Receive His Truth

There is a Bugs Bunny cartoon that speaks volumes to the fact that we are what we receive; we fulfill what we believe to be true about us. In the cartoon, Elmer Fudd is chasing Bugs through the woods firing his gun, when off in the distance a delivery truck carrying various costume hats hits a bump in the road the back door flies open and out come the many hats flowing in the breeze. The chase continues but now one of the hats lands on Bugs and he becomes a game warden and proceeds to bust Elmer for some hunting violation. As the cartoon unfolds the various hats land on the two characters and with each of them transforming into the person the type of hat represents. When the hat blows off they go back to the chase.

Wouldn’t it be cool if that happened in our lives? When our kids are sick we put on a doctor’s hat and cure them or a banker’s suit when we need money, a clown suit when we are sad. (Ok, scratch the creepy clown suit) you get the idea. I have good news for you. God says that we are clothed with Christ, which means we are transformed into being just like Jesus. For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus.  And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on the character of Christ, like putting on new clothes. Galatians 3:26-27 (NLT) We are told to put on the full armor or God, meaning we are to receive what is promised to those who dress themselves by faith in Christ. (See Ephesians 6:10-17) We are declared holy, righteous, free, powerful, dead to sin, God’s inheritance and much more. We don’t have to wait until random hats plop on our heads to be transformed into who we really are. We as followers of Christ have the mighty hand of God to clothes us with himself and to anoint us with his truth because his word is truth. We have a choice as to how much like Jesus we will reveal. We simply need to receive what God’s word already declares is ours and live accordingly.  We will receive the crown of life (See James 1:12) meaning eternal life with Him in Heaven.  That is the “hat” I want God to place on my head someday, but until then I want to be immersed in Christ, completely covered with Him so that I can be Him for this lost and broken world. Anyone want to join me? 

Lead with Grace

How often do we desire “justice” when someone hurts us or when we see somebody mistreated, or a heinous crime took place and the authorities believe they have the perpetrator? We look at these hurtful people with great distain. It is so easy to look at people unknown to us, people we have no connection with and desire grave justice. “They deserve everything they get”, we might say. How do you navigate your mind when you see someone shoplift, a lazy or always late employee, someone who makes an illegal U-turn, a lone driver in the carpool lane, or a person on a news clip caught on tape during an armed robbery? What about the person who cuts you off on the road and almost causes a major accident, do you like me wish your car came with a missile launching option? We all have our “hot buttons” those things that set us off into to angerville or to the land of “justice”.

In 2 Samuel 24 you read about King David incited by Satan to take a census of his military strength. God was the one who brought victory in all of David’s battles, but for some reason…let’s call it pride David wants his warriors to spend the next nine months or so to count every able body for his army. God wasn’t against taking a census as we see in Exodus 30:11-16, but the fact that this was to see how powerful and successful David’s kingdom was instead of raising money for the work of the Lord. It was for David’s glory not God’s. Even David’s top general and least spiritually receptive Joab was against this kind of census. Biblical scholar William Barclay wrote, “Pride is the ground in which all the other sins grow," which was the case here. It took over nine months’ time to take the census and for David to come to his senses. After the count was given he repents. The next morning the prophet Gad identified the sin and spoke the Lord’s judgment over David and the nation Israel. David was indeed guilty, and what is so amazing is that God gave David the choice of what the punishment would be. The punishment was not just for David but for all of Israel as their own sin angered the Lord.

The next morning the word of the LORD came to the prophet Gad, who was David’s seer. This was the message:  “Go and say to David, ‘This is what the LORD says: I will give you three choices. Choose one of these punishments, and I will inflict it on you.’”  So Gad came to David and asked him, “Will you choose three years of famine throughout your land, three months of fleeing from your enemies, or three days of severe plague throughout your land? Think this over and decide what answer I should give the LORD who sent me.”  “I’m in a desperate situation!” David replied to Gad. “But let us fall into the hands of the LORD, for his mercy is great. Do not let me fall into human hands. 2 Samuel 24:11-14 (NLT)

Notice the choice that David made, he banked on the mercy of the Lord his God; he put his life and that of his nation in the hands of the Lord’s grace. He later is asked to build an altar to the Lord as a burnt and peace offering. It was then that the plague on Israel stopped.

It is our pride that causes us to judge, causes us to see people and life through a negative lens. Our pride blinds us and hardens our hearts towards those who are evil, wicked and the ignorant. Those are the very people who need us to lead with grace, to lead with a heart of compassion and hopefully love them towards repentance.

Take a personal inventory:

Where do you need God’s grace? (They usually spring up in relationships). Who do you need to be gracious to? Who has pushed your hot buttons so much that you are praying for a missile launcher for Christmas? How do you see your hosts who never return any of your attempts of contact? Where might you find areas of pride in your life? (Saying nowhere might be a good indicator that there is some). Where do you need to repent? Is there an area in your life that Satan is trying to get access to? (Are you contemplating any areas of compromise?)

Why the Delay

I get lazy in my praying. I fail to ask God for more of Him in my life; fail to ask that I would be more like Him and that more would be done in and through my life. When the answer doesn’t seem to come I get discouraged and stop praying in that manner. I forget that the Lord tests those whom He loves and that delays are really those tests. Part of His delay is to discern if what I am praying is really from the depth of my soul or a mere whim from my head. If I keep seeking the heart of God for a particular matter I have a better understanding as to what the outcome or answer might be. This seeking of the heart of God for a particular outcome, change or whatever the request is also reveals whether or not my prayer is sincere or shallow. I need to keep seeking Him, but not for the answer/s sake but for the new depth I will glean from the heart of God. The answers to our prayers are always secondary results. So there is a need for a larger capacity of the Lord in my life, a larger infilling of His Holy Spirit. Because the lord knows me completely, He knows how much I can handle. For example If He were to answer my requests for more of Him in my life and he fulfilled that request even if it was a deep and sincere yearning on my part; He knows that I would be like old wine skins that burst from the amount of new wine. The Lord gives in small portions according to the capacity of the individual and not all at once. His wisdom in these matters is far beyond my comprehension.

Lord in the midst of my learning curve, I ask for a larger capacity so that you may fill me up with your Holy Spirit. May my heart connect with yours as I live this life and may my prayers be pleasing to you. Thank you for letting me know that you know me better than I know myself and that you won’t take me any place that I am unable to go. I want to ask of you more, I want to seek your heart for matters of my heart to make sure that I gain you even if I miss the answer to my prayer.