better, it blocks us from living into our righteousness and is a lie from the enemy. 

5. I Live by Faith.

The Bible describes faith using words like "evidence," and "substance." Faith is observable. As we learn to believe that salvation is for us, for our church, for our community and for the world, that it is an ongoing process borne from God's deep love for us and fueled by God's power, and his righteousness, it will change the way we live (not might, but will). People will notice. You will notice. That's the truth. And the truth will set you free. 

That's good news. 

Peace, hope and love

Doug

God Smiles

Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God—  the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures regarding his Son, who as to his human nature was a descendant of David,  and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.  Through him and for his name’s sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith.  And you also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ. (Romans 1:1–6)

Most of us are aware of the fact that the book of Romans is a letter, a letter to and a letter from: to the Church in Rome, and from Paul, an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God. 

Paul was set apart. Long before he new it, God had a plan for Paul -- a plan that would have seemed inconceivable even foolish. 

God's plan: To move the Church beyond the known, safe and expected boundaries to the world for whom Jesus came, lived, died and was resurrected. 

God's means: To use the words and presence of this man Paul, a man who hated Jesus and sought to crush and destroy his Church before it could spread. 

I think sometimes God smiles when he makes his plans and invites us to join him. "Oh, this is going to be great!" God plans and he invites, not based upon what is apparent now, but upon what will be. God does not call based on our ability, but based on his glory. God calls each of us, and there is not one of us that can say God cannot use me. 

~ Noah was a drunk

~ Abraham was too old

~ Isaac was a daydreamer

~ Jacob was a liar

~ Leah was ugly

~ Joseph was abused

~ Moses had a stuttering problem

~ Gideon was afraid

~ Samson had long hair and was a womanizer

~ Rahab was a prostitute

~ Jeremiah and Timothy were too young

~ David was an adulterer and a murderer

~ Elijah was suicidal

~ Isaiah preached naked

~ Jonah ran from God

~ Naomi was a widow

~ Job went bankrupt

~ John the Baptist ate bugs

~ Peter denied Christ

~ The disciples fell asleep while praying

~ Martha worried about everything

~ The Samaritan woman was divorced (more than once)

~ Zaccheus was too small

~ Timothy had an ulcer

~ Lazarus was dead

And,  Paul was a murderous hater of Jesus. I imagine that made God chuckle. And, I imagine it filled his heart with Joy, to think that this man who was so crippled by hate could be freed through grace, to love and proclaim as savior the same Jesus whom he had been unable to truly see. God is a God of love. His love is played out in a myriad of ways. His work for our transformation, redemption, restoration and reconciliation flows from that love, and from that love he creates in us a heart that seeks transformation, redemption, restoration and reconciliation in the world: transformed transformers. 

The fact that God choose to use Paul of all people gives hope to each one of us as God choose to use us.

How do those words hit you? Do you believe them to be true? Do you believe them to be true for others, but for you maybe not? How does the reality of Paul's amazing transformation effect the reality of your life? What is God inviting you into? Can you see his smile?

Give these questions some thought. Let the reality of God's promises, his grace and his power seep into you and through you. 

Peace, hope and love